Diet and differentiation in the Roman province of Macedonia: A bioarchaeological approach

Abstract

The Roman Macedonian society was highly diverse and heterogeneous, as attested by textual evidence showing several hierarchies at play and many factors contributing to their reproduction. Among them, food holds a central place through the ostentatious display surrounding the royal symposia, the elite banquets, or during public festivals. However, food inequalities have so far been studied through condensed approaches that perpetuate oversimplified interpretations of the differences between the elite and the 'common' people, the wealthy and the poor. Inequalities and diversity within any society are much more complex and should be examined from multiple perspectives. Unfortunately, information about the dietary habits of ancient Macedonians is limited due to the paucity of available textual sources, which are often fragmented and biased, either referring to the region sporadically or written with a focus on the urban elite. As a result, any dietary insights gleaned from these sources, particularly regarding the diet of the common people, must be approached with caution. Bioarchaeological studies across the Roman Empire have shown that human skeletal remains could fill this gap by providing direct information for the diet of the people 'without name', and by revealing aspects of the social history that cannot be approached through other data (e.g., textual or mortuary record). This approach has been rarely adopted in Roman Macedonia.This study used dietary data obtained through macroscopic (palaeodemographic and palaeopathological -both dental and skeletal) and stable isotope analysis (δ 13 C and δ 15 N values from bone collagen) to explore the influence of the micro-ecology on the dietary choices of the inhabitants of two distinct but contemporaneous communities of Roman Macedonia (1 st -4 th century CE). It also examined whether status, sex, and age differences existed to gain insights on the dietary preferences of certain groups. The main research question of this study is: To what extent can dietary variation within and between particular communities of the Province of Macedonia be related to differences in the local micro-ecology of the sub-regions in which they resided, and/or to inter-and intra-site status, sex, and/or age differences? 5.2.4.3 Considering diet in relation to other frequently observed skeletal lesions .