Diet and society in Poland before the state: stable isotope evidence from a Wielbark population (2nd c. AD)

Abstract

The 1 st -4 th c. AD Wielbark culture of Eastern Europe is relatively understudied bioarchaeologically due to the fragmentary nature of its cemeteries. Here, we report the first stable isotope analysis of Wielbark diet using stable carbon and nitrogen isotope signatures from both collagen and carbonate of 30 individuals from Rogowo, a 2 nd c. Wielbark cemetery in North-Central Poland. Diet at Rogowo was primarily based on terrestrial foods and included millet, a C 4 plant cultivated by many Slavic populations in Europe. Anadromous fish likely supplemented the diet, which is clarified when considering collagen and carbonate data in tandem. Stable isotope differences between the sexes indicate that men and women may have consumed different foods, although there is a possibility that women immigrated to Rogowo from an isotopically different region of Europe. No significant differences are noted in δ 13 C or δ 15 N of women with and without grave goods, suggesting little social differentiation within the Wielbark culture, at least in terms of daily food access. Reconstructing human diet in Europe through stable isotope analysis is problematic because of the relative isotopic homogeneity in this region of the world. This study further demonstrates the utility of using both carbonate and collagen stable isotope data in tandem to reconstruct past European diet.

The Genoprotective Role of Naringin

“…Herbs and various colorful plants have played an important role in the diet of our ancestors. They were considered to have a positive effect on human health and maintain youthfulness [1][2][3]. Today, once again, people pay increasing attention to plants that will help them protect their health.…”

Reconstructing diet in Napoleon's Grand Army using stable carbon and nitrogen isotope analysis

“…Individuals with C 4 ‐based diets may have originated from Italy or Poland. Stable isotope evidence from archaeological samples with evidence of C 4 plant consumption from Italy and Poland (Killgrove & Tykot, ; Reitsema & Kozlowski, ; Reitsema & Vercellotti, ; Reitsema, Kozlowski, & Makowiecki, ; Tafuri et al, ), historic documentation of regiments from these regions in the Grand Army (Esdaile, ; Gould, ; Oliver & Partridge, ; Schneid, ), and the presence Italian and Polish regiment buttons in the mass grave support this interpretation (Signoli et al, ).…”

Growth and health status of children and adolescents in medieval Central Europe

“…In older childhood and adolescence the food composition mainly depended on the social status, while the studied cemetery samples consist predominantly of medium-to-low status people. Isotopic analyses of foods consumed by inhabitants of Polish early-medieval strongholds indicate high content of animal proteins, together with significant share of millet (Reitsema and Kozłowski 2013;Reitsema et al 2010), which may speak for an adequate diet, at least in the examined sites (Piontek 2014).The principal aim of the research of subadult growth and health in medieval and postmedieval Poland was to examine the effects of environmental and cultural factors on developmental processes to provide information about the adaptation of past human populations to their environments. Health status was evaluated through the prevalences of the skeletal indicators of physiological stress (enamel hypoplasia, cribra orbitalia, porotic hyperostosis, Harris lines), nonspecific infections (periostitis, endocranial lesions, maxillary sinusitis, and otitis media), and diet-dependent diseases (scurvy, and rickets).…”