Fringes of the empire: Diet and cultural change at the Roman to post‐Roman transition in NW Iberia

Abstract

A growing number of paleodiet investigations over recent years have begun to reveal the stark dietary differences that existed between regions of the Roman Empire, as well as significant changes in subsistence strategies after its fall. The present study explores the dietary changes at the Roman to post-Roman (Germanic) transition in the Northwest Iberian Peninsula, in order to improve our understanding of the changes that occurred at end of the Roman Empire in different regions across Europe and to also consider the influence of climate had on them. The carbon and nitrogen stable isotope investigation in bone collagen from A Lanzada, NW Spain (100-700 AD), which was an important commercial, coastal settlement has been presented. A human sample of 59 individuals, 6 of them subadults, is compared with 31 faunal specimens, which include a number of marine fish. Isotope data for the terrestrial fauna reveal the influence of the sea on the local isotope baseline. Analysis of the human samples indicates a mixed marine-terrestrial diet. A shift in mean human δ(13) C values from -16.7‰ to -14.3‰ provides clear evidence for a significant change in diet in the post-Roman period, probably through the intensification of both marine resources exploitation and C4 -plant consumption (presumably millet). A deterioration of paleoenvironmental conditions, together with a poor socioeconomic situation and the arrival of new people, the Sueves, who brought a new political and socioeconomic system have been discussed as the main causes for the dietary modification in post-Roman times.

The effect of diet and sociopolitical change on physiological stress and behavior in late Roman‐Early Byzantine (300–700 AD) and Islamic (902–1,235 AD) populations from Ibiza, Spain

“…Second, in times of shortfall, locally raised or imported millet and sorghum, which are resistant to drought and have shorter growing seasons than major C 3 crops, may have been fallback foods, ensuring the consumption of sufficient calories and nutrients. López‐Costas and Müldner's (2016) suggested a similar scenario in a study of post‐Roman diet in Northwest Spain. Based on isotopic data, they theorized that millet may have been particularly important when “a hard winter or other event ruined crops with longer growing seasons” (p. 149).…”

“…While consumption of C 4 crops likely increased during the Islamic period, their importance prior to this should not be understated. Notably, in the Northwest Iberian peninsula, the decline of Roman political control corresponds to a growing dependence on C 4 cereals such as millet, and similar patterning is seen in Italian sites (Iacumin, Galli, Cavalli, & Cecere, 2014; López‐Costas & Müldner, 2016). It remains unclear whether altered agricultural practices, changing climate, or influx of new populations with different dietary habits are responsible for increased dependence on C 4 crops in Late/ post‐Roman contexts.…”

Diet and food strategies in a southern al-Andalusian urban environment during Caliphal period, Écija, Sevilla

“…A number of new cereals, such as sorghum, are thought to have been introduced into Iberia during the Medieval period (Glick 1999). Millets were probably introduced during the Early or Late Bronze Age (López-Costas et al 2015) and became extremely popular in some regions, such as northwestern Iberia (López-Costas and Müldner 2016). It is possible that these were grown in the Écija region (García Baena 2006), as the climate is particularly suited to their cultivation.…”

“…The isotope data are potentially revealing about the environment Écijans inhabited. Arid temperatures and high salinity have been identified as the cause of abnormally high values for δ 15 N (Ambrose 1991;Heaton 1987;Britton et al 2008;López-Costas and Müldner 2016). Today, Écija is renowned for its high temperatures and salinity (Fernández et al 2002), as well as nearby BAltiplano de Écija^.…”

New Dietary Evidence on Medieval Rural Communities of the Basque Country (Spain) and Its Surroundings from Carbon and Nitrogen Stable Isotope Analyses: Social Insights, Diachronic Changes and Geographic Comparison

“…However, they have only started to be applied in medieval Iberia recently (Alexander, ). Some of the most interesting current debates are the changes in diet after the collapse of the Roman Empire, including the introduction of C 4 crops (López‐Costas & Müldner, ), the impact of diet in the construction of religious identities (Alexander et al, ) or the interaction between diet and social status (García‐Collado, ).…”