Isotopic evidence for changing human mobility patterns after the disintegration of the Western Roman Empire at the Upper Rhine

Presenting the Compendium Isotoporum Medii Aevi, a Multi-Isotope Database for Medieval Europe

“…In this respect, medieval Europe witnessed several population movements at various scales, from the mass migrations of the Germanic Migration Period (conventional 375–568 CE), to comparatively smaller scale movements following military conflicts, urbanization processes, and religious pilgrimages 1 , 6 – 8 . Isotopic studies of human mobility often explore spatial variability of water strontium ( 87 Sr/ 86 Sr) or oxygen (δ 18 O) isotopic ratios 17 , 105 – 108 . These can then be compared with measurements in human tissues with varying formation periods and turnover rates 53 , 55 .…”

Bioarchaeological analyses reveal long-lasting continuity at the periphery of the Late Antique Roman Empire

“…Even though millet is already attested sporadically in this region from Prehistory onwards, its consumption remains limited. In the surrounding regions, including both the Alsace and Southern Germany, the Late Antique and Early Medieval diet is based chiefly on C 3 -plants as well, 41 , 49 , 67 , 114 , 115 , 116 whereas C 4 -plants inputs are usually either limited to small amounts 117 or to a few (possibly foreign) individuals. 49 , 118 , 119 In those cases, an origin from southern 39 , 42 , 44 , 47 or eastern Europe was assumed, 25 , 40 , 43 , 120 where the consumption of millet is more frequently attested.…”

“… 24 Genetic analyses (ancient DNA, hereafter referred to as aDNA) are often used to understand Early Medieval migration patterns, 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 social structures, 25 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 and the impact of Early Medieval migrations on the genetic composition of modern populations. 34 , 35 , 36 In addition, strontium (Sr) and oxygen (O) isotope analyses have become common tools to trace potential mobility or migration events 25 , 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 and the consequences of these migrations on the local population. 40 , 42 , 43 , 44 , 45 , 46 , 47 Because the Migration Period is typically associated with the idea of foreign people with differing cultural and dietary practices deliberately and/or violently intruding on a local society, 25 , 44 , 47 , 48 carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) isotope analyses may help to trace changes in dietary habits caused by migration and acculturation processes.…”

Scales of transformations—Modelling settlement and land-use dynamics in late antique and early medieval Basel, Switzerland

“…These seemingly terminological as well as methodological accuracies of cultural definition based on the Roman-Barbarian-dichotomy, developed during the 18 th century AD, have met with considerable opposition, and eventually led to the clash of ethnic identities, particularly in the discipline of Early Medieval Archaeology [28,[35][36][37]. Despite the persistent urge to ethnic attribution or the identification of individual origins inherent in manifold research approaches, recent scientific results from multidisciplinary analyses carried out at Basel and across Europe have emphasized the strongly local interaction patterns of local people with long-standing integrated and scattered origins during Late Antiquity and Early Middle Ages [38][39][40]. A major hurdle to simply remove the raison d'être of such a distinction in Basel and Europe is the simple fact that, to a large number, Late Antique and Early Medieval archaeological records consist of burial grounds, single graves, or grave groups and that corresponding settlement are largely missing [1,4,41] (see Fig 1).…”