Stable carbon and nitrogen isotope inter‐ and intra‐individual dietary reconstruction from the late 14th to early 18th century site of Alytus, Lithuania

Abstract

Objectives: The Baltic region, particularly Lithuania, was a politically vibrant area of Eastern Europe during the medieval and early modern period. To better understand the diet of Lithuanians during the late 14th to early 18th century, we examine stable carbon and nitrogen isotope ratios from bone and dentin samples from the site of Alytus. We investigate possible dietary differences based on sex, age, and religious practice, as well as dietary changes throughout an individual's lifetime, within the broader European milieu.Materials and methods: Stable carbon and nitrogen isotope analysis was conducted on bone (n = 35) and dentin (n = 38) collagen samples from a total of 39 individuals buried in the cemetery at Alytus (late 14th to early 18th centuries).Results: Results indicate individuals at Alytus consumed a C 3 terrestrial based diet. The δ 13 C and δ 15 N values are not significantly different between bone and dentin, and did not vary by sex.Discussion: The diet at Alytus was homogeneous between males and females and between tissue types. The lack of evidence indicating substantial consumption of fish is unexpected given widespread Catholic fasting practices and marine resource trade throughout Europe. Comparisons with other populations indicate that individuals from Alytus differ in diet from contemporaneous Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth elites. Comparison of the diets of non-elite individuals in the Eastern Baltic region also reveals dietary variability. K E Y W O R D SBaltic, collagen, dentin, paleodiet, stable isotope analysis

Isotopic insights into the early Medieval (600–1100 CE) diet in the Luistari cemetery at Eura, Finland

“…Based on the faunal comparison data and the commonly applied trophic enrichment factor in the isotope values (+ 3-5‰; e.g., Hedges and Reynard 2007) the Luistari human carbon and nitrogen isotope values on average are higher than would be expected for a diet containing only terrestrial resources suggesting a substantial intake of animal protein of a relatively high trophic status, i.e., high ẟ 15 N values. The Luistari δ 13 C values are similar with the Alytus site in Lithuania, interpreted to represent a C 3 -based terrestrial diet such as the consumption of different crops and domestic animal products (Whitmore et al 2019) but the mean δ 15 N value at Alytus is lower compared to Luistari. In addition, the Luistari collagen ẟ 13 C values are somewhat higher than expected based on the comparison data from terrestrial fauna and reference populations from the Baltic Sea coast (Figs.…”

“…Lake Pyhäjärvi sits on top of the Mesoproterozoic Satakunta Formation which, uncharacteristically for Fig. 6 The Luistari human collagen δ 13 C and δ 15 N results (mean and SD) compared to north European Iron Age and medieval populations (Aguraiuja-Lätti and Lõugas 2019; Bliujienė et al 2020;Eriksson et al 2008;Kjellström et al 2009;Kosiba et al 2007;Lahtinen and Salmi 2019;Linderholm et al 2008;Oinonen et al 2020;Oras et al 2018;Whitmore et al 2019). Sites dating considerably older and younger than Luistari have been marked with *.…”

The Human Osteological Collection of Vilnius University

“…Trauma, tuberculosis, treponematosis, metabolic disorders and endocrine disturbances, skeletal dysplasias, tumors, dental diseases and other topics were studied, while numerous publications received international interest (Jankauskas and Gerhards, 2012). Collaboration with foreign colleagues is essential in this field, therefore the osteological collection was successfully included in the international Global History of Health project (Steckel and Rose, 2002), and was examined for research with the Anthropology Department of the University of Central Florida (Holder et al, 2017;Piličiauskas et al, 2017;Whitmore et al, 2017) and the Max Planck Institute (Giffin et al, 2020). This clearly proves that the human osteological collection in Vilnius University can provide significant data related to certain disease development in the past, or reveal some topics that are still not equally covered in some regions or time periods.…”

Giving a Voice to the Little Ones: The Bioarchaeology of Children in the Baltics

“…Among the bioarchaeological reports, several also took into account the non-adult sections of the population (Jankauskas, 2002;Jankauskas et al, 2006;Kozakaitė et al, 2019), and isotopic analyses provided information about the non-adult diet at the individual and population levels (Antanaitis-Jacobs et al, 2009;Piličiauskas et al, 2017aPiličiauskas et al, , 2017bWhitmore et al, 2019;Bliujienė et al, 2020). Furthermore, numerous studies dedicated to nonspecific stress indicators shed light on the health and dietary status of Lithuanian children.…”