Multidisciplinary investigations of the diets of two post-medieval populations from London using stable isotopes and mic
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ORIGINAL PAPER
Multidisciplinary investigations of the diets of two post-medieval populations from London using stable isotopes and microdebris analysis Madeleine Bleasdale 1,2 & Paola Ponce 3 & Anita Radini 2 & Andrew S. Wilson 4 & Sean Doherty 2,5 & Patrick Daley 4 & Chloe Brown 2 & Luke Spindler 2,6 & Lucy Sibun 7 & Camilla Speller 2,8 & Michelle M. Alexander 2 Received: 11 April 2019 / Accepted: 2 August 2019 # The Author(s) 2019
Abstract This paper presents the first multi-tissue study of diet in post-medieval London using both the stable light isotope analysis of carbon and nitrogen and analysis of microdebris in dental calculus. Dietary intake was explored over short and long timescales. Bulk bone collagen was analysed from humans from the Queen’s Chapel of the Savoy (QCS) (n = 66) and the St Barnabas/St Mary Abbots (SB) (n = 25). Incremental dentine analysis was performed on the second molar of individual QCS1123 to explore childhood dietary intake. Bulk hair samples (n = 4) were sampled from adults from QCS, and dental calculus was analysed from four other individuals using microscopy. In addition, bone collagen from a total of 46 animals from QCS (n = 11) and the additional site of Prescot Street (n = 35) was analysed, providing the first animal dietary baseline for post-medieval London. Overall, isotopic results suggest a largely C3-based terrestrial diet for both populations, with the exception of QCS1123 who exhibited values consistent with the consumption of C4 food sources throughout childhood and adulthood. The differences exhibited in δ15Ncoll across both populations likely reflect variations in diet due to social class and occupation, with individuals from SB likely representing wealthier individuals consuming larger quantities of animal and marine fish protein. Microdebris analysis results were limited but indicate the consumption of domestic cereals. This paper demonstrates the utility of a multidisciplinary approach to investigate diet across long and short timescales to further our understanding of variations in social status and mobility. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (https://doi.org/10.1007/s12520-019-00910-8) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users. * Madeleine Bleasdale [email protected] 1
Department of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Jena, Germany
2
BioArch, Department of Archaeology, University of York, York, UK
3
PalaeoHub, Department of Archaeology, University of York, York, UK
4
School of Archaeological & Forensic Sciences, University of Bradford, Bradford, UK
5
Department of Archaeology, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
6
Oxford Radiocarbon Accelerator Unit, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
7
Archaeology South-East, Institute of Archaeology, University College London, London, UK
8
Department of Anthropology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
Keywords Diet . Collagen . Isotopes . Hair . Calculus . Post-medieval
Introduction Between the seven
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