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Isotopic reconstruction of human diet and animal husbandry practices during the Classical‐Hellenistic, imperial, and Byzantine periods at Sagalassos, Turkey
Author(s) -
Fuller Benjamin T.,
De Cupere Bea,
Marinova Elena,
Van Neer Wim,
Waelkens Marc,
Richards Michael P.
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
american journal of physical anthropology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.146
H-Index - 119
eISSN - 1096-8644
pISSN - 0002-9483
DOI - 10.1002/ajpa.22100
Subject(s) - byzantine architecture , livestock , grazing , animal husbandry , herding , isotope analysis , δ13c , zoology , biology , consumption (sociology) , geography , archaeology , stable isotope ratio , botany , agriculture , ecology , art , physics , quantum mechanics , aesthetics
An isotopic reconstruction of human dietary patterns and livestock management practices (herding, grazing, foddering, etc.) is presented here from the sites of Düzen Tepe and Sagalassos in southwestern Turkey. Carbon and nitrogen stable isotope ratios were determined from bone collagen extracted from humans ( n = 49) and animals ( n = 454) from five distinct time periods: Classical‐Hellenistic (400–200 BC), Early to Middle Imperial (25 BC–300 AD), Late Imperial (300–450 AD), Early Byzantine (450–600 AD), and Middle Byzantine (800–1200 AD). The humans had protein sources that were based on C 3 plants and terrestrial animals. During the Classical‐Hellenistic period, all of the domestic animals had δ 13 C and δ 15 N signatures that clustered together; evidence that the animals were herded in the same area or kept in enclosures and fed on similar foods. The diachronic analysis of the isotopic trends in the dogs, cattle, pigs, sheep, and goats highlighted subtle but distinct variations in these animals. The δ 13 C values of the dogs and cattle increased (reflecting C 4 plant consumption) during the Imperial and Byzantine periods, but the pigs and the goats displayed little change and a constant C 3 plant‐based diet. The sheep had a variable δ 13 C pattern reflecting periods of greater and lesser consumption of C 4 plants in the diet. In addition, the δ 15 N values of the dogs, pigs, cattle, and sheep increase substantially from the Classical‐Hellenistic to the Imperial periods reflecting a possible increase in protein consumption, but the goats showed a decrease. Finally, these isotopic results are discussed in the context of zooarcheological, archeobotanical, and trace element evidence. Am J Phys Anthropol 149:157–171, 2012. © Wiley Periodicals, Inc.