Premium
Investigating Dietary Variation With Burial Ritual in I ron A ge H ampshire: An Isotopic Comparison of S uddern F arm Cemetery and D anebury Hillfort Pit Burials
Author(s) -
Stevens Rhian E.,
Lightfoot Emma,
Hamilton Julie,
Cunliffe Barry,
Hedges Robert E.M.
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
oxford journal of archaeology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.382
H-Index - 31
eISSN - 1468-0092
pISSN - 0262-5253
DOI - 10.1111/ojoa.12014
Subject(s) - archaeology , isotope analysis , homogeneous , isotopes of nitrogen , geography , stable isotope ratio , ecology , biology , physics , quantum mechanics , thermodynamics
Summary The formal I ron A ge cemetery at S uddern F arm, located near D anebury hillfort, provides a unique opportunity to investigate whether differences in burial tradition and ritual behaviour seen at the two sites are linked to access to food resources during life. We measured the carbon and nitrogen isotopic ratios of 40 humans from S uddern F arm and compared this information to previously published faunal data from the site and human isotopic data from D anebury. Despite substantial variation in the faunal isotope signatures, the adult humans have notably homogeneous isotopic results, which are very similar to those at D anebury. This indicates that they had similar access to dietary resources, and supports other evidence for the interdependence of sites with regard to their farming practices. Any social practices that define groups within H ampshire I ron A ge society at these sites do not seem to have had any detectable influence on diet.