New home, new diet? Reconstruction of diet at the 10th century CE Hungarian Conquest period site of Kenézlő-Fazekaszug from stable carbon and nitrogen isotope analyses

Abstract

The first Hungarians settled the Carpathian Basin in the 9th and 10th centuries CE, during the Hungarian Conquest. The 10th century CE Kenézlő-Fazekaszug is one of several cemeteries from this period that exist across present-day Hungary. Although stable isotope studies have investigated the diet of medieval Europeans, this paper details the first dietary research performed on a Hungarian Conquest period population. Stable carbon and nitrogen isotope analyses were undertaken on dental enamel (n = 18) and dentin (n = 17) to determine childhood diet. Enamel apatite δ13C values average at −9.5‰ and dentin collagen δ13C values at −16.0‰. Dentin collagen δ15N values have a mean of 11.9‰. Additionally, stable carbon and nitrogen isotope analyses were performed on bone apatite (n = 21) and collagen (n = 22) to determine adulthood diet. Bone apatite δ13C values average at −11.1‰. Bone collagen δ13C and δ15N values have an average of −17.0‰ and 11.5‰, respectively. These results suggest that C3 plants were the primary plant type utilized by the population but also that C4 plants were consumed in varying quantities. This data supports the archaeological evidence that C3 plants dominated C4 plants in early medieval Europe. The δ15N values show that this population consumed moderate amounts of animal protein, as well as that adult males had preferential access to animal protein. This study reveals new information about diet during a formative time in Hungarian history.