Pre-dating paprika: Reconstructing childhood and adulthood diet at medieval (13th century CE) Solt-Tételhegy, Hungary from stable carbon and nitrogen isotope analyses

Abstract

Between 2005 and 2009, 125 skeletons were excavated from the medieval (13th century CE) Hungarian archaeological site of Solt-Tételhegy. While previous stable isotopic research has examined the diet of medieval European peoples, here we present the first such research conducted on a medieval Hungarian population. Stable carbon and nitrogen isotope analyses were conducted on dental enamel and dentin from first and second molars from 24 individuals to reconstruct their childhood diet, as well as from the rib bones of 21 of the same individuals to reconstruct their adulthood diet. The average enamel δ13C values is −11.1‰, and the average for dentin δ13C values is 17.4‰. The bone apatite δ13C values have a mean of −10‰, while the bone collagen δ13C values have a mean of −17.1‰. These data suggest that C3 plants were the dominant plant type consumed by the majority of the study population, although varying quantities of C4 plants were also eaten, supporting other archaeological evidence that C3 plants were consumed more often than C4 plants in medieval Europe. The dentin δ15N values average at 10.6‰, and the bone δ15N values average at 9.8‰, showing that animal protein constituted a moderate proportion of the diet. Despite signs of status differences indicated by burial location, stable nitrogen isotope values also suggest that the individuals had relatively egalitarian access to animal protein.