Research data supporting 'Life in Medieval Cambridge: an isotopic analysis of diet and mobility'

Abstract

Research data supporting the PhD thesis entitled: 'Life in Medieval Cambridge: an isotopic analysis of diet and mobility' by A.Rose, supervised by T. O'Connell. This dataset was produced as part of the 'After the Plague: Health and History in Medieval Cambridge' project led by Professor John Robb (2016-21, Wellcome Trust Award 2000368/Z/15/Z). This research dataset contains isotopic data as generated by the author, as well as previously generated isotopic data from published and unpublished sources. The primary dataset includes: carbon and nitrogen isotope data from samples of human bone and dentine collagen and faunal bone collagen from multiple archaeological sites in Cambridgeshire, UK, spanning from the Neolithic to the Post-Medieval Period; oxygen and carbon isotope data from samples of human enamel carbonate from multiple archaeological sites in Cambridgeshire, spanning from the Iron Age to the Post-Medieval Period; elemental ppm and strontium isotope data from samples of human enamel from multiple archaeological sites in Cambridgeshire from the High and Late Medieval period. The dataset also incorporates isotope data from previous isotopic studies of Cambridgeshire, as well as an extensive gazeteer of comparative human and faunal isotope data from Britain. The samples were collected as part of the 'After the Plague' project, following sampling guidelines by the Advisory Panel on the Archaeology of Burials in England (APABE) and the British Association for Biological Anthropology and Osteoarchaeology (BABAO). Samples were recorded in accordance with guidelines outlined by BABAO, the Chartered Institute for Archaeologists (CIfA) and the Bradford Biological Anthropology Research Centre (BARC). Isotopic analysis was carried out following the Standard Operating Proceedures of the McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research, University of Cambridge and the Earth Sciences Department, University of Cambridge. See thesis 'Life in Medieval Cambridge: an isotopic analysis of diet' and mobility for detailed methodologies.