Abstract
ABSTRACTThe study and reconstruction of ancient dietary habits has become a very significant topic in archaeological research. Most chemical analysis studies for diet at Greek sites are limited to prehistory, with very few examples of studies for the Classical period. This paper represents a pilot study of stable isotope analysis carried out on a group of 15 individuals selected among the population interred in the Archaic necropolis of Scala Greca at Syracuse (Sicily), a cemetery discovered in 2010-2011. Based on the funerary assemblages and certain features such as shape, dimensions, coverage system and architectural features, a preliminary distinction has been made based on apparent wealth on a diagnostic sample of 15 tombs to test possible variations in diet. Carbon and nitrogen isotope analyses were conducted on bone collagen, which represents dietary protein, and bone apatite, which represents the whole diet. The highly negative collagen carbon isotope values indicate little if any seafood in the diet, and this is supported by the nitrogen isotope modest values, which are consistent with terrestrial foods and do not suggest higher trophic level fish.
Highlights
The technique to reconstruct ancient diet using stable isotopes is well documented (e.g. Schoeninger 2011) and its use has been tested across the world
The study of isotopes is based on a correlation between the carbon isotope ratio in bone collagen and in bone apatite, as well as the carbon isotope ratio in diet, and between nitrogen isotope ratio in bone collagen and the ratio in diet (Schoeninger 2011: 445)
Papathanasiou and Triantaphyllou (2014: 115, table 8.1) report 19 Classical period sites investigated in Greece, and these include more than diet and nutrition studies through δ13C and δ15N stable isotope analysis
Summary
The technique to reconstruct ancient diet using stable isotopes is well documented (e.g. Schoeninger 2011) and its use has been tested across the world. The technique to reconstruct ancient diet using stable isotopes is well documented The values obtained can be better interpreted if animal bones from the same area and a similar period are tested, something that was not possible for our study. The absence of recent excavations in Greece, Magna Graecia and Sicily, of a scale and scope that would include stable isotope analyses, has resulted in no significant advancement for these studies applied to Archaic and Classical Greece contexts. Papathanasiou and Triantaphyllou (2014: 115, table 8.1) report 19 Classical period sites investigated in Greece, and these include more than diet and nutrition studies through δ13C and δ15N stable isotope analysis. We have only a few comparable examples that we summarize here, focusing on the variability of diet at any one site and any ‘typical’ diet that may have been recognized
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
