Reconstructing medieval diets through the integration of stable isotope and proteomic analyses from two European burial sites.

ABSTRACT: The combined study of stable isotopes and ancient proteins is a very promising approach to reconstructing past human diets. This study uses stable isotope carbon (C), nitrogen (N), and sulfur (S) signatures from dental calculus, dentin, and bone of individuals from a monastic cemetery at Dalheim (North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany) dating to the ninth-twelfth centuries CE. In addition, we examined ancient proteins from the dental calculus of these individuals, complemented by the analysis of a second medieval site in Baar-Früebergstrasse (Zug, Switzerland) dating to the seventh century CE. Isotopic values from the collagen samples from the Dalheim individuals indicated a C₃ plant-based diet and a considerable consumption of proteins from terrestrial animals. The data from dental ca

SUBMITTER: Pedergnana A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12280021 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature