Investigating Plant Micro-Remains Embedded in Dental Calculus of the Phoenician Inhabitants of Motya (Sicily, Italy).

ABSTRACT: Plant records reveal remarkable evidence about past environments and human cultures. Exploiting dental calculus analysis and using a combined approach of microscopy and gas chromatography mass spectrometry, our research outlines dietary ecology and phytomedicinal practices of the ancient community of Motya (Sicily, eight to sixth century BC), one of the most important Phoenician settlements in the Mediterranean basin. Micro-remains suggest use or consumption of Triticeae cereals, and animal-derived sources (e.g., milk and aquatic birds). Markers of grape (or wine), herbs, and rhizomes, endemic of Mediterranean latitudes and the East, provide insight into the subsistence of this colony, in terms of foodstuffs and phytotherapeutic products. The application of resins and wood of Gymnosperms f

SUBMITTER: D'Agostino A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7590007 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature