Neighbours in different habitats--subsistence and social differentiation in early mediaeval populations of the eastern Swabian Alb.

The sites of Neresheim and Kösingen are located in the easternmost part of the Swabian Alb in close proximity, but belong to separate natural units characterized by clearly different ecological properties. By investigating early mediaeval skeletal samples of the populations, two questions were addressed: (1) to what extent can modes of subsistence be explained by the ecological context, and (2) does this affect patterns of nutritional and social differentiation within the populations? Reconstruction of dietary bases by trace element analyses revealed a mixed diet consisting of both crops and animal-derived products at Neresheim, while the nutrition at Kösingen suggests the consumption of food components enriched in dietary calcium with a stronger emphasis on animal products. These results are in accordance with what may be expected based on the options available in the respective habitat. People in Neresheim mostly relied on crop farming in the fertile areas of their environment and may have used less favourable sections for livestock farming. In Kösingen, subsistence was based primarily on pastoral agriculture supplemented by horticulture and reflects a close adjustment to the ecological potential. Cluster-analytical treatment of trace element data led to the formation of groups differing in diet, and we investigated whether this difference corresponded with social affiliation. In Neresheim, a non-random congruence of higher social status and access to high-quality food was revealed, while such patterns were not observable in Kösingen. These interpopulational differences can be explained by bio-cultural interrelations between ecological properties of the natural units and reconstructed living conditions.