Müldner Gundula, Richards Michael P
Department of Archaeology, University of Reading, Whiteknights, Reading RG6 6AB, UK.
Am J Phys Anthropol. 2007 May;133(1):682-97. doi: 10.1002/ajpa.20561.
We present here the results of a large-scale diachronic palaeodietary (carbon and nitrogen isotopic measurements of bone collagen) study of humans and animals from a single site, the city of York (U.K.), dating from the Roman period to the early 19th century. The human sample comprises 313 burials from the cemeteries of Trentholme Drive and Blossom Street (Roman), Belle Vue House (Anglo-Saxon), Fishergate (High and Later Medieval), and All Saints, Pavement (Later and Post-Medieval). In addition, 145 samples of mammal, fish and bird bone from the sites of Tanner Row and Fishergate were analyzed. The isotope data suggest dietary variation between all archaeological periods, although the most significant change was the introduction of significant quantities of marine foods in the Medieval periods. These are first evident in the diet of a small group of individuals from the High Medieval cemetery at Fishergate, although they were consumed almost universally in the following periods. The human isotope values are also remarkable due to unusually elevated delta(15)N ratios that are not sufficiently explained by the comparably small enrichment in (13)C that accompanies them. We discuss the possible reasons behind this and the archaeological significance of the data set.
我们在此展示了一项大规模的历时性古饮食（对骨胶原进行碳和氮同位素测量）研究的结果，该研究对象是来自英国约克市一个地点的人类和动物，时间跨度从罗马时期到19世纪早期。人类样本包括来自特伦特霍姆大道和 Blossom 街墓地（罗马时期）、美景屋墓地（盎格鲁 - 撒克逊时期）、费舍盖特墓地（中世纪盛期及后期）以及路面万圣教堂墓地（中世纪后期及后中世纪时期）的313座墓葬。此外，还分析了来自坦纳街和费舍盖特遗址的145份哺乳动物、鱼类和鸟类骨骼样本。同位素数据表明，所有考古时期的饮食都存在差异，不过最显著的变化是中世纪时期引入了大量海洋食物。这些海洋食物最早在费舍盖特中世纪盛期墓地的一小群人的饮食中显现，尽管在随后的时期几乎被普遍食用。人类的同位素值也很显著，因为δ(15)N 比值异常升高，而与之相伴的(13)C 的相对较小富集并不能充分解释这一现象。我们讨论了这背后可能的原因以及该数据集的考古学意义。
