Alice Toso, Simona Schifano, Charlotte Oxborough, Krista McGrath, Luke Spindler, Anabela Castro, Lucy Evangelista, Vanessa Filipe, Maria João Gonçalves, Antonio Marques, Inês Mendes da Silva, Raquel Santos, Maria João Valente, Iona McCleery, Michelle Alexander
OBJECTIVES: During the Middle Ages, Portugal witnessed unprecedented socioeconomic and religious changes under transitioning religious political rule. The implications of changing ruling powers for urban food systems and individual diets in medieval Portugal is poorly understood. This study aimed to elucidate the dietary impact of the Islamic and Christian conquests. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Radiocarbon dating, peptide mass fingerprinting (ZooMS) and stable isotope analysis (δ13 C, δ15 N) of animal (n = 59) and human skeletal remains (n = 205) from Muslim and Christian burials were used to characterize the diet of a large historical sample from Portugal...
June 10, 2021: American Journal of Physical Anthropology