Asturias Across Time and Space: An Exploration of Medieval and Early Modern Spain using Stable Isotopes

Summary

Stable carbon and nitrogen isotope data from 104 individuals from eight sites was used to reconstruct the diets of Medieval and Early Modern (AD 600-1750) individuals from Asturias, Spain. Asturias is a coastal region located in northern Spain that remained one of the last Catholic kingdoms when the Moors ruled Iberia. Asturian society was structured hierarchically and divided into clergy, nobility, and peasant classes. Each socioeconomic group buried their own according to status and wealth. The most privileged burial locations were within the church near the altar (ad sanctos burials) and reserved for high-ranking clergy and wealthy patrons. Peasants in good standing with the church were buried in the surrounding cemetery. Dietary resources consumed by the clergy and nobility differ from those available to peasants and are revealed through the stable isotope analysis. Individuals interred in high status ad sanctos burial locations have lower δ13C and elevated δ15N values. Possible explanations for this pattern may be the consumption of fish or weanling animals (e.g. suckling pig). In contrast, individuals buried in the cemetery have lower δ15N values. Over time, all individuals exhibit elevated δ13C indicating a greater dependence on C4 plants (sugarcane, maize) after European colonization of the Americas.

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This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 80th Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA (2015)

Keywords

Spatial Coverage