Diet and Dentition on the Black Sea: An examination of dental health and dietary reconstruction at Medieval Mesambria

Summary

Dental health and dietary habits from the Bulgarian town of Mesambria have never been investigated for the medieval period. The town has its roots in Mediterranean culture, however, in the Early Byzantine and Medieval periods in Bulgaria, the Slavic Bulgars were vying for power and territory, and Mesambria became caught between the dying Byzantine Empire and the new Bulgarian state. The Bulgars brought with them a different diet, with a preference for millet, meat, and cheeses over the Mediterranean staples of wheat, oil, and wine. Human remains from the Mesambrian Old Town and Necropolis were compared to investigate the dental health of individuals living in medieval Mesambria. Supplementary isotopic analyses from twelve individuals from the Old Town were used in dietary reconstruction, and to support the dental health findings. Possible differences in age, sex, time period, and class between the Necropolis and the Old Town populations were investigated. Numerous significant differences were noted in the frequency of affected teeth between sexes, age groups and between the two populations. Isotopic data suggests that there were slight dietary differences between males and females, and δ15N values indicated that individuals buried in the Old Town had elevated marine consumption.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 82nd Annual Meeting, Vancouver, BC (2017)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 16524