A multidisciplinary approach for investigating dietary and medicinal habits of the Medieval population of Santa Severa (7th-15th centuries, Rome, Italy)

Angelo Gismondi; Marica Baldoni; Micaela Gnes; Gabriele Scorrano; Alessia D'Agostino; Gabriele Di Marco; Giulietta Calabria; Michela Petrucci; Gundula Müldner; Matthew Von Tersch; Alessandra Nardi; Flavio Enei; Antonella Canini; Olga Rickards; Michelle Alexander; Cristina Martínez-Labarga

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0227433

A multidisciplinary approach for investigating dietary and medicinal habits of the Medieval population of Santa Severa (7th-15th centuries, Rome, Italy)

Angelo Gismondi, Marica Baldoni, Micaela Gnes, Gabriele Scorrano, Alessia D'Agostino, Gabriele Di Marco, Giulietta Calabria, Michela Petrucci, Gundula Müldner, Matthew Von Tersch, Alessandra Nardi, Flavio Enei, Antonella Canini, Olga Rickards, Michelle Alexander, Cristina Martínez-Labarga

Archaeology

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

A multidisciplinary approach, combining stable isotope analysis from bone proteins and investigations on dental calculus using DNA analysis, light microscopy, and gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry, was applied to reconstruct dietary and medicinal habits of the individuals recovered in the cemetery of the Castle of Santa Severa (7th-15th centuries CE; Rome, Italy). Stable isotope analysis was performed on 120 humans, 41 faunal specimens and 8 charred seeds. Dental calculus analyses were carried out on 94 samples. Overall, isotope data indicated an omnivorous diet based on C3-terrestrial protein, although some individuals possessed carbon values indicative of C4 plant consumption. In terms of animal protein, the diet was probably based on cattle, sheep, pig and chicken products, as witnessed by the archaeozoological findings. Evidence from calculus suggested the consumption of C3 cereals, Fabaceae, Fagaceae, milk and dairy products. Secondary metabolites of herbs and wine were also detected. The detection of marine fish ancient DNA, as well as of ω3 fatty acids in calculus, hypothesized the consumption of marine foodstuffs for this coastal population, despite the lack of a clear marine isotopic signal and the presence of polyunsaturated fatty acids in plant tissues. Moreover, the knowledge of ethnopharmacological tradition and the application of medicinal plants (e.g. Punica granatum L., Ephedra sp. L.) were also identified. The detection of artemisinin, known to have antimalarial properties, led to hypothesize the presence of malaria in the area. Altogether, the combined application of microscopy and biomolecular techniques provided an innovative reconstruction of Medieval lifeways in Central Italy.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	1-30
Number of pages	30
Journal	PLoS ONE
Volume	15
Issue number	1
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0227433
Publication status	Published - 28 Jan 2020

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10.1371/journal.pone.0227433

Dietary and medicinal habits of the Medieval.0227433
© 2020, Gismondi et al
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Gismondi, A., Baldoni, M., Gnes, M., Scorrano, G., D'Agostino, A., Di Marco, G., Calabria, G., Petrucci, M., Müldner, G., Von Tersch, M., Nardi, A., Enei, F., Canini, A., Rickards, O., Alexander, M., & Martínez-Labarga, C. (2020). A multidisciplinary approach for investigating dietary and medicinal habits of the Medieval population of Santa Severa (7th-15th centuries, Rome, Italy). PLoS ONE, 15(1), 1-30. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0227433

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title = "A multidisciplinary approach for investigating dietary and medicinal habits of the Medieval population of Santa Severa (7th-15th centuries, Rome, Italy)",

abstract = "A multidisciplinary approach, combining stable isotope analysis from bone proteins and investigations on dental calculus using DNA analysis, light microscopy, and gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry, was applied to reconstruct dietary and medicinal habits of the individuals recovered in the cemetery of the Castle of Santa Severa (7th-15th centuries CE; Rome, Italy). Stable isotope analysis was performed on 120 humans, 41 faunal specimens and 8 charred seeds. Dental calculus analyses were carried out on 94 samples. Overall, isotope data indicated an omnivorous diet based on C3-terrestrial protein, although some individuals possessed carbon values indicative of C4 plant consumption. In terms of animal protein, the diet was probably based on cattle, sheep, pig and chicken products, as witnessed by the archaeozoological findings. Evidence from calculus suggested the consumption of C3 cereals, Fabaceae, Fagaceae, milk and dairy products. Secondary metabolites of herbs and wine were also detected. The detection of marine fish ancient DNA, as well as of ω3 fatty acids in calculus, hypothesized the consumption of marine foodstuffs for this coastal population, despite the lack of a clear marine isotopic signal and the presence of polyunsaturated fatty acids in plant tissues. Moreover, the knowledge of ethnopharmacological tradition and the application of medicinal plants (e.g. Punica granatum L., Ephedra sp. L.) were also identified. The detection of artemisinin, known to have antimalarial properties, led to hypothesize the presence of malaria in the area. Altogether, the combined application of microscopy and biomolecular techniques provided an innovative reconstruction of Medieval lifeways in Central Italy.",

author = "Angelo Gismondi and Marica Baldoni and Micaela Gnes and Gabriele Scorrano and Alessia D'Agostino and {Di Marco}, Gabriele and Giulietta Calabria and Michela Petrucci and Gundula M{\"u}ldner and {Von Tersch}, Matthew and Alessandra Nardi and Flavio Enei and Antonella Canini and Olga Rickards and Michelle Alexander and Cristina Mart{\'i}nez-Labarga",

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Gismondi, A, Baldoni, M, Gnes, M, Scorrano, G, D'Agostino, A, Di Marco, G, Calabria, G, Petrucci, M, Müldner, G, Von Tersch, M, Nardi, A, Enei, F, Canini, A, Rickards, O, Alexander, M & Martínez-Labarga, C 2020, 'A multidisciplinary approach for investigating dietary and medicinal habits of the Medieval population of Santa Severa (7th-15th centuries, Rome, Italy)', PLoS ONE, vol. 15, no. 1, pp. 1-30. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0227433

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AU - Scorrano, Gabriele

AU - D'Agostino, Alessia

AU - Di Marco, Gabriele

AU - Calabria, Giulietta

AU - Petrucci, Michela

AU - Müldner, Gundula

AU - Von Tersch, Matthew

AU - Nardi, Alessandra

AU - Enei, Flavio

AU - Canini, Antonella

AU - Rickards, Olga

AU - Alexander, Michelle

AU - Martínez-Labarga, Cristina

PY - 2020/1/28

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