Case study: Assessment of dietary behavior based on odontological and isotopic analyses of Lusatian culture human remains from Koziegłowy, Poland (2470 ± 35 BP)

Abstract

Contemporary bioarchaeological research, which is carried out on both large and small populations, often involves the analysis of sets of skeletal remains. The latter applies particularly to finds at the Koziegłowy site, which date back to the Lusatian culture (when cremation was the principal form of burial). Therefore, the preservation of the skeletons from this period is extremely significant. The main human groups of the Lusatian culture are thought to have had a sedentary economy with a strong emphasis on animal husbandry, mainly cattle, sheep, pigs and horses. The fact of such an economy should have be detected in the diet of the population of the Lusitanian culture. The aim of the present study was to reconstruct dietary behavior based on the frequency of dental caries and evaluation of stable nitrogen and carbon isotopes (δ¹⁵N and δ¹³C, respectively). The dental remains of 63 permanent teeth from 9 adults (5 females, 2 males, and 2 individuals of unidentified sex) were analyzed. Macroscopic, X-ray, and light-induced fluorescence technique methods were employed. The Bayesian mixing model Food Reconstruction Using Isotopic Transferred Signals (FRUITS) was used for diet reconstruction. The results revealed that dental caries was uncommon (11 %, 7/63 teeth). This may been because the diet contained a range of food sources and a low amount of carbohydrates (which are the main cause of dental caries). Isotopic analysis seemed to confirm this hypothesis. There were two individuals with carious lesions in the cluster characterized by a relatively lower consumption of animal protein (animals ≤ 14 % and fish < 7 %) with the highest share of C3 plants (on average 66 %). However, it should be remembered that the above interpretation of the results is based on a small number of individuals.