engleski

Elemental Status on Early Mediaeval Skeletal Remains: Diet Reconstruction

The total absorbed metals dose could be objectively determined by checking the element status in biological samples. Content of heavy metals in a diet could correlate with heavy metals content in human bones ; therefore, determining heavy metals concentrations, and their relationship in human bone, could be used to reconstruct the basic diet. One of the goals of this study was to testing metal concentration levels of the bone material excavated from ancient burials for better understanding of medieval living habits. The aim of our study was to determine metal content of 100 mediaeval individuals excavated from Ostrovica and Naklice burial sites (Southern Croatia) and 30 recent human bones. After microwave digestion (CEM, USA Model Mars 5- 2004) element content of manganese (Mn), iron (Fe), copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), calcium (Ca) and strontium (Sr) were measured with an Atomic Absorption Spectrometer. Mercury concentration was determined by direct consecutive measured by mercury analyzer. When comparing results from ancient to the modern bone heavy metal concentrations, it is obvious that Cu, Ca and Sr greatly exceeded the values while concentration of Pb, Cd and Hg was lower. Concentration of Sr and Ca was a few times higher than in modern bone samples. In correlation with elemental contents of various main food components known to have been used during the Early Middle Ages, we could reconstruct a menu. With exception of milk, all main dietary components, such as roots and tubers, meat, cereals, legumes and leafy vegetables are rich in Zn, especially the vegetables.

elemental status ; ancient bones ; mediaeval period ; diet ; atomic absorption spectrometry

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