Dietary and Weaning Habits of the Roman Community of Quarto Cappello del Prete (Rome, 1st-3 rd Century CE)

Bibliographic Data

ID6422789
AuthorsF De Angelis (0000-0002-4747-2385, University of Rome Tor Vergata. Via della Ricerca Scientifica 1, corresponding author), Virginia Veltre (University of Rome Tor Vergata. Via della Ricerca Scientifica 1), Sara Varano (University of Rome Tor Vergata. Via della Ricerca Scientifica 1), Marco Romboni (0000-0003-2460-9382, University of Rome Tor Vergata. Via della Ricerca Scientifica 1), Sonia Renzi (0000-0002-0450-106X, University of Rome Tor Vergata. Via della Ricerca Scientifica 1), Stefania Zingale (0000-0002-1636-4859, University of Rome Tor Vergata. Via della Ricerca Scientifica 1), Paola Ricci (0000-0002-7652-8915, University of Campania "Luigi Vanvitelli"), Carla Caldarini (Soprintendenza Speciale Archeologia, Belle Arti e Paesaggio di Roma), Stefania Di Giannantonio (Soprintendenza Speciale Archeologia, Belle Arti e Paesaggio di Roma), Carmine Lubritto (0000-0003-0009-1400, University of Campania "Luigi Vanvitelli"), Paola Catalano (Belle Arti e Paesaggio di Roma), Olga Rickards (0000-0003-2880-7466, University of Rome Tor Vergata. Via della Ricerca Scientifica 1), Cristina Martinez‐labarga (0000-0003-0439-0379, University of Rome Tor Vergata. Via della Ricerca Scientifica 1)
Year2020
Volume30
Issue2
Pages156-170
Publication date2020-10-13
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueEnvironmental Archaeology (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1461-4103 • E-ISSN: 1749-6314
PublisherTaylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/14614103.2020.1829297
OpenAlexW3108302999
LanguageEN
Citations received6
References cited73

This paper aims to provide the isotopic characterization of the diet consumed by people buried in a graveyard of the Imperial Rome Suburbium (1st–3rd centuries CE), where numerous children were buried. A sample of 50 human remains from Quarto Cappello del Prete was selected for carbon and nitrogen stable isotope analysis. Published data related to coeval faunal remains set the baseline of the diet. The results for humans were integrated with previously analyzed data from Quarto Cappello del Prete. The resulting sample of 71 people has been dissected for stratification according to demographics, focusing on the ability to ascertain the weaning process in children. Isotopic data are steady with an overall diet mainly based on terrestrial resources, where C3 plants played a pivotal role in the diet, though the δ13C range suggests that the foodstuff should have been heterogeneous. The remarkable amount of children allows us to evaluate the weaning process. Infants seem to be adequately weaned after 3 years, when they were considered as adults to what concerns the dietary habits. These data represent a valuable enhancement for understanding the weaning practices in ancient Rome, contributing to supporting the hypothesis about lifestyle and health in the Roman Imperial period

Animal science · Biology · Geography · Isotope analysis · Sociology · Stable isotope ratio · Weaning · δ13C · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies · Demography · Pacific and Southeast Asian Studies · Paleopathology and ancient diseases · Ecology