Social characterization of the medieval and modern population from Joué-lès-Tours (France)

Contribution of oral health and diet

Bibliographic Data

ID4658471
AuthorsMiclon, Valentin Miclon (0000-0003-0396-2849, Université de Tours, corresponding author), Matthieu Gaultier (0000-0002-7599-4906, Université de Tours), Chloé Genies (0009-0006-3514-0574, Centre Val de Loire), Olivier Cotté (Université de Tours), Françoise Yvernault (Institut national de recherches archéologiques préventives), Estelle Herrscher (0000-0001-9339-4325, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique)
Year2017
Publication date2017-11-18
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueCahiers du Centre de recherches anthropologiques (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1297-7810 • E-ISSN: 1777-5469
PublisherOpenEdition (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1007/s13219-017-0192-y
OpenAlexW2770408184
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited31

The social and cultural changes that occurred between the medieval and modern periods in urban contexts are well documented; however, those in rural contexts are less well understood. This research aims to bridge this gap by analysing changes in dietary practices and oral health conditions between the medieval and modern eras, and by identifying their relationship with the social status of individuals buried at the rural site of the church of Saint-Pierre and Saint-Paul in Joué-lès-Tours (Indre-et-Loire, France). The objectives of this study are to jointly analyse the isotopic data concerning the diet of 37 individuals and the osteological and archaeological data, and to tie these results in with local historical and archaeozoological data. While the burial practices identified between the thirteenth and eighteenth centuries suggest social distinctions between groups of individuals, the study of diet (δ13C and δ15N) and the state of oral health point to a homogeneous social group characterized by the preferential consumption of pig meat, poultry and freshwater resources, and a degraded state of health. The available parochial registers and regional archaeozoological knowledge tend to confirm this hypothesis. This study confirms the relevance of the isotopic tool, which supplies dietary information to reinforce the archaeo-anthropological framework of interpretation, and also provides a critical examination of some of the criteria used to discuss the social composition of a set

Archaeology · Bridge (graph theory · Consumption (sociology · Ethnology · Geography · Osteology · Population · Social complexity · Social science · Sociology · State (computer science · Anthropology · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies · Demography · Forensic Anthropology and Bioarchaeology Studies · History · Medicine · Pacific and Southeast Asian Studies · Paleopathology and ancient diseases