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

• Published in: Journal of archaeological science, reports reports, 2024-12, Vol.60, p.104832, Article 104832
• Main Authors: Tomczyk, Jacek, Szostek, Krzysztof, Lisowska-Gaczorek, Aleksandra, Schellner, Katarzyna, Olczak-Kowalczyk, Dorota
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Dental caries; Diet; Isotopes; Lusatian culture
• ISSN: 2352-409X
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jasrep.2024.104832

•Dental caries was rarely observed in the population from Koziegłowy.•Isotope studies indicate two dietary strategies.•First group showed a small share of animal proteins and large of C3 plants.•Second group showed a more balanced diet with a higher share of animal. 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