Title Isotopic dietary patterns of monks: results from stable isotope analyses of a seventeenth–eighteenth century Basilian monastic community in Vilnius, Lithuania /
Authors Simčenka, Edvardas ; Jakulis, Martynas ; Kozakaitė, Justina ; Piličiauskienė, Giedrė ; Lidén, Kerstin
DOI 10.1007/s12520-020-01063-9
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Is Part of Archaeological and anthropological sciences.. Berlin : Springer. 2020, vol. 12, no. 5, p. 1-14.. ISSN 1866-9557. eISSN 1866-9565
Keywords [eng] Lithuania ; Basilian monks ; monastic diet ; seventeenth–eighteenth century ; bone collagen ; δ13C ; δ15N
Abstract [eng] The aim of the research focuses on reconstructing diet of the seventeenth–eighteenth century Basilian monks who were buried inthe crypt beneath the Holy Trinity Uniate Church in Vilnius, Lithuania. For this aim, stable carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen (δ15N)isotope analyses of human bone collagen samples (n= 74, of which 39 yielded reliable isotopic data) were performed. In order toestablish the isotopic dietary baseline for the Basilian monks, we sampled faunal bones (n= 47, of which 34 yielded reliableisotopic data) recovered during archaeological investigations in the area around the Vilnius Lower Castle and the Palace of theGrand Dukes of Lithuania. Faunal samples were comprised of various domestic and wild terrestrial animals, freshwater andanadromous fish, and migratory and non-migratory birds. In total, 121 human and faunal samples were analysed. The isotopicdata collected in our study suggest that C3plant and domestic animal products were the main components in the diets of theBasilian monks, while freshwater fish played a noticeable, yet a much smaller dietary role. However, historical sources describe areverse dietary picture, i.e. a higher dietary contribution from fish and a lower from animal products. The potential reasons for thisincongruity between isotopic and historical dietary evidence were also explored. Finally, the isotopic data of the Basilian monkswere compared with that of contemporary Lithuanian nobles and commoners. The comparisons indicate that monastic dietarypatterns were more similar to those of the nobility than those of the commoners.
Published Berlin : Springer
Type Journal article
Language English
Publication date 2020