Seminew Asrat

The Early Medieval Period in Italy was represented by crucial economic, political, and socio cultural transformations. Socio-cultural assimilation and interactions of different groups of populations, including the Longobards, Goths, Franks, Anglo-Saxons, and Vandals, as well as nomadic Huns, took place. The Longobards were one of the most important people who moved from Northern Europe and established a kingdom in Italy from 568 to 774. The subsistence strategy and socio-cultural changes of these people at Castel Trosino in the Marche region of central Italy remains poorly explored. Stable carbon and nitrogen isotope analyses were carried out to get insights into their dietary patterns, economy, and changes in consumption patterns through time. A total of 19 human bone samples dating between the 6th and 8th centuries AD, from the collection housed in the Museum of Anthropology “Giuseppe Sergi” at the Sapienza University of Rome, underwent stable carbon and nitrogen isotope analysis. All the samples were analyzed except one individual (CT1948) with poor collagen quality. The isotopic results of carbon analyses (δ13C) show the consumption of dominant C3 plant resources with limited access to C4 plants. Likewise, the nitrogen isotopic values (δ15N) suggest a terrestrial-based diet with variations within individuals who could probably have an access to different protein sources. We argued that the lower 15N isotope value of an adult female (CT1955), who was affected by porotic hyperostosis, could be due to stress-related to a pathological condition. The comparison of isotopic values from coeval sites of Longboard culture shows that Longobards might have consumed a variety of dietary resources during the Early Medieval Period. Unlike the previously accepted assumption of dietary shifts to C4 plants from the Late Roman period to the Early Medieval Period, the isotopic data at Castel Trosino (hereafter CT) reveals that the dietary habits appear not to have shifted.