Shedding light on the Dark Ages: reconstructing dietary habits and mobility phenomena in Medieval Florence using a multi-isotopic approach

Here we aim to reconstruct dietary habits and possible mobility phenomena of individuals recovered from the cloister arcade of San Pier Scheraggio in Florence (11th – 13th century CE) inside the Uffizi complex. To do so, we apply a multi-isotopic approach that combines δ13C, δ15N and δ34S used, to our knowledge, for the first time in high/late medieval Italy. Historical sources suggest that between the Early and Late Middle Ages there was a shift in dietary habits driven by the church. In particular, fish became more important, followed by an increased use of C4 plants and a decreased use of animal products in relation to the social class. The evidence however is limited and mainly based on historical reports and archaeobotanical remains, with a lack of isotopic studies investigating mobility in Tuscany in this period. Hence, there is still the necessity to have direct evidence of the population’s food habits and mobility phenomena. This can be obtained thanks to the isotopic analysis of carbon, nitrogen and sulphur in bone collagen. The overall diet of the population buried at San Pier Scheraggio is in line with that of other Medieval communities from Italy, although with a higher contribution of animal products. We suggest that in Florence there were no dietary differentiations in relation to age or sex. However some differences can be outlined, particularly in the consumption of C4 crops, possibly in relation to the status of the individuals. Although the limited sample size, we could identify at least one individual with a statistically different δ34S value, which could be interpreted as non-local. In general, this study is helping to shed new light on the life of possibly middle/high-status individuals that were given the privilege of being buried in the cloister arcade.