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Well supplied in life, set aside in death: A multi-isotope study of Justinian plague victims from Saint-Doulchard (France, 7th-8th centuries AD)

Z. Vytlačil, R. Durand, S. Kacki, M. Holleville, S. Drtikolová Kaupová, J. Brůžek, D. Castex, P. Velemínský

. 2024 ; 185 (1) : e25002. [pub] 20240721

Language English Country United States

Document type Journal Article, Historical Article

Persistent link   https://www.medvik.cz/link/bmc24019090

Grant support
PSCHEET project; ANR-19-CE27-0012 Agence Nationale de la Recherche
DKRVO 2019-2023/7.I.e 00023272 Ministerstvo Kultury
DKRVO 2024-2028/7.I.a 00023272 Ministerstvo Kultury

OBJECTIVES: Justinian plague and its subsequent outbreaks were major events influencing Early Medieval Europe. One of the affected communities was the population of Saint-Doulchard in France, where plague victim burials were concentrated in a cemetery enclosure ditch. This study aimed to obtain more information about their life-histories using the tools of isotope analysis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Dietary analysis using carbon and nitrogen isotopes was conducted on 97 individuals buried at Le Pressoir in Saint-Doulchard, with 36 of those originating from the enclosure ditch. This sample set includes all individuals analyzed for plague DNA in a previous study. Mobility analysis using strontium isotope analysis supplements the dietary study, with 47 analyzed humans. The results are supported by a reference sample set of 31 animal specimens for dietary analysis and 9 for mobility analysis. RESULTS: The dietary analysis results showed significantly different dietary behavior in individuals from the ditch burials, with better access to higher quality foods richer in animal protein. 87Sr/86Sr ratios are similar for both studied groups and indicate a shared or similar area of origin. DISCUSSION: The results suggest that the ditch burials contain an urban population from the nearby city of Bourges, which overall had a better diet than the rural population from Saint-Doulchard. It is implied that city's population might have been subjected to high mortality rates during the plague outbreak(s), which led to their interment in nearby rural cemeteries.

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