Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-dzt6s Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-23T09:37:19.616Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Radiocarbon Chronology and Paleodiet Studies on the Medieval Rural Site of Zaballa (Spain): Preliminary Insights into the Social Archaeology of the Site

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 February 2016

C Lubritto ,
C Sirignano ,
P Ricci ,
I Passariello  and
J A Quiros Castillo
C Lubritto*
Affiliation:
Department of Environmental, Biological and Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technologies (DiSTABiF), Second University of Naples, Italy Centre for Isotopic Research on Cultural and Environmental Heritage (CIRCE) – INNOVA, Italy
C Sirignano
Affiliation:
Department of Environmental, Biological and Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technologies (DiSTABiF), Second University of Naples, Italy Centre for Isotopic Research on Cultural and Environmental Heritage (CIRCE) – INNOVA, Italy
P Ricci
Affiliation:
Department of Environmental, Biological and Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technologies (DiSTABiF), Second University of Naples, Italy Centre for Isotopic Research on Cultural and Environmental Heritage (CIRCE) – INNOVA, Italy
I Passariello
Affiliation:
Centre for Isotopic Research on Cultural and Environmental Heritage (CIRCE) – INNOVA, Italy
J A Quiros Castillo
Affiliation:
Research Group in Heritage and Cultural Landscapes, University of the Basque Country UPV-EHU, Spain
*
3Corresponding author. Email: [email protected].
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The archaeological site of Zaballa is a Medieval rural site located in the province of álava (Basque Country, northern Iberia). The site has been excavated during a rescue archaeology project, over an area of about 4.5 ha, where human occupation has been documented ranging from the 6th to 15th century. The archaeological operations have shown the transformation of the village, in diachronic terms, by unearthing the structure of production areas (agricultural lands, storage areas, and craft activities), the shape of domestic spaces, and the Saint Tirso monastery, with its adjacent cemetery. Much of the evidence and features related to a peasant community are small and disturbed by recent agricultural activities, and are therefore difficult to be interpreted in social terms. Studying dietary patterns has helped to fill this gap by providing a protein-rich diet of the elitist population and by highlighting the existence of hierarchies separating the inhabitants of Zaballa. In this paper, we discuss the reconstruction of the chronological sequence of the site inhabitation, with a multidisciplinary approach. The archaeological evidences and the critical use of radiocarbon dating have been integrated with stable isotope analysis on human remains found in the cemetery of the church of San Tirso, resulting in a first attempt to find evidence of the social structure of the rural community of Zaballa.

Type
Archaeology of Eurasia and Africa
Information
Radiocarbon , Volume 55 , Issue 3: Proceedings of the 21st International Radiocarbon Conference (Part 2 of 2) , 2013 , pp. 1222 - 1232
Copyright
Copyright © 2013 by the Arizona Board of Regents on behalf of the University of Arizona 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Ambrose, SH. 1993. Isotopic analysis of paleodiets: methodological and interpretive considerations In: Sandford, MK, editor. Investigations of Ancient Human Tissue: Chemical Analysis in Anthropology. Boca Raton: CRC Press. p 59–130.Google Scholar
Bronk Ramsey, C. 2008. Radiocarbon dating: revolution in understanding. Archaeometry 50(2):249–75.Google Scholar
Bronk Ramsey, C. 2009. Bayesian analysis of radiocarbon dates. Radiocarbon 51(1):337–60.Google Scholar
Chavarria Arnau, A. 2009. Archeologia delle chiese. Dalle origini all'anno mille. Rome.Google Scholar
Fornaciari, G, Aretini, P, Lubritto, C. 2012. Economie alimentari medievali e postmedievali italiane: I risultati delle analisi isotopiche dirette dei resti umani. In: Proceedings SAMI 2012.Google Scholar
Hakenbeck, S, McManus, E, Geisler, H, Grupe, G, O'Connell, T. 2010. Diet and mobility in Early Medieval Bavaria: a study of carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes. American Journal of Physical Anthropology 143(2):235–49.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Herrscher, E, Bocherens, H, Valentin, F, Colardelle, R. 2001. Comportements alimentaires au Moyen Âge à Grenoble: application e la biogèochimie isotopique à la nécropole Saint-Laurent (XIIIe–XVe siècles, Isère, France). Life Sciences 324:479–87.Google Scholar
Johansen, OS, Gulliksen, S, Nydal, R. 1986. δI3C and diet: analysis of Norwegian human skeletons. Radiocarbon 28(2A):754–61.Google Scholar
Kosiba, SB, Tykot, RH, Carlsson, D. 2007. Stable isotopes as indicators of change in the food procurement and food preference of Viking Age and Early Christian populations on Gotland (Sweden). Journal of Anthropological Archaeology 26(3):394–411.Google Scholar
Lamb, AL, Melikian, M, Ives, R, Evans, J. 2012. Multi-isotope analysis of the population of the lost medieval village of Auldhame, East Lothian, Scotland. Journal of Analytical Atomic Spectrometry 27(5):765–77.Google Scholar
Malainey, ME. 2011. Isotope analysis. In: Schiffer, MB, editor. A Consumer's Guide to Archaeological Science. New York: Springer. p 177–200.Google Scholar
Marzaioli, F, Borriello, G, Passariello, I, Lubritto, C, De Cesare, N, D'Onofrio, A, Terrasi, F. 2008. Zinc reduction as an alternative method for AMS radiocarbon dating: process optimization at CIRCE. Radiocarbon 50(1):139–49.Google Scholar
Mook, W, Streurman, H. 1983. Physical and chemical aspects of radiocarbon dating. PACT 8:31–53.Google Scholar
Müldner, G, Richards, MP. 2005. Fast or feast: reconstructing diet in later medieval England by stable isotope analysis. Journal of Archaeological Science 32(1):39–48.Google Scholar
Müldner, G, Richards, MP. 2006. Diet in medieval England: the evidence from stable isotopes. In: Woolgar, CM, Serjeantson, D, Waldron, T, editors. Food in Medieval England. Diet and Nutrition. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p 228–38.Google Scholar
Müldner, G 2009. Investigation medieval diet and society by stable isotope analysis of human bone. In: Gilchrist, R, Reynolds, A, editors. Reflections: 50 Years of Medieval Archaeology 1957–2007. London: Maney Publishing. p 327–46.Google Scholar
Mundee, M. 2010. Exploring diet and society in Medieval Spain: new approaches using stable isotope analysis [PhD thesis]. Durham University.Google Scholar
Passariello, I, Marzaioli, F, Lubritto, C, Rubino, M, D'Onofrio, A, De Cesare, N, Borriello, G, Casa, G, Palmieri, A, Rogalla, D, Sabbarese, C, Terrasi, F. 2007. Radiocarbon sample preparation at the CIRCE AMS Laboratory in Caserta, Italy. Radiocarbon 49(2):225–32.Google Scholar
Passariello, I, Simone, P, Tandoh, J, Marzaioli, F, De Cesare, N, Terrasi, F. 2012. Characterization of different chemical procedures for 14C dating of buried, cremated, and modern bone samples at CIRCE. Radiocarbon 54(3–4):867–77.Google Scholar
Polet, C, Katzenberg, MA. 2003. Reconstruction of the diet in a mediaeval monastic community from the coast of Belgium. Journal of Archaeological Science 30(5):525–33.Google Scholar
Quirós Castillo, JA. 2012. Arqueología del campesinado medieval: la aldea de Zaballa. Bilbao: University of the Basque Country.Google Scholar
Quirós Castillo, JA. 2013. Los comportamientos alimentarios del campesinado medieval en el País Vasco y su entorno (siglos VIII–XIV). Historia Agraria 59:13–41.Google Scholar
Reimer, PJ, Baillie, MGL, Bard, E, Bayliss, A, Beck, JW, Blackwell, PG, Bronk Ramsey, C, Buck, CE, Burr, GS, Edwards, RL, Friedrich, M, Grootes, PM, Guilderson, TP, Hajdas, I, Heaton, T, Hogg, AG, Hughen, KA, Kaiser, KF, Kromer, B, McCormac, FG, Manning, SW, Reimer, RW, Richards, DA, Southon, JR, Talamo, S, Turney, CSM, van der Plicht, J, Weyhenmeyer, CE. 2009. IntCal09 and Marine09 radiocarbon age calibration curves, 0–50,000 years cal BP. Radiocarbon 51(4):1111–50.Google Scholar
Retisema, LJ, Crews, DE, Polcyn, M. 2010. Preliminary evidence for medieval Polish diet from carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes. Journal of Archaeological Science 37(7):1413–23.Google Scholar
Ricci, P, Mongelli, V, Vitiello, A, Campana, S, Sirignano, C, Rubino, M, Fornaciari, G, Lubritto, C. 2012. The privileged burial of the Pava Pieve (Siena, 8th century AD). Rapid Communications in Mass Spectrometry 26(20):2393–8.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Salamon, M, Coppa, A, McCormick, M, Rubini, M, Vargiu, R, Tuross, N. 2008. The consilience of historical and isotopic approaches in reconstructing the medieval Mediterranean diet. Journal of Archaeological Science 35(6):1667–72.Google Scholar
Schoeninger, MJ. 2010. Diet reconstruction and ecology using isotope ratios. In: Larsen, CS, editor. A Companion to Biological Anthropology. Chichester: Wiley. p 445–64.Google Scholar
Schutkowski, H, Herrmann, B, Wiedemann, F, Bocherens, H, Grupe, G. 1999. Diet, status and decomposition at Weingarten: trace element and isotope analyses on early mediaeval skeletal material. Journal of Archaeological Science 26(6):675–85.Google Scholar
Sealy, J. 2001. Body tissue chemistry and palaeodiet. In: Brothwell, DR, Pollard, AM, editors. Handbook of Archaeological Sciences. London: Wiley. p 269–79.Google Scholar
Solaun Bustinza, JL. 2005. La cerámica medieval en el País Vasco (siglos VIII–XIII): sistematización, evolución y distribución de la producción. Vitoria-Gasteiz: Servicio Central de Publicaciones del Gobierno Vasco.Google Scholar
Stuiver, M, Polach, HA. 1977. Discussion: reporting of 14C data. Radiocarbon 19(3):355–63.Google Scholar
Terrasi, F, De Cesare, N, D'Onofrio, A, Lubritto, C, Marzaioli, F, Passariello, I, Rogalla, D, Sabbarese, C, Borriello, G, Casa, G, Palmieri, A. 2008. High precision 14C AMS at CIRCE. Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research B 266(10):2221–4.Google Scholar
Werner, RA, Brand, WA. 2001. Referencing strategies and techniques in stable isotope ratio analysis. Rapid Communications In Mass Spectrometry 15(7):501–19.Google Scholar
Yoder, C. 2010. Diet in medieval Denmark: a regional and temporal comparison. Journal of Archaeological Science 37(9):2224–36.Google Scholar