Uniform or diverse?: Ancient Roman diet compared between three Imperial Roman cities using stable isotope analysis

Roman Italy was the core of the Roman Empire during the Imperial period. Many Roman Italian cities were politically and socioeconomically influenced by the Roman rule that radiated from its capitol. The outdated concept of ‘Romanization’ caused historians to believe the Roman rule came with a pure Roman culture that was imposed on conquered territories. However, more recently it has been suggested that this ‘Roman culture’ was not as uniform, but was an ongoing interaction between the cultures of indigenous peoples and Roman influences. One important aspect of culture is diet: the foods that people ate on a day to day basis. The diets of individual Roman Italian cities have been researched in the past. It is however unclear whether the diets in these cities were uniform, or more dependent on regional factors. This thesis aims to study the diet in three Imperial Roman Italian cities and compare them to each other. The inhabitants’ diets can be studied by looking at the ratios of...Show moreRoman Italy was the core of the Roman Empire during the Imperial period. Many Roman Italian cities were politically and socioeconomically influenced by the Roman rule that radiated from its capitol. The outdated concept of ‘Romanization’ caused historians to believe the Roman rule came with a pure Roman culture that was imposed on conquered territories. However, more recently it has been suggested that this ‘Roman culture’ was not as uniform, but was an ongoing interaction between the cultures of indigenous peoples and Roman influences. One important aspect of culture is diet: the foods that people ate on a day to day basis. The diets of individual Roman Italian cities have been researched in the past. It is however unclear whether the diets in these cities were uniform, or more dependent on regional factors. This thesis aims to study the diet in three Imperial Roman Italian cities and compare them to each other. The inhabitants’ diets can be studied by looking at the ratios of stable carbon and nitrogen isotopes extracted from bone from human burials. Stable carbon isotopes can give insight in the types of plants that were eaten, while stable nitrogen isotopes can show the amount of animal products and seafood that was consumed. The isotopic data from the three cities was retrieved from the IsoArch database. Statistical analyses were performed to see if any differences within and between the cities were present. These analyses showed that in the Pompeii sample, there was a significant difference in marine food consumption between the sexes, possibly caused by a difference in gender roles. Between the cities, there were differences in the types of plants that were consumed, showing that perhaps Roman suburban citizens more often dealt with food shortages. In addition to that, the Ostia sample showed a significantly higher seafood consumption than the other two cities, which can be attributed to its location at the coast and the large trading harbour nearby. These results make us believe that the diet in Roman Italian cities was not as uniform, and not necessarily ruled by influences from the Roman rule.Show less

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Uniform or diverse? Ancient Roman diet compared between three Imperial Roman cities using stable isotope analysis