突尼斯迦太基城汪达尔时期先民的食谱重建

Reconstructing the Diet of the Vandalic Period(c.5^(th)-6^(th) centuries AD)Cemetery at Carthage,Tunisia

文章对汪达尔时期(约公元5-6世纪)的遗址,即位于今日突尼斯迦太基城的狄奥多西城墙墓地进行了稳定同位素研究,首次科学揭示了该时期北非先民的饮食习惯和食物消费模式。人骨的稳定同位素结果(δ^(13)C=-19.3±0.4‰;δ^(15)N=10.7±1.4‰)反映了这群先民主要以C_(3)类陆生植物为食,并且摄入了一定数量的绵羊/山羊、牛和猪等家畜的动物蛋白;未发现不同性别、年龄或时期的个体间同位素在统计学上的显著差异。此外,将该遗址的稳定同位素数据与位于地中海地区的其他遗址进行了对比研究,结果表明,迦太基城墙墓地与西班牙、意大利的几处遗址的先民具有相似的饮食模式。汪达尔时期迦太基先民的饮食结构中缺乏海洋资源,这与相邻近的其他遗址形成了鲜明对比,表明古代北非地区先民的饮食结构差异较大。

This study present the first isotopic investigation of a Vandalic period cemetery site(c.5^(th)-6^(th) centuries AD)at Carthage,Tunisia.It determine the general diet and food consumption patterns of this population during this important and pivotal period of antiquity in North Africa.Stable isotope ratios of carbon and nitrogen were analyzed from human(n=70)and animal(n=20)bone collagen.The human mean±SD results(δ^(13)C=-19.3±0.4‰;δ^(15)N=10.7±1.4‰)reflect a diet that was based predominantly on C_(3) terrestrial plants with varying amounts of animal protein from domestic animals such as sheep/goats,cows and pigs.No statistically significant isotopic differences between males and females,developmental age,or time period of burial were found.The isotopic results from Carthage are compared to eight previously published Roman and Early Byzantine sites from the Mediterranean region.Individuals buried in Carthage were found to have similar dietary patterns as individuals from Spanish sites as well as the Italian sites.The lack of significant amounts of marine foods in the diets of the Vandal era population at Carthage is in stark contrast to the Roman inhabitants site near by,where significant consumption of marine-derived dietary resources were found.The work presented here shows that large dietary differences existed in North African populations during antiquity.