Age and sex-related differences in diet in hellenistic-early roman sicily: stable isotope evidence (δ13Ccollagen, δ13Ccarbonate, δ15N) from the settlement of Menainon

Abstract

During the Hellenistic-early Roman period (4th − 1st BCE), Sicily played a major role in shaping sociopolitical developments in the Mediterranean. However, despite its experience of major social, economic, and demographic change, including major events such as Greek colonization and Roman expansion, aspects of past life, including diet and nutrition, in Sicily during this period, remain largely unexplored. This paper employed samples from 50 adult individuals (25 females, 25 males) and applies bulk collagen, tooth enamel and dentine-incremental stable isotope analysis (δ13Ccollagen, δ13Ccarbonate, δ15N) as a proxy for dietary patterns in Hellenistic-early Roman Menainon (Sicily) to test the existence of age- or sex-based differences inferred from historical sources. The results from the bulk analysis show limited differences between individuals of different sex and adult age groups, whereas significant differences were found between early life (dentine) and adulthood (bone). Meanwhile, incremental dentine data showed variable patterns among all individuals, regardless of sex and age interval. Our results suggest dietary access was more equitable across age and sex than previously indicated from written sources, where biological sex did not play an important role in access to foodstuffs, but age affected to some degree dietary patterns. This provides a glimpse of everyday rural life at the edge of expanding colonies and empires.