Material and methods

4 T H E DIET OF THE METAPONTINE POPULATION AS RECONSTRUCTED FROM THE PHYSICAL REMAINS

Renata J. Henneberg and Maciej Henneberg Department of Anatomical Sciences The University of Adelaide Adelaide, Australia

as in famine, or to diseases during which food is rejected by the sick or is not properly digested or metabolized. The most obvious effect of food availability and its basic composition is the growth of the individual from infancy through childhood resulting in his/her adult stature and the palaeodemographic characteristics of the population such as mortality and life expectancy.

The prosperous Greek colony of Metaponto (7th– 2nd century BC) in Southern Italy was known for its production and trade of grain (Carter 1987, Grant 1987, Carter 1990b). Its coastal position suggests that marine foods would have been a substantial part of the colonists' diet. According to historical documents and archaeological findings, farms surrounding the city supplied fruit, wine, dairy products, and meat (Costantíni 1983, Carter et al. 1985, Carter 1990, Carter 1998). If all these foods were used by a majority of the inhabit-ants in the colony, it would suggest that their diet was fairly balanced and variable. No matter how abundant the historical and archaeological materi-als are, it is difficult to know what was really eaten and what biological effects the diet could have had on the bodies of people in the colony. By studying these effects and examining the morphological changes and chemical composition of preserved human tissues such as bones and teeth, we can com-pare the information about the ancient diet gained directly from biological sources with that acquired by studying the cultural ones.

Chemical analysis of bone tissue can complement the morphological and pathological studies from another angle, because stable isotope ratios in bone collagen reflect those in the diet. The analysis of stable isotopes such as carbon C13 and nitrogen N '5 in bone collagen enables researchers to estimate the proportion of protein in the diet and establish

Besides the basic investigation of the everyday diet in Metaponto—the food adequate for the individuals to grow and remain healthy—questions also arise regarding the distribution of the food among various groups of people. Human bones and teeth contain a record of biological events such as disease or availability of nutrients. The pathological signs such as lines of arrested growth in long bones, dental linear enamel hypoplasia (Fig. 1), and cribra orbitalia (Fig. 2) are thought to be directly related to lack of nutrients (Ortner and Putschar 1985, Larsen 1997). These abnormal changes in bone and dental tissues can be produced either due to shortage of food in general,

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its source: whether the protein comes from marine or terrestrial animals (Schoeninger and DeNiro 1984, Schoeninger and Moore 1992, Pate 1994, Schoeninger 1995, Richards et al. 2003).

in seafood, can diminish the frequency of caries by preventing the formation of carious lesions or by slowing down the development of existing ones. By recording the frequency and severity of various types of cavities, and so examining the effect of food on body tissues, it is possible to reconstruct the proportions of sugar, meat, and seafood in the diet (Henneberg 1998). By examining the tooth wear, methods of food preparation can be de-scribed. Thus the studies of dentition complement and add details to the chemical study of ancient diets (Henneberg et al. 1999).

Detailed analysis of dental caries, tooth wear, periodontitis, and other dental pathological conditions (Figs. 3 and 4) can help to identify the specific types of food eaten. Since refined sugars have been introduced into the diet, simple sugars are associated with sudden and great increase in the frequency of dental caries. Micro-elements such as fluoride and strontium, present in high quantities

Figure 3. The mandible of the female (age 30-35 years) from T. 356, Pantanello Necropolis. Note the dental caries , thick calculus around most of the teeth, and moderate wear of the teeth.

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The aims of this study were to discover 1) whether the food was adequate for the inhabit-ants of the chora; 2) in what proportions various types of food were eaten; 3) whether the diet differed among various groups of Metapontines.

Teeth were examined for dental caries, tooth wear, periodontitis, hypoplasia, and abscesses. The stage of carious lesion development (enamel or surface caries, dentinal, pulpal and missing teeth due to caries), and the position of caries on the tooth (occlusal, interproximal, buccal, lingual and root caries) were recorded (see Henneberg 1998 for detailed analysis of dentition among Metapontines).

Material and methods To date, skeletal remains of over 1300 individuals have been excavated at Metaponto and surrounding areas. Judging by the grave goods, these human re-mains belonged to, or were directly associated with, the Greek colonists. The burials are dated to the 7 th to 2 nd centuries BC. Over 10,000 teeth were recovered during the excavations and were examined for presence of caries, hypoplasia, periodontal disease, and other pathological signs, and for tooth wear. For this study, 273 skeletons from the rural necropolis at Pantanello and 412 skeletons from the urban necropolis at Crucinia were studied. Over 5,000 teeth were examined.

In addition to morphological studies, 48 samples of bone from the rural and urban cemeteries were analyzed for stable nitrogen (N 15) and carbon (C'3) isotopes in order to estimate the proportion of meat and marine foodstuffs in the diet. Dr. Donald Pate from Flinders University in Adelaide collaborated with us in this part of the project (Henneberg et al. 2004). The organic component of bone, collagen, was extracted from the samples and analyzed by mass spectrometry following the standard procedure (Shoenínger 1989, Shoenínger and DeNiro 1984, Pate 1994).

Palaeodemographíc profiles and stature for both the rural and urban populations were calculated. Based on palaeodemographic dynamics, the number of individuals per family was established and caloric needs by age per family and per year were calculated in order to determine how much food had to be produced (Henneberg and Henneberg 1998). The pathological signs on bones and teeth, which could be related to diet and nutritional problems, were recorded in both the rural and urban populations.

Three sources of information were used in order to show the biological well-being and diet of Metapontines: 1) "public health": caloric needs of a population by age, child growth (stature), some pathologies resulting from inadequate nutrition; 2) chemical composition of bones: stable carbon and nitrogen isotopes; 3) dentition: tooth wear, caries, periodontitis.

The health, diet, and nutritional status of people in the rural and urban populations are discussed in terms of statistical analysis of quantitative data.

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the population (to replace the dying children and adults), the average family had to have at least 5–6 children among which 2–3 did not survive to maturity. The average age at death of adults was around 40 years, although there were persons who lived 70 and more years. Almost 30% of adults died in their prime in 20–40 years of age. On average people lived slightly longer in the city (around 1.5 years), but the difference is not statistically significant. Females in both rural and urban environments líved shorter lives than males (38 versus 41 years in rural Pantanello, and 36 versus 43 in urban Crucinia). A newly-born child was expected to live 21–30 years, and a fifteen year-old another 25 years. The population structure of Metaponto is presented in Fig. 5. There is no difference between the rural and urban populations, and the population pyramid is similar to 20th century Mexico. This brief analysis of demographic dynamics gives us a sad picture of life in Metaponto, despite its wealth. Because a similar pattern of mortality and life expectancy was found among many European populations up to the 19th century, regardless of diet, there must be factors other than food contributing to such high mortality and low life expectancy. The ancient Greeks, as others in Europe and the world at this time, had no cure for simple childhood diseases and could not control infectious diseases in the population. Thus the rural and urban people in Metaponto suffered in a similar way.

Results and discussion Palaeodemographic dynamics (Acsadi and Nemeskeri 1970) for Metaponto have been dis-cussed in detail elsewhere (Henneberg at al. 1992, Henneberg and Henneberg 1998). Recalled here are mortality rates and average life expectancy for a newly born child and for a sexually mature young adult. In both rural and urban Metaponto roughly 50% of individuals died before reaching sexual maturity. The percentage of dying children in the age range 0–5 years was also high (ca. 40%) and similar in both rural and urban populations. This pattern persisted throughout Europe up to the 19 th century. To maintain the number of individuals in

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The simple indicator of human body growth (stature was calculated for rural and urban people) is presented in Figure 6. Average male stature in rural Pantanello was 1620 mm, and aver-age female stature was 1531 mm (Henneberg and Henneberg 1992,1998). Average male stature in urban Crucinia was 1653 mm, and average female stature was 1516 mm (Henneberg and Henneberg 2001). The slight difference in the average stature between rural and urban same-sex individuals is not statistically significant. The people of Meta-ponto were similar in height to other Italian and Greek populations, even to most recent, mid-20th century southern Italians.

the family, and the surplus was traded for other foodstuffs or goods. Obviously, not only wheat was produced on the farm. Thus it can be expected that shortages of food were rather rare, and the caloric requirements were generally met with food from Metaponto. A healthy diet contains not only the three major groups of food (proteins, carbohydrates, and fats) but also all kinds of micro-elements and vitamins, all of them in specific proportions necessary for normal functioning of the body. Eating a broad variety of foods, where basic groups of nutrients come from multiple sources, can provide a healthy balance in the diet. Metaponto was built on the seashore and had a harbor necessary for trade with mainland Greece and other coastal colonies. From the archaeological findings and written documents, fish and other types of seafood—rich in various micro-elements and a good source of protein— were a regular part of the diet in Greek colonies. Whether all Metapontines, those living in the chora and those in the city alike, had equal access to all kinds of food should be shown by chemical analysis of bone tissue. Stable isotope methods allow the differentiation of relative quantities of general food categories such as marine foods versus terrestrial foods and C3 cereals (barley, wheat) versus C4 cereals (maize, tropical grasses) where carbon is photosynthesized by plants using two different pathways (Shoeninger 1989, Pate 1994, Larsen 1997- see p.271-272 and 282-284 for review). To estimate the proportion of marine foods versus proteins coming from terrestrial animals in the rural and urban diets, results of stable carbon and nitrogen isotope analysis of human bones from rural Pantanello and urban Crucinia were compared (Henneberg et al. 1999, Henneberg et al. 2004).

The

general examination of skeletal remains has shown that the Metapontines did not differ from other populations in life expectancy and stature. Despite being known as grain producers and exporters, was there enough food for everyone in Metaponto? Knowing the population structure from life tables and the average caloric needs of a person per day, the average requirement of basic food per family and per year can be calculated (Henneberg and Ostija-Zagorski 1984, Henneberg and Henneberg 1998). The caloric needs (calćulated in megajoules [MJ]) for a family of five per year in rural Panta-nello were 18174.84 MJ, and in urban Crucinia, 17981.26 MJ (Henneberg and Henneberg 2001). Wheat produced in the chora was most probably the staple food for all Metapontines. Assuming that the caloric content of 1 kg of wheat is 13.807 MJ, the food requirement for the average family per year was ca. 1300 kg of grain. The average farm in the chora produced more wheat than required for

The results of stable isotope ratios A C13 show higher than average values (less negative) for both rural and urban Metapontines compared to people whose diet consists mainly of terrestrial agricultural products, and the mean values are very similar in both environmental settings (Table 1). The urban population, however, a shows larger variety of C'3 values than the rural one, with the least negative values in this group suggesting slightly higher intake of marine foodstuffs in the diet. The i N 's values are also similar in both rural and urban

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have a smaller range of values than females. In both rural and urban populations the lowest estimated proportions of marine protein are for females, while males have generally slightly higher proportions. This suggests that males and females had different diets due perhaps to different social roles and status within the population, different also between urban and rural environments. In the case of Metaponto, the amount of marine protein in the diet is lower than in other coastal populations (approximately 40% in Pompeii, Henneberg et al. 2004). Approximately 80–85% of the protein in the Metapontines' diet comes from terrestrial animals and plants mostly of the C3 pathway. This result is in agreement with what is known of the Metapontine economy.

populations, with a greater range in urban people and with the highest value within this group. Thus the values of both stable isotopes suggest a substantial proportion of marine food in the diet and a slightly (though not statistically significant) higher proportion of seafood in the diet of urban people. From the delta values of C13 and N'5, the proportion (%) of marine protein in the diet can be estimated using special correction factors based on the standards and behavior of the samples (Pate 1994, Henneberg et al. 1999, 2004). The estimated percentages of marine protein in the food are presented in Table 2. The estimated percentage of marine components in the diet is slightly higher among the urban than among the rural people (Table 2). There is a slight difference in the protein intake between males and females in both populations, but the difference tends to be smaller between rural males and females. The range of marine protein proportion in the diet of the urban people is twice that of the rural people, indicating wider socioeconomic differences in the city and also suggesting perhaps the lower status of at least a fraction of the city's women. The range of % values for females is smaller than for males, and the highest percentage of marine protein does not reach the highest among males. For rural females the highest value in the range is similar to that for males, but rural males

While the analysis of stable carbon and nitrogen isotopes shows the general distribution of proteins from marine and terrestrial sources, detailed analysis of dentition adds information regarding food components in the diet other than protein and methods of food preparation (Henneberg 1998). Dental wear in rural and urban people is similar and generally mild, suggesting similar food preparation methods. The frequency of caries in the rural and urban populations is statistically significantly different (57% of rural people affected by caries versus 73% affected in the city). Females are significantly more affected than males in both populations (64% versus 46% in rural and 80%

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versus 64% in urban populations). For comparison, the frequency of caries reached 100% in populations at the turn of 19th and 20th centuries after refined sugars were introduced into the diet. These results suggest that the diet in Metaponto contained large amounts of carbohydrates (sugars) and the urban people ate more of them than the rural people did. Table 3 shows a selection of some of the most interesting results of the dental analysis. By comparing the percentages of carious lesions in various categories of development, it is possible to show how the people in various groups were affected and what kind of food could cause such striking differences.

quantities. Dried fruit and honey, expensive items at the time of ancient Greek Metaponto, were part of the Mediterranean diet along with a variety of cereals, as historical documents and archaeological findings suggest. The analysis of dental caries in Metaponto shows variation in the consumption of luxury foodstuffs in the population, while at the same time revealing subtle differences among various groups of the colony's occupants. The analysis of the dentition and the reconstruction of the Metapontines' diet is presented in detail elsewhere (Henneberg 1998, Henneberg et al. 1999, 2004). In this paper it has been our inten-tion to show the potential of various methods for investigation of ancient diet and, in the eхample of Metaponto, to show the advantage of using a com-bination of methods complementing each other to arive at a more detailed and quantitative description of ancient diet.

In the urban population the percentage of caries is much higher than in the rural one (more sugars in the diet), but the development of carious lesions is somewhat slower. Both females and males in the city have more carious lesions, but mostly in the initial stage of development, affecting the first layer of the teeth, the enamel. Fish and seafood contain large quantities of micro-elements such as fluorine and strontium, which prevent development of caries (fluorine in the form of fluoride) or arrest the development of already formed lesions (strontium). Thus seafood played a greater role in the diet of urban than rural people. The very high percent-age of teeth affected by caries, one of the highest for contemporary populations (Henneberg 1998), suggests the Metapontines ate simple sugars in substantial

Based on the above results it can be concluded that 1) the ancient diet in Metaponto provided adequate, though not ideal, nutrition; 2) types of food consumed were similar to those eaten today, and the proportion of the major groups of food seems to be good; 3) the type of diet differed by sex and residence in urban or rural locales.

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Henneberg R.J., F.D. Pate, M. Henneberg. 1999. Stable Isotope Analysis of the Diet of the Inhabitants of the Ancient Greek Colony of Metaponto in Italy, 7th–2nd c BCE. American Jouиnαl of Physical Anthropology. Suppl. 28:150. Acknowledgments This research would not be possible without the support of: Archaeological Superintendency of Basilicata, Italy Professor Joseph C. Carter, Institute of Classical Archaeology, University of Texas at Austin Dr. Antonio De Siena, National Museum of Metaponto, Italy Australian Research Council

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