Diet in the Iron Age cemetery population at Wetwang Slack, East Yorkshire, UK: carbon and nitrogen stable isotope evidence

Jay, M.; Richards, M.P.

doi:10.1016/j.jas.2005.09.020

Diet in the Iron Age cemetery population at Wetwang Slack, East Yorkshire, UK: carbon and nitrogen stable isotope evidence

Jay, M.; Richards, M.P.

Authors

M. Jay

M.P. Richards

Abstract

This paper reports d13C and d15N values for human and animal bone collagen from the middle Iron Age site at Wetwang Slack, East Yorkshire, UK. The data indicate a human diet which was high in animal protein, with no evidence for any significant marine food input. No differences were found between high-status vehicle (or 'chariot') burials and the rest of the population and no other status differentiations are visible according to burial rite, age or sex groupings, although the data obtained for the older males display an unusual trend. No dietary variation is seen between two site phases and no evidence for an early immigrant group is present. The range of isotope values for the adult human group as a whole is small, indicating that the diet is likely to have been consistent over time and across the population, although two individuals stand out as unusual amongst the 62 analysed.

Citation

Jay, M., & Richards, M. (2006). Diet in the Iron Age cemetery population at Wetwang Slack, East Yorkshire, UK: carbon and nitrogen stable isotope evidence. Journal of Archaeological Science, 33(5), 653-662. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2005.09.020

Journal Article Type	Article
Publication Date	May 1, 2006
Deposit Date	Feb 10, 2009
Publicly Available Date	Feb 10, 2009
Journal	Journal of Archaeological Science
Print ISSN	0305-4403
Publisher	Elsevier
Peer Reviewed	Peer Reviewed
Volume	33
Issue	5
Pages	653-662
DOI	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2005.09.020
Keywords	Wetwang, Carbon, Nitrogen, Diet, Chariot.