Bioarchaeological Characteristics of the Wheat (Triticum aestivum) Consumed at Different Parts of the Early Medieval Settlement Agglomeration of Mikulčice-Kopčany (9th–10th Century AD, Czech Republic)

ABSTRACT

Archaeological hypotheses about the functioning of agriculture in the Great Moravian period in Central Europe are based primarily on the evaluation of artefacts or the character of the built structures in the vicinity of the central sites. Thanks to the introduction of new bioarchaeological methods, in particular isotope and archaeobotanical analyses, into archaeological research, it has been possible to better assess the subsistence strategies at Mikulčice-Kopčany. In this study, carbon and nitrogen isotopic values were measured in 39 samples of sown wheat recovered from four areas of the agglomeration with potentially distinct socio-economic statuses. The isotopic results were interpreted in the framework of archaeobotanical findings regarding the spectra of consumed crops, metrics of the grains and field weed analysis from the individual areas. Isotopic analyses of charred bread wheat characterise the locations where the fields were situated as moderately to well-watered, with the soils either naturally rich with a high contribution of organic nitrogen or with a medium to high rate of manuring. The results presented in this study point to the different agricultural strategies of people living in different areas of the Mikulčice-Kopčany, and suggest the underestimation of previously reported socio-economic differences in diet within the Great Moravian population .

KEYWORDS:

• Isotopes
• archaeobotany
• Mikulčice-Kopčany
• wheat
• Greater Moravia
• Early Medieval period

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

We would like to thank the Czech Science Foundation (Grant number: 19-13265S), the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic (Grant number: DKRVO 2019-2023/7.I.e, 00023272) and the Scientific Programme RVO 67985831 of the Institute of Geology of the Czech Academy of Sciences for the financial support of this research, and Alastair Millar for English language revision.

Notes on contributors

Michaela Látková

Michaela Látková works as an archaeobotanist at the Institute of Archaeology, Brno, Czech Republic. Her research focuses on the study of plant macro-remains from archaeological structures, primarily from the Mikulčice-Valy site. She has published several scientific studies about the reconstruction of dietary habits, economic and agricultural practices in the Great Moravian period.

Roman Skála

Roman Skála is a mineralogist at the Department of Analytical Methods of the Institute of Geology of The Czech Academy of Sciences in Prague. His research is focused on the application of crystallographic and spectroscopic methods to the study of geoscience and archeological materials, in particular of minerals, meteorites, tektites, and archeological glasses. He authored or co-authored more than 80 papers in peer-reviewed journals. He also gives undergraduate and graduate courses and supervises theses at the Institute of Geochemistry, Mineralogy and Mineral Resources, Faculty of Science, Charles University in Prague.

Sylva Drtikolová Kaupová

Sylva Drtikolová Kaupová is a biological anthropologist at the Department of Anthropology of the National Museum in Prague, Czech Republic. In her research, she focuses on stable isotope analysis and its application in the dietary reconstruction of past populations. She has published several studies focused on dietary habits and their impact on the health of Great Moravian people.