How royals feasted in the court of Pedro I of Castile: A contribution of stable isotope study to medieval history

Study of the human remains of King Pedro I of Castile (1334–1369), his wife Queen Maria of Padilla (c. 1334–1361), and three other members of his family offered the possibility to investigate the diet of an elite in the medieval Iberian Peninsula by analyzing δN and δC values in collagen samples of...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Jiménez-Brobéil, Sylvia A., Laffranchi, Zita, Maroto, R. M., López Sánchez, F. A., Delgado Huertas, Antonio
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión aceptada para publicación
Fecha de publicación:2016
País:España
Institución:Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)
Repositorio:DIGITAL.CSIC. Repositorio Institucional del CSIC
OAI Identifier:oai:digital.csic.es:10261/362696
Acceso en línea:http://hdl.handle.net/10261/362696
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Pedro I of Castile
Stable isotopes
Diet
Medieval: Elite
Religion beliefs
Descripción
Sumario:Study of the human remains of King Pedro I of Castile (1334–1369), his wife Queen Maria of Padilla (c. 1334–1361), and three other members of his family offered the possibility to investigate the diet of an elite in the medieval Iberian Peninsula by analyzing δN and δC values in collagen samples of their bones. Two medieval archeological samples were selected for comparative purposes: a Christian sample (n = 5) from Palacios de la Sierra (Burgos), and a Muslim sample (n = 5) from La Torrecilla (Granada). Results obtained were compared with published data on other medieval populations of the Iberian Peninsula with the aim of improving knowledge on the diet of medieval populations, especially elite groups. Differences in the consumption of C3 and C4 plants were observed between Christians and Muslims, as previously reported. δN values indicated social class differences. The diet of the Royal Family was characterized by mainly C3 plants and an extremely high animal protein intake characteristic of carnivores. These results are consistent with historical data on the life circumstances of this family.