Ricerc@Sapienza

This paper aims to define the dietary profile of the population of early medieval Rome (fifth–eleventh centuries CE) by carbon
and nitrogen stable isotope analysis. This period was characterized by deep changes in the city’s economic, demographic, and
social patterns, probably affecting its inhabitants’ nutritional habits. Carbon and nitrogen stable isotope analysis of bone collagen
was used to detect the nutritional profile of 110 humans from six communities inhabiting the city center of Rome and one from

Stable isotope analysis has become known as an important approach in ecological science but also in Geology, Biology, Climate, Organic chemistry, Botany and Zoology. The stable isotopes of Nitrogen (δ15N) and Carbon (δ13C) enable powerful tools for evaluating the origins of Nitrogen pollution in water systems and, associated to Bayesian Mixing Models, are the elective method to assess the trophic positions of the different taxa in food webs. Nowadays, stable isotope analysis is utilized to address questions about human diets around the world.