Beyond faith: Biomolecular evidence for changing urban economies in multi-faith medieval Portugal.

OBJECTIVES: During the Middle Ages, Portugal witnessed unprecedented socioeconomic and religious changes under transitioning religious political rule. The implications of changing ruling powers for urban food systems and individual diets in medieval Portugal is poorly understood. This study aimed to elucidate the dietary impact of the Islamic and Christian conquests. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Radiocarbon dating, peptide mass fingerprinting (ZooMS) and stable isotope analysis (δ13 C, δ15 N) of animal (n = 59) and human skeletal remains (n = 205) from Muslim and Christian burials were used to characterize the diet of a large historical sample from Portugal. A Bayesian stable isotope mixing model (BSIMM) was used to estimate the contribution of marine protein to human diet. RESULTS: Early medieval (8-12th century), preconquest urban Muslim populations had mean (±1SD) values of -18.8 ± 0.4 ‰ for δ13 C 10.4 ± 1 ‰ for δ15 N, indicating a predominantly terrestrial diet, while late medieval (12-14th century) postconquest Muslim and Christian populations showed a greater reliance on marine resources with mean (±1SD) values of -17.9 ± 1.3‰ for δ13 C and 11.1 ± 1.1‰ for δ15 N. BSIMM estimation supported a significant increase in the contribution of marine resources to human diet. DISCUSSION: The results provide the first biomolecular evidence for a dietary revolution that is not evidenced in contemporaneous historical accounts. We find that society transitioned from a largely agro-pastoral economy under Islamic rule to one characterized by a new focus on marine resources under later Christian rule. This economic change led to the naissance of the marine economy that went on to characterize the early-modern period in Portugal and its global expansion.

The dietary impact of the Norman Conquest: A multiproxy archaeological investigation of Oxford, UK.

Archaeology has yet to capitalise on the opportunities offered by bioarchaeological approaches to examine the impact of the 11th-century AD Norman Conquest of England. This study utilises an integrated multiproxy analytical approach to identify and explain changes and continuities in diet and foodways between the 10th and 13th centuries in the city of Oxford, UK. The integration of organic residue analysis of ceramics, carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen (δ15N) isotope analysis of human and animal bones, incremental analysis of δ13C and δ15N from human tooth dentine and palaeopathological analysis of human skeletal remains has revealed a broad pattern of increasing intensification and marketisation across various areas of economic practice, with a much lesser and more short-term impact of the Conquest on everyday lifestyles than is suggested by documentary sources. Nonetheless, isotope data indicate short-term periods of instability, particularly food insecurity, did impact individuals. Evidence of preferences for certain foodstuffs and cooking techniques documented among the elite classes were also observed among lower-status townspeople, suggesting that Anglo-Norman fashions could be adopted across the social spectrum. This study demonstrates the potential for future archaeological research to generate more nuanced understanding of the cultural impact of the Norman Conquest of England, while showcasing a method which can be used to elucidate the undocumented, everyday implications of other large-scale political events on non-elites.

External auditory exostoses and early Neolithic aquatic resource procurement in Cyprus: Results from Cypro-PPNB Kissonerga-Mylouthkia in regional context.

OBJECTIVE: This research is designed to evaluate the occurrence of external auditory exostoses (EAEs) in skeletal remains from the oldest known water wells in the world (Kissonerga-Mylouthkia, Cyprus, 8,200-7,200 BCE). MATERIALS: Six individuals (MNI = 6), five fragmentary temporalia, two preserved auditory canals. METHODS: Macroscopic and microscopic (up to x30) observation, with illumination; presence, type, side, severity, occlusion, number, and position of bony growths recorded. RESULTS: Bony growths within two auditory canals were discovered. Differential diagnosis includes osteomata and external auditory exostoses, with the latter consistent with the bony growths (Grade 1 EAEs, two adult males, one with single, another with two EAEs). CONCLUSIONS: The emergence of the Neolithic in Southwest Asia is thought to involve increases in dietary breadth among foraging societies (Broad-Spectrum Revolution). EAEs likely indicate maritime activity in this context, given the lack of freshwater bodies, and zooarchaeological evidence points to dietary and other uses of maritime organisms. SIGNIFICANCE: This EAE evidence is the oldest known in maritime contexts in Eastern Mediterranean and the Middle East, and first in Cyprus. It contributes towards understanding the initial colonization events by Neolithic farming communities in the 9th millennium BC, and the emergence of broad-spectrum economies at the dawn of the Neolithic in Southwest Asia, crucial for re-considerations of paradigms on the transition to the Neolithic way of life in the Near East. LIMITATIONS: Only a few skeletal remains from these prehistoric contexts were available for observation. SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH: Further intensive review of Cypriot skeletal collections for EAEs is advised.

New insights on Neolithic food and mobility patterns in Mediterranean coastal populations.

OBJECTIVES: The aims of this research are to explore the diet, mobility, social organization, and environmental exploitation patterns of early Mediterranean farmers, particularly the role of marine and plant resources in these foodways. In addition, this work strives to document possible gendered patterns of behavior linked to the neolithization of this ecologically rich area. To achieve this, a set of multiproxy analyses (isotopic analyses, dental calculus, microremains analysis, ancient DNA) were performed on an exceptional deposit (n = 61) of human remains from the Les Bréguières site (France), dating to the transition of the sixth to the fifth millennium BCE. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The samples used in this study were excavated from the Les Bréguières site (Mougins, Alpes-Maritimes, France), located along the southeastern Mediterranean coastline of France. Stable isotope analyses (C, N) on bone collagen (17 coxal bones, 35 craniofacial elements) were performed as a means to infer protein intake during tissue development. Sulfur isotope ratios were used as indicators of geographical and environmental points of origin. The study of ancient dental calculus helped document the consumption of plants. Strontium isotope analysis on tooth enamel (n = 56) was conducted to infer human provenance and territorial mobility. Finally, ancient DNA analysis was performed to study maternal versus paternal diversity within this Neolithic group (n = 30). RESULTS: Stable isotope ratios for human bones range from -20.3 to -18.1‰ for C, from 8.9 to 11.1‰ for N and from 6.4 to 15‰ for S. Domestic animal data range from -22.0 to -20.2‰ for C, from 4.1 to 6.9‰ for N, and from 10.2 to 12.5‰ for S. Human enamel 87 Sr/86 Sr range from 0.7081 to 0.7102, slightly wider than the animal range (between 0.7087 and 0.7096). Starch and phytolith microremains were recovered as well as other types of remains (e.g., hairs, diatoms, fungal spores). Starch grains include Triticeae type and phytolith includes dicotyledons and monocot types as panicoid grasses. Mitochondrial DNA characterized eight different maternal lineages: H1, H3, HV (5.26%), J (10.53%), J1, K, T (5.2%), and U5 (10.53%) but no sample yielded reproducible Y chromosome SNPs, preventing paternal lineage characterization. DISCUSSION: Carbon and nitrogen stable isotope ratios indicate a consumption of protein by humans mainly focused on terrestrial animals and possible exploitation of marine resources for one male and one undetermined adult. Sulfur stable isotope ratios allowed distinguishing groups with different geographical origins, including two females possibly more exposed to the sea spray effect. While strontium isotope data do not indicate different origins for the individuals, mitochondrial lineage diversity from petrous bone DNA suggests the burial includes genetically differentiated groups or a group practicing patrilocality. Moreover, the diversity of plant microremains recorded in dental calculus provide the first evidence that the groups of Les Bréguières consumed a wide breadth of plant foods (as cereals and wild taxa) that required access to diverse environments. This transdisciplinary research paves the way for new perspectives and highlights the relevance for novel research of contexts (whether recently discovered or in museum collections) excavated near shorelines, due to the richness of the biodiversity and the wide range of edible resources available.

The effect of diet and sociopolitical change on physiological stress and behavior in late Roman-Early Byzantine (300-700 AD) and Islamic (902-1,235 AD) populations from Ibiza, Spain.

OBJECTIVES: This study evaluated chronological changes in physiological stress and levels of habitual loading of Ibizan populations from the Late Roman-Early Byzantine (LREB) to the Islamic period (300-1,235 AD) using measures of body size and bone cross-sectional properties to compare Urban LREB, Urban Medieval Islamic, and Rural Medieval Islamic groups. It also explored the effect of diet, modeled using stable isotopes, on physiological stress levels and behavior. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The sample comprised individuals from three archeological populations: Urban Late Roman- Early Byzantine (LREB) (300-700 AD), Medieval Urban Islamic (902-1,235 AD), and Medieval Rural Islamic. Bone lengths, femoral head dimensions, and cross-sectional properties, diaphyseal products and circumferences, were compared to assess differences in body size and habitual loading in 222 adult individuals. Ordinary least squares regression evaluated the correlations between these measures and carbon (δ13 C) and nitrogen (δ15 N) stable isotope ratios in 115 individuals for whom both isotope values and osteological measures are available. RESULTS: The Medieval Rural Islamic group had shorter stature and reduced lower limb cross-sectional properties compared to the two urban groups. Limb shape differs between Urban LREB and Urban Medieval Islamic groups. Measures of body size length were positively correlated with δ13 C values in all individuals and separately in the Urban LREB and Rural Medieval Islamic groups. δ15 N showed a positive correlation with left humerus shape in the Urban LREB sample. CONCLUSIONS: The low stature and cross-sectional properties of the Medieval Rural Islamic group may be an indicator of greater physiological stress, potentially due to poorer diet. Positive correlations between measures of body size and δ13 C values further suggest that greater access to C4 resources improved diet quality. Alternatively, this relationship could indicate greater body size among migrants from areas where individuals consumed more C4 resources.

Socioeconomic differences in diet: An isotopic examination of post-Medieval Chichester, West Sussex.

OBJECTIVES: Historical evidence suggests that social hierarchy pervaded all aspects of society in post-Medieval England. This study uses stable isotope analysis to explore the extent to which socioeconomic status and sex affected the dietary habits of the inhabitants of post-Medieval Chichester. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Stable carbon and nitrogen isotope ratios were measured on 40 human burials from the post-Medieval site of St. Michael's Litten (Chichester, West Sussex, England). Samples were selected from three burial types that denoted differing socioeconomic status with roughly equal numbers of males and females: tomb burials (n = 13) for high-status; single coffin burials (n = 14) for middle-status; and shroud burials (n = 13) for low-status individuals. RESULTS: The data showed a largely terrestrial diet with the possibility of some inclusion of marine resources. The isotope results indicate significant variation in the consumption of terrestrial meat (and marine protein) between high-status tomb burials and coffin and shroud burials, showing that socioeconomic status likely played a role in daily dietary patterns. However, the isotope data suggest sex did not influence an individual's diet. DISCUSSION: These results mirror trends established in status-based studies from elsewhere in post-Medieval England. However, notably absent from the data is evidence for significant marine resource consumption, which is a well-established dietary trend of the late Medieval and early post-Medieval periods. These results indicate post-Medieval Chichester was a socially stratified society with clear implications that the diet of higher status individuals differed significantly from lower status.

[The nutritional status of the Spanish population, 1860-2010: an approach to gender and generational differences]. / El estado nutritivo de la población española. 1860-2010: una aproximación a las diferencias de género y generacionales.

INTRODUCTION: the main changes in the diet and the intake of energy and macronutrients as a result of the Nutritional Transition in Spain (NTS) are well known, but the intake of micronutrients and the overall nutritional status of the population are much less well known. OBJECTIVE: to propose new indicators to estimate the intake of nutrients among different social groups during the NTS, with special attention to vulnerable groups such as women, pregnant women and minors. METHOD: we estimate the nutritional needs of different social groups in Spain between 1860 and 2011, based on their demographic, anthropometric and professional characteristics, and we compare these results with new estimates of apparent and real consumption, using the energy demands of different groups as reference. RESULTS: From the late 19th century onwards, with the exception of the period 1936-1950, the food intake of the Spanish population has increasingly covered their needs in terms of energy and nutrients. Some micronutrients, however, were only incorporated slowly and late, especially among minors, adult women and pregnant women. As was the case in other countries, the intake of these nutrients from the late 20th century onwards has been excessive and unbalanced. CONCLUSIONS: differences in the nutritional state of various social groups remained significant until the late 20th century. Improvements greatly benefited the adult male population, and to a lesser extent the female and infant population. These deficiencies chiefly concerned essential micronutrients for growth and physical activity.

Introducción: conocemos bien los principales cambios en la dieta y en la ingesta de energía y macronutrientes durante la transición nutricional española (TNE), pero muy poco sobre la ingesta de muchos micronutrientes esenciales y sobre el estado nutritivo de la población.Objetivo: proponer nuevos indicadores de la ingesta de nutrientes y del estado nutritivo en diferentes colectivos durante la TNE, tomando especialmente en consideración los colectivos más vulnerables: mujeres, gestantes y menores de edad.Método: estimamos las necesidades nutritivas de diferentes colectivos de la población española entre 1860 y 2011 según sus características demográficas, antropométricas y laborales y las comparamos con nuevas estimaciones de consumo aparente y real, tomando como referencia las necesidades energéticas de diferentes colectivos.Resultados: desde finales del siglo xix, y a excepción del periodo 1936-1950, la alimentación de los españoles permitió cubrir cada vez mejor sus necesidades de energía y nutrientes. Esta mejora fue, no obstante, muy lenta y tardía en destacados micronutrientes, y en especial en los menores de edad, mujeres adultas y gestantes. Como en otros países, la ingesta de aquellos recursos acabó resultando excesiva y desequilibrada desde finales del siglo xx.Conclusiones: las disparidades en el estado nutritivo de la población fueron significativas hasta finales del siglo xx. Las mejoras beneficiaron mucho a la población masculina adulta y menos a la población femenina e infantil. Estas deficiencias se concentraron, sobre todo, en micronutrientes esenciales para el crecimiento y la actividad física.

[Diets and social inequality in the Spanish nutritional transition: the Hospital Provincial of Valencia and the hospital Sant Jaume of Olot, 1900-1936]. / Dietas y desigualdad social en la transición nutricional española: el Hospital Provincial de Valencia y el Hospital Sant Jaume de Olot; 1900-1936.

INTRODUCTION: studies about the Nutritional Transition in Spain (NTS) until the mid-20th century are based on direct, and heavily aggregated, consumption estimates, a methodology that obscures important aspects of this process. OBJECTIVE: to show the new possibilities of study opened by the analysis of hospital diets and to suggest new NTS indicators based on the menus provided by the Hospital Provincial in Valencia (HPV) and the Hospital Sant Jaume in Olot (HSJO), between 1900 and 1936. METHOD: we have calculated food and nutrient consumption among patients and hospital staff as well as among different groups of the population, and compared the results thus obtained with those calculated for the whole of Spain in the previous article in this supplement. RESULTS: hospital menus contributed to disseminate certain strategic foodstuffs for the NTS: milk, eggs and fresh meat first, and fish, vegetables and fruit later. The public dissemination of these foodstuffs was, however, uneven, and deficits in the intake of micro- and macro-nutrients intake decreased at different paces, according to social group. CONCLUSIONS: hospital diets confirm that nutrition in Spain improved in the decades that preceded the Civil War, as well as the pioneering role that sanitary institutions played in this process. The data also suggests that the process operated at different paces in the reduction of deficits in the intake of certain nutrients according to age groups and socio-economic status.

Introducción: los estudios sobre la transición nutricional española (TNE) hasta mediados del siglo XX se basaban en estimaciones indirectas y muy agregadas del consumo que no permiten conocer aspectos importantes de aquel proceso.Objetivo: mostrar las nuevas posibilidades de estudio que proporcionan las dietas hospitalarias y proponer nuevos indicadores de la TNE a partir de las estimadas en el Hospital Provincial de Valencia (HPV) y en el Hospital Sant Jaume de Olot (HSJO) entre 1900 y 1936.Método: calculamos el consumo de alimentos y nutrientes de pacientes y empleados en aquellos hospitales y en diferentes subgrupos de población del primero. Contrastamos nuestros resultados con los obtenidos para España en el artículo anterior de este suplemento.Resultados: las dietas hospitalarias contribuyeron a difundir alimentos estratégicos de la TNE: primero, leche, huevos y carne fresca, y después, pescado fresco, verduras y frutas. La difusión de estos alimentos, sin embargo, fue desigual entre la población y no redujo con la misma intensidad los déficits en la ingesta de macronutrientes y micronutrientes.Conclusiones: las dietas hospitalarias confirman la mejora del estado nutricional de la población española en las décadas anteriores a la Guerra Civil y el papel pionero que tuvieron las instituciones sanitarias en este proceso. No obstante, también muestran diferentes cronologías en la reducción de los déficits de importantes nutrientes entre grupos de edad y estatus socioeconómico.

[The nutritional status inequality in interior Spain during the late 18th century]. / La desigualdad en el estado nutricional en la España interior a finales del siglo XVIII.

inequality in net nutritional status, measured through the average adult male height, and its evolution, is still unknown as far as Spain in the late XVIII century is concerned. OBJECTIVE: assess social and occupational differences in the average adult male height of cohorts born in the late 18th century and their evolution over time. METHOD: analysis of anthropometric data provided by a general conscription which took place in 1808 in the ancient province of Toledo. This source includes the age, height, and profession of all men living in a giving community with an age included between 16 and 40 years as far as 90 communities are concerned. Only data for adult population (more than 21 years old) are used in this investigation. n = 8.029. RESULTS: differences of almost 5 cm between the tallest group - landowners and people working in high-skilled services- and the shortest - servants - are detected. These differences show a gradient related to the access to the property of land, the educational status and the professional qualification. The Coefficient of Variation shows a trend to higher inequality during this period. CONCLUSION: inequality in the net nutritional status of adult population was high and increased during the period considered in this study. Inequality within some socio-professional groups, such as farmers and craftsmen, also increased, while it did not show major changes in the other groups. The trend which emerges from the data can be explained by the increasing economic inequality, the relative increase in food prices and the fall in the incomes of certain social groups.

Introducción: la desigualdad en el estatus nutricional neto calculada a través de la estatura media adulta y su evolución son desconocidos para la España de finales del siglo XVIII.Objetivo: evaluar las diferencias sociales y ocupacionales en la estatura media adulta de los nacidos a finales del siglo xviii y su evolución.Método: estudio de la información antropométrica de un reemplazo universal realizado en 1808 en la antigua provincia de Toledo, en el que se incluyó la estatura y la profesión de todos los varones de entre 16 y 40 años de 90 localidades. Se utilizan los datos de los adultos (de al menos 21 años). n = 8.029.Resultados: se encuentran diferencias de casi 5 cm entre el grupo de los más altos (grandes propietarios y empleados en servicios de alta cualificación) y el de los más bajos (los criados). Las diferencias muestran un gradiente relacionado con el acceso a la propiedad de la tierra, el nivel educativo y la cualificación profesional. El coeficiente de variación muestra una tendencia creciente en la desigualdad en ese periodo.Conclusiones: la desigualdad en el estatus nutricional neto adulto fue importante y se incrementó en el periodo de estudio. También se incrementó la desigualdad en el seno de algunos grupos socioprofesionales, como labradores y artesanos, y se mantuvo sin apenas cambios en el resto. La mayor desigualdad económica, el encarecimiento relativo de los alimentos y el descenso en los ingresos de algunos grupos sociales explican las tendencias observadas.

Stable isotopic evidence for land use patterns in the Middle Euphrates Valley, Syria.

OBJECTIVES: Stable carbon and nitrogen isotope ratios (δ13 C and δ15 N) were used to reconstruct the history of subsistence strategies in the middle Euphrates valley, NE Syria, in six temporal subsets dating from the Early Bronze Age (c. 2300 BCE) to the Modern period (19th/20th century CE). The study aims to demonstrate that changes in political and social organization over time, for which the archaeological record suggests different goals of land use and modes of production, register through dietary patterns that are reflected in isotopic data. MATERIALS AND METHODS: 173 dentin samples were taken from human individuals buried at three sites (Tell Ashara, Tell Masaikh and Gebel Mashtale) together with 15 animal bone samples. Distribution of the δ13 C and δ15 N values in collagen was interpreted in diachronic perspective, and with regard to lifetime shifts between childhood and adolescence. RESULTS: Diachronically, isotope signatures indicate a clear decrease in δ15 N values accompanied by a small shift in δ13 C values between the Old Babylonian (c. 1800-1600 BCE) and the Neo-Assyrian (c. 850-600 BCE) subsets. A major shift in δ13 C values occurred between the Early Islamic (c. 600-1200 CE) and Modern (c. 1800-1950) periods. Ontogenetic changes only occur in a few individuals, but these suggest change of residence between childhood and adolescence. DISCUSSION: The depletion in 15 N from the Neo-Assyrian period onwards is best explained in terms of a shift from intensive to extensive farming, triggered by the fall of regional city-states after the Old Babylonian period and the formation of large supra-regional polities in the Neo-Assyrian period and later. The enrichment in 13 C during the Modern period was most likely the effect of more widely utilizing the dry steppes, abundant in C4 plants, as pasture.

Shifting diets and the rise of male-biased inequality on the Central Plains of China during Eastern Zhou.

Farming domesticated millets, tending pigs, and hunting constituted the core of human subsistence strategies during Neolithic Yangshao (5000-2900 BC). Introduction of wheat and barley as well as the addition of domesticated herbivores during the Late Neolithic (∼2600-1900 BC) led to restructuring of ancient Chinese subsistence strategies. This study documents a dietary shift from indigenous millets to the newly introduced cereals in northcentral China during the Bronze Age Eastern Zhou Dynasty (771-221 BC) based on stable isotope analysis of human and animal bone samples. Our results show that this change affected females to a greater degree than males. We find that consumption of the newly introduced cereals was associated with less consumption of animal products and a higher rate of skeletal stress markers among females. We hypothesized that the observed separation of dietary signatures between males and females marks the rise of male-biased inequality in early China. We test this hypothesis by comparing Eastern Zhou human skeletal data with those from Neolithic Yangshao archaeological contexts. We find no evidence of male-female inequality in early farming communities. The presence of male-biased inequality in Eastern Zhou society is supported by increased body height difference between the sexes as well as the greater wealth of male burials.

Investigating economic specialization on the central Peruvian coast: A reconstruction of Late Intermediate Period Ychsma diet using stable isotopes.

OBJECTIVES: Hypothetical models of socioeconomic organization in pre-Columbian societies generated from the rich ethnohistoric record in the New World require testing against the archaeological and bioarchaeological record. Here, we test ethnohistorian Maria Rostworowski's horizontality model of socioeconomic specialization for the Central Andean coast by reconstructing dietary practices in the Late Intermediate Period (c. AD 900-1470) Ychsma polity to evaluate complexities in social behaviors prior to Inka imperial influence. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Stable carbon and nitrogen isotope analysis of archaeological human bone collagen and apatite (δ13 Ccol[VPDB], δ15 Ncol[AIR] , δ13 Cap[VPDB] ) and locally available foods is used to reconstruct the diets of individuals from Armatambo (n = 67), associated ethnohistorically with fishing, and Rinconada Alta (n = 46), associated ethnohistorically with agriculture. RESULTS: Overall, mean δ15 Ncol[AIR] is significantly greater at Armatambo, while mean δ13 Ccol[VPDB] and mean δ13 Cap[VPDB] are not significantly different between the two sites. Within large-scale trends, adult mean δ13 Cap[VPDB] is significantly greater at Armatambo. In addition, nearly one-third of Armatambo adults and adolescents show divergent δ15 Ncol[AIR] values. DISCUSSION: These results indicate greater reliance on marine resources at Armatambo versus Rinconada Alta, supporting the ethnohistoric model of socioeconomic specialization for the Central Andean coast. Deviations from large-scale dietary trends suggest complexities not accounted for by the ethnohistoric model, including intra-community subsistence specialization and/or variation in resource access.

Oral health in prehistoric San Pedro de Atacama oases, Northern Chile.

After almost 2000 years of local development, including limited trading with neighboring ethnic groups, the societies that occupied the oases of San Pedro de Atacama, Northern Chile, became part of the trade web of the Tiwanaku empire, between 500 and 1000 CE. Archaeological evidence tends to support the idea that the period under the influence of the altiplano (high plane) empire was very affluent. Here we investigate the possibility that this affluence had a positive impact on the health status of the Atacameneans, using the oral health as an indirect indicator of quality of life. Dental decay, dental abscess, dental wear, linear enamel hypoplasia, periodontal disease and dental calculus were analyzed on 371 skeletons from 12 sites from San Pedro de Atacama oases. We believe that if, indeed, there were better biological conditions during the altiplano influence, this could have been caused by the access to a more diversified food intake promoted by the intensification of the trading network established by Tiwanaku in the central-south Andes, of which San Pedro de Atacama became an important node.

Food security and nutrition in the Russian Federation - a health policy analysis.

BACKGROUND: In the Russian Federation (Russia), an elevated burden of premature mortality attributable to non-communicable diseases (NCDs) has been observed since the country's economic transition. NCDs are largely related to preventable risk factors such as unhealthy diets. OBJECTIVE: This health policy study's aim was to analyze past and current food production and nutritional trends in Russia and their policy implications for Russia's NCD burden. DESIGN: We examined food security and nutrition in Russia using an analytical framework of food availability, access to food, and consumption. RESULTS: Agricultural production declined during the period of economic transition, and nutritional habits changed from high-fat animal products to starches. However, per-capita energy consumption remained stable due to increased private expenditures on food and use of private land. Paradoxically, the prevalence of obesity still increased because of an excess consumption of unsaturated fat, sugar, and salt on one side, and insufficient intake of fruit and vegetables on the other. CONCLUSIONS: Policy and economic reforms in Russia were not accompanied by a food security crisis or macronutrient deprivation of the population. Yet, unhealthy diets in contemporary Russia contribute to the burden of NCDs and related avoidable mortality. Food and nutrition policies in Russia need to specifically address nutritional shortcomings and food-insecure vulnerable populations. Appropriate, evidence-informed food and nutrition policies might help address Russia's burden of NCDs on a population level.

Diet, society, and economy in late medieval Spain: stable isotope evidence from Muslims and Christians from Gandía, Valencia.

This article investigates the diets of neighboring Christians and Muslims in late medieval Spain (here 13th-16th centuries) through the analysis of the stable isotopes of carbon (δ(13) C) and nitrogen (δ(15) N) in adult human and animal bone collagen. Twenty-four Christians and 20 Muslims are sampled from two adjacent and contemporaneous settlements in the township of Gandía on the Mediterranean coast, together with the remains of 24 animals. Statistical differences in both δ(13) C and δ(15) N reveal that the diets of the two faith communities differed, despite living side-by-side. These differences may relate to inequalities in their access to foodstuffs, particularly to C3 /C4 grain and/or possibly terrestrial meat sources, though cultural preferences are also highlighted. Isotopic values for animals were also found to vary widely, both between and within species, and this provides a window into the local livestock economy.

Changes in dietary practices and social organization during the pivotal late iron age period in Norway (AD 550-1030): isotope analyses of Merovingian and Viking Age human remains.

Human remains representing 33 individuals buried along the coast in northern Norway were analyzed for diet composition using collagen stable carbon and nitrogen isotope analysis. Where possible, both teeth and bone were included to investigate whether there were dietary changes from childhood to adulthood. A general shift was documented from the Merovingian Age 550-800 AD to the Viking Age AD 800-1050 (VA), with a heavier reliance on marine diet in the VA. Dietary life history data show that 15 individuals changed their diets through life with 11 of these having consumed more marine foods in the later years of life. In combination with (87) Sr/(86) Sr data, it is argued that at least six individuals possibly originated from inland areas and then moved to the coastal region where they were eventually interred. The trend is considered in relation to the increasing expansion of the marine fishing industry at this time, and it is suggested that results from isotope analyses reflect the expanding production and export of stockfish in this region.

Increasing homogeneity in global food supplies and the implications for food security.

The narrowing of diversity in crop species contributing to the world's food supplies has been considered a potential threat to food security. However, changes in this diversity have not been quantified globally. We assess trends over the past 50 y in the richness, abundance, and composition of crop species in national food supplies worldwide. Over this period, national per capita food supplies expanded in total quantities of food calories, protein, fat, and weight, with increased proportions of those quantities sourcing from energy-dense foods. At the same time the number of measured crop commodities contributing to national food supplies increased, the relative contribution of these commodities within these supplies became more even, and the dominance of the most significant commodities decreased. As a consequence, national food supplies worldwide became more similar in composition, correlated particularly with an increased supply of a number of globally important cereal and oil crops, and a decline of other cereal, oil, and starchy root species. The increase in homogeneity worldwide portends the establishment of a global standard food supply, which is relatively species-rich in regard to measured crops at the national level, but species-poor globally. These changes in food supplies heighten interdependence among countries in regard to availability and access to these food sources and the genetic resources supporting their production, and give further urgency to nutrition development priorities aimed at bolstering food security.

"Our sickness record is a national disgrace": Adelle Davis, nutritional determinism, and the anxious 1970s.

America's most widely read nutritionist of the postwar decades, Adelle Davis, helped to shape Americans' eating habits, their child-feeding practices, their views about the quality of their food supply, and their beliefs about the impact of nutrition on their emotional and physical health. This paper closely examines Davis's writings and argues that even though she is often associated with countercultural food reformers like Alice Waters and Frances Moore Lappé, she had as much in common with the writings of interwar nutritionists and home economists. While she was alarmed about the impact of pesticides and food additives on the quality of the food supply, and concerned about the declining fertility of American soil, she commanded American women to feed their families better and promised that improved nutrition would produce stronger, healthier, more beautiful children who would ensure America's future strength. She believed that nearly every health problem could be solved through nutrition, and urged her readers to manage their diets carefully and to take extensive supplementation to ensure optimum health. As such, she played an important role in creating the ideology of "nutritionism" - the idea that food should be valued more for its constituent parts than for its pleasures or cultural significance.

Investigating the historic long-term population health impact of the US National School Lunch Program.

OBJECTIVE: The present research aimed to compare historic participation in the US National School Lunch Program (NSLP) during childhood and subsequent prevalence of overweight and obesity among adults at the population level. DESIGN: Regression models examined cross-sectional, state- and age-based panel data constructed from multiple sources, including the Behavioural Risk Factor Surveillance System, US Congressional Record, US Census and the US Department of Agriculture. Models controlled for cohorts' racial/ethnic composition and state poverty rates. SUBJECTS: Adult-age cohorts (18-34, 35-49, 50-64 and 18-64 years) by US state over a 25-year period (1984-2008). SETTING: The cohorts' prevalence of overweight and obesity was compared with the cohorts' estimated NSLP participation during schooling (1925-2007; the NSLP began in 1946). RESULTS: Among adults aged 18-64 years, a one percentage-point increase in estimated NSLP participation during schooling between 1925 and 2007 was significantly associated with a 0·29 percentage-point increase in the cohort's later prevalence of overweight and obesity. Analysis of narrower age cohorts and different schooling periods produced mixed results. CONCLUSIONS: The NSLP might have influenced population health historically. Longitudinal analysis of individuals from studies now underway will likely facilitate more robust conclusions about the NSLP's long-term health impact based on more recent experiences.