Elemental Status in Individuals from Naklice Burial Site (Southern Croatia): Mediaeval Diet Reconstruction

Elemental status of mediaeval individuals from Naklice burial site (Southern Croatia) was analyzed and their diet was reconstructed. Samples from different human bones were taken from 16 individuals who died in the 9th century and were recently excavated from Naklice burial site. The metal content of iron, lead, cadmium, magnum, zinc, copper, strontium, and calcium were determined by atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS) in flame mode. Mercury concentration was determined by three direct consecutive measures taken with a mercury analyzer. When comparing our results to the modern bone heavy metal concentrations, it is obvious that Cu, Fe, Ca and Sr greatly exceeded the values while concentration of Zn and Pb were lower. Concentration of Sr was about ten times higher than in modern bone samples. Due to environmental contamination, lead concentration in studied bones was lower than in modern bone samples. According to our results we concluded that the probable main dietary components of individuals excavated from Naklice burial site from Early Mediaeval period were leafy vegetables, legumes and small amounts of cereals