Eating in silence: isotopic approaches to nuns' diet at the convent of Santa Catalina de Siena (Belmonte, Spain) from the sixteenth to the twentieth century

ORIGINAL PAPER Eating in silence: isotopic approaches to nuns’diet at the convent of Santa Catalina de Siena (Belmonte, Spain) from the sixteenth to the twentieth century Natasa Sarkic 1 &Jesús Herrerín López 1 &Olalla López-Costas 2,3,4 &Aurora Grandal-d’Anglade 5 Received: 3 April 2018 /Accepted: 19 September 2018 /Published online: 8 November 2018 #The Author(s) 2018 Abstract Advances in geochemical and physical anthropological studies have provided new tools to reconstruct ancient lifestyles, especially of those minorities not commonly mentioned in historical texts. In comparison to males, little is known about everyday life in female monastic communities, and how it has changed over time. In this paper, we present a paleodietary (δ 13 Candδ 15 N in bone collagen) study of human (n=58)andanimal(n= 13) remains recovered from the former Convent of Santa Catalina de Siena in Belmonte (Cuenca, central Spain). Two funerary areas used by Dominican nuns were sampled: one dated to the sixteenth (n=34)andthe seventeenth (n= 15) centuries, and the other dated in the nineteenth and twentieth (n= 9) centuries. The isotopic values for sheep (n= 7) suggest the animals consumed at the convent came from diverse ecosystems or were raised under a range of management strategies. The human samples reflect a terrestrial diet, and those from the nineteenth to twentieth century, in some cases, reveal the presence of C 4 plants (millet, corn or sugar cane). Due to their religious practice, the consumption of terrestrial animal protein was restricted, and although they were allowed to eat fish, the isotopic signatures show little evidence of this. The individuals from the sixteenth and seventeenth century show a continuous shift in δ 15 N(9.7–12.7‰), with few significant differences in relation to the period, age, or pathologies (osteoporosis, periostitis, and brucellosis). The nineteenth- to twentieth-century samples can be divided into two groups: (a) one that fits the trend of previous centuries, albeit with a higher δ 15 N, possibly related to extensive access to animal protein; and (b) a second group with elevated δ 13 C values (up to −15.7‰). Different customs in the assumed homogeneous monastic life are discussed as possible sources of isotopic variation, including access to luxury products such as animal protein or sugar, or the practice of periods of food abstinence, which were especially popular with these communities, according to historical records. Keywords Isotopicanalysisincollagen .δ 13 C.δ 15 N.Paleodiet .Paleopathology .Modernperiod .Femalemonasticpopulation Abbreviations POB MON 1 The necropolis located in the cloister of the Convent of Santa Catalina de Siena, Belmonte (Spain), from the sixteenth to seventeenth centuries POB MON 2 The necropolis located in the choir of the Convent of Santa Catalina de Siena, Belmonte (Spain), from the nineteenth to twentieth centuries *Natasa Sarkic [email protected] Jesús Herrerín López [email protected] Olalla López-Costas [email protected]; [email protected] Aurora Grandal-d’Anglade [email protected] 1 Dpto. Biología. Facultad de Biología, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Campus de Cantoblanco, C/ Darwin, 2, 28049 Madrid, Spain 2 Group Earth System Science (GI-1553), Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, 15782 Santiago de Compostela, Spain 3 Archaeological Research Laboratory, Stockholm University, Sweden, Universitetsvägen 10, 114 18 Stockholm, Sweden 4 Laboratory of Anthropology, University of Granada, Spain, Av. del Hospicio, s/n, 18010 Granada, Spain 5 Instituto Universitario de Xeoloxía, Universidade da Coruña, ESCI, Campus de Elviña s/n, 15071 A Coruña, Spain Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences (2019) 11:3895–3911 https://doi.org/10.1007/s12520-018-0734-3 Introduction The study of diet is an essential component of the reconstruction of past populations. The need for food has driven many integral components of human society, such as settlement locations and distributions, population sizes, social organisation, and the development of technology (Bonsall et al. 1997). Progress in geophysical studies has allowed the reconstruction of the paleodiet, especially that of populations that are not frequently mentioned in historical texts, such as nuns. Although female monasteries undoubtedly played an important role as centres of spirituality and education for women, little is known about the everyday lives of their inhabitants, and how it changed over time. The eighteenth century in Spain brought progressive economic and technological development (Floristán 2011), as well as the decline in mortality due to improvements in nutrition (the influx of new foods), health, hygiene, and the treatment of diseases (Santonja 1999). Despite its importance, few osteoarchaeological and isotopic studies have addressed collections from this period and changes in health and diet, compared to previous centuries. The skeletal remains that are the object of this study proceed from the same monastery, but from a range of epochs (the sixteenth to seventeenth and the nineteenth to twentieth centuries); this offers a unique opportunity to understand the effect of the transition to industrialisation on a population that almost entirely preserved its way of life over the centuries. Nuns also offer an advantage, compared to other cohorts: their relatively homogeneous way of life allows an exploration of the effect of individual physiological characteristics in isotopic signals. Unlike most secular populations, the diet followed by monastic populations does not reflect social status, in that their nutrition is dictated by strict religious rules, including abstinence and fasting. Fasting in Christianity entails avoiding meat, dairy products, and eggs, for approximately a half of the year, and on every Wednesday and Friday throughout the rest of the year. Fish and seafood (such as shrimps, squid, cuttlefish, octopus, lobsters, crabs, snails, etc.) are allowed on all fasting days throughout the year. However, even for non-fasting days, it was suggested that reduced amounts of food, and especially meat, be consumed, Bso far as your health permits^(BConstitutions of the Nuns of the Order of Preachers^2015). The only habitants of a monastery excluded from the obligation to fast were the sick, children under 14, and those undergoing leech therapy (BConstitutions of the Nuns of the Order of Preachers^ 2015). Refraining from the consumption of meat and food of animal origin during fasting periods seems to have been of great importance for religious communities; the Constitutions stresses in several places that sick nuns need to return to their previous eating habits, after recovering from a period of ill health. Historical context The ancient fortress of the Infante Don Juan Manuel at Belmonte (Spain) was converted into the Dominican Convent of Santa Catalina de Siena in the sixteenth century (BLibro Becerro del Monasterio de Nuestra Señora de la Mejorada, de La Orden de San Jerónimo, de la villa de Olmedo^1760), and it remained in use for this purpose until 1960, when it was abandoned. Three necropolises have been excavated inside the fortress. One was located in the cloister area (POB MON 1) and is considered the earliest, dating from the sixteenth to the seventeenth century. A total of 27 tombs and at least 85 individuals were discovered there, all of whom were members of the monastic population. The second funeraryareawaslocatedinthe choir area (POB MON 2) and dated from the nineteenth to the twentieth century, containing 31 individuals in 45 tombs (some of the tombs were empty), all of whom were nuns. The third necropolis was discovered in the church floor, and was reserved for the secular population (Fig. 1). In total, the convent together with the outdoor areas that belonged to it had a surface of more than 7000 m 2 .Onthe ground floor there was a choir, antechoir, church, kitchens, refectory, nursing station, rooms for wine and olive oil production, a storeroom, and warehouses, while on the upper floor there were cells for nuns, rooms for work, a library, and some other rooms whose use is still undetermined. The outdoor area included a garden with a well and a mill. In the eighteenth century, stables were added to the main building (Caballero and Sánchez 2013). Apart from numerous glass, metal, stone, and ceramic remains, traces of fauna including the bones of hens, lambs, pigs, and fish (both freshwater and saltwater) and eggshells were also noted in the burial area. Archaeobotanical data were not available for this study because no flotation sampling has yet been carried out. Stable isotopes and diet Stable isotope analysis of bone or dentine collagen has been used for the dietary reconstruction of ancient human populations by analysing the ratios of carbon ( 13 C/ 12 C) and nitrogen ( 15 N/ 14 N) isotopes. Bone collagen is a protein that can provide an indication of the diet from the last few years of life, depending on the skeletal element (Fahy et al. 2017). In contrast, dentine collagen reflects the diet during tooth formation (Beaumont et al. 2015). C 3 and C 4 plants present different enrichment of 13 Cin their tissues, according to the photosynthetic pathways that they follow. C 3 plants are found in temperate climates and include most of the domesticated plants common in Iberian cuisine, including wheat, barley, rice, legumes, tubers, and nuts, and have a lower carbon stable isotope ratio (−33 to − 22‰), while C 4 plants, such as maize, millet, sugarcane, and sorghum, are mostly found in tropical climates and have higher δ 13 C(−16 to −9‰)(VanderMerwe1982;DeNiro 3896 Archaeol Anthropol Sci (2019) 11:3895–3911 1987). Their differing levels of discrimination against the 13 C can be utilised used as a Bmarker^to trace the presence and relative quantities of these plants in the human diet. Carbon isotope relative abundances also differ in terrestrial and marine environments, as the main source of carbon in the terrestrial environments is atmospheric CO 2 and in the marine environment it tends to be dissolved carbonates, with very distinct isotopic signatures (Schoeninger and DeNiro 1984). Marine environment values are normally close to the C 4 plants’ratios, with the consequent limitation being to distinguish between bothasasourceof 13 C enrichment on collagen. Stable isotope values in nitrogen are related to the trophic level in the food chain. Every increment in the position in the food web is followed by a stepwise increase in δ 15 Nfluctuating between + 3 and + 5‰(DeNiro and Epstein 1981;Hedges and Reynard 2007; Ambrose 1990; Bocherens and Drucker 2003; Schoeninger and DeNiro 1984), or even + 6‰ (O’Connell et al. 2012). The 15 Nenrichmentislinkedtoisotope fractionation during non-essential amino acids’synthesis and the breaking down of any excess protein not being used for tissue building (Reitsema 2013). The δ 15 Nalsoelevatedif large marine organisms are consumed (e.g. large fish, cephalopods), since trophic webs in the aquatic ecosystem are more complex and include more steps than terrestrial ones (Larsen 2002;Chisholmetal.2006). The stable isotopes of C and N in bone collagen and bone or dental apatite have become practically indispensable in palaeodiet studies (Lee-Thorp 2008;Schwarczand Schoeninger 2012). However, the baseline values for a given region and period are not always known. Environmental conditions, such as temperature and humidity, cause variations in the activity of nitrifying the bacteria prevalent in soils or in how plants take up their CO 2 . Therefore, there are variations in the isotopic baseline depending on altitude, latitude, climate, etc. (Goude and Fontugne 2016). A comparison between absolute isotopic values of one population and another is not always possible, and it is desirable to have a base value obtained from contemporary animals; for example, domestic livestock or species presumably for human consumption (Casey and Post 2011). Monastic diet There are four chief sources that can be used in order to obtain information about the diet of nuns: historical sources (such as expenses books, recipes, and book of monastery rules), zooarchaeological sources (animal bones found during excavations), analyses of skeletal remains, and isotopic analysis. The problem with the written sources is that the information contained in expenses books regarding food is most of the Fig. 1 Monastery in Belmonte. aDistribution and position of individuals from POB MON 1 found in the cloister area. bDistribution and position of individuals from POB MON 2 found in the choir. cThe map of Spain. The black region represents the province Cuenca and the white star the town Belmonte. dAncient fortress Infante Don Juan Manuel Archaeol Anthropol Sci (2019) 11:3895–3911 3897 time connected to extra food ordered for celebrations, or for when important figures were visiting (Sarkic 2017). Those lists certainly do not represent the everyday life and diet of nuns; because they had very established habits in every aspect of their life, it seems that there was no need to make a list of common supplies. This kind of information can therefore be considered supplementary data, but is not necessarily a reliable guide. In addition, one cannot necessarily use monastic rules to reconstruct monastic diets; just because certain rules existed does not necessarily mean that everyone followed them. An analysis of zooarchaeological data can help to detect the kinds of animals used in a monastery for primary (meat) and secondary use (such as eggs, wool, and milk), but because excavations of animal remains, and especially those from waste pits, are usually not performed meticulously and based on the rules of stratigraphy, it is hard to conclude whether these animals were killed for a special occasion, or if they were regularly used for food. Another problem with coming to conclusions about diet based on animal bones is that not all the food made in a convent was for nuns; monastery books and other sources of historical data mention lay sisters, novices, labourers (whenever there was a need to fix old or build new parts of a convent), and even servants in richer monasteries (Rey Castelao 2009). A paleopathological study of human remains can shed light on everyday food consumption. However, some pathological features and diseases that are consider to be an important indicators of episodes of starvation or (such as enamel hypoplasia, rickets, cribra orbitalia, femoral and humeral cribra, and Harris lines) are associated with early childhood or growth. This is a problem when studying nuns; it is known from historical sources that novices usually entered a convent between the ages of 12 and 16 (Bamji 2016;DeMaeyeretal.2004), so by analysing such markers, it is possible to detect malnutrition episodes that occurred before the subjects entered a monastery, but not those that happened after they had taken their vows. Other pathological disorders that can be detected on adult bones such as scurvy (Ortner 2003) and porotic hyperostosis (Walker et al. 2009) among others can be the result of malnutrition, while DISH has been connected to nutritional disorders such as obesity, diabetes, and vitamin deficiencies (Rogers and Waldron 2001; Roberts and Manchester 2005;Mays2006). However, those changes on the skeletal material reveal an extreme lack or overconsumption of a specific nutrient, and although they are also relevant to this type of analysis, the stable isotope method is considered the most complete, when studying a population’s diet. The aim of the study Despite the relative availability of works dealing with religious communities’food and everyday life (Müldner and Richards 2005,2007; Polet and Katzenberg 2003;Müldner et al. 2009; Yoder 2012;Bownesetal.2018; Gregoricka and Guise Sheridan 2013; Quintelier et al. 2014), they are almost exclusively focused on males—i.e. monks—and none was centred on monastic populations in Spain, meaning that the habits of cloistered nuns in Spain have so far been ignored in bioarchaeological research. This being so, the aim of this study is to isotopically characterise the individuals of a female religious community with a particular and, presumably, uniform diet in relation to their state of health in order to test: –Any agreement between the diet type suggested by the isotope signatures and historical records –The possibility of a connection between chronic diseases and isotopic signatures –The existence of differences in lifestyle between the two periods represented by POB MON 1 and POB MON 2. Materials and methods Faunal remains The samples studied come from a non-systematic collection of bone remains from what were probably kitchen waste pits. Because the sample is biased, given that not all bone remains were collected, their quantitative study cannot provide data on community food preferences, and it is also not possible to calculate its chronology. However, species identification and isotopic studies provide an important baseline on which to interpret human isotopic signals. The most abundant remains are from sheep, whose long bones indicate that adult animals aged between 18 and 24 months at the time of death, as calculated from the degree of epiphyseal fusion (Zeder 2006; Zeder and Lapham 2010). All the samples of chickens show them to have been adults with a total fusion of epiphysis, with a size that is smaller than contemporary hens. Among the total set of skeletal remains of this species analysed during the procedure, there was one tarsal-metatarsal with no spur (probably female, because it is too small to be a castrated male). In two of the long bones (a femur and, less markedly, in a tibiotarsus), the medullar cavity, usually hollow, was occupied with the medullary bone, which is characteristic of nesting females (Driver 1982). All this information seems to indicate that they were laying hens. During excavation, plenty of eggshells were observed which, unfortunately, were not available for our study (Caballero and Sánchez 2013). It is noteworthy that eggs have been documented in monastic recipes, being frequently used for sweets and soups, as well as fried (Alperi and Fernandez 2012). Other faunal remains are less represented in the sample: there were some of pigs (at least one domestic individual and a wild boar), one duck premaxilla, several fish remains, at least one catshark (Scyliorhinidae), and some bony fish identified as hake (Merluccius sp.) and salmon (Salmo sp.). 3898 Archaeol Anthropol Sci (2019) 11:3895–3911 Human remains As mentioned before, an ancient fortress was converted in the Dominican convent of Santa Catalina de Siena in the sixteenth century and lasted until 1960. Therefore, it was expected that most nuns were buried there. The study of skeletal remains and more specifically the sex estimation supports this assumption: 76 females, 1 probable male, 8 indeterminate adults, and 1 subadult in POB MON 1; 26 females and 5 indeterminate adults in POB MON 2 (Sarkic 2017). In addition, POB MON 1 is divided into two periods of use, according to its stratigraphy: the late sixteenth century—Bbelow^, and the seventeenth century—Babove^ (Caballero and Sánchez 2013). For the sex estimation, the usual anthropologic methods were used based on morphological characteristics of the coxal (Phenice 1969; Buikstra and Meilke 1985; Milner 1992; Bruzek 2002;Walker2005), the skull (Acsádi and Nemeskeri 1970; Buikstra and Ubelaker 1994), and mandibular ramus (Loth and Henneberg 1998)(Table1). The combination of coxal and skull sex estimation was used whenever the preservation allowed so as to obtain the highest possible accuracy (97%, according to Meindl et al. 1985). The statistical comparison between the two monastic populations did not show any significant differences in life expectancy, stature, entheseal changes, frequency and degree of OA, nor frequency of dental diseases, except for caries (Chi-square test p= 0.003), the occurrence of which increased with time (Sarkic 2017). In POB MON 1, caries was observed in 18.92% of individuals with preserved teeth, while in POB MON 2, 25.92% of individuals had this pathology. This could suggest that the lifestyle of the nuns did not experience any significant changes over the past century, except that dental hygiene became worse and/ or they began using new foodstuffs that were more likely to cause caries. Most individuals from POB MON 1 (59.4%) have been classified as mature adults aged over 40. Despite the advanced average age (for the epoch), pathological signs were not common. In POB MON 2, 87.5% individuals were over 40. In this population, the number of pathologies was higher (in proportion with the number of individuals), including osteomalacia, brucellosis, tuberculosis, and breast cancer. Samples For the isotopic analysis, 88 samples were selected (Table 2). In total, 65 humans from POB MON 1 and 9 from POB MON 2 were analysed. None of the samples were taken from areas with visible bone pathology, which could alter the isotopic signals (Katzenberg and Lovell 1999; Olsen et al. 2014). The fauna were composed of sheep (seven), hens (three), pigs (two), and fish (two), all taken from different individuals (Table 2). The best-preserved human skeletal remains were sampled, covering groups that ranged in age from sub-adults (14– 18 years) to older adults (+ 60 years), sex (one of the individuals was possibly male, while the others were females), and health conditions (some of the individuals showed signs of chronic diseases such as brucellosis, leprosy, cancer, tuberculosis, and osteoporosis). Although the main focus of this article is on adult females from the monastic population, the analysis of the diet of sub-adults and a possibly male individual will yield important information about life in convents and respect of the general monastic rules. Because the rules of the Dominican Order emphasise that the sick and children under 14 can be excluded from fasting, it was expected for that their isotopic signal would be different. In the case of the possibly male individual, if the isotopic signal was similar to that other the nuns that could mean that he (?) lived with them in the same convent, while any differences could indicate that he (?) was only buried there, or received some kind of special treatment.The sampled bones in POB MON 1 were mainly skull fragments (n=32)and ribs (n= 21). There were also eight long bone diaphysis, three vertebrae, and one jaw fragment (see Table 2). For POB MON 2, all the samples were ribs, except for one metacarpal. Table 1 Methods used for the sex estimation based on morphological characteristics of the coxal and skull Sex estimation methods Method Author(s) Reliability Subpubic region—the ventral arc, the subpubic concavity and the ischiopubic ramus ridge Phenice (1969); Buikstra and Meilke (1985)96% Great sciatic notch Milner (1992); Bruzek (2002); Walker (2005)95–96% Skull—nuchal crest, the mastoid process, the supraorbital ridges, the glabellar region and the mental eminence in the mandible Acsádi and Nemeskeri (1970); Buikstra and Ubelaker (1994) 92% Mandibular ramus Loth and Henneberg (1998)90% Archaeol Anthropol Sci (2019) 11:3895–3911 3899 Treatment of the samples The surface of each bone and all traces of cancellous bone in the ribs or long bone fragments were removed, using a dental drill equipped with an abrasive disc. The cranial fragments were treated as a whole, with the bone chunks sonicated in at least five different baths. The cleaned samples were dried at room temperature for 48 h and then ground into powder (0.5 mm sieve) with an agate mortar and pestle. As an initial approximation of collagen preservation (Bocherens et al. 2005), we conducted an elemental analysis of C and N proportions in bulk bone powder, except in some cases in which the obtained bone powder was too limited, and the entire sample was reserved for isotopic analysis. Although most of the skull fragments yielded a low content of N (under 0.3%), all were included in the analysis. The collagen extraction was carried out according to the procedure described by Longin (1971) and Bocherens et al. (1997). Three hundred milligrams of bone powder was first demineralised in HCl solution (1 M, 20 min, room temperature) and filtered (5 μm). The residue was soaked in NaOH solution (0.125 M, 20 h, room temperature), filtered (5 μm), and solubilised in a weak acid solution (HCl, 0.01 M, 17 h, 100 °C). The dissolved collagen solution was filtered (5 μm) and freeze-dried for 48 h. Stable isotope ratios ( 13 C/ 12 Cand 15 N/ 14 N) of the extracted collagen were performed using an Elemental Analyser FlashEA 1112 (ThermoFinnigan) connected through a Conflo II (ThermoFinnigan) interface to a Delta plus (ThermoFinnigan) isotopic relationship Mass Spectrometer, in the Instrumental Analysis Techniques Unit (UTIA) of the Research Support Services of University of A Coruña. Analytical reproducibility is better than 0.2‰for both δ 13 C and δ 15 N. The internal standard was acetanilide, and all data were averaged from the two replicates. Stable isotope ratios are expressed with delta notation (δ 13 C, δ 15 N) in parts per thousand (‰) relative to international standards, VPDB for C and AIR for N, respectively. Collagen preservation was tested based on quality and quantity factors, which can be summarised as follows: Yield ≥1.5% (Ambrose 1990); %C ≥13% and %N≥5% (Ambrose 1990), C/N ratio within the range of 2.9 to 3.6 (DeNiro 1985). The statistical analysis was performed using the PAST package (Hammer et al. 2001). Results Collagen quality Collagen quality indicators are presented in detail in Table 2(faunal remains), Table 3(POB MON 1, sixteenth to seventeenth century), and Table 4(POB MON 2, nineteenth to twentieth century). All the animal samples, except one (a fish vertebra with atomic C/N=3.8), yielded good-quality collagen. In POB MON 1, 16 of 65 samples had poorly preserved collagen, recognisable by yields below the acceptable threshold and/or a C/N ratio outside the recommended range. The remaining 49 bone samples showedaC/NratiointheacceptablerangeandCandN content over the threshold (Ambrose 1990). A total of 43 (81.2% of the accepted samples) met a more restrictive requirement, with C > 30% and N>11% (Van Klinken 1999). In POB MON 2, all nine bone samples analysed yielded good-quality collagen. In total, we gained wellpreserved collagen and isotopic data from 58 humans and 13 faunal remains. Table 2 Data from faunal remains in the convent of Santa Catalina de Siena (Belmonte, Spain). Species, bone analysed, quality indicators of bone collagen, and isotopic values obtained Fauna Bone Observations % N os Collagen yield % % Ccol % Ncol C/N at δ 13 C VPDV (‰)δ 15 N AIR (‰) Catshark Vertebra n.d. 11.5 39.70 14.60 3.2 −11.3 11.2 Gallus 1 Tibiotarsus 1.14 8.5 38.60 14.00 3.2 −19.9 7.8 Gallus 2 Tibiotarsus 0.68 7.8 40.10 14.60 3.2 −19.3 8.6 Gallus 3 Tibiotarsus 1.04 11.6 39.40 14.40 3.2 −19.6 9.4 Ovis 1 Tibia Left 1.07 9.7 39.60 14.80 3.1 −19.4 7.3 Ovis 2 Tibia Left 0.86 8.5 39.70 14.70 3.2 −20.7 7.4 Ovis 3 Tibia Left 0.82 8.4 39.50 14.70 3.1 −19.7 9.6 Ovis 4 Tibia Left 0.97 17.6 39.80 14.90 3.1 −20.1 9.1 Ovis 5 Tibia Left 1.23 20.4 39.80 14.80 3.1 −21.0 6.6 Ovis 6 Tibia Left 1.01 19.9 39.80 14.80 3.1 −19.9 8.9 Ovis 7 Tibia Left 1.09 10.0 38.30 14.30 3.1 −20.1 8.3 Sus domesticus Metapodium 1.92 20.8 39.80 14.90 3.1 −19.3 9.9 Sus scrofa Maxila 1.11 10.6 40.45 14.90 3.2 −18.7 9.0 3900 Archaeol Anthropol Sci (2019) 11:3895–3911 In the human remains, most of the refused samples (15 of 16) were skull fragments, and one was a fragment of the femur. After the samples that did not reach the quality indicators were discarded, both the collagen yield and collagen N percentage showed statistically significant median differences between ribs and skull fragments (Mann-Whitney Uwith Monte Carlo permutation, P= 0.0001). The collagen C percentage showed no significant difference, and the ribs and long bones showed no significant differences in any parameters. This demonstrates that for the Belmonte collection, ribs and long bones seem to contain better-preserved collagen than skull fragments. Table 3 Data of the individuals from POB MON 1 (sixteenth to seventeenth century) found in the convent of Santa Catalina de Siena (Belmonte, Spain). Tomb number and individual, type of bone analysed, age and sex of the individual (F—female, M—male, and I— indeterminate), position, pathologies and/or other observations, quality indicators of bone collagen, and isotopic values obtained Tombindividual Bone Sex Age Stratigraphy Observations % Nos Collagen yield % % Ccol % Ncol C/N at δ 13 C VPDV (‰) δ 15 N AIR (‰) 2-11 Rib F 19–25 Below 3.0 20.3 41.4 15.2 3.2 −18.4 11.0 2-12 Femur F 40–59 Below 0.4 2.1 27.5 9.1 3.5 −18.3 11.4 3-11 Rib F 40–59 Below 3.9 18.9 41.8 15.4 3.2 −17.9 11.5 3-12 Rib I 40–59 Below Brucellosis 2.5 13.2 40.1 14.7 3.2 −18.0 11.5 4-11 Skull M 40–59 Below 0.8 5.2 37.2 13.4 3.2 −18.1 11.4 6-11 Femur F > 60 Below 0.4 2.2 34.0 11.1 3.6 −18.2 11.9 6-12 Rib F 25–39 Below Osteoporosis 1.6 10.7 41.2 15.1 3.2 −17.9 11.0 6-13 Skull F > 60 Below 1.0 5.9 39.0 14.6 3.1 −18.4 11.4 8-11 Rib I 25–39 Below 1.0 7.1 32.5 11.9 3.2 −18.4 9.9 8-14 Rib I 25–39 Below 1.7 9.9 39.5 14.6 3.2 −18.1 10.3 9-21 Peroné F > 60 Above 1.9 17.6 36.5 13.4 3.2 −18.0 10.7 9-22 Skull F 14–18 Below Youngest 0.3 1.9 24.7 8.0 3.6 −18.2 12.7 9-25 Skull F Indeterminate Below 0.5 3.6 29.2 10.0 3.4 −17.7 12.6 10-22 Rib F 25–39 Below 2.0 16.0 35.0 13.0 3.1 −18.0 10.3 10-26 Skull F > 60 Below 1.3 12.1 39.2 14.6 3.1 −18.4 10.6 10-27 Skull F 40–59 Below 1.0 6.9 37.4 13.9 3.1 −18.3 11.6 11-12 Skull F 40–59 Below 3.1 18.9 40.1 14.5 3.3 −17.7 11.7 11-13 Femur F 40–59 Below 3.6 27.1 39.2 14.6 3.1 −18.5 10.2 12-0 Vertebra F Indeterminate Below 3.2 22.4 39.5 14.8 3.1 −18.2 11.6 12-22 Jaw F 40–59 Below 1.0 7.1 36.9 13.6 3.2 −18.0 10.7 12-23 Skull F 40–59 Below 2.6 22.2 40.5 14.6 3.2 −17.5 10.7 12-24 Skull F 25–39 Above 1.3 18.5 39.4 13.9 3.3 −16.2 13.9 13-3 Skull F 40–59 Below 0.4 2.4 34.3 11.8 3.4 −18.0 11.8 13-4 Skull F 40–59 Below 0.4 1.8 31.5 10.7 3.4 −18.4 12.0 13-6 Skull F 40–59 Below 0.5 2.9 36.3 12.8 3.3 −18.4 11.7 13-7 Rib F 40–59 Below TBC? 3.3 22.2 39.3 14.5 3.2 −17.7 11.5 13-7 Skull F 40–59 Below TBC? 1.8 13.9 39.7 14.9 3.1 −18.2 10.6 14-11 Rib F 40–59 Above 3.7 25.4 39.4 14.6 3.2 −18.3 10.5 14-14 Skull F 19–25 Below 0.3 3.5 35.3 11.5 3.1 −18.0 11.5 14-16 Rib F > 60 Below 4.2 32.6 38.4 14.3 3.1 −18.1 12.5 15-13 Rib F 40–59 Above 3.8 25.8 41.2 15.0 3.2 −18.1 11.7 15-14 Vertebra F 40–59 Below 3.2 21.7 40.7 14.7 3.2 −18.0 12.0 16-11 Rib F 25–39 Above 2.7 26.9 16.5 5.3 3.6 −18.2 11.5 17-11 Rib F 25–39 Above 2.1 30.8 16.5 5.4 3.6 −18.1 11.3 18-12 Rib F 19–25 Above Cribra femoralis 3.9 6.10 25.4 8.7 3.4 −17.9 12.6 18-13 Femur F 40–59 Below 3.3 5.8 19.7 6.7 3.5 −18.0 12.0 18-14 Humerus F > 60 Below Osteoporosis 3.4 7.1 24.2 8.2 3.4 −18.1 11.6 19-12 Rib F 19–25 Above 2.1 25.4 14.7 5.0 3.5 −18.0 12.1 20-31 Rib F 40–59 Above 3.8 23.2 40.0 15.0 3.1 −18.1 11.6 20-32 Rib F > 60 Below 3.8 27.1 39.3 14.6 3.1 −17.7 11.6 21-13 Skull F 25–39 Below 1.8 22.9 39.6 14.5 3.2 −18.6 9.7 22-12 Rib F 25–39 Above Periostitis 1.9 12.4 38.7 14.5 3.1 −18.0 11.6 23-12 Skull F > 60 Below 1.7 15.5 38.3 14.0 3.2 −18.1 11.5 23-13 Vertebra F 25–39 Below 1.6 13.6 39.5 14.3 3.2 −17.5 10.9 24-16 Rib F 40–59 Above 2.9 19.9 38.2 14.4 3.1 −17.8 12.4 25-1 Rib F > 60 Below Osteoporosis 4.2 25.8 39.7 14.8 3.1 −17.7 12.3 25-2 Rib F 40–59 Below 2.1 18.0 39.1 14.7 3.1 −18.5 10.9 25-3 Fibula F 25–39 Above 2.7 21.0 35.7 13.4 3.1 −17.8 11.7 25-4 Skull F > 60 Below 2.6 19.1 40.3 14.5 3.2 −18.0 11.7 Archaeol Anthropol Sci (2019) 11:3895–3911 3901 Faunal remains Figure 2shows the isotope data of bone collagen that are listed in Tables 2,3,and4and summarised in Table 5. The terrestrial fauna (Table 2) presented a moderate isotopic variability in δ 15 N, with the sheep showing the lowest mean values (δ 15 N = 8.2 ± 1.1‰). In Gallus, the mean value was slightly higher (δ 15 N=8.6±0.8‰). The pigs, both domestic and wild, showed higher nitrogen signatures than all other terrestrial animals (δ 15 N = 9.0 and 9.9‰, respectively). Terrestrial animals’δ 15 N ranges from 6.6 to 9.9‰,whileδ 13 Cranged from −21.0 to −18.7‰,suggestingthatC 4 plants were not the dietary staple. The analysed fish (a catshark vertebra) showed a clear marine signature, δ 13 C=−11.3‰. Isotope signatures in POB MON 1 Although the bone collagen values from POB MON 1 (Table 3) presented dispersion, only 1 of the 49 individuals had significant different signatures, especially in the δ 13 C values (Grubbs’test G=, p= 0.001 for δ 13 CandG=, p= 0.055 for δ 15 N; Grubbs 1969) and will be considered separately. Once the outlier had been removed, both isotopes showed distributions that were not significantly different to normal (Shapiro-Wilk Wtest, W=, p= 0.200 for δ 13 Cand W=, p= 0.127 for δ 15 N). The average values for the main group were δ 13 C=−18.1 ± 0.3 and δ 15 N = 11.4 ± 0.7. In contrast to the animals, δ 13 C was within a limited range (1.1‰), but δ 15 N showed, as in the sheep, a continuous shift of 3‰, between 9.7 and 12.7‰. The trophic spacing between the terrestrial animals and the humans for δ 15 N mean values is barely 3‰, not reaching that of one trophic level (O’Connelletal.2012). For δ 13 C, there is an offset of 1.7‰, close to the upper limit for a trophic level, according some authors (Bocherens and Drucker 2003; McCutchan et al. 2003). The outlier individual in POB MON 1 was a young female (aged 25–39) who showed more positive values for both δ 13 C and δ 15 N, in comparison to the rest of the population. No pathological signs on bones, apart from some marginal osteophytes, compatible with an early stage of OA were detected in this individual, and no deviation in funeral practice was observed. The age of the individuals analysed varies between 14–18 and > 60, but the isotope values (Fig. 3,Table6)showedonly small statistically significant (α= 0.05) differences between any of the established age groups. A Kruskal-Wallis Htest with Bonferroni correction yielded no significant differences between the three major age groups in C and a slight difference in N isotope values. However, the youngest individual, aged 14–18 years, reached the highest value of δ 15 N, if the Boutlier^ was not taken into account. A paired comparison (Mann- Whitney Uwith Monte Carlo permutation) between age classes yielded slightly significant differences between the medians of thegroupsfrom25to39years old, and all others for δ 15 N. However, these differences could be due to the scarcity of data in some age classes. With regard to sex, a possible male individual (individual 4–11) aged 40–59 showed values that entirely corresponded to the average values of the monastic community. The results also showed that the individuals with detected chronic pathologies (i.e. brucellosis, osteopenia, and periostitis) are within the range of variation of those with no clear pathological features in δ 15 N, but are slightly different (α=0.10)in δ 13 C. Finally, there are no significant isotopic differences between individuals deposited below or above in the grave. Isotope signatures in the nineteenth to twentieth century (POB MON) POB MON 2 individuals (Table 4) fall into two separate groups according to their δ 13 C. The most numerous one (n= 6) showed similar values to the monastic population from Table 4 Data of the individuals from the nineteenth to twentieth century (POB MON 2) found in the convent of Santa Catalina de Siena (Belmonte, Spain). Tomb number and individual, type of bone analysed, age and sex of the individual (F—female), pathologies and/or other observations, quality indicators of bone collagen, and isotopic values obtained Group Tomb/ individual Bone Sex Age Observations Collagen yield % % Ccol % Ncol C/N at δ 13 C VPDV (‰)δ 15 N AIR (‰) POB MON 2 T-4 Rib F 40–59 Leprosy 19.5 34.1 12.4 3.2 −18.7 12.4 POB MON 2 T-21 Rib F 25–39 20.0 40.7 14.7 3.2 −15.7 11.1 POB MON 2 T-23 Rib F 40–59 26.5 41.8 15.0 3.2 −18.6 12.3 POB MON 2 T-24 Metacarpal F 40–59 Cancer 24.7 37.7 13.7 3.2 −15.7 11.4 POB MON 2 T-28A Rib F 40–59 Brucellosis 27.2 40.8 14.7 3.2 −15.8 11.7 POB MON 2 T-28B Rib F 40–59 24.2 40.8 14.8 3.2 −18.3 10.4 POB MON 2 T-30 Rib F + 60 23.1 36.4 13.2 3.2 −17.9 12.6 POB MON 2 T-36 Rib F 40–59 19.0 41.2 14.7 3.3 −17.8 13.0 POB MON 2 T-44 Rib F 40–59 23.9 37.6 13.6 3.2 −18.6 12.0 3902 Archaeol Anthropol Sci (2019) 11:3895–3911 previous centuries (Kruskal-Wallis test with Bonferroni correction, p= 0.1271). The second group, composed of the remaining three individuals, revealed a distinctly enriched δ 13 C; two of them had signs of chronicle pathological condition, most likely breast cancer and brucellosis, while the third did not display any pathological changes, except OA on the metacarpals. As for the nitrogen, the mean value is slightly higher than in POB MON 1(δ 15 N=11.9‰±0.8, from 10.4 to 13.0‰). Discussion Animal diet The terrestrial animals’δ 13 Crangedfrom−18.7 to −21.0‰, suggesting a low or null intake of C 4 plants. Their δ 15 Nvalues showed moderate variability (6.6 to 9.9‰) reflecting different feeding types. The sheep’sδ 15 Nvaluesrangedfrom6.6to 9.6‰. According to their epiphyseal degree of fusion, all were prime adults and should not show any correspondence to the isotopic signal of their suckling stage. In fact, no correlation has been found between sheep size and isotopic values. The variability in the isotopic signatures of the sheep may indicate that they came from outside the convent yard, and possibly from various ecosystems or management systems (see, for example, López-Costas and Müldner 2016). Gallus also showed a variation in δ 15 N(7.8to9.4‰), their mean values being slightly higher than those of the sheep. Here, the observed variability could be caused by the different types of feed consumed by the hens (such as grain and feed leftovers) or even by their different vital stages (such as breeders or layers). They show no appreciable traces of C 4 grain consumption (δ 13 Cfrom−19.9 to −19.3‰), as in other Iberian deposits (Alexander et al. 2015; Quirós Castillo 2013). The pigs, both domestic and wild, showed intermediate nitrogen Table 5 Summary of isotope values for the three studied human groups and the faunal remains δ 13 C(‰)δ 15 N(‰) Human 16th–17th (POB MON 1) Average ± 1 SD −18.0±0.369 11.4±0.790 (n= 47) (max, min) (−18.6 to −16.2) (9.7to13.9) Mean without outlier ± 1 SD −18.1±0.259 11.4±0.711 (n=46) (−18.6 to −17.5) (9.7to12.7) Outlier −16.2 13,9 Mean dentine collagen ± 1 SD −18.3 ± 0.213 9.9 ± 0.474 (n=4) (−18.4 to −17.9) (9.6to10.6) Human 19th–20th (POB MON 2) Mean bone collagen ± 1SD −17.5±1.328 11.9±0.814 (n=9) (−18.7 to −15.7) (10.4 to 13.0) Dentine collagen n=1 −18.6 11.3 Human 19th–20th (POB CIV 2) Bone collagen (n=1) −18.1 12.3 Fauna Sheep mean ± 1 SD −20.1 ± 0.560 8.2 ± 1.101 (n=7) (−21.0 to −19.4) (6.6to9.6) Hen mean ± 1 SD −19.6 ± 0.275 8.6 ± 0.825 (n=3) (−19.9 to −19.3) (7.8to9.4‰) Wild pig Sus scrofa −18.7 9.0 Domestic pig Sus domesticus −19.3 9.9 Catshark −12.2 11.3 -22 -20 -18 -16 -14 -12 -10 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 POB MON 1 (16th - 17th), n=49 POB MON 2 (19th - 20th), n=9 sheep, n=7 hen, n=3 wild boar catfish δ15N AIR (‰) δ13C VPDV (‰) pig analytical error Fig. 2 Bone collagen isotopic values of POB MON 1 (sixteenth to seventeenth century), POB MON 2 (nineteenth to twentieth century), POB CIV 2 (nineteenth century), and faunal samples collected in the convent Santa Catalina de Siena in Belmonte (Cuenca, Spain) Archaeol Anthropol Sci (2019) 11:3895–3911 3903 measurements of bone remodelling within adult humans. 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