Ancient Diets Revealed: Tooth Analysis Uncovers Life in Early Mesopotamian Cities
Ancient Diets Revealed Through Tooth Analysis
Researchers at Sapienza University of Rome have reconstructed the diets of inhabitants of early Mesopotamian cities, including insights into infant feeding practices, through the analysis of human and animal teeth discovered at the archaeological site of Abu Tbeirah in modern-day Iraq. The findings, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), offer a detailed look at daily life in one of the world’s first urban centers around 6,000 years ago.
The study focused on Abu Tbeirah, a medium-sized city located in southern Mesopotamia, on the banks of the Euphrates River. Analysis of the teeth revealed a predominantly cereal-based diet, with limited consumption of meat and little to no evidence of marine fish, despite the city’s proximity to the coast. This challenges previous understandings of food sources in the region.
“These findings provide a much more detailed picture of daily life in early urban Mesopotamia and allow us to go beyond written sources – administrative records that focus on the priorities of elites – to reconstruct the diet of ordinary people,” said Matteo Giaccari, the lead author of the study.
The research indicates a relatively equitable distribution of resources, with both men and women appearing to have similar access to food. This suggests a largely non-elitist community. The analysis provided uncommon details about prenatal nutrition, breastfeeding, and weaning practices – aspects of early childhood often invisible in archaeological contexts.
The composition of tooth enamel revealed changes associated with nutrition during infancy, allowing researchers to trace the transition from breastfeeding to solid foods. “Babies were breastfed for a long period, and complementary foods such as cereals and animal milk were gradually introduced,” researchers found.
These practices align with those documented in ancient Mesopotamian texts, but the ability to observe them at an individual level provides new insights into how communities raised their children. Licia Romano, co-director of the Abu Tbeirah excavations, stated, “Being able to reconstruct diets during early childhood offers a unique perspective on family life, the care received by the youngest, and health in one of the first complex societies.”
Reconstructing ancient diets in southern Mesopotamia has historically been difficult due to the region’s arid climate and saline soils, which destroy collagen – the organic material traditionally used for dietary isotopic analysis. To overcome this obstacle, the research team employed an innovative approach: analyzing zinc isotopes in tooth enamel.
Combined with the study of carbon and oxygen isotopes and trace elements (essential minerals needed in tiny quantities by the human body), this method allows specialists to reconstruct individual diets without relying on collagen. “Teeth are extraordinary biological archives,” emphasized bioarchaeologist Mary Anne Tafuri. “Due to their high resistance to post-mortem degradation, they can be analyzed even in contexts where aridity and salinization could compromise other tissues.”
The research team, based at the Laboratory of Paleoanthropology and Bioarchaeology at Sapienza University of Rome, is part of the Department of Environmental Biology and closely linked to the Museum of Anthropology “G. Sergi.” Professor Giorgio Manzi heads the laboratory. The team’s work opens new possibilities for studying ancient diets, infant nutrition, and lifestyles in arid environments worldwide, according to Professor Klervia Jaouen.
The Institute for the Study of Mummies at the European Academy of Bolzano (EURAC Research) is too actively involved in research related to ancient diets, as demonstrated by their work on Ötzi, the “Iceman” discovered in the Alps in 1991.