Natalia G. Svirkina

Institute of Archaeology R AS, Moscow, Russia

E-mail: svirkina.natalia@mail.ru

Keywords: isotope analysis, dietary traditions, Asian Bosporus, Phanagoria, necropolis.

The article is devoted to the results of an isotope study of skeletal materials from the burials of the Eastern Necropolis in Phanagoria of the Hellenistic, Roman, and Late Antique periods, which make it possible to characterize the dietary patterns of the population of a large classical city. A common feature of the Phanagorians is the active consumption of meat and dairy products, and probably fish. The author revealed a tendency to reduction in the consumption of protein foods from the Hellenistic to the Roman and Late Antique periods. During their lifetime, individuals from grave pits and crypts had a greater diversity in dietary preferences as compared with people buried in undercut graves and in cists. Gender differences in diet are manifested only in the Roman period. According to the data obtained, it can be concluded that the Eastern Necropolis was the burial site of people with high social status.

DOI: 10.31857/S086960630004798-6