Journal of Archaeological Science (1998) 25, 293–301 Stable Carbon and Nitrogen Isotopes as Dietary Indicators of Ancient Nubian Populations (Northern Sudan) P. Iacumin Universita ` di Trieste, Dipartimento di Scienze Geologische, Ambientali e Marine, Via E. Weiss 6, 34100 Trieste, Italy, and Universite ´ Pierre et Marie Curie, CNRS-UMR 162, Laboratoire de Bioge ´ochimie Isotopique, 4 Place Jussieu, 75252 Paris, France H. Bocherens Universite ´ Pierre et Marie Curie, Laboratoire de Bioge ´ochimie Isotopique, Paris, France L. Chaix De ´partement d’Arche ´ozoologie, Muse ´um d’Histoire Naturelle, Gene `ve, Switzerland A. Marioth Universite ´ Pierre et Marie Curie, Laboratoire de Bioge ´ochimie Isotopique, Paris, France (Received 13 June 1996, revised manuscript accepted 17 March 1997) Human skeletal remains coming principally from the Kerma necropolis were studied for the carbon ( 13 C) and nitrogen ( 15 C) isotopic composition of skin and bone collagen to reconstruct the dietary regimens of these populations. The majority of samples belong to the Kerma cultural period that is subdivided into three phases: Ancient (4450–4000 ), Middle (4000–3700 ) and Classic (3700–3450 ). A few additional samples, belonging to the Meroitic (2300 –  350) and Christian ( 500–1400) periods, have been measured for comparison. The isotopic compositions of fossil and recent mammal and freshwater fish bones from the same area were also taken into account along with a few fossil plants considered to be representative of the Nubian population’s diet. On average, the measured  13 C and  15 N values suggest a mixed dietary regimen including C 3 and C 4 plants (C 4 plants being more important during the Ancient Kerma period), proteins from caprine and cattle (cattle being more important during the Ancient Kerma period), and freshwater fish.  1998 Academic Press Limited Keywords: STABLE ISOTOPES, NITROGEN, CARBON, KERMA, DIETARY REGIMEN. Introduction T he main problem in reconstructing the dietary regimens of ancient populations is obtaining reliable information on the various items representing ordinary daily food. This information cannot be always obtained from food remains found in archaeological sites. Analysis of 13 C/ 12 C and 15 N/ 14 N ratios of bone collagen provide direct information about the average diet of an individual over the last 25–30 years of his life (Stenhouse & Baxter, 1979; Van der Merwe, 1982; DeNiro, 1987). The isotopic com- position of human bone collagen generally deviates from dietary mean values by about +5‰ for carbon (Van der Merwe & Vogel, 1978) and 3–4‰ for nitrogen (Schoeninger & DeNiro, 1984). The isotopic com- position of other tissues, such as skin, is similarly considered to deviate in relation to diet but, until now, it has not been extensively studied. However, its turn- over rate is very fast, probably of the order of a few weeks to a few months, and the isotopic values are probably representative of the food eaten throughout a short time period before death (Tieszen et al., 1983; Katzenberg & Krouse, 1989). The samples analysed in this study come from the Kerma necropolis, sited approximately 6 km east of the Nile river in Northern Sudan. In this area the  13 C of diet can vary because of the differences in the relative importance of C 3 and C 4 plants: the former *Author for correspondence. 293 0305-4403/98/040293+09 $25.00/as970206  1998 Academic Press Limited