A regional investigation of subadult dietary patterns and health in late Iron Age and Roman Dorset, England Rebecca C. Redfern a,1 , Andrew R. Millard b, * , Christine Hamlin c a Centre for Human Bioarchaeology, Museum of London, 150 London Wall, London EC2Y 5HN, United Kingdom b Department of Archaeology, Durham University, South Road, Durham DH1 3LE, United Kingdom c Department of Anthropology, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, P.O. Box 413, Milwaukee, WI 53201, USA. article info Article history: Received 7 April 2011 Received in revised form 15 December 2011 Accepted 16 December 2011 Keywords: Diet Subadult Weaning Late Iron Age Romanisation Roman Britain abstract This is the first regional analysis of the impact of Romanisation on subadult dietary patterns and related health parameters in Britain. A sample of 200 subadults from late Iron Age (LIA) and Romano-British (RB) Dorset were examined for dental health and specific metabolic diseases, and a sub-sample of 29 indi- viduals were selected for nitrogen and carbon isotope analysis. The results showed that dental health declined in the Romano-British period and the incidence of scurvy and rickets rose. Increased consumption of marine foods in the RB period is indicated by an increase in d 13 C between the LIA and RB subadults. After early childhood, there was no age-dependent variation in dietary protein in the RB and LIA populations from Dorset. We propose that these changes related to the introduction of urban living, Romanised diets and population migration. Ó 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction The impact of cultural, social and environmental change following the Roman conquest of Britain in AD 43 is most frequently known as Romanisation, a phrase that has been subject to much criticism and re-definition in recent years (Mattingly, 2006; Webster, 2001). Therefore, in our study we have followed Terrenato’s(1998:20) guidance and applied the term “.in its weakest sense, as a convenient denomination covering the events involved in the creation of Roman [Britain], with no cultural implications taken for granted.” The Romanisation of Britain has been particularly studied in respect to changes in material culture, funerary rites and the landscape (Mattingly, 2006), but in recent years our understanding of the transformations that took place within the local and wider environment has been invigorated by new studies examining the evidence for foodways and agriculture (Cool, 2006; King, 1999a, 2001; Locker, 2007; van der Veen et al., 2007 , 2008). This research has demonstrated that multiple foodways existed within Roman Britain, as the Romans did not seek to forcibly impose their dietary habits on colonies or conquered peoples (Alcock, 2003; Williams, 2000); the army also allowed the continuity of ethnic foodways, as attested by evidence presented by King (1999b) and Cool (2006). Such diversity was recognised during the Roman period, with changes in habits noted and discussed, particularly in relation to social change (Purcell, 2003). The results of stable isotope analyses of diet using human and animal remains in Roman Britain have supported and enhanced these findings, and allowed researchers to identify and examine differences at the individual, site, city and regional level (e.g. Chenery et al., 2010; Cummings, 2008; Leach et al., 2009; Müldner and Richards, 2007; Redfern et al., 2010). The Romanisation of Britain also had health consequences for the existing and migrant populations, particularly because the Roman invasion saw the introduction of towns and urban life-styles to previously rural and tribal communities (Mattingly, 2006). The incorporation of late Iron Age (LIA) communities into the Roman Empire had negative health impacts, particularly with respect to a decline in dental health and an increase in the prevalence of infectious and metabolic diseases (Redfern, 2008; Redfern and DeWitte, 2011; Roberts and Cox, 2003). Our understanding of how subadults responded to these changes is very limited (Redfern, 2007; Redfern and DeWitte, 2011), and is made all the more diffi- cult because we lack knowledge about their daily activities in the * Corresponding author. Tel.: þ44 (0) 191 374 4757; fax: þ44 (0) 191 374 3619. E-mail addresses: rredfern@museumoflondon.org.uk (R.C. Redfern), a.r.millard@ durham.ac.uk (A.R. Millard). 1 Tel.: þ44 (0)20 7814 5649. Contents lists available at SciVerse ScienceDirect Journal of Archaeological Science journal homepage: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/jas 0305-4403/$ e see front matter Ó 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.jas.2011.12.023 Journal of Archaeological Science xxx (2012) 1e11 Please cite this article in press as: Redfern, R.C., et al., A regional investigation of subadult dietary patterns and health in late Iron Age and Roman Dorset, England, Journal of Archaeological Science (2012), doi:10.1016/j.jas.2011.12.023