An international study led by the Universities of Córdoba and Pisa used isotopic analysis to reconstruct the dietary traces left in human remains found in an Italian necropolis, revealing what daily life was like in that community 2,700 years ago. Despite the passage of time, certain patterns of behavior recur: diet, human mobility, gender differences and the role of funerary symbolism in signifying social status.
The study focused on the Novilara necropolis, one of the largest burial grounds of the Picene culture (a pre-Roman culture in central Italy that was contemporaneous with the Tartessian societies on the Iberian Peninsula, among others), and combined bioarchaeological and multi-isotopic analyses.
Reading diet through isotopes
Specifically, the research team analyzed stable isotopes of carbon, nitrogen and sulfur, "chemical footprints" of diets recorded in bones, teeth, hair and nails that can be preserved for thousands of years. "As they form, bones and teeth absorb the isotopic composition of the food and water consumed. As a result, analyzing them can provide information about diet, mobility and the environment in which people lived," explained Zita Laffranchi, a researcher in the Prehistory Department at the University of Córdoba.
While isotopes provide information about diet, food offers clues about social behavior. In this regard, the study revealed a diet that differed by sex (men had greater access to animal protein compared with women) and a society in which between 1.4% and 6.4% of people came from other areas, suggesting mobility and contact with other populations, including some that were distant.
Prestige in graves, not diet
Their diet, primarily based on cereals and meat rather than fish—despite the proximity of the Adriatic Sea, just 6 kilometers (3.7 miles) away—suggests that the prestige reflected in some tombs wasn't always accompanied by noticeable differences in the living conditions of those who were buried.
"The study shows that social inequality cannot be interpreted solely based on the objects placed in graves," Laffranchi explained. Individuals buried with valuable objects, such as amber ornaments or weapons, showed no isotopic evidence of eating better than those buried more modestly. This suggests that the social status conveyed by the grave was a symbolic construct that did not necessarily reflect the deceased's position or living conditions. Instead, it likely stemmed, at least in part, from the decisions and traditions of the community's survivors.
The study, published in the Journal of Archaeological Science, provides new evidence about the lifestyles of pre-Roman Iron Age societies and helps us understand the extent to which social differences, gender and mobility were reflected in daily life. "The study demonstrates the potential of bioarchaeological approaches to understand how people experienced identity, mobility and social differences in the past," said Marco Milella, a researcher at the University of Pisa.
Publication details
Zita Laffranchi et al, Multi-isotopic insights into diet, mobility, and status in the Picene necropolis of Novilara, Italy (8th-7th centuries BCE), Journal of Archaeological Science (2026). DOI: 10.1016/j.jas.2026.106633
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Citation: Diet reveals what life was like 2,700 years ago in an Italian community: Gender inequality, social status and migration (2026, July 27) retrieved 28 July 2026 from https://phys.org/news/2026-07-diet-reveals-life-years-italian.html
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