Abstract
Abstract
The archaeological site of Rua dos Lagares #74, Lisbon, has two distinct phases of use as a burial space. Necropolis I appeared to be a Jewish cemetery that was abandoned by the end of the 15th century, coinciding with the formal expulsion of Jewish communities from Portugal in 1496 CE. Necropolis II was later established and apparently used for multifaith burials in the early 16th century, and at least some of the interred appeared to have African origins and may have been enslaved, freedmen, or labourers living in Lisbon following Portuguese imperial expansion along the West African coast. Multi-isotope analysis of bone collagen (δ
13
C
col
, δ
15
N) and tooth enamel (δ
13
C
en
, δ
18
O,
87
Sr/
86
Sr) from 53 adult individuals (Necropolis I: 29, Necropolis II: 24) revealed starkly contrasting life histories amongst and between the individuals buried in both necropolises. In Necropolis I, childhood and adulthood diets were very homogeneous and similar to published isotope values from other late medieval communities in Lisbon. Most individuals in Necropolis I were apparently local, apart from five males. In Necropolis II, extraordinary diversity could be observed in both childhood and adulthood diets of the population as well as in their places of origin. It could be observed, through the isotope data, that not only were most of the Necropolis II individuals non-local to Lisbon, but they also hailed from vastly diverse geographic regions with different food sources. These results represent a rare opportunity to consider the origins and dietary histories of (potentially) enslaved Africans in the Old World, predating the transatlantic slave trade, in the case of Necropolis II, and unique insight into Jewish communities in Lisbon prior to D. Manuel I’s Edict of Expulsion in the case of Necropolis I.