Isotopes reveal a plant-consuming multi-cultural community in Late Antique Sicily

Abstract Late Antiquity in the Mediterranean region and its border areas marks a period of significant historical change characterised by large-scale population movements and intense cultural interactions that are not yet fully understood. To offer new insights into these local-scale interactions, we employed stable isotope analyses of carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen to reconstruct diet and spatial mobility for 17 individuals from the rural Sicilian sites of Scorrione (Modica) and Cisternazzi (Ragusa). Stable carbon and nitrogen isotope results reveal that most of the analysed individuals relied predominantly on plant protein for their diets. Stable oxygen isotope data indicate that some of the buried individuals likely originated from Central Europe or Northern Africa. By combining the archaeological evidence with scientific analyses, the study contributes to our understanding of the dietary habits and cultural interactions in Sicily during Late Antiquity.