Life and death in the medieval mining centre of Kutná Hora - reconstructing diets during the recurrent mortality crises of the 14th century AD (Czechia)

A diet rich in animal products or fish significantly increased the likelihood of survival to adulthood during the 14th century mortality crises in Kutná Hora, Czechia. This finding emerges from stable carbon and nitrogen isotope analysis of bone samples, which revealed that famine victims had lower nitrogen isotope values (δ¹⁵N), indicating reduced intake of animal-derived foods. Survivors also exhibited higher δ¹⁵N values compared to non-survivors, even in regular graves. The study suggests that a diet low in animal products and earlier weaning may have contributed to higher mortality rates, particularly during famines like the 1318 crisis. Plague outbreaks did not appear linked to dietary patterns. Weaning age was estimated at 2.8 years using WEAN software, though sample size limitations caution against overgeneralizing these results.

Drtikolová Kaupová, S., Frolík, J., Velemínský, P., Velímský, F., Vytlačil, Z., & Brzobohatá, H. (2026). Life and death in the medieval mining centre of Kutná Hora - reconstructing diets during the recurrent mortality crises of the 14th century AD (Czechia). Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences, 18(1). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12520-025-02392-3