Diet of ancient Egyptians inferred from stable isotope systematics

Carbon, nitrogen and sulfur stable isotope compositions were measured in hard and soft tissues from Egyptian mummies of humans and animals in order to track the diet of ancient Egyptians from 5500 to 1500 years B.P. The carbon isotope ratios of bone apatite (δ13Cbo = −14.3 ± 0.9‰) and hair protein (δ13Ch = −19.9‰) are compatible with a diet based almost exclusively on C3-derived food (proportion of C4 < 10%). Less negative carbon isotope ratios of enamel (δ13Cen = −11.6 ± 0.7‰) relative to bones from the same mummies could be the result of differences in the chemical microenvironment in which mineralization occurred, as well as of differences in diet between children and adults, in particular through the consumption of milk or millet gruel during infancy and childhood. High values of nitrogen isotope ratios for hair protein (δ15Nh = 9.1‰-15.5‰) are ascribed to aridity rather than fish consumption because the δ34S values of human hair are lower than those measured in Nile perch scales. Except for Coptic mummies, the constancy of δ13Cbo and δ13Cen over a duration of ∼3000 years is striking considering the various political, technological, and cultural changes that impacted the Egyptian civilization during this time interval.