Stable carbon and nitrogen isotopic record of early medieval human populations in Poland with associated archaeological and anthropological data

Abstract

This dataset comprises published stable carbon (δ¹³C) and nitrogen (δ¹⁵N) isotope data obtained from the analysis of collagen extracted from human bones recovered at archaeological sites in present-day Poland, alongside associated archaeological and anthropological information. The dataset originated as part of a collaborative class exercise within a course on isotopic methods, led by Łukasz Pospieszny at the University of Gdańsk, Poland. It encompasses 251 samples representing 251 individuals across 13 archaeological sites, broadly dated from the tenth to the fourteenth centuries CE. The isotopic values were systematically compiled from studies published up to the end of 2025 and supplemented, where available, with archaeological and anthropological information drawn from the published literature, including biological age and sex, funerary practices and archaeological chronology. The compiled data were then standardised in accordance with the IsoArcH data model. By integrating previously published isotopic measurements with archaeological and anthropological data, the dataset provides a basis for comparative investigations of dietary variation across sites, demographic groups and funerary contexts.

Keywords

• stable isotopes
• carbon
• nitrogen
• early Middle Ages
• Poland
• humans
• diet