IsoArcH: An open-access and collaborative isotope database for bioarcheological samples from the Graeco-Roman world
IsoArcH is an open access spatial database of bioarcheological isotopic data of the Graeco-Roman world. It consists of georeferenced isotopic, archaeological, and anthropological information related to the study of dietary and mobility patterns of human and animal populations. IsoArcH focuses on the Mediterranean region between the 12th c. BC and the 8th c. AD, although some northern European sites are also included.
IsoArcH provides an overview of the state of research on diet and migrations in this region during Antiquity and Late Antiquity. It also highlights the lack of interest expressed by the scientific community for certain subregions during this time period.
IsoArcH aims at facilitating information exchange, collaboration, and discussion between science-based archaeologists and non-specialist archaeologists, anthropologists, and historians focusing on the issues of paleodiet and migrations during this time period. It is designed in a cooperative perspective, where users are able to explore and download all the available data from the database, and may contribute to the expansion of the content of the website by uploading new data.
As of now, IsoArcH compiles data from dozens of scientific publications for 4,000+ humans, 2,000+ animals, 100+ plants, and 10+ organic residues coming from nearly 300 archaeological sites.
In addition, IsoArcH allows one to undertake multi-scale analysis, and to realize extensive studies and syntheses on the issues of paleodiet and migrations. It offers the opportunity to create large isotopic baselines for animals and plants in order to better understand the diet and the mobility of humans or animals. Furthermore, isotopic data may be displayed on historical maps, which makes it possible to re-contextualize ancient biogeochemical data within global geopolitical frameworks. Finally, IsoArcH allows the users to customize their own digital maps, and to export them for personal purposes.
IsoArcH is a totally free web-mapping tool, for you and by you. All content is distributed under the terms of a Creative Commons license (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0).
