| Abstract: | The presence of the osseous remains of at least four mules in a garbage dump at the Roman fort of Biriciana near the town of Weißenburg, Upper Bavaria, dating to c. 160 AD, raised the question as to whether mule breeding was already performed to the north of the Alps during the Middle Roman Empire, or whether these animals still had to be imported from the Mediterranean. Serial analyses of the dental enamel and dentine of a lower fourth premolar and the surrounding alveolar bone of a mandible of a mule in terms of stable strontium isotopic ratios of the apatite, and stable carbon and oxygen isotope ratios of the structural carbonate, were carried out to test whether this individual moved long distances during its lifetime. Since isotopic ratios obtained by serial analysis can be correlated with consecutive ontogenetic stages, it can be assumed that this particular individual experienced significant changes in terms of diet and environmental parameters after its eighth year of life. These changes included a period of residence in a region of high altitude, most likely the Alps considering the location of the Roman fort where the mule was found. The isotopic data obtained do not contradict the assumption that this animal was bred and raised in northern Italy, to frequent later in its adult life the Alps and finally perish at Biriciana/Weißenburg. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. |
