Research & Education

The Mediterranean Diet Archaeology Project

The Mediterranean Diet Archaeology Project (MEDIAP) is an interdisciplinary research project directed by Dr. Davide Tanasi and Dr. (University of Trieste, Italy) on biomolecular archaeology of the Mediterranean Diet to gain insight on dietary and culinary habits of ancient communities of the Mediterranean region, from Prehistory to Late Antiquity, and the impact on their living standards and health. In particular, it focuses on chemical characterization of organic residues on archaeological pottery via an array of analytical techniques such as Scanning Electron Microscopy with Energy Dispersive X-Ray Spectroscopy (SEM/EDX), Gas- and Liquid- Chromatography Mass-Spectrometry (GC-MS, LC-MS), Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) and Proteomic Analysis and Isotope and DNA Analysis of archaeological skeletal remains. The project aims at the reappraisal of contexts from old excavations and at the same time fosters new archaeological field-works in combination with a critical analysis of the available iconographic and written sources. 

archdiet

 

Major Publications

1. D. Tanasi, E. Greco, V. Di Tullio, D. Capitani, D. Gullì, E. Ciliberto 2017, , Microchemical Journal 135, pp. 140–147.

2. D. Tanasi, E. Greco, R. Ebna Noor, S. Feola, V. Kumar, A. Crispino, I. Gelis 2018, , Analytical Methods 10, 2757, pp. 1-8.

3. E. Greco, O. El-Aguizy, M. Fouda Ali, S. Foti, V. Cunsolo, R. Salletti, E. Ciliberto 2018, , Analytical Chemistry 90.16, pp. 9673-9676. 

4. M. Ba-Hoang-Anh, R. Barbieri, T. Chenal, D. Castex, R. Jonvel, D. Tanasi, P. Georges-Zimmerman, O. Dutour, M. Drancourt, G. Aboudharam 2020, , PLoS ONE 15.11: e0239526, November 4, pp. 1-9.

5. D. Tanasi, E. Greco, F. Pisciotta, S. Hassam 2021, , Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports 40, pp. 1-7. 

6.       D. Tanasi, A. Cucina, V. Cunsolo, R. Saletti, A. Di Francesco, E. Greco, S. Foti 2021, , in Amino Acids 53, pp. 295-312.