This study aims to better understand the development of group identity, mobility, and health in the Early Medieval Meuse Valley. This is achieved by combining existing demographic and palaeopathological information from 73 cremation deposits from Echt, the Netherlands, with new strontium isotope ratios (⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr) and strontium concentrations ([Sr]) that are performed on pars petrosa, diaphysis, and rib fragments. Although the surrounding Early Medieval cemeteries practiced inhumation, the initial burial community of Echt persisted in expressing the divergent burial ritual of cremation. Thirty-two radiocarbon dates demonstrate the fifth- to sixth-century cremation deposits to be chronologically separated from the seventh-century inhumations that were preserved in situ, suggesting a subsequent burial community replaced cremation with inhumation in the seventh century. Nutritionally inadequate diets may have contributed to the relatively high prevalence of porotic hyperostosis (~ 34%), resulting from decreasing foods supplies caused by deteriorating climatic conditions. The inhabitants are postulated to have mainly consumed foods originating from the land directly surrounding their farmsteads, expressed by the great variability in the ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr of the diaphyses and ribs (0.7096 to 0.7131), matching the geological complexity of the area. The lack of significant differences between the ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr and [Sr] of ribs and diaphyses connotes little change in the geological origin of the foods occurred over time, stressing the importance of the yield of local harvests. In contrast, large differences in childhood (i.e. pars petrosa) vs. adult (i.e. ribs and diaphyses) ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr suggest the regional movement of individuals to possibly support inter-farmstead relationships (e.g. via marriages).

这项研究旨在更好地了解中世纪早期默兹河谷的群体身份，流动性和健康状况。这是通过将来自荷兰埃希特（Echt）的73个火葬矿床中的现有人口统计学和古病理学信息与新的锶同位素比值（⁸⁷ Sr / ⁸⁶Sr）和锶浓度（[Sr]）是对鸡腿肉，骨干和肋骨碎片进行的。尽管周围的中世纪中世纪公墓实行火葬，但埃希特（Echt）最初的墓葬社区仍然表达着不同的火葬仪式。三十二个放射性碳年代数据表明，从第五到第六世纪的火化沉积物与从原地保存的第七世纪的火化石按时间顺序是分开的，这表明随后的埋葬社区在七世纪用火化石代替了火化。营养不良的饮食可能是由于气候条件恶化导致食物供应减少而导致的相对较高的多孔性骨质增生症的患病率（约34％）。岩石和肋骨的⁸⁷ Sr / ⁸⁶ Sr（0.7096至0.7131），与该地区的地质复杂性相匹配。肋骨和骨干鱼的⁸⁷ Sr / ⁸⁶ Sr与[Sr]之间没有显着差异，这表明随着时间的流逝，食品的地质来源几乎没有变化，从而强调了当地收成的重要性。相比之下，童年（即鸡腿）和成年人（即肋骨和干鱼）之间的巨大差异⁸⁷ Sr / ⁸⁶ Sr表明，个人的区域性运动可能会支持农场之间的关系（例如，通过婚姻）。