Social differentiation and well-being in the Italian Iron Age: exploring the relationship between sex, age, biological stress, and burial complexity among the Picenes of Novilara (8th–7th c. BC)

The possible association between “biological” and “social” status in the past is a central topic in bioarchaeological studies. For the Italian Iron Age, previous research comparing skeletal and funerary variables depicts a multifaceted scenario consistent with nuanced biocultural patterns. This calls for additional studies on a broader series of archaeological contexts and skeletal assemblages. Here, we contribute new data about the biological correlates of social differentiation during the Italian Iron Age by comparing paleopathological and funerary variables in the Picene necropolis of Novilara (Marche region, 8th–7th c. BC). Novilara is one of the largest Picene necropolises in the Italian Peninsula and one of the most important funerary sites of the Italian Iron Age. The skeletal sample includes 147 individuals (females: 70; males: 35; 10 unsexed adults; 32 non-adults). We use linear enamel hypoplasia, cribra orbitalia, porotic hyperostosis, non-specific periosteal lesions, and stature to approximate non-specific stressors and compare them with archaeological variables summarizing funerary variability by means of logistic models, Mann–Whitney and Spearman tests. Results are heterogeneous and vary according to the considered variables. On average, they however show that (a) adults featuring a more complex funerary treatment have a lower probability of showing stress-related skeletal changes, and (b) even though funerary features suggests a strong gender differentiation, frequencies of paleopathological variables do not differ between sexes. Our analyses point to a complex link between biological and social status in this population and call for a critical reflection about the theoretical and methodological issues affecting similar studies.

Conditions of life and death at Panama Viejo: a bioarchaeological study of human skeletal remains (1519-1671)

Panama, founded in 1519, became one of the most important sites for the Spanish Crown, consolidating itself as an economic center that connected the trade routes between the Pacific and the Atlantic oceans. This situation produced a convergence of people of different origins (indigenous, African, and European) in the city, generating a strong process of biological as well as social and cultural mixture, which impacted daily life during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. These processes were addressed by the research project: An ARTery of Empire (ARTEmpire) (European Research Council, Consolidator of Grant [CoG] 648535), which included archaeological excavations at the two sites occupied by Panama's main temple: one to the south-east of the Main Square (1519-1541) and the other where the cathedral was installed from 1542 until the city’s destruction in 1671. This article presents the results of the bioarchaeological study of 175 individuals recovered during the aforementioned archaeological excavations, reconstructing their living conditions. The sample consists mostly of female (55.43%) and young adult individuals (52.57%), highlighting the absence of older adults and the underrepresentation of children and juveniles. The preservation of the sample limited observations of population affiliation, but individuals with traits predominant in African (23.43%), European (21.71%), and Amerindian (9.71%) populations were identified. Paleopathological analysis shows mostly lesions associated with infectious diseases, entheseal changes, porotic hyperostosis, degenerative joint disease, and trauma. In addition, the teeth reveal masticatory wear, calculus, decay, periodontal disease, and chipping. However, an initial observation of the sample indicates no significant differences that show that one sector of the population may have been more affected than another. This is interesting since individuals from diverse origins converged at Old Panama, responding to the process of globalization at this port.

Comparative Investigations of Population Health in Urban Military and Non-Military Communities of Roman Britain

This research compiles and compares the biological health profiles of three urban populations at Venta Belgarum (Winchester), Londinium (London), and Eboracum (York) as a means for assessing health and status differences between military and non-military urban populations in Roman Britain. Data concerning a total of 1,334 individuals representing all ages and both sexes were analyzed between the three cemetery samples. Estimations of mean stature, rates of periosteal reaction, porotic hyperostosis, cribra orbitalia, linear enamel hypoplasias, and trauma are compared here in an effort to discuss relative health, status, and inequality within the wider populations of urban non-military communities (Venta Belgarum) and their urban military counterparts (Londinium and Eboracum). The discussion here hopes to highlight skeletal evidence concerning the prevalence of inequality and possible structural violence within urban sites as connected to the constant presence of military units, and the cultural aspects and access to resources therein.

PATHOLOGICAL MANIFESTATIONS ON PALEOANTHROPOLOGICAL MATERIAL FROM RURAL BURIALS OF 14th—16th CENTURIES FROM THE TERRITORY OF POLOTSK LAND

Paleopathology deals with the identification and research of diseases that are fixed on the osteological material of ancient people. This anthropological direction, using a variety of methods, answers the questions of the origin and spread of diseases in ancient populations. The results of such studies help to reveal the following aspects: the influence of the environment, and consequently the adaptation of a person to its changes, professional occupations of the population, and related types of physical activity, diet, causes of physiological stress and the level of development of medicine. The aim of the study is to assess the incidence of the rural population of the Belarusian Dvina region of the 14th—16th centuries by conducting a paleopathological study of bone material. During the study, an anthropological examination of the remains of 72 people belonging to the rural population of the 14th—16th centuries was carried out. The osteological material was obtained during the archaeological excavations of three rural burial grounds in the Belarusian Dvina region-Ives, Biruli, and Dolgoe. During the research, special attention was paid to the identification and registration of paleopathological changes in bone material. As a result, signs of the following groups of pathologies were identified: degenerative-dystrophic changes in the spine and joints, skull injuries, dental system pathologies (caries, abscesses, paradontopathies), nonspecific reactions of the body (porotic hyperostosis, cribra orbitalia, enamel hypoplasia, vascular reaction). As a result of the work performed to identify and interpret pathological changes, the main aspects reflecting changes in the health status of the ancient population due to a number of factors were identified: the manifestation of an active lifestyle of individuals, the influence of sanitary and hygienic conditions that existed in rural settlements of the studied period, and the supposed stressful situations to which the population was more or less exposed.

Paleopathological Research in Southern Patagonia: An Approach to Understanding Stress and Disease in Hunter-Gatherer Populations

This article reviews the most relevant data regarding evidence of stress and disease in native populations from Southern Patagonia and proposes future directions for paleopathological research. It focuses on the disease patterns in hunter-gatherer societies and the changes produced by contact and colonization. Studies of oral pathologies show a high frequency of dental attrition and low frequency of caries and antemortem tooth loss. Individuals with terrestrial dietary patterns show evidence of higher mechanical stress in the spine than those who participated in marine economies, based on the prevalence of Schmorl's nodes and vertebral osteophytosis. Porotic hyperostosis is more prevalent in individuals who had a marine diet and is probably related to nutritional impairment and parasitic infections. A higher frequency of metabolic stress was identified in individuals who lived in missions, perhaps because of declining quality in diet, hygiene, and living conditions. Paleoparasitological studies identified several species of parasites associated with human skeletons and terrestrial fauna. Moreover, recent studies suggested that treponematosis and tuberculosis were present in Patagonia since at least 1000 years BP. Future paleopathological research should increase the size and quality of studied samples and apply new methods and interpretive criteria. Detailed research into infections, degenerative joint diseases, and trauma (including violence episodes) has rarely been conducted.

Burials from Cemetery Wad Ben Naga C260 – First Report

During the sixteenth–eighteenth excavation seasons, cemetery WBN C260 at the archaeological site of Wad Ben Naga (Sudan) yielded the remains of fourteen individuals, both adult and non-adult. The burials, tentatively dated as post-Meroitic/Christian, were oriented to the north or north-west, with scarce grave goods, simple substructures, and no identified superstructures. Anthropological analysis revealed non-specific signs of stress including porotic hyperostosis and cribra orbitalia, linear enamel hypoplasia, and endocranial lesions known as serpens endocrania symmetrica.