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Continuity or discontinuity of the life‐style in central Italy during the Roman imperial age‐early middle ages transition: Diet, health, and behavior
Author(s) -
Belcastro Giovanna,
Rastelli Elisa,
Mariotti Valentina,
Consiglio Chiara,
Facchini Fiorenzo,
Bonfiglioli Benedetta
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
american journal of physical anthropology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.146
H-Index - 119
eISSN - 1096-8644
pISSN - 0002-9483
DOI - 10.1002/ajpa.20530
Subject(s) - periostitis , population , demography , middle ages , socioeconomic status , geography , dentistry , medicine , archaeology , sociology , surgery
Dento‐alveolar pathologies and alterations (dental wear, caries, abscesses, ante mortem tooth loss (AMTL), calculus, hypoplastic defects, and chipping) and skeletal markers of health ( cribra orbitalia and periostitis) were analyzed in two skeletal samples from the necropolises of Quadrella (I–IV c. AD) and Vicenne‐Campochiaro (VII c. AD) in the Molise region of central Italy. The aim was to determine if the Roman Imperial Age‐Early Middle Ages transition characterized by political, socioeconomic, and cultural transformations affected the biology of these populations, particularly their alimentation and health status. The frequencies of caries and AMTL, similar in the two samples, suggest a high consumption of carbohydrates. The higher levels of heavy wear, calculus, and interproximal chipping in the Vicenne population indicate a greater use of fibrous foods (both meat and others), in line with the dietary model of Germanic peoples. Health conditions do not appear to have been good in either period, as shown by the high frequencies of linear hypoplasia and the presence of cribra orbitalia and periostitis. The diet of the individuals buried with horses of the Vicenne population did not differ from that of the rest of the population, whereas there were evident differences in the use of the teeth for nonmasticatory activities among these individuals. Therefore, from the point of view of alimentation and health status, the profound socioeconomic and cultural transformations during the Late Antiquity‐Early Middle Ages transition do not seem to have been translated into a true discontinuity of the two Molisan populations. Am J Phys Anthropol, 2007. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.