A genomic and historical synthesis of plague in 18th century Eurasia.

Plague continued to afflict Europe for more than five centuries after the Black Death. Yet, by the 17th century, the dynamics of plague had changed, leading to its slow decline in Western Europe over the subsequent 200 y, a period for which only one genome was previously available. Using a multidisciplinary approach, combining genomic and historical data, we assembled Y. pestis genomes from nine individuals covering four Eurasian sites and placed them into an historical context within the established phylogeny. CHE1 (Chechnya, Russia, 18th century) is now the latest Second Plague Pandemic genome and the first non-European sample in the post-Black Death lineage. Its placement in the phylogeny and our synthesis point toward the existence of an extra-European reservoir feeding plague into Western Europe in multiple waves. By considering socioeconomic, ecological, and climatic factors we highlight the importance of a noneurocentric approach for the discussion on Second Plague Pandemic dynamics in Europe.

Leprosy in a Lombard-Avar cemetery in central Italy (Campochiaro, Molise, 6th-8th century AD): ancient DNA evidence and demography.

BACKGROUND: The study of past infectious diseases increases knowledge of the presence, impact and spread of pathogens within ancient populations. AIM: Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was used to examine bones for the presence of Mycobacterium leprae ancient DNA (aDNA) as, even when leprosy is present, bony changes are not always pathognomonic of the disease. This study also examined the demographic profile of this population and compared it with two other populations to investigate any changes in mortality trends between different infectious diseases and between the pre-antibiotic and antibiotic eras. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: The individuals were from a site in Central Italy (6th-8th CE) and were examined for the presence of Mycobacterium leprae aDNA. In addition, an abridged life mortality table was constructed. RESULTS: Two individuals had typical leprosy palaeopathology, and one was positive for Mycobacterium leprae aDNA. However, the demographic profile shows a mortality curve similar to that of the standard, in contrast to a population that had been subjected to bubonic plague. CONCLUSIONS: This study shows that, in the historical population with leprosy, the risk factors for health seem to be constant and distributed across all age classes, similar to what is found today in the antibiotic era. There were no peaks of mortality equivalent to those found in fatal diseases such as the plague, probably due to the long clinical course of leprosy.

A revision of hominin fossil teeth from Fontana Ranuccio (Middle Pleistocene, Anagni, Frosinone, Italy).

The Fontana Ranuccio hominin teeth (FR, Latium, Italy) are dated to the Middle Pleistocene. In previous studies these teeth were classified as two lower (left and right) second molars, one lower left central incisor and a badly worn incisor crown, the exact position of which could not be determined. In 2012 these remains were acquired by the Anthropological Service of S.B.A.L. (Italian Ministry of Culture) and for this reason re-analysed. In a thorough revision we have reassessed them both morphologically and dimensionally as two lower (left and right) first molars, one lower left lateral incisor and a possible upper left canine. The comparison with penecontemporaneous and diachronic samples shows that the Fontana Ranuccio teeth are morphologically similar to Atapuerca-Sima de los Huesos, Arago XIII and Neanderthal samples.

Metastatic cancer and endentulism: Exploring comorbidity to assist with differential diagnosis in a case from Vico nel Lazio (Fr, Italy), 13th-15th century CE.

OBJECTIVE: To differentially diagnose cranial lesions noted on a medieval skeleton and explore the importance of comorbidity. MATERIALS: A skull of an adult female with osteolytic and osteoblastic lesions, edentulism, and an ectopic tooth from an ossuary of the Church of Santa Maria in Vico del Lazio, Frosinone Italy, dating to the Middle Ages. METHODS: Macroscopic observations of the remains, CT scan, and differential diagnosis was undertaken. RESULTS: A diagnosis of metastatic cancer (potentially breast cancer) or metastatic neuroblastoma (NBL) is offered. CONCLUSIONS: Considering the noted comorbidities, this case might represent a rare case of metastatic neuroblastoma. SIGNIFICANCE: The exploration of comorbidity, in this case the presence of metastatic carcinoma and edentulism, has tremendous potential to expand our knowledge about cancer in the past. LIMITATIONS: Lack of postcranial elements. SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH: Clinical and paleopathological investigation of comorbidity in modern and archeological populations to develop an evolutionary perspective on the presence of cancer in the past.

Biological history of an Italian prehistoric community and the population of the central Italy during the 1st millennium BCE.

Understanding the population of Central Italy during the 1st millennium BCE is a crucial topic in the biological history of the Mediterranean basin. This period saw the emergence of the Etruscan and Roman cultures which had a significant impact on the bio-cultural history of the region. In this study, we analyse a prehistoric population from Caracupa (Iron Age, Latium, Central Italy). The results suggest an overall good level of health for the population. Despite this, some musculoskeletal changes related to biomechanical stressors were observed, probably as the result of strenuous physical activity. The results of a Simple Matching analysis of intragroup distance distributions suggest potential model of kinship structures and lineages. This may be due to the relative geographic isolation of the Caracupa population. Furthermore, in order to investigate the wider population of Central Italy during the 1st millennium BCE, we have constructed a population pattern using genetic and phenotypic skeletal and dental traits. The comparison between Central Italy and more isolated populations indicated a divergence between the Western and Eastern sides of Central Italy. However, we do not exclude a probable common genetic substratum for all Central Italian populations during the 1st millennium BCE.

Digital reconstruction of the Ceprano calvarium (Italy), and implications for its interpretation.

The Ceprano calvarium was discovered in fragments on March 1994 near the town of Ceprano in southern Latium (Italy), embedded in Middle Pleistocene layers. After reconstruction, its morphological features suggests that the specimen belongs to an archaic variant of H. heidelbergensis, representing a proxy for the last common ancestor of the diverging clades that respectively led to H. neanderthalensis and H. sapiens. Unfortunately, the calvarium was taphonomically damaged. The postero-lateral vault, in particular, appears deformed and this postmortem damage may have influenced previous interpretations. Specifically, there is a depression on the fragmented left parietal, while the right cranial wall is warped and angulated. This deformation affected the shape of the occipital squama, producing an inclination of the transverse occipital torus. In this paper, after X-ray microtomography (µCT) of both the calvarium and several additional fragments, we analyze consistency and pattern of the taphonomic deformation that affected the specimen, before the computer-assisted retrodeformation has been performed; this has also provided the opportunity to reappraise early attempts at restoration. As a result, we offer a revised interpretation for the Ceprano calvarium's original shape, now free from the previous uncertainties, along with insight for its complex depositional and taphonomic history.

A migration-driven model for the historical spread of leprosy in medieval Eastern and Central Europe.

Leprosy was rare in Europe during the Roman period, yet its prevalence increased dramatically in medieval times. We examined human remains, with paleopathological lesions indicative of leprosy, dated to the 6th-11th century AD, from Central and Eastern Europe and Byzantine Anatolia. Analysis of ancient DNA and bacterial cell wall lipid biomarkers revealed Mycobacterium leprae in skeletal remains from 6th-8th century Northern Italy, 7th-11th century Hungary, 8th-9th century Austria, the Slavic Greater Moravian Empire of the 9th-10th century and 8th-10th century Byzantine samples from Northern Anatolia. These data were analyzed alongside findings published by others. M. leprae is an obligate human pathogen that has undergone an evolutionary bottleneck followed by clonal expansion. Therefore M. leprae genotypes and sub-genotypes give information about the human populations they have infected and their migration. Although data are limited, genotyping demonstrates that historical M. leprae from Byzantine Anatolia, Eastern and Central Europe resembles modern strains in Asia Minor rather than the recently characterized historical strains from North West Europe. The westward migration of peoples from Central Asia in the first millennium may have introduced different M. leprae strains into medieval Europe and certainly would have facilitated the spread of any existing leprosy. The subsequent decline of M. leprae in Europe may be due to increased host resistance. However, molecular evidence of historical leprosy and tuberculosis co-infections suggests that death from tuberculosis in leprosy patients was also a factor.

Tuberculosis and leprosy in Italy: new skeletal evidence.

Tuberculosis (TB) and leprosy are infections caused by Mycobacteria. This paper documents new skeletal evidence in Italy from the Iron Age site of Corvaro (Central Italy; 5th century BCE) and the Roman site of Palombara (Central Italy; 4th-5th century CE), and briefly reviews the extant evidence for these infections in Italy. The skeletal evidence for TB in Italy is more ancient than for leprosy, and is more common. The oldest evidence for both mycobacterial diseases is in the North of Italy, but this could be by chance, even if biomolecular models suggest a land route from the East to central Europe, especially for leprosy.