Subadult dietary variation at Trino Vercellese, Italy, and its relationship to adult diet and mortality.

OBJECTIVES: Early-life nutrition is a predisposing factor for later-life outcomes. This study tests the hypothesis that subadults from medieval Trino Vercellese, Italy, who lived to adulthood consumed isotopically different diets compared with subadults who died before reaching adulthood. We have previously used a life history approach, comparing dentine and bone of the same adult individuals ("subadults who lived"), to elucidate dietary variation across the life span. Here, we examine diets of "subadults who died" from the same population, estimated from subadult rib collagen, to explore whether dietary behaviors of subadults who lived differed from those of subadults who died. METHODS: Forty-one subadults aged six months to 14.5 years were studied through stable carbon and nitrogen isotope analysis of collagen. RESULTS: Individuals were weaned by age 4 years, with considerable variation in weaning ages overall. Post-weaning, diets of subadults who died comprised significantly less animal protein than diets of subadults who lived. Isotopic values of the two oldest individuals, 13.5 and 14.5 years, show the same status-based variation in diet as do adults from the population. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that incorporating animal protein in diet during growth and development supported medieval subadults' ability to survive to adulthood. Isotopic similarities between adults and older subadults suggest "adult" dietary behaviors were adopted in adolescence. Stable isotope evidence from subadults bridges a disparity between ontogenetic age categories and socioculturally meaningful age categories in the past, and sheds light on the underpinnings of health, mortality, growth, and disease in the bioarchaeological record. Am J Phys Anthropol 160:653-664, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Stable isotope evidence for sex- and status-based variations in diet and life history at medieval Trino Vercellese, Italy.

The medieval period in Europe was a time of unprecedented social complexity that affected human diet. The diets of certain subgroups-for example, children, women, and the poor-are chronically underrepresented in historical sources from the medieval period. To better understand diet and the distribution of foods during the medieval period, we investigated stable carbon and nitrogen isotope ratios of 30 individuals from Trino Vercellese, Northern Italy (8th-13th c.). Specifically, we examined diet differences between subgroups (males and females, and high- and low-status individuals), and diet change throughout the life course among these groups by comparing dentine and bone collagen. Our results show a diet based on terrestrial resources with input from C(4) plants, which could include proso and/or foxtail millet. Diets of low-status males differ from those of females (both status groups) and of high-status males. These differences develop in adulthood. Childhood diets are similar among the subgroups, but sex- and status-based differences appear in adulthood. We discuss the possibility of cultural buffering and dietary selectivity of females and high-status individuals.

Commensal and Pathogenic Members of the Dental Calculus Microbiome of Badia Pozzeveri Individuals from the 11th to 19th Centuries.

The concept of the human oral microbiome was applied to understand health and disease, lifestyles, and dietary habits throughout part of human history. In the present study, we augment the understanding of ancient oral microbiomes by characterizing human dental calculus samples recovered from the ancient Abbey of Badia Pozzeveri (central Italy), with differences in socioeconomic status, time period, burial type, and sex. Samples dating from the Middle Ages (11th century) to the Industrial Revolution era (19th century) were characterized using high-throughput sequencing of the 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) gene V4 region. Consistent with previous studies, individuals from Badia Pozzeveri possessed commensal oral bacteria that resembled modern oral microbiomes. These results suggest that members of the oral microbiome are ubiquitous despite differences in geographical regions, time period, sex, and socioeconomic status. The presence of fecal bacteria could be in agreement with poor hygiene practices, consistent with the time period. Respiratory tract, nosocomial, and other rare pathogens detected in the dental calculus samples are intriguing and could suggest subject-specific comorbidities that could be reflected in the oral microbiome.

The Late Upper Paleolithic skeleton Villabruna 1 (Italy): a source of data on biology and behavior of a 14,000 year-old hunter.

The Late Upper Paleolithic burial Villabruna 1 (Val Cismon, Belluno, Italy), directly dated to about 14,000 years ago (calibrated chronology), includes a well preserved skeleton accompanied by grave goods and covered with painted stones. The skeleton belongs to an adult male, about twenty-five years old, characterized by a relatively tall stature for the time period, short trunk and more linear body proportions than its contemporaries, similar to those of recent North-African populations. Multivariate statistical analysis of craniofacial characteristics place Villabruna 1 close to Le Bichon 1, a geographically and chronologically nearby specimen, suggesting genetic affinity among the last hunter and gatherers from the alpine region. Observations on dental wear and microwear indicate that the anterior dentition was involved in non-alimentary activities such as the mastication of fibrous materials including large abrasive contaminants. Whereas the information on dietary habits drawn from dental wear is not conclusive, stable isotopes analysis points to a terrestrially based diet rich in animal proteins. Biomechanical study of major long bones indicates heightened overall robusticity and marked humeral asymmetry. These results suggest intense unimanual activity, possibly linked to repeated throwing movements in hunting, and the combined effect of mobile lifestyle and mountainous terrain, as far as the femur is concerned. Paleopathological analysis did not reveal signs of any major event which might help identify a possible cause of death. However, macroscopic and radiographic examination of the skull reveals traces of porotic hyperostosis, indicative of a healed anemic condition. Finally, localized tibial periostitis, probably of traumatic origin, and lumbar hyperlordosis associated with deformations of vertebral bodies and L5 spondylolysis provide evidence of additional, minor, pathological changes.