"Heal the sick": Health status and caregiving during the 17th-18th century in Northern Italy (St. Biagio cemetery, Ravenna).

OBJECTIVE: The study of health-related care provision in archeology gives important indications on the culture and community organization of past populations. This study aims to assess the health status of the skeletal assemblage recovered from the burial site of St. Biagio (Ravenna, 17th-18th Centuries); next, we identified likely instances of need for and receipt of caregiving in response to the condition, to examine evidence of community attitudes toward disease and disability. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The skeletal assemblage is composed of 133 individuals in a generally good state of preservation. Sex and age-at-death were estimated through classical anthropological methods. Health status was inferred through the biological index of frailty (BIF) and paleopathological analysis was performed through macroscopic and radiographic investigations. The "bioarcheology of care" approach was applied to individuals who showed evidence of impairment and disability. RESULTS: The skeletal assemblage of St. Biagio was equally represented by males and females (50% males), with a higher percentage of adults (83.4%) than subadults (10.5%), and this is reflected in the high life expectancy at birth (40.3 years). No significant differences in health status emerged between age groups and sexes, with a generally high percentage of joint diseases, antemortem trauma, and infectious diseases. Evidence of care and compassion was found in some individuals with a high degree of impairment or disability, as in the case of probable Angelman syndrome. DISCUSSION: This study provided important insights into the biological and social aspects of an Early Modern population in Northern Italy, showing that people with functional and/or visible abnormalities were probably cared for in life and were presumably considered full members of the society.

"Tuberculosis on the spot" - Discussion of a probable sternal tuberculosis from a late medieval cemetery from Hungary.

Investigations of non-adult remains are particularly suitable for finding epidemic periods in past populations. This study presents a probable unique example of osseous manifestation of tuberculosis on a child's skeletal remains from medieval Hungary. Between 2009 and 2011 the Field Service for Cultural Heritage excavated the exceptional cemetery of Perkáta - Nyúli-dulo in Hungary, with around 5000+ graves. The analysed skeleton (SNR 948) was located in the medieval (10-16th century) part of the cemetery. Besides the standard macroscopic pathological observation, we also performed radiographic analysis. The remains of the child (13-14 year-old) showed numerous skeletal lesions: the ribs have proliferative lesions (dense nodules) on the visceral surface of the shaft, lytic lesions with rounded edges occurred on the thoracic and lumbar vertebral bodies, and on the facies auricularis of the left ilium we can see pitting and new bone formation. What makes this pathological case exceptional is the significant change in the manubrium. It shows extensive osteolytic lesions, probably due to tuberculous osteomyelitis, which is a unique phenomenon in an archaeological context. This rare type of extra-spinal tuberculous osteomyelitis appears in less than 1% of cases with skeletal TB, and even less in case of children, according to modern medical literature. Although some cases of slight lesions on the manubrium have been described from an archaeological context, no such cases showing advanced lesions have been published so far. In the future, biomolecular analyses should be conducted as well, in order to confirm the presence of TB in this individual.

Fine-scale sampling uncovers the complexity of migrations in 5th-6th century Pannonia.

As the collapse of the Western Roman Empire accelerated during the 4th and 5th centuries, arriving "barbarian" groups began to establish new communities in the border provinces of the declining (and eventually former) empire. This was a time of significant cultural and political change throughout not only these border regions but Europe as a whole.1,2 To better understand post-Roman community formation in one of these key frontier zones after the collapse of the Hunnic movement, we generated new paleogenomic data for a set of 38 burials from a time series of three 5th century cemeteries3,4,5 at Lake Balaton, Hungary. We utilized a comprehensive sampling approach to characterize these cemeteries along with data from 38 additional burials from a previously published mid-6th century site6 and analyzed them alongside data from over 550 penecontemporaneous individuals.7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18,19 The range of genetic diversity in all four of these local burial communities is extensive and wider ranging than penecontemporaneous Europeans sequenced to date. Despite many commonalities in burial customs and demography, we find that there were substantial differences in genetic ancestry between the sites. We detect evidence of northern European gene flow into the Lake Balaton region. Additionally, we observe a statistically significant association between dress artifacts and genetic ancestry among 5th century genetically female burials. Our analysis shows that the formation of early Medieval communities was a multifarious process even at a local level, consisting of genetically heterogeneous groups.

A multidisciplinary study on the social customs of the Tang Empire in the Medieval Ages.

Multidisciplinary research on human remains can provide important information about population dynamics, culture diffusion, as well as social organization and customs in history. In this study, multidisciplinary analyses were undertaken on a joint burial (M56) in the Shuangzhao cemetery of the Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD), one of the most prosperous dynasties in Chinese history, to shed light on the genetic profile and sociocultural aspects of this dynasty. The archaeological investigation suggested that this burial belonged to the Mid-Tang period and was used by common civilians. The osteological analysis identified the sex, age, and health status of the three individuals excavated from M56, who shared a similar diet inferred from the stable isotopic data. Genomic evidence revealed that these co-buried individuals had no genetic kinship but all belonged to the gene pool of the ancient populations in the Central Plains, represented by Yangshao and Longshan individuals, etc. Multiple lines of evidence, including archaeology, historic records, as well as chemical and genetic analyses, have indicated a very probable familial joint burial of husband and wives. Our study provides insights into the burial customs and social organization of the Tang Dynasty and reconstructs a scenario of civilian life in historic China.

Reconsidering the lives of the earliest Puerto Ricans: Mortuary Archaeology and bioarchaeology of the Ortiz site.

We possess rather little detailed information on the lives of the first inhabitants of Puerto Rico-the so-called "Archaic" or "Pre-Arawak" people-despite more than a century of archeological research. This is particularly true bioarchaeologically, as fewer than twenty burials of the several millennia of the Archaic Age have been recovered, let alone analyzed in any detail. Here, we present the results of archeological, osteological, radiometric, and isotopic analysis of five individuals from the Ortiz site in Cabo Rojo, southwestern Puerto Rico. Study of these previously unpublished remains, which represent a 20-25% increase in the sample size of remains attributed to the period, provides many critical insights into earliest Puerto Rican lifeways, including aspects of mortuary practice, paleodiet, and possibly even social organization. A review of their burial treatment finds a mostly standardized set of mortuary practices, a noteworthy finding given the site's potential millennium-long use as a mortuary space and the possibly distinct place(s) of origin of the individuals interred there. Although osteological analysis was limited by poor preservation, we were able to reconstruct aspects of the demography that indicate the presence of both male and female adults. Stable isotope analysis revealed dietary differences from later Ceramic Age individuals, while dental pathology indicated heavy masticatory wear attributable to diet and/or non-masticatory function. Perhaps most crucially, direct AMS dating of the remains confirms these as the oldest burials yet recovered from the island, providing us both with a glimpse into the lives of some of the island's first inhabitants, and with tantalizing clues to the existence of a different degree of cultural "complexity" than is often ascribed to these earliest peoples. The existence of what radiocarbon dates suggest may be a persistent formal cemetery space at the Ortiz site has potentially significant implications concerning the territoriality, mobility, and social organization of the earliest peoples of southwestern Puerto Rico.

Eaves-drip burials in the Early Middle Ages: A special burial place for the unbaptised children?

The excavation of skeletal human remains from St. Dionysius in Bremerhaven-Wulsdorf showed a strong association between infant burials and their location in and around the church. Accumulations of young children close to a church and its corners are repeatedly reported and are commonly defined as "eaves-drip" burials. Although there are no early medieval written sources for this specific burial practice, the proximity of the graves of small children to the sites of early Christian churches is noticeable. Above all, the temporal context plays an important role in the interpretation of these burials, since it is questionable whether the intention to baptise the graves with rainwater from the eaves was the same for the Early Middle Ages as it was for the High and Post Middle Ages. The frequently observed relationship between locality and infant bones must not be regarded as an ordinary burial since the choice of burial place already indicates a special position within the graveyard. Particularly regarding the progress of Christianisation and thus the assertion of the Christian belief system in the early phases, it is essential to reflect on the people's real acceptance of Christian religious practices and rituals. It is therefore crucial to consider the circumstances and belief systems of the particular era before associating eaves-drip burials with the unbaptised child.

Sr analyses from only known Scandinavian cremation cemetery in Britain illuminate early Viking journey with horse and dog across the North Sea.

The barrow cemetery at Heath Wood, Derbyshire, is the only known Viking cremation cemetery in the British Isles. It dates to the late ninth century and is associated with the over-wintering of the Viking Great Army at nearby Repton in AD 873-4. Only the cremated remains of three humans and of a few animals are still available for research. Using strontium content and isotope ratios of these three people and three animals-a horse, a dog and a possible pig-this paper investigates the individuals' residential origins. The results demonstrate that strontium isotope ratios of one of the adults and the non-adult are compatible with a local origin, while the other adult and all three animals are not. In conjunction with the archaeological context, the strontium isotope ratios indicate that these individuals most likely originated from the area of the Baltic Shield-and that they died soon after arrival in Britain. This discovery constitutes the first solid scientific evidence that Scandinavians crossed the North Sea with horses, dogs and other animals as early as the ninth century AD.

New insight into mid-Byzantine burial practices: bioarchaeological implications from the North Cemetery infant remains of the Lower City Church of Amorium (Afyonkarahisar, Turkey) (10th-11th centuries AD).

Amorium is a Byzantine city located in the province of Afyonkarahisar, Turkey. Excavations in the 2007, 2008 and 2009 seasons yielded many tombs containing non-adults, mostly infant burials, located to the north of the Lower City Church while the south of the Church was reserved for family and adult tombs. Among the excavated trenches A20 is the largest area and located immediately to the east of the baptistery, other trenches in the Lower City Church (A17, A19, A22, A35, A36, and A38) are located further away from the baptistery and consist of smaller rooms. Skeletal remains of 280 individuals from these trenches dating to 10th to 11th centuries AD were analysed in order to find out if there are any indications for differences in their social status, preferential choices for the burial places, or age-related distribution of the burials of the non-adults in the North Cemetery. This study, together with the baptism traditions and social hierarchy of the Mid-Byzantine era, tentatively suggests that the A20 area might have been reserved for children of families of higher rank in society as it was the closest area to the baptistery (presumably some of the infants had not lived long enough to be baptised), whereas infants and some older children of lower rank in the society were buried in outlying areas. Hence, this study attempts to offer a new insight into burial practices in mid-Byzantine Amorium.

Application of natural sciences methodology in archaeological study of Iron Age burials in Latvia: pilot study.

Natural sciences provide several modern methodologies that could be successfully applied in archaeological studies. In this pilot study, archaeological human remains from two Iron Age cemeteries (7th-twelfth centuries AD), Lejasbiteni and Cunkani-Drengeri, which are located in different regions of Latvia, were studied. We applied ancient DNA (aDNA) and tooth enamel peptide analysis to determine the biological sex of the individuals. In addition, aDNA analysis was used to perform mtDNA haplogroup analysis. In most cases, the results of aDNA analysis regarding the biological sex of individuals coincided with the gender assigned based on grave orientation and grave goods. The results of sex determination using peptide analysis in all four individuals for whom data were available matched the possible gender. Of the 17 samples that had sufficient DNA for sequencing, seven samples had enough reads to perform mtDNA haplogroup analysis. The H2a2a, I4a1, H2a2a1, and H16c mtDNA haplogroups were identified in the individuals from the Lejasbiteni cemetery, while the T2b and K1a + 150 mtDNA haplogroups were identified in the individuals from the Cunkani-Drengeri cemetery. Overall, the obtained results demonstrated the feasibility of applying aDNA and tooth enamel peptide analysis for biological sex determination within archaeological studies. The availability of human aDNA data will be highly useful for investigating the demographic history and social structures in Iron Age Latvia.

Meeting the ancestors.

DNA from a medieval German cemetery opens a window on the history of today's largest Jewish population.

Genetic and isotope analysis of a triple burial from medieval St. Peter's cemetery in Cölln/Berlin.

The German capital Berlin originates from the two medieval settlements Berlin and Cölln on either side of the river Spree. Whereas Berlin is world famous, there is very little awareness of former Cölln. From 2007-2009, during excavations of the earliest cemetery of this forgotten medieval town; 3,126 graves were discovered containing the remains of 3,717 individuals. Amongst those graves was an unusual triple burial. This grave was exceptional due to the relative postures of the skeletons and their extensive facial injuries. Here we present genetic and isotope data for this grave. Genetic results confirmed all of them as biological male individuals and ruled out their biological kinship. Combining genetic ancestry information with strontium isotope data we furthermore determined that two of the men most likely originated from the Berlin-Brandenburg region, whereas a more distant origin of the third individual can be debated.

Investigating individual migration life histories: An isotopic case study from 17th to 18th century Nouvelle France.

OBJECTIVES: This isotopic study explores the mobility patterns of a growing urban population from Notre Dame's Catholic cemetery (1691-1796), located in Montreal (Canada). The site offers a unique opportunity to investigate early colonial settlement in Nouvelle France through individual life patterns. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Stable oxygen isotopic compositions (δ18O) were measured on the enamel of 32 individuals from the Notre Dame collection. Premolars and third molars were selected, as they reflected the δ18O of the drinking water during childhood (2.5-5.5 years) and pre-adulthood (9.5-15.5 years). Firstly, premolars from three children (4-8 years of age) allowed us to provide a mean δ18O for the water consumed locally (22.7 ± 1.0 ‰ vs. VSMOW). Then, our δ18O were compared with published data from various geographical regions in North America (Eastern Canada and the United States) and Europe (France and the British Isles) to highlight mobility patterns of each individual. RESULTS: Forty-eight percent of our sample (14 out of 29 individuals) did not reflect any long-distance mobility, as all their δ18O reflected Montreal's variation during their lifetime. The remaining (15 out of 29 individuals) experienced mobility within (n = 8) and outside (n = 7) North America and at different phases of their life (five at pre-adulthood, six at adulthood and four during both phases). Their migration patterns were analyzed according to age, sex, diet and possible ancestry in order to propose some "biographies." DISCUSSION: This study highlights high population diversity in early colonial Montreal. Historians wrote that the city was growing, not only with the arrival of Europeans (e.g., young male workers, sailors), but also other groups (e.g., Indigenous people, slaves from North America). Additional analyses (e.g., ancient DNA) will be needed to explore further this phenomenon.

Archaeobotanical evidence of the use of medicinal cannabis in a secular context unearthed from south China.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: As one of the first plants used by ancient people, cannabis has been used for medicinal purposes for thousands of years. The long history of medicinal cannabis use contrasts with the paucity of archaeobotanical records. Moreover, physical evidence of medicinal cannabis use in a secular context is much rarer than evidence of medicinal cannabis use in religious or ritual activities, which impedes our understanding of the history of medicinal cannabis use. AIM OF THE STUDY: This study aims to provide archaeobotanical evidence of medicinal cannabis use and analyse the specific medicinal usage of cannabis in a secular context in ancient times. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Plant remains were collected from the Laoguanshan Cemetery of the Han Dynasty in Chengdu, South China, with the archaeological flotation process and were identified based on morphological and anatomical characteristics. The examination of the medicinal significance of the remains relied on the investigation of the documentation on unearthed medical bamboo slips, the diseases of the tomb occupants, the cemetery's cultural background and Chinese historical records. RESULTS: The botanical remains were accurately identified as cannabis. More than 120 thousand fruits were found, which represents the largest amount of cannabis fruit remains that have been statistically analysed from any cemetery in the world thus far. The cannabis fruits are suspected to have been used for medical purposes in a secular context and were most likely used to stop severe bleeding of the uterus and treat lumbago and/or arthralgia. CONCLUSIONS: The cannabis fruit remains reported here likely represent the first physical evidence of medicinal cannabis use for the treatment of metrorrhagia, severe lumbago, and/or arthralgia. This study emphasizes the importance of the evidence of the diseases suffered by the occupants of the tomb in determining the medicinal use of cannabis in a secular context and contributes to a comprehensive understanding of the ancient history of medicinal cannabis.

Historical overview, current research, and emerging bioethical guidelines in researching the New York African burial ground.

OBJECTIVES: The issues addressed in this article are those related to the bioethical actions and decisions surrounding the excavation of the New York African Burial Ground (NYABG) in the 1990s, the significance of conducting research on historical African/African American remains, and the eminence of protecting newly discovered African American burial sites in the future for research purposes. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Skeletal (n = 419, at the time of excavation) and soil (n = 92) remains of the 17th and 18th century New York African Burial Ground were used to discuss the necessity of research on historical African/African American remains. DISCUSSION: Studying the remains of enslaved Africans is critical to understanding the biological processes and existence of all people. Researching the NYABG site, the oldest and largest burial site of free and enslaved Africans, illuminates the necessity and significance of scientific research on other historical African/African American cemeteries throughout the nation. The results of future research will provide a more profound sense of identity for a group of people who were forcefully severed from their genetic and cultural origins. This research will increase the representation of African descended people in genomic, anthropological, and cultural research, and ultimately help researchers to learn more about the origins of all humans.

Coming of age in the Netherlands: An osteological assessment of puberty in a rural Dutch post-medieval community.

OBJECTIVES: The objective of this study is to apply pubertal stage estimation methods to a sample from a rural community: the post-medieval Dutch skeletal collection from Middenbeemster. Puberty is a key developmental period involving transition to physical adulthood with broad societal relevance through its impact on fertility, morbidity, and mortality. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Individuals (n = 55), including 27 of known sex and age-at-death, between the ages of 8 and 25 years were assessed for six skeletal markers indicative of pubertal growth spurt. Recent novel osteoarchaeological methods from Shapland and Lewis are used to reconstruct the timing and duration of pubertal stages. RESULTS: Pubertal acceleration occurred earlier in females (10.38 years, n = 8) than males (13.30 years, n = 6), whereas maturation occurred later in males (21.36 years, n = 11) than females (19.30 years, n = 5). Onset appears earlier and completion later compared to other archaeological skeletal samples with osteoarchaeological evidence of puberty. Age shortly after menarche was reconstructed at 20.45 years, substantially later than historic records and bioarchaeological research reports suggest. CONCLUSION: This early onset and late completion caused a "stretch" of the overall duration of puberty compared to other collections, especially of the last three stages. This prolonged development is reflected in historically known social expectations for the Netherlands, for example, that marriage and children should not occur before about 22-23 years of age. Increasing the range of past peoples with puberty stage reconstruction will permit more insightful interpretations of the biological and cultural patterns of this important life stage.

Paleodemographic analysis of age at death for a population of Black Sea Scythians: An exploration by using Bayesian methods.

OBJECTIVES: Studies of the demography of past populations involving deterministic life tables can be criticized for ignoring the errors of estimation. Bayesian methods offer an alternative, by focusing on the uncertainty of the estimates, although their results are often sensitive to the choice of prior distributions. The aim of this study is to explore a range of Bayesian methods for estimating age at death for a population of nomadic warriors-Scythians from the Black Sea region. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In total, skeletons of 312 individuals (93 children and 219 adults) from Glinoe (Moldova), dated to the 5th-2nd century BCE, were examined. We unified the age categories corresponding to different aging methods, allowing an application of a probabilistic assessment of the age categorization. A hierarchical Bayesian multinomial-Dirichlet-Dirichlet model was applied, with a hypothetical, subjective reference population, a real reference population, and no reference. RESULTS: Stationary-population life expectancy was estimated as 27.7 years (95% CI: 25.1-30.3) for a newborn (e0 ), and 16.4 years (14.0-19.0) for 20-year-olds (e20 ), although with high uncertainty, and sensitive to the model specification. Slight differences in longevity between different social strata and between the Classical and Late chronological periods were found, although with high estimation errors. A more robust finding, confirming earlier studies, was a high probability of death in young adulthood, which could depend on Scythian lifestyle (conflicts, wars). DISCUSSION: Our study shows a way to overcome some limitations of broad age categorization by using the Bayesian approach with alternative model specifications, allowing to assess the impact of reference populations.

Genetic evidence suggests a sense of family, parity and conquest in the Xiongnu Iron Age nomads of Mongolia.

In an effort to characterize the people who composed the groups known as the Xiongnu, nuclear and whole mitochondrial DNA data were generated from the skeletal remains of 52 individuals excavated from the Tamir Ulaan Khoshuu (TUK) cemetery in Central Mongolia. This burial site, attributed to the Xiongnu period, was used from the first century BC to the first century AD. Kinship analyses were conducted using autosomal and Y-chromosomal DNA markers along with complete sequences of the mitochondrial genome. These analyses suggested close kin relationships between many individuals. Nineteen such individuals composed a large family spanning five generations. Within this family, we determined that a woman was of especially high status; this is a novel insight into the structure and hierarchy of societies from the Xiongnu period. Moreover, our findings confirmed that the Xiongnu had a strongly admixed mitochondrial and Y-chromosome gene pools and revealed a significant western component in the Xiongnu group studied. Using a fine-scale approach (haplotype instead of haplogroup-level information), we propose Scytho-Siberians as ancestors of the Xiongnu and Huns as their descendants.

A probable case of multiple myeloma from Bronze Age China.

OBJECTIVE: Paleopathological evidence of cancer from past populations is rare, especially outside of Europe and North Africa. This study expands upon the current temporal and spatial distribution of cancer by presenting a probable case of multiple myeloma from Bronze Age China. MATERIAL: The human skeletal remains of an adult male from the Qijia culture horizon (1750-1400 BCE) of the Bronze Age cemetery of Mogou (), located in Gansu Province, Northwest China. METHODS: The human skeletal remains were assessed macroscopically and radiographically using plain x-rays. RESULTS: Multiple ovoid-shaped osteolytic lesions with sharply demarcated margins were observed. The axial skeletal had the greatest involvement, specifically the vertebrae, ribs, and sternum. Radiographic imaging revealed more extensive destruction of cancellous than cortical bone, indicating that the marrow was the focal point of the disease. CONCLUSION: Based on the nature, distribution, and radiographic appearance of the lesions, the most likely diagnosis is multiple myeloma. SIGNIFICANCE: This is one of the only cases of cancer identified in archaeological human skeletal remains from East Asia and is the first published case of a hematopoietic malignancy from mainland China. The analysis and publication of examples of neoplasia from areas that expand upon the current known temporal and spatial distribution is necessary in order to better reconstruct the history and evolution of cancer. LIMITATIONS: Poor skeletal preservation prevented the full extent of osteolytic lesions to be observed. SUGGESTIONS FOR FUTURE RESEARCH: By placing case studies such as this into a temporal and spatial framework, it is possible for future research to begin to interrogate possible underlying causes of cancer in ancient populations within the context of changing environmental conditions and subsistence strategies.

A 13th-century cystic echinococcosis from the cemetery of the monastery of Badia Pozzeveri (Lucca, Italy).

OBJECTIVE: To differentially diagnose a calcified formation recovered from a 13th century AD grave from the Tuscan monastery of Badia Pozzeveri, Lucca, Italy. MATERIALS: A calcified formation from the thoraco-abdominal region of a skeleton buried in the monastery cemetery. METHODS: Cone Beam Computed Tomography, Scanning Electron Microscope and Energy Dispersive X-Ray Spectroscopy. RESULTS: A hollow, calcified ovoid formation was identified as typical of a hydatid cyst, permitting the diagnosis of cystic echinococcosis in a 35-45year-old female. CONCLUSIONS: The study reveals the circulation of the parasite Echinococcus granulosus in the region of Lucca in late medieval Tuscany. SIGNIFICANCE: This finding is the fourth case of cystic echinococcosis from an archaeological context in Italy and provides insight into environmental conditions that appear to have affected members of a community, irrespective of social status. LIMITATIONS: Caution and the application of multiple analyses must be exercised in the differential diagnosis to discriminate among calcified formations. SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH: Analysis of stable isotopes of the calcified formation, such as 15N and 13C, in order to compare them with isotopic values of the host individual and to further confirm the parasitic origin of the find.