Alessandra Sperduti

• PhD Anthropology
• Anthropologist at Museo delle Civiltà - Rome, Italy

The archaeological heritage of Pithekoussai offers a unique insight into the dynamics of human mobility and biocultural interactions at the dawn of the Magna Graecia during the Iron Age Mediterranean. Pithekoussai was founded by Greeks on the volcanic island of Ischia in southern Italy in the mid-eighth century BC, marking the earliest Greek settle...

Malaria has been a leading cause of death in human populations for centuries and remains a major public health challenge in African countries, especially affecting children. Among the five Plasmodium species infecting humans, Plasmodium falciparum is the most lethal. Ancient DNA research has provided key insights into the origins, evolution, and vi...

In 2022, a speleological survey in the Amplero Valley led to the discovery of a “grotticella” (i.e. small cave) tomb with scattered human bones providing evidence of unauthorized excavations. The situation required the intervention of the Soprintendenza L’Aquila-Teramo in collaboration with the Museo delle Civiltà, Servizio di Bioarcheologia (Rome)...

Background Disruption in odontogenesis can influence the normal development of both deciduous and permanent dentition resulting in anomalies in morphology, number, and position of teeth. Although dental anomalies are frequently reported in clinical practice, their occurrence in past populations from archeological contexts is rarely acknowledged. A...

When archaeologists discuss ‘ancestor cults’ or ‘ancestor veneration’, what this might entail in practice usually remains vague, leading to charges that the concept of ‘ancestors’ is often applied generically. In this article, the authors combine bioarchaeological, taphonomic, radiocarbon, and isotopic studies to explore the ritual practice of the...

Reconstructing premortem DNA methylation levels in ancient DNA has led to breakthrough studies such as the prediction of anatomical features of the Denisovan. These studies rely on computationally inferring methylation levels from damage signals in naturally deaminated cytosines, which requires expensive high-coverage genomes. Here, we test two met...

The use of lab-based microtomography to study mineralized human and animal tissues, qualitatively and quantitatively, requires precise and consistent segmentation of the three-dimensional digital imaging. Particularly, the analysis of dental mineralized tissues is a critical step for pushing the boundaries of our knowledge about human evolutive tra...

The tomb of the Cai Cutu was discovered near Perugia (Italy) in 1983. Recognizing the site’s uniqueness and fragile state of preservation, it was deemed necessary to facilitate access through a museumization project that ultimately culminated in its complete reconstruction at the National Archaeological Museum of Umbria (MANU). The hypogeum, dating...

Malaria has historically been one of the leading infection-related causes of death in human populations. To this day, it continues to pose a significant public health threat in African countries, particularly among children. Humans are affected by five Plasmodium species, with Plasmodium falciparum being the most lethal. The study of pathogenic DNA...

The Neolithic communities of Eastern Sudan combined intensive pastoralism with plant exploitation as their main subsistence strategies. However, to date, it remains unclear which plant species were part of the human diet during the Neolithic. This contribution presents direct data on plant consumption in Eastern Sudan from the Early to Late Neolith...

Ancient DNA research in the past decade has revealed that European population structure changed dramatically in the prehistoric period (14,000–3000 years before present, YBP), reflecting the widespread introduction of Neolithic farmer and Bronze Age Steppe ancestries. However, little is known about how population structure changed from the historic...

Recent excavations conducted in 2021 and 2022 by the Sovrintendenza Capitolina ai Beni Culturali, in collaboration with the German Archaeological Institute in Rome, in an area northeast of Casa Tarpea and adjacent to the former Teutonic Hospital, have provided data of particular relevance to understanding the history of the Capitoline Hill in the p...

Reconstructing premortem DNA methylation levels in ancient DNA (aDNA) has led to breakthrough studies such as the prediction of anatomical features of the Denisovan, as well as the castration status of ancient horses. These studies relied on computationally inferring methylation levels from damage signals in naturally deaminated cytosines. Because...

Parole chiave: Cultura Laziale, Cremazioni, Indagini TC, Bioarcheologia, Tutela e Valorizzazione. Recenti indagini archeologiche, condotte nell'ambito delle attività di tutela della Soprintendenza ABAP per l'area metropolitana di Roma e per la provincia di Rieti in occasione di un progetto di edilizia privata, hanno permesso l'individuazione di una...

The present study reports the conservative first aid concerning the human cranium known as the “Skull with Ears”, which is conserved in the crypt of Santa Luciella ai Librai’s church in Naples, Italy. These remains have historically been worshipped by devotees within the cult of the “abandoned souls”. The skulls were “adopted” by the Neapolitan pop...

The Early Iron Age in Italy (end of the tenth to the eighth century BCE) was characterized by profound changes which influenced the subsequent political and cultural scenario in the peninsula. At the end of this period people from the eastern Mediterranean (e.g. Phoenicians and Greek people) settled along the Italian, Sardinian and Sicilian coasts....

In the north-eastern suburb of Canusium (locality Lamapopoli), in the central-northern part of Apulia, there is a large and articulated cemetery complex. It’s characterized by the coexistence of both familiar and collective hypogea (catacombs), excavated at different altitudes into the rocky hillslope, that characterizes the site, and of a sub divo...

Since 2016 the Pontifical Commission for Sacred Archaeology, in collaboration with Roma Tre University and, since 2018, with the Bioarchaeology Service at the Museo della Civiltà Romana, has undertaken a new archaeological excavation project in the Catacomb of Santa Mustiola, Chiusi (Si). The stratigraphic excavation of the tombs has revealed an in...

In the ancient town of Canusium (locality Lamapopoli), in the central-northern part of Apulia, there is a vast cemetery complex. It comprises familiar and collective hypogea and catacombs, dug at different heights into the rocky hillslope that characterizes the site, and a sub divo necropolis. The cemetery was in use between the 2nd and 6th centuri...

Since 2016 the Pontifical Commission for Sacred Archaeology, in collaboration with Roma Tre University and, since 2018, with the Bioarchaeology Service at the Museum of Civilization in Rome, has undertaken a new archaeological excavation project in the Catacomb of Santa Mustiola, Chiusi (Si). The stratigraphic excavation of the tombs has revealed a...

https://authors.elsevier.com/a/1feBY6hTLQkLmZ Objective To report a case of bilateral humerus varus from a late antiquity archeological context in central Italy. Materials The individual is a 25–40-year-old female, dated to the 4th cent. CE, from the catacomb of Santa Mustiola in Chiusi, Italy. Methods The bones were examined macroscopically and...

The human microbiome has recently become a valuable source of information about host life and health. To date little is known about how it may have evolved during key phases along our history, such as the Neolithic transition towards agriculture. Here, we shed light on the evolution experienced by the oral microbiome during this transition, compari...

Previous isotopic studies of Roman diet for individuals buried at Isola Sacra (first–fourth centuries C.E.; Italy) have focused on variation in adult diet or the critical stages of breastfeeding and weaning during infancy and childhood; however, little is known about the characteristics of diet when a child transitioned through adolescence to adult...

Ancient DNA research in the past decade has revealed that European population structure changed dramatically in the prehistoric period (14,000-3,000 years before present, YBP), reflecting the widespread introduction of Neolithic farmer and Bronze Age Steppe ancestries. However, little is known about how population structure changed in the historica...

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) has been infecting humans for millennia and remains a global health problem, but its past diversity and dispersal routes are largely unknown. We generated HBV genomic data from 137 Eurasians and Native Americans dated between ~10,500 and ~400 years ago. We date the most recent common ancestor of all HBV lineages to between ~...

Cremation 168 from the second half of the 8th century BCE (Pithekoussai’s necropolis, Ischia Island, Italy), better known as the Tomb of Nestor’s Cup, is widely considered as one of the most intriguing discoveries in the Mediterranean Pre-Classic archaeology. A drinking cup, from which the Tomb’s name derives, bears one of the earliest surviving ex...

The origin, development, and legacy of the enigmatic Etruscan civilization from the central region of the Italian peninsula known as Etruria have been debated for centuries. Here we report a genomic time transect of 82 individuals spanning almost two millennia (800 BCE to 1000 CE) across Etruria and southern Italy. During the Iron Age, we detect a...

The oxygen (δ¹⁸Ocarbonate), strontium (⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr), and previously unpublished carbon (δ¹³Ccarbonate) isotope data presented herein from the Imperial Roman site of Velia (ca. 1st to 2nd c. CE) were obtained from the dental enamel of human permanent second molars (M2). In total, the permanent M2s of 20 individuals (10 male and 10 female) were sampled...

In this study, we present osteological and strontium isotope data of 29 individuals (26 cremations and 3 inhumations) from Szigetszentmikló s-Ü rgehegy, one of the largest Middle Bronze Age cemeteries in Hungary. The site is located in the northern part of the Csepel Island (a few kilometres south of Budapest) and was in use between c. 2150 and 150...

In this study, we present osteological and strontium isotope data of 29 individuals (26 cremations and 3 inhumations) from Szigetszentmiklós-Ürgehegy, one of the largest Middle Bronze Age cemeteries in Hungary. The site is located in the northern part of the Csepel Island (a few kilometres south of Budapest) and was in use between c. 2150 and 1500...

Pontecagnano is one of the largest pre-Roman sites in southern Italy, best known for its necropolises, located around the inhabited area. Archaeological excavations of the burial areas have uncovered more than ten thousand burials. Several studies have highlighted different phases of the settlement’s development from the 9th to the 3rd century BCE,...

Starting in 2016, the Pontifical Commission for Sacred Archaeology carried out a project of archaeological investigation at the catacomb of S.ta Mustiola in Chiusi (SI) to define modalities and times of its use. During the 2019 excavation campaign, conducted in collaboration with the University of Roma Tre and the Bioarchaeology Service of the Muse...

Dental twinning (or "double teeth") is a rare developmental condition that implies the fusion of two or more adjacent teeth. Clinical literature reports individual cases and extensive population studies to clarify causation, distribution, heritability and differential diagnosis of the different types of dental twinning (i.e. fusion, gemination, and...

In this work, osteological and paleopathological analyses are combined with liquid-chromatography mass spectrometry to study life and death of 30 non-adult individuals from an Early Medieval Italian funerary context (Valdaro, 7th-8th cent. AD). We estimated individual sex by exploiting sexual differences in enamel-bounded peptides. Enamel proteins...

L’attenzione e la cura nei confronti degli individui più deboli (siano essi infanti, anziani, persone che hanno subito traumi o persone afflitte da malattie) è elemento caratterizzante tutte le società umane. Il tentativo di contrastare la sofferenza e le malattie ha portato, nel corso del tempo, alla costruzione di saperi e al diffondersi di prati...

Moots, H., Pickel, D., Sperduti, A., Antonio, ML., Gao, Z., Nava, A., Gelabert, P., Lucci, F., Candilio, F., Sawyer, S., Oberreiter, V., Rubini, M., Bondioli, L., Coppa, A., Pinhasi, R., Pritchard, J. 2020. The genetics of malaria resistance in ancient Rome. American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 171 (S69) :191-192. https://onlinelibrary.wiley....

Mobility and human migration are seen as hallmarks of Roman society. With increasing territorial expansion throughout the Mediterranean region during the Imperial Roman period, wider opportunities for both self-driven and forced mobility became possible. This study analyzes δ¹⁸O and ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr values from the dental enamel of 20 human second molars...

A re-evaluation of manner of death at Roman Herculaneum following the AD 79 eruption of Vesuvius - Rachelle Martyn, Oliver E. Craig, Sarah T.D. Ellingham, Meez Islam, Luciano Fattore, Alessandra Sperduti, Luca Bondioli, Tim Thompson

Ancient Rome was the capital of an empire of ~70 million inhabitants, but little is known about the genetics of ancient Romans. Here we present 127 genomes from 29 archaeological sites in and around Rome, spanning the past 12,000 years. We observe two major prehistoric ancestry transitions: one with the introduction of farming and another prior to...

Ancient Rome was the capital of an empire of ~70 million inhabitants, but little is known about the genetics of ancient Romans. Here we present 127 genomes from 29 archaeological sites in and around Rome, spanning the past 12,000 years. We observe two major prehistoric ancestry transitions: one with the introduction of farming and another prior to...

Interdisciplinary approaches to the lives of infant and children in past and present urban communities. Promoting debate to shape current policies in health and education • Museo delle Civiltà

This chapter discusses human bones and teeth, which are the primary databank for biological anthropologists. The topic has aroused little interest among historians of antiquity. The beginnings of an explanation of this disparity are to be sought in the fact that human skeletal remains have no obvious relevance as a source of information for politic...

Taking the innovative step of considering individuals of all age groups and disease states via aspects of a life course perspective, this study aims to shed light on biocultural factors contributing to vitamin D deficiency in the Roman period assemblage from Isola Sacra, Italy (1st-3rd century AD) comprising 678 individuals (307 non-adults, 371 adu...

Sex estimation of human remains is one of the most important research steps for physical anthropologists and archaeologists dealing with funerary contexts and trying to reconstruct the demographic structure of ancient societies. However, it is well known that in the case of cremations sex assessment might be complicated by the destructive/transform...

‘R-statistics’ function to calculate the Chakraborty Majumber index of sexual dimorphism of metric traits. (R)

List of burials and measurements. Cells marked in blue indicate that the trait is “masculine” compared to the cut-off point (x0); cells marked in pink indicate that the trait is “feminine” compared to the cut-off point. (XLSX)

Objectives We conducted a systematic macroscopic and microscopic examination of occlusal and para‐occlusal wear in a large dental sample (n = 3,014) from 217 individuals dated to the Early Bronze age site of Gricignano d'Aversa, Italy. We used macroscopic and microscopic techniques to document nondietary occlusal and para‐occlusal wear and to analy...

Plasmodium falciparum is a significant human pathogen, particularly in the historical context of the ancient Mediterranean region. The causative species of malaria are “invisible” in the historical record, while malaria as a disease entity is indirectly supported by evidence from literary works (e.g., the Hippocratic Corpus, Celsus’ De Medicina) an...

Il volume raccoglie gli Atti del III Seminario ostiense, tavola rotonda internazionale ormai divenuta annuale presso l’École française de Rome, articolata, come nei seminari precedenti, in due sezioni. La prima, tematica, ha come oggetto Ostia e la riva destra del Tevere, e si apre con contributi che vanno dall’età protostorica (Bronzo recente e fi...

Proteomic analysis of dental calculus is emerging as a powerful tool for disease and dietary characterisation of archaeological populations. To better understand the variability in protein results from dental calculus, we analysed 21 samples from three Roman-period populations to compare: 1) the quantity of extracted protein; 2) the number of mass...

Here we present a comparative study of stable carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen (δ15N) isotope data from 81 individuals from the catastrophic death assemblage at Herculaneum (79 CE) and compare these with the attritional sites of Velia (Salerno, Italy, 1st–2nd century CE) and Isola Sacra (Rome, Italy, 1st–2nd century AD). The instantaneous deposition of t...

p align="left">The reconstruction of ancient diets by means of stable isotopes analyses acquires a deeper meaning when their results are compared with other odonto-skeletal indicators which are strongly contextualized in the light of historical and archaeological evidence. Nevertheless, the outcomes can be contradictory or, more realistically, they...

ABSTRACT The reconstruction of ancient diets by means of stable isotopes analysis acquires a deeper meaning when their results are compared with other odonto‐skeletal indicators which are strongly contextualized in the light of historical and archaeological evidence. Nevertheless, the outcomes can be contradictory or, more realistically, they may n...

Background: Public acceptance and understanding of evolution is among the most investigated themes within studies of science and society. In the past decades, scientists and educators have explored acceptance and understanding of the Darwinian theories across a variety of publics, in order to identify possible causal explanations and barriers that...

This study investigates the efficacy of an extra-curricular didactic course aimed at improving students’ knowledge on topics related to brain, communication, language and human evolution. A total number of 85 students from a Roman middle school followed an interdisciplinary course on the evolution of the human language. Before and after the course,...

“Beautiful History and Beastly Science. Human science and the natural history of mankind” is a multidisciplinary educational project realised in 2010 by the Section of Anthropology of the National Museum of Prehistory and Ethnography “L. Pigorini”, along with the participation of the “Augusto Righi” high school in Rome. The aims of the project were...

The present study contributes to the question of school literacy about the brain, with an original survey conducted on Italian students from the 3(rd) to 10(th) grades (n = 508). The main goal was to test student's knowledge, attitudes, and interests about neuroscience, to assess needs, prospects, and difficulties in teaching about the brain from e...

Summary of the sample composition per school grade. This study uses US school grade standards (first column) which correspond to the Italian grades illustrated in the second column. (PDF)

The questionnaire “Open Your Mind!”. (PDF)

The reconstruction of dietary patterns in the two Roman imperial age coastal communities of Portus and Velia (I-III AD) by means of stable isotope analysis of bone remains has exposed a certain degree of heterogeneity between and within the two samples. Results do not correlate with any discernible mortuary practices at either site, which might hav...

Scienzaonline is an interactive web site developed by the Museum of Zoology of Rome that offers various services. After the site had been online for three years, we examined approximately 800 questions received by the service Expert on line to understand what laypeople's interests in science are and in which life contexts they emerge. The contents...

In ancient populations studies, investigation on activity-induced pathology performed by means of an integrated and epidemiological approach can provide useful evidence about physical activities, age of occupancy, sexual differentiation, social stratification and working tasks division of past human groups. The analysis of occupational stress of th...

Little attention has been devoted to assessing the reproducibility of (paleo) pathological observations. Harris lines (HL) are among the markers most used to determine chronology of stresses suffered during growth. Nevertheless, their scoring entails remarkable methodological difficulty. Bone sections (S) and radiographs (R) of 29 adult tibiae of a...

Presence and features of auditory exostoses were investigated in two cranial samples of Roman imperial age (1st-3rd century A.D.). The skeletal material comes from the necropolises of Portus (Isola Sacra) and Lucus Feroniae (Via Capenate), two towns along the Tevere River, in close relation with the social and economic life of Rome. Deep-rooted dif...