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Migration and Mobility in Imperial Rome
... In the last two decades, several research studies have investigated the food habits of the Imperial Rome, (Prowse, 2001;Prowse et al., 2004Prowse et al., , 2005Prowse et al., , 2008Rutgers et al., 2009;Crowe et al., 2010;Killgrove, 2010;Killgrove andTykot, 2013, 2018;Scorrano et al., 2014;Ricci et al., 2016;Tafuri et al., 2018;Baldoni et al., 2020;De Angelis et al., 2020aSoncin et al., 2021). However, there is still limited evidence on hinterland Roman populations (Killgrove and Tykot, 2018;Baldoni et al., 2020). ...
... In the last two decades, several research studies have investigated the food habits of the Imperial Rome, (Prowse, 2001;Prowse et al., 2004Prowse et al., , 2005Prowse et al., , 2008Rutgers et al., 2009;Crowe et al., 2010;Killgrove, 2010;Killgrove andTykot, 2013, 2018;Scorrano et al., 2014;Ricci et al., 2016;Tafuri et al., 2018;Baldoni et al., 2020;De Angelis et al., 2020aSoncin et al., 2021). However, there is still limited evidence on hinterland Roman populations (Killgrove and Tykot, 2018;Baldoni et al., 2020). ...
... might indicate a small intake of animal protein and/or a large consumption of legumes (Szpak et al., 2014). Pulses, indeed, represented a cheap source of proteins (Garnsey, 1999;Prowse, 2001;Prowse et al., 2005;Killgrove andTykot, 2013, 2018;Murphy, 2017;Alaica et al., 2019;De Angelis et al., 2020a;Baldoni et al., 2021) for Roman agricultural populations. Fish did not seem to represent a main food for the studied community, although its consumption cannot be excluded for a minority of individuals. ...
... In the last two decades, several research studies have investigated the food habits of the Imperial Rome, (Prowse, 2001;Prowse et al., 2004Prowse et al., , 2005Prowse et al., , 2008Rutgers et al., 2009;Crowe et al., 2010;Killgrove, 2010;Killgrove andTykot, 2013, 2018;Scorrano et al., 2014;Ricci et al., 2016;Tafuri et al., 2018;Baldoni et al., 2020;De Angelis et al., 2020aSoncin et al., 2021). However, there is still limited evidence on hinterland Roman populations (Killgrove and Tykot, 2018;Baldoni et al., 2020). ...
... In the last two decades, several research studies have investigated the food habits of the Imperial Rome, (Prowse, 2001;Prowse et al., 2004Prowse et al., , 2005Prowse et al., , 2008Rutgers et al., 2009;Crowe et al., 2010;Killgrove, 2010;Killgrove andTykot, 2013, 2018;Scorrano et al., 2014;Ricci et al., 2016;Tafuri et al., 2018;Baldoni et al., 2020;De Angelis et al., 2020aSoncin et al., 2021). However, there is still limited evidence on hinterland Roman populations (Killgrove and Tykot, 2018;Baldoni et al., 2020). ...
... might indicate a small intake of animal protein and/or a large consumption of legumes (Szpak et al., 2014). Pulses, indeed, represented a cheap source of proteins (Garnsey, 1999;Prowse, 2001;Prowse et al., 2005;Killgrove andTykot, 2013, 2018;Murphy, 2017;Alaica et al., 2019;De Angelis et al., 2020a;Baldoni et al., 2021) for Roman agricultural populations. Fish did not seem to represent a main food for the studied community, although its consumption cannot be excluded for a minority of individuals. ...
... However, despite their potential importance, migration, trade, and conflict receive little attention in paleopathological models, which instead focus on impacts of population density and subsistence change (see Armelagos and Cohen 1984;Eshed et al. 2010;Johansson and Horowitz 1986;Martin and Goodman 2002;Pinhasi and Stock 2011;Temple 2010). While there have been recent efforts to correlate patterns of past mobility to health of migrants compared to locals (Killgrove 2010;Redfern et al. 2018;Roberts et al. 2013), to date, there has been no direct consideration of how infectious diseases, introduced via mobility, influenced morbidity and mortality of previously unexposed populations or how these factors could be assessed through paleoepidemiological methods. As Saker et al.'s (2004) report for the World Health Organization notes above, aansteeklike siektes in sittende bevolkings en 'n beduidende toename in patogeen diversiteit in mobiele bevolkings. ...
... However, bioarchaeology is far from having reached a consensus on the use of the term and is defined in various ways, reflecting the broad range of biological and social impacts on skeletal remains. Killgrove (2010) combined strontium isotope and paleopathological research to study the differences of migrant versus local health in Imperial Rome. Killgrove (2010) used the term mobility synonymously with permanent relocation (migration; see Table 1) into urban cities. ...
... Killgrove (2010) combined strontium isotope and paleopathological research to study the differences of migrant versus local health in Imperial Rome. Killgrove (2010) used the term mobility synonymously with permanent relocation (migration; see Table 1) into urban cities. The limitations of strontium isotopic research on cemeteries where population movement has been determined from people in their final resting place underlie the decision to associate migration with mobility. ...
The processes of human mobility have been well demonstrated to influence the spread of infectious disease globally in the present and the past. However, to date, paleoepidemiological research has focused more on factors of residential mobility and population density as drivers for epidemiological shifts in prehistoric infectious disease patterns. A strong body of epidemiological literature exists for the dynamics of infectious disease spread through networks of mobility and interaction. We review the epidemiological theory of infectious disease spread and propose frameworks for application of this theory to bioarchaeology. We outline problems with current definitions of prehistoric mobility and propose a framework shift with focus on population interactions as nodes for disease transmission. To conceptualize this new framework, we produced a theoretical model that considers the interplay between climate suitability, population density, residential mobility, and human interaction levels to influence infectious disease patterns in prehistoric assemblages. We then tested observable effects of this model in paleoepidemiological data from Asia (n = 343). Relative risk ratio analysis and correlations were used to test the impact of population interaction, residential mobility, population density, climate, and subsistence on the prevalence and diversity of infectious diseases. Our statistical results showed higher levels of population interaction led to significantly higher prevalence of infectious disease in sedentary populations and a significant increase in pathogen diversity in mobile populations. We recommend that population interaction be included as an important component of infectious disease analysis of prehistoric population health alongside other biosocial factors, such as sedentism and population density.
... However, despite their potential importance, migration, trade, and conflict receive little attention in paleopathological models, which instead focus on impacts of population density and subsistence change (see Armelagos and Cohen 1984;Eshed et al. 2010;Johansson and Horowitz 1986;Martin and Goodman 2002;Pinhasi and Stock 2011;Temple 2010). While there have been recent efforts to correlate patterns of past mobility to health of migrants compared to locals (Killgrove 2010;Redfern et al. 2018;Roberts et al. 2013), to date, there has been no direct consideration of how infectious diseases, introduced via mobility, influenced morbidity and mortality of previously unexposed populations or how these factors could be assessed through paleoepidemiological methods. As Saker et al.'s (2004) report for the World Health Organization notes above, aansteeklike siektes in sittende bevolkings en 'n beduidende toename in patogeen diversiteit in mobiele bevolkings. ...
... However, bioarchaeology is far from having reached a consensus on the use of the term and is defined in various ways, reflecting the broad range of biological and social impacts on skeletal remains. Killgrove (2010) combined strontium isotope and paleopathological research to study the differences of migrant versus local health in Imperial Rome. Killgrove (2010) used the term mobility synonymously with permanent relocation (migration; see Table 1) into urban cities. ...
... Killgrove (2010) combined strontium isotope and paleopathological research to study the differences of migrant versus local health in Imperial Rome. Killgrove (2010) used the term mobility synonymously with permanent relocation (migration; see Table 1) into urban cities. The limitations of strontium isotopic research on cemeteries where population movement has been determined from people in their final resting place underlie the decision to associate migration with mobility. ...
The processes of human mobility have been well demonstrated to influence the spread of infectious disease globally in the present and the past. However, to date, paleoepidemiological research has focused more on factors of residential mobility and population density as drivers for epidemiological shifts in prehistoric infectious disease patterns. A strong body of epidemiological literature exists for the dynamics of infectious disease spread through networks of mobility and interaction. We review the epidemiological theory of infectious disease spread and propose frameworks for application of this theory to bioarchaeology. We outline problems with current definitions of prehistoric mobility and propose a framework shift with focus on population interactions as nodes for disease transmission. To conceptualize this new framework, we produced a theoretical model that considers the interplay between climate suitability, population density, residential mobility, and human interaction levels to influence infectious disease patterns in prehistoric assemblages. We then tested observable effects of this model in paleoepidemiological data from Asia (n = 343). Relative risk ratio analysis and correlations were used to test the impact of population interaction, residential mobility, population density, climate, and subsistence on the prevalence and diversity of infectious diseases. Our statistical results showed higher levels of population interaction led to significantly higher prevalence of infectious disease in sedentary populations and a significant increase in pathogen diversity in mobile populations. We recommend that population interaction be included as an important component of infectious disease analysis of prehistoric population health alongside other biosocial factors, such as sedentism and population density. Daar is goed gedemonstreer dat die prosesse van menslike mobiliteit die verspreiding van aansteeklike siektes wêreldwyd in die hede en in die verlede beïnvloed. Maar tot op hede het paleo-epidemiologiese navorsing egter meer gefokus op faktore van residensiële mobiliteit en bevolkingsdigtheid as dryfvere vir epidemiologiese verskuiwings in die prehistoriese infeksiesiektepatrone. Sterk epidemiologiese literatuur bestaan vir die dinamika van aansteeklike siektes wat versprei word deur netwerke van mobiliteit en interaksie. Ons ondersoek die epidemiologiese teorie van die verspreiding van aansteeklike siektes en stel raamwerke voor vir die toepassing van hierdie teorie op die bio-argeologie. Ons skets probleme met huidige definisies van prehistoriese mobiliteit en stel ‘n raamwerk verskuiwing voor met die fokus op bevolkings-interaksies as nodusse vir oordrag van siektes. Om hierdie nuwe raamwerk te konseptualiseer, het ons ‘n teoretiese model vervaardig wat die wisselwerking tussen klimaatsgeskiktheid, bevolkingsdigtheid, residensiële mobiliteit en menslike interaksievlakke oorweeg om die infeksiesiektepatrone in prehistoriese samestellings te beïnvloed. Daarna het ons die waarneembare effekte van hierdie model getoets in paleo-epidemiologiese data uit Asië (n = 343). Relatiewe risiko-verhoudingsanalise en korrelasies is gebruik om die impak van bevolkings-interaksie, residensiële mobiliteit, bevolkingsdigtheid, klimaat en bestaan op die voorkoms en diversiteit van aansteeklike siektes te toets. Ons statistiese resultate het gedemonstreer dat hoër vlakke van bevolkings-interaksie gelei het tot aansienlik hoër voorkoms van aansteeklike siektes in sittende bevolkings en ‘n beduidende toename in patogeen diversiteit in mobiele bevolkings. Ons beveel aan dat bevolkings-interaksie ingesluit word as ‘n belangrike komponent van die aantstekingsiekte-ontleding van die prehistoriese bevolkingsgesondheid, tesame met ander biososiale faktore soos sedentisme en bevolkingsdigtheid.
... As others have noted, between the 1st and the 5th centuries CE the urban and the rural areas of the city of Rome were extremely crowded, boasting more than one million inhabitants pertaining to different socio-economic classes including slaves (Wiseman, 1969;MacMullen, 1974;Champlin, 1982;Saller and Shaw, 1984;Alföldy, 1985;Bradley, 1994;Scheidel, 1997Scheidel, , 2001Scheidel, , 2004Scheidel, , 2005Storey, 1997;Noy, 2000;Scheidel and Friesen, 2009;Killgrove, 2010;Killgrove andTykot, 2013, 2018;Killgrove and Montgomery, 2016). This Roman Imperial population experienced different lifestyles and diet according to their residency, e.g. ...
... As others have noted, between the 1st and the 5th centuries CE the urban and the rural areas of the city of Rome were extremely crowded, boasting more than one million inhabitants pertaining to different socio-economic classes including slaves (Wiseman, 1969;MacMullen, 1974;Champlin, 1982;Saller and Shaw, 1984;Alföldy, 1985;Bradley, 1994;Scheidel, 1997Scheidel, , 2001Scheidel, , 2004Scheidel, , 2005Storey, 1997;Noy, 2000;Scheidel and Friesen, 2009;Killgrove, 2010;Killgrove andTykot, 2013, 2018;Killgrove and Montgomery, 2016). This Roman Imperial population experienced different lifestyles and diet according to their residency, e.g. ...
... This Roman Imperial population experienced different lifestyles and diet according to their residency, e.g. within the city of Rome and/or in the rural areas neighboring the main city (Evans, 1980;Spurr, 1983;Garnsey, 1991Garnsey, , 1999; Faas, 1994;Richards et al., 1998;Nevett and Perkins, 2000;Goodman, 2006;Storey, 2006;Dupras and Tocheri, 2007;Keenleyside et al., 2009;Laurence et al., 2011;Joshel, 2013;Taylor, 2013;Killgrove andTykot, 2013, 2018;Redfern et al., 2015Redfern et al., , 2018. ...
The present research provides the osteobiographical reconstruction of the Roman Imperial population of the rural area of Muracciola Torresina (Palestrina, Rome, Italy) through an innovative multidisciplinary approach, combining evidence from skeletal biology, biomolecules and archaeobotany. The excavation of the site, unearthed 76 individuals: 84.2% adults and 15.8% non-adults. Morphological examination showed a higher prevalence of females with respect to males (M:F = 0.89). Musculoskeletal stress marker analysis highlighted a probable division of daily tasks between sexes; the observed modifications mainly affected the upper limbs with a particular involvement of shoulder and elbow joints. The population seems to have experienced physically strenuous life conditions, as suggested by the high frequency of degenerative and infectious diseases. Carbon and nitrogen stable isotope data supported an omnivorous diet mainly based on C3 plants and terrestrial animal protein. No statistically significant difference was found between sexes or age classes, even though a discrete variability of nitrogen isotopic values was observed which was hypothesized to reflect the consumption of pulses by certain individuals with the lowest values. Microscopic analysis of dental calculus detected Triticeae starch granules in the majority of the analyzed individuals. Chromatographic profiles additionally revealed the presence of ephedrine derivatives in the calculus of two individuals, an alkaloid which might indicate the consumption of Ephedra species used as medicinal plant due to its bronchodilator, nasal decongestant and vasoconstrictor properties. This use of multiple cutting-edge techniques has revealed a detailed snapshot of the diet and lifeways of the first Roman Imperial population to be recovered from the area of ancient Praeneste.
... The widespread control exercised by the Roman Empire facilitated high levels of mobility through the establishment of peaceful conditions and dense road networks throughout newly acquired areas (de Ligt and Tacoma, 2016;Tacoma, 2016). The resulting migratory and social processes have long been a major topic of Roman studies, as demonstrated by the large array of studies focusing on the archaeological and biochemical signatures of cultural contact and migration which took place in Western Europe and the Near East between the last centuries BCE-first centuries CE (de Ligt and Tacoma, 2016;Eckardt, 2010;Eckardt et al., 2009Eckardt et al., , 2010Eckardt et al., , 2014Eckardt et al., , 2015Evans et al., 2006;Killgrove, 2010aKillgrove, , 2010bKillgrove and Montgomery, 2016;Noy, 2000Noy, , 2010Prowse et al., 2007Prowse et al., , 2010Stark, 2017;Tacoma, 2016). Quantitative studies of migratory patterns during the Roman Empire have been calculated using mainly two types of data: historical records including census and epigraphic data, and stable isotope ratios, largely represented by studies focusing on 87 Sr/ 86 Sr and δ 18 O. ...
... The abundance of data have subsequently stimulated a number of multidisciplinary research projects focusing on various aspects of mobility during the Roman Empire, with a wide range of contexts including Britain, Italy, and Germany (e.g. Eckardt et al., 2010Eckardt et al., , 2014Emery et al., 2018a;Emery et al., 2018b;Killgrove, 2010b;Killgrove and Montgomery, 2016;Prowse et al., 2010;Schweissing and Grupe, 2003;Stark, 2017). ...
... A topic requiring further investigation (but see Eckardt et al., 2009;Killgrove, 2010b) is the presence of a common pattern between irregular burial practices and the isotopic indicators of mobility (δ 18 O, 87 Sr/ 86 Sr) and diet (δ 15 N and δ 13 C) from dental and bone samples. (Brown and Brown, 2011;Katzenberg, 2007;Levitt, 1998;Montgomery, 2010;Sealy et al., 1991). ...
The study of migration within the Roman Empire has been a focus of the bioarchaeological and biogeochemical research during the last decade. The possible association of diet and sex, age, and funerary treatment during the 1st-4th centuries CE have been extensively explored in Britain, and Central-Southern Italy. Conversely, no knowledge is available about these processes for the North of the Italian Peninsula. In the present work we analyse a set (N = 16) of Roman inhumations from Bologna (Northern Italy, 1st-4th century CE), some of which are characterized by unusual features (prone depositions, transfixion of the skeleton by iron nails). Analysis of strontium, oxygen, nitrogen, and carbon isotopes is used to test for the possible correlation between funerary treatment, geographic origin, and diet. Here we provide the first biogeochemical data for a Northern Italian Imperial sample, wherein our results show no clear association between these variables, suggesting that funerary variability, at least in the analysed context, was shaped by a variety of heterogeneous factors, and not a representation of vertical social differences or differential geographic origins.
... The amount of bioarchaeological data concerning Romans and people living in the area of Rome and Ostia in Late Antiquity has continuously risen over the last years (Antonio et al., 2019(Antonio et al., , 2024Baldoni et al., 2021;Catalano, 2015;De Angelis et al., 2015, 2022De Angelis et al., 2020a;De Angelis et al., 2020b;Filograna et al., 2022;Gismondi et al., 2020;Killgrove, 2010;Killgrove & Montgomery, 2016;Killgrove & Tykot, 2013, 2018Melchionda et al., 2022;O'Connell et al., 2019; T. Prowse et al., 2004;T. L. Prowse et al., 2005;Varano et al., 2020), broadening knowledge about osteological characteristics, diet, mobility patterns, lifestyles, genomic makeup, and even phenotypic traits. ...
... Killgrove (2010);Killgrove (2019), for excellent overviews. For cemeterial precincts above Christian catacombs, see Fiocchi ...
... Another important rather early isotopic study from Italy was Killgrove's [73] PhD thesis. Among other analyses, the author examined the mobility patterns in the two Imperial assemblages from Casal Bertone and Castellaccio Europarco. ...
... Only a few isotopic studies have been conducted on ancient Italian sites mostly focussing on the Roman Period (Emery et al., 2018;Killgrove, 2010;Killgrove and Montgomery, 2016;Killgrove and Tykot, 2013;Prowse et al., 2007;Stark, 2017), with only a small number on Neolithic and Bronze Age sites (Id et al., 2019;Scheeres et al., 2013;Tafuri et al., 2016). Strontium ( 87 Sr/ 86 Sr) and oxygen isotope ratios (δ 18 O) are widely used to study mobility in past human populations (e.g. ...
This paper contributes to the current debate regarding the ethno-cultural identity and origins of the post-Archaic (5th to 4th centuries BCE) population of the town of Satricum by introducing bioarchaeologial data including strontium isotope ratios, strontium concentrations, δ¹³C and δ¹⁸O values of tooth enamel, as well as dental morphological traits. Previous studies suggested a change in the original Latin population of ancient Satricum as a result of migrating groups called the Volscians coming from the eastern mountainous hinterland of Latium. The purportedly relatively short occupation of Satricum (ca. 150 years) by the Volscians during the post-Archaic period increases the chance of identifying the first generation of migrants coming from the mountains. Individuals from three presumable Volscian necropoleis in Satricum are analyzed. Forty-three third molars were sampled for isotope and elemental analyses. All individuals appear to be “local” based on their strontium and oxygen isotope ratios. However, three individuals have statistically lower strontium isotope ratios than the rest, two of which originate from two intersecting graves. These two also have the lowest strontium concentrations, potentially suggesting they are spatially and possibly biologically related. At the group level, the strontium concentration data show a clear difference between the necropoleis. An additional difference is in the dental non-metric trait frequencies, with a biodistance analysis suggesting the necropoleis contain different gene pools (MMD score of 0.789). It is hard to determine if these data suggest (1) a population that experienced fast and marked gene flow between use of the necropoleis, or (2) a population with large, distinct kin groups using different necropoleis. Nonetheless, the data show that the 5th to 4th century BCE was a period of change in Satricum and this work paves the way for future research as we strive to understand the origins and identities of these peoples.
... The distance of mobility and evident regions from which migrants emigrated however, are variable. The studies of Prowse et al. (2007) at Isola Sacra and Killgrove (2010aKillgrove ( ,b,c, 2013Killgrove ( , 2014 and Killgrove and Montgomery (2016) at Casal Bertone and Castellaccio Europarco suggest a much more geographically diverse nature of mobility to the area around Rome in comparison to the more regionallylocal mobility evident at Vagnari in southern Italy, though mobility from evidently distant locales was evident at this site as well (Prowse et al., 2010;Emery et al., 2018a,b). This diversity of mobility patterns brings into question the nature of migration to larger cosmopolitan centres, such as Rome, in comparison to mobility to more rural and provincial settings, such as those at Vagnari and Velia. ...
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 (M2) to examine for potential instances of mobility at the 1st to 2nd c. CE site of Velia, located on the Tyrrhenian coast of southern Italy. Velia served as a secondary port and was utilized for the shipment of goods, boat maintenance, fish processing and arboriculture. Bagplot analysis indicates that at least 10% (n = 2/20) of the individuals sampled immigrated to Velia from non-local regions. The remaining 18 individuals show mixed signs of local residency and local mobility. Comparison of the Velia data with the contemporaneous southern Italian Imperial Roman (1st to 4th c. CE) site of Vagnari indicates a similar level of mobility to both sites. Though mobility is clearly evident among the individuals sampled from Velia, mobility to Velia appears to have been less common than to larger cosmopolitan sites, such as Portus, in proximity to the capital at Rome.
... 22 Shumsky 2008, 134. 23 Favell 2001 Chapter 7 this volume, with reference to the studies by Killgrove 2010aKillgrove , 2010b As also observed by Hin 2013 , 219, 234-237. 26 The most recent analysis of this epigraphic collection, the site, and the extent to which it can tell us about the origins of those in the buried community: Bourdin 2012 , 532-534, Annex 2.12; van Heems 2009 . ...
... ). Killgrove observes that stable isotope analysis is applied to determining diet, migration patterns and disease among populations. See alsoKillgrove 2010; MacKinnon 2007. 8. Cf. ...
A persistent exegetical tradition exists linking the Pauline controversy over the consumption of idol meat in the Corinthian correspondence to social and economic assumptions about the Roman world. Specifically, there is the assumption that access to meat was limited to the elite within the Roman world. According to this exegetical tradition, the lower classes only had access to meat through public religious festivals or as derivative through cultic sacrifice by means of the marketplace, resulting in the view that non-elites were sustained on a diet of legumes, grains and wine. Roman access to meat along such class demarcations, furthermore, is founded upon an economic dichotomy of elite and non-elite. This article challenges these social assumptions regarding meat consumption in, especially, Corinth by engaging recent scholarship that re-evaluates Roman diet in regard to access to meat and other animal products. Specifically, methods in archaeological science (especially stable isotope analysis) are used to supplement literary reassessments. What arises is a new picture of Roman diet, wherein meat consumption was not limited to the elite, but was prevalent in nearly all levels of Roman society. With this fresh perspective on Roman dietary practices, Paul’s comments in 1 Corinthians 8 and 10 must be re-evaluated.
... The movement of people around the Mediterranean increased rapidly from the reign of Augustus at the turn of the millennium (Moatti 2006). The Pax Romana constituted a period of relative stability and peace within the borders of the Empire which, along with the advanced system of roads and the campaign by Pompey to rid the Mediterranean of pirates (Tröster 2009), encouraged the movement of (free) people limited only by their ability to afford a lengthy trip (Killgrove 2010, Noy 2000. This capacity for large scale migrationalong with a high proportion of enslaved individuals moved from their place of captureresulted in significant numbers of individuals living outside their place of birth. ...
Mancur Olson's stationary bandit model of government sees a ruler provide public goods in the form of protection from roving bandits, in exchange for the right to monopolise tax theft from a population. As it stands, this model implicitly treats the exchange as one between ruler, and homogenous citizenry. Yet it is obvious that a citizenry is made up of a heterogeneous group of individuals who have very different capacities to provide labour and other tribute. As such, rulers must be able to distinguish between these individuals. Using this expanded model, I show the way in which states have used means of administrative identity to distinguish between individuals for extractive and other purposes.
... In the last two decades, multiple isotopic studies have investigated the dietary patterns of the Roman period (Prowse, 2001;Prowse et al., 2004Prowse et al., , 2005Prowse et al., , 2008Craig et al., 2009Craig et al., , 2013Rutgers et al., 2009;Crowe et al., 2010;Killgrove, 2010;Scorrano et al., 2014;Ricci et al., 2016;Killgrove and Tykot, 2018;Tafuri et al., 2018), however most of these have focused on the immediate urban area of Rome. The investigation of the hinterland, still limited, could offer a new perspective to investigate dietary habits during the Roman Empire (Killgrove and Tykot, 2018). ...
... The presence of fish hooks in the city suggests use of marine and fresh water resources, but few bone remains have been found. This is especially interesting considering Gabii's location near a volcanic lake (modern-day Lago di Castiglione), but not surprising considering previous isotopic studies that have revealed a diversity of diets in Imperial-era Italy (Killgrove and Tykot, 2013;Craig et al., 2009;Prowse et al., 2004) and a lack of evidence of seafood consumption in Republican Rome (Killgrove, 2010(Killgrove, , 2013. During the Imperial period, Gabii was not occupied as a habitation area, and many of the assemblages result from animals used in craft activities and for draught purposes. ...
The city of Gabii arose just east of Rome around the 8th century BC. By the Imperial period, it had all but collapsed, its habitation areas either abandoned or repurposed for industrial production. Burials within the city, however, may speak to the urbanization and collapse of Gabii. Twenty-one skeletons from the Imperial era (1st–3rd centuries AD) were analyzed for stable carbon and nitrogen isotopes in an effort to understand palaeodiet. Adults' diets are relatively homogeneous, particularly in comparison with samples from nearby sites dating to the same period, and reflect consumption of terrestrial meats and C3 plants. Subadult diets do not reflect breastfeeding at the time of death. One individual with anomalous isotopes may have been an immigrant to Gabii.
... Examples from Rome and the eastern provinces of the Roman and Byzantine Empires also have narrower human 87 Sr/ 86 Sr ranges than Roman Britain or Bavaria. Values from the environs of Imperial-period Rome show slightly smaller ranges of ± 0.0008 for Casal Bertone and ± 0.0008 for Castellaccio, and removal of the non-locals from each site provides decreased standard deviations of ±0.0004 and ±0.0005, respectively (Killgrove 2010 Do broad human value 1σ ranges tend to occur at sites with relatively large 2σ ranges in fauna values? In contrast to the broad overall 87 Sr/ 86 Sr values of humans at Aila, the local fauna-based local range is quite narrow (±0.00004 2σ). ...
The ancient Red Sea maritime port of Aila was a major economic and manufacturing center during the 1st century B.C. through the Islamic era. The increased importance of Red Sea trade in the 4th century A.D. in addition to the arrival of a Roman legion in Aila also would suggest an increase in civilian residents arriving in the city for largely economic reasons. Strontium isotope analysis is used to identify any non-locally-born individuals within two mid-4th to early - 5th century A.D. cemeteries in the city (total N = 46). However, this assessment of population mobility requires an accurate estimate of the “local” strontium isotope value at Aila, a calculation made difficult through extensive food importation that occurred in this oasis city. Local faunal values combined with archaeological and historical evidence of local food production and food importation and childhood dietary practices were used to contextualize the human values within the Aila sample subjected to isotope analysis (N = 22). These sources suggest that the local signature of Aila ranges between ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr = 0.7076142–0.708643, and only four individuals within the cemeteries were local to Aila. Most of the other individuals had ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr > 0.7100, values unmatched in studies of bioavailable strontium in the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iraq, and the Persian Gulf. The lack of strontium dietary sources in southwestern Asia mirroring this signature suggests that many people buried at Aila hailed from great distances, supporting Aila’s role as a major trade center during the Byzantine period.
... The trimmed human mean is higher than any faunal value obtained from the area. Although the possibility does exist that no individual in this study did in fact live at Uxbenká during their childhood, other, more plausible explanations include the presence of marine foods or salt in the diet (Wright 2005, Killgrove 2010). Sea water has an 87 Sr/ 86 Sr of 0.7092, and thus the intake of marine strontium may have raised the values for humans at the site. ...
... 18 Koepke and Baten, 2005. 19 Italy: Killgrove, 2010. Britain: Roberts and Cox, 2004. ...
Was the Roman world caught in a Malthusian trap? In this survey, I draw on a wide range of evidence – from archeological data to city size estimates – to argue that Malthusian constraints were not binding over long periods. Market-size effects allowed the Roman economy to grow substantially in per capita terms, despite population growth. I place these observations in the context of recent debates and contributions by both ancient historians and – for the long run – by economists.
... Slovak and Paytan, 2012). However, in some cases bioavailable Sr has been approximated by using linear mixing models based on geology and/or water (Montgomery et al., 2007;Killgrove, 2010). In the literature, however, we have found only one example of Bayesian mixing applied to Sr distribution with the purpose of provenancing archaeological plant material using modern plant material (Drake et al., 2014). ...
Migration is a complex subject to approach in archeology and the new materials and methods available, such as isotope analysis and DNA, make it possible, and necessary, to ask new questions. The objective of this paper is to highlight the possibilities with using a new approach to migration on a population level by applying Bayesian mixing analysis of strontium isotopes. The selected case, the island of Öland in the Baltic, was based on 109 human samples dated to the Early (500 BC-AD 400, n = 71) and Late (AD 400-1050, n = 38) periods. The results from both periods demonstrate that the distribution of Strontium (Sr) is multimodal with several peaks not associated with the local variation. Our results show a large immigration to Öland from other geological areas, with 32% of the population in the Early period and 47% in the Late period being nonlocal. In order to unravel these distributions, we use a Bayesian mixing analysis. The Bayesian mixing analysis provides us with a mean to disentangle the distribution of Sr that is not uninformed. The gravity model, however simplistic, is relevant for explaining the strontium variation in the population in Öland both in the Early and Late period. Our results indicate a significant internal migration in Scandinavia that is increasing in the Late Iron Age at the same time as the Viking expansions (the more well studied external migration), which is usually the only migration discussed. We argue that the method proposed and tested on the case of Öland adds new perspectives for approaching migration patterns in general on a population level, a perspective that is hitherto lacking in archaeology.
... The necropolises of Casal Bertone and Castellaccio Europarco are located in Rome and dated from the 2nd to 3rd and from the 1st to 2nd c. AD, respectively (Killgrove, 2010;Killgrove and Tykot, 2013). The St Callixtus catacomb is located in Rome and dated from the 3rd to 5th c. ...
Archaeological investigations in the influence area of the Pierina Mine (Cordillera Negra) and near
the city of Huaraz (Cordillera Blanca) have evidenced Recuay funerary patterns from two different
zones in the central section of the Callejon de Huaylas. Most of these contexts correspond to secondary
burials with evidence of post-mortem manipulation. The actions that modified the funerary space
had social and political goals, such as obtaining ideological and ancestral rights that benefited the
deceased's community. The studies have established differences in the sequence and tomb content,
which has allowed for defining significant variations at a regional level. Tombs from the lower flanks of
the Cordillera Blanca have shown complex architecture and high-quality offerings, indicating high status
and social differentiation. On the other hand, tombs from the Cordillera Negra have revealed less
access to power and less institutionalized inequality. Although most of the documented tombs might
belong to familiar burials, definitively, local variation exists in the complex mortuary treatment, in the
manipulation of human remains, and in the process of maintaining social memory. This paper characterizes
two archaeological forms to understand the dead within the Recuay society and explore the
social implications of these practices concerning socioeconomic developments in the area.
This article examines how Roman-period health has been studied by economic historians. Human skeletons have long been interrogated as proxy data for economic performance. Given the lacuna of other quantified data, the human body has proven a particularly tempting medium for questions of nutrition, inequality and other economic metrics. Often left aside in both Roman-period and longer economic-historical analyses are the multiple etiologies of different skeletal pathologies. Using a large dataset of Italian Roman-period skeletons, this article highlights the non-correspondence of most such metrics at the cemetery level, and thus the difficulties of reading clear economic indicators from the body. It instead highlights the highly heterogeneous nature of Roman populations as regards both frailty and resilience, and thus the importance of integrating individual osteobiographies into broader population-level studies.
Stature is critical for our understanding of human morphology and evolution. This necessitates the development of accurate stature estimation methods. The aim of the present study is to generate population-specific equations for ancient Greece and to explore the diachronic stature trends over the last 10,000 years. In parallel, it introduces the Logarithmic Human Stature Index (LHSI) as a new tool for inter-population comparisons. We collected anthropometric data and reconstructed stature using the anatomical method from 77 males and 59 females from Greece (3rd c. BC-9th c. AD). We utilized this dataset to generate population-specific equations. We then applied the new formula to 775 individuals (10th millennium BC-9th c. AD) from Greece exploring stature secular trends. We tested the new equations to different populations of European origin (662 males and 498 females). Ordinary least square sets based on lower limbs provided the best estimations with the smaller errors. Male and female stature in ancient Greece in the last 10,000 years ranged from 159.7 to 170.6 cm and from 153.1 to 160.4 cm, respectively. We observed a decrease from the Mesolithic to the Neolithic period, a gradual increase from the Bronze Age to the Archaic/Classical periods, and a steady increase from the Roman period onwards. Stature secular trends in Greece are in accordance with historic, archaeological, and genomic data and similar to European patterns. LHSI is a valuable tool for anthropometric comparisons between reference series and thus can contribute to the choice of the optimal stature estimation formula.
Burials, Migration and Identity in the Ancient Sahara and Beyond - edited by M. C. Gatto February 2019
This research explores the contribution bioarchaeology can make to the study of slavery in Roman Britain, responding to the calls by Webster and colleagues for the greater use of osteological and scientific techniques in this endeavour. It reviews the evidence for the bodies of the enslaved in the primary sources and bioarchaeological evidence from the New World and the Roman Empire. The paper aims to establish patterns of physiological stress and disease, which could be used to reconstruct osteobiographies of these individuals, and applies these findings to bioarchaeological evidence from Britain. It concludes that at the present time, it may not be possible for us to successfully separate out the enslaved from the poor or bonded labourers, because their life experiences were very similar. Nevertheless, these people are overlooked in the archaeological record, so unless we attempt to search for them in the extant evidence, the life experiences of the majority of the Romano-British population who were vital to its economy will remain lost to us.
Objectives
We obtained the oxygen and strontium isotope composition of teeth from Roman period (1st to 4th century CE) inhabitants buried in the Vagnari cemetery (Southern Italy), and present the first strontium isotope variation map of the Italian peninsula using previously published data sets and new strontium data. We test the hypothesis that the Vagnari population was predominantly composed of local individuals, instead of migrants originating from abroad.
Materials and Methods
We analyzed the oxygen (¹⁸O/¹⁶O) and strontium (⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr) isotope composition of 43 teeth. We also report the ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr composition of an additional 13 molars, ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr values from fauna (n = 10), and soil (n = 5) samples local to the area around Vagnari. The ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr variation map of Italy uses ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr values obtained from previously published data sources from across Italy (n = 199).
Results
Converted tooth carbonate (δ¹⁸ODW) and ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr data indicate that the majority of individuals buried at Vagnari were local to the region. ArcGIS bounded Inverse Distance Weighting (IDW) interpolation of the pan‐Italian ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr data set approximates the expected ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr range of Italy's geological substratum, producing the first strontium map of the Italian peninsula.
Discussion
Results suggest that only 7% of individuals buried at Vagnari were born elsewhere and migrated to Vagnari, while the remaining individuals were either local to Vagnari (58%), or from the southern Italian peninsula (34%). Our results are consistent with the suggestion that Roman Imperial lower‐class populations in southern Italy sustained their numbers through local reproduction measures, and not through large‐scale immigration from outside the Italian peninsula.
As early as the 6th century bce Rome was the most important city of Latium. In this period the city consisted of four “regions” with a total area of 285 hectares (Cornell 1995: 203). There are, however, strong reasons to think that only a relatively small proportion of this area was used for habitation, making it more or less impossible to estimate the size of the urban population.
La necrópolis romana de la calle Quart, hasta la fecha la más antigua de Valencia (siglos II a.C.-III d.C.), es el primer ejemplo de Arqueología Funeraria urbana de la ciudad, cuyos niveles primigenios coinciden con la fundación de época romano republicana y que se estima abarcaría una extensión de 5.000 m2.
Desde inicios de los años ochenta, y con motivo de la reurbanización y restauración de los barrios históricos de la ciudad, se produjeron numerosas excavaciones de urgencia, que motivaron un incremento exponencial de las intervenciones. Como resultado de estas circunstancias se desarrollaron los trabajos de excavación en los solares ubicados entre las calles Quart y Cañete, dando a conocer la necrópolis romana de la calle Quart y cuyo estudio de rituales funerarios supone el principal objetivo de esta tesis doctoral.
El estudio de los rituales funerarios se ha abordado con un planteamiento integrador de ciencias multidisciplinares que enriquecen los fundamentos de la Arqueología de la Muerte. A partir de la descripción e interpretación de los gestos funerarios, de la distribución y localización de las tumbas, se ha podido inferir en la calidad de vida, y muerte de los individuos. Todo ello, gracias a la vertebración de las fases funerarias en tres momentos cronológicos: una fase de época republicana antigua (último tercio siglo II a.C.); una fase tardo-republicana correspondiente al siglo I a.C, y una fase alto-imperial hasta el siglo III d.C.
Archaeological investigations of burial chambers in the north-central highlands of Peru constitute the corpus of this thesis. Most of the stone structures correspond chronologically and culturally to the Recuay Tradition, a time span of 100 to 800 CE. The study area is located in the Cordillera Negra of the Callejón de Huaylas basin (Ancash Department). CRM projects developed in the impact zone of the Pierina mine have contributed valuable information on the mortuary practices of a Recuay agro-pastoral community. This thesis relied on grave goods inventories, osteological analysis, and types of stone architecture in the burial chamber. Data from this community is compared to a sample from the Cordillera Blanca, situated at the eastern side of the Callejón de Huaylas. While the Cordillera Blanca tombs show evidence of high quality tomb construction and grave goods associated with chiefly groups, the Cordillera Negra tombs do not. This thesis investigates the possible explanations of the differences. After 700 CE, both areas suffered transformations with the intrusive presence of Wari-related materials and the increase of interregional interaction. At the same time, cultural change occurred in tomb construction to above-ground mausoleums (chullpas). Since the pioneering studies of J.C. Tello (1929) and W.C. Bennett (1944), no other study of Recuay burial practices has been carried out at regional scale. Basic information per burial chamber reaffirm mortuary customs in the area, and help to define the characteristics of Recuay funerary practices.
This paper begins with a brief review of evidence for migration to the relatively affluent city of Rome during the earlier Empire. Then it is suggested that most slaves coming to Rome at this time originated in the Greek East and that these slaves were volunteers not forcible captives. Slavery by contract made it possible for individuals to overcome credit constraints limiting their ability to borrow to finance training and migration. This view is tested by examining literary, epigraphic and archaeological evidence to decide whether slave markets in the Greek East (at Acmonia, Ephesus, Magnesia on Meander, Thyatira and Delos) and in Rome itself were suitable for processing .,dangerous merchandise" (= forcible captives). The totality of the evidence suggests they were not. Near Easterners conveyed through local and Roman slave markets were probably willing self-sellers seeking economic advancement. A new, positive, light is cast on the role of slave dealers who profited from reallocating labor power from less to more productive uses.
This is a draft version of a critical bibliography of publications on ancient (Greco-Roman) demography, written for the online series Oxford Bibliographies in Classics.
Abstract: Epigraphic records from antiquity light on the seasonal distribution of mortality in the city of Rome, allowing us to draw inferences about the local disease environment. Endemic malaria appears to have made an important contribution to the mortality regime. Literary sources and osteological evidence likewise support the impression that the metropolitan disease environment was exceptionally severe. Investment in infrastructure and welfare provisions was unable to change this.
K. (2010) "Gleaming, white and deadly' : using lead to track human exposure and geographic origins in the Roman period in Britain. The full-text may be used and/or reproduced, and given to third parties in any format or medium, without prior permission or charge, for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-profit purposes provided that: • a full bibliographic reference is made to the original source • a link is made to the metadata record in DRO • the full-text is not changed in any way The full-text must not be sold in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders. Please consult the full DRO policy for further details.
While political integration can be achieved by many means, here we focus on the use of feasting and statecraft in the Inka Empire of the Andean Late Horizon (c. AD 1400–1532) in South America. In order to examine Inka political integration of the Lake Titicaca Basin of Bolivia, we examine paleomobility and paleodiet through radiogenic strontium and stable oxygen and carbon isotope data in archaeological camelid remains from the site of Tiwanaku. Mean radiogenic strontium isotope values from all archaeological camelid enamel and bone samples is 87Sr/86Sr = 0.70998 ± 0.00179 (1σ, n = 48), mean stable oxygen isotope values from a sub-set of archaeological camelid enamel and bone samples is δ18Ocarbonate (VPDB) = −10.0‰ ± 2.6‰ (1σ, n = 18) and mean stable carbon isotope values from a sub-set of archaeological camelid enamel and bone samples is δ13Ccarbonate (VPDB) = −9.0‰ ± 1.7‰ (1σ, n = 18). While many camelids consumed in these feasting events were likely local to the Lake Titicaca Basin, others came from a variety of different geologic zones, elucidating our understanding of Inka statecraft and the role of feasting in political integration in empires in the past.
Very few studies to date have presented contextualised interpretations of bioarchaeological evidence from Roman urban environments. This paper compares and contrasts the osteological data for childhood health from two urban centres, one at the centre and the other at the margins of the Roman Empire - Rome and London. We synthesise recently published and newly recorded data on childhood indicators of physiological stress (e.g. cribra orbitalia and enamel hypoplasias) from both sites. Contrary to expectations, we find that the prevalence of these stress indicators is comparable between sites. In order to contextualise these findings we compare the results to published data from other sites of the same period (from both rural and urban locales) within the respective countries. We find that the data from London is anomalous for Roman Britain, while that from Rome is similar to findings from contemporaneous Italian sites. We interpret these findings in terms of child-rearing practices, the local living environment and high levels of migration into Roman London from Mediterranean regions.
This paper presents and discusses evidence of physical wellbeing in the Roman period. It covers life expectancy, mortality patterns, and skeletal evidence such as body height, cranial lesions, and dental defects. These data reveal both commonalities and significant regional variation within the Roman Empire.
The crater lake Lake Albano is an increasingly diminishing water resource in terms of volume, the lake level has dropped more than four meters since the 1960s, and water quality resulting from elevated levels of nitrogen and phosphorus. The area of the lake, and the volcano as a whole, is also considered to be geologically hazardous due to continual shallow seismic activity, gaseous emissions and hydrothermal activity. Therefore, most research has been focussed on the geological aspects of the Albano lake system, whilst long-term limnological studies have been lacking. A meromictic classification was given to the lake, but this was based on one year studies of the surface water only. Presented and discussed are the results of a water chemistry and biological study of the full depth profile of Lake Albano from 2004 to 2008. During winter 2005-2006 the lake underwent a complete overturn, resulting in an influx of nutrient rich hypolimnetic water into the upper productive layers and oxygenated epilimnetic water into the deepest water layers. The effect of full overturn on the phytoplankton community is described and compared with those of meromictic years. The interplay between natural and anthropological processes on water quality and water usages is also discussed.
Fluorosis is a widespread disease related to ingestion of high levels of fluorine
through water and food. Although sometimes of anthropogenic origin, high
levels of fluorine are generally related to natural sources. One of the main
sources is represented by volcanic activity, which releases magmatic fluorine
generally as hydrogen fluorine through volcanic degassing. For example,
Mt. Etna in Italy is considered the greatest point source at the global scale,
releasing on average 70 Gg of HF each year. But the impact of fluorine on
human health is highly dependent on its chemical state, which means that high
rates of release do not necessarily point to high impacts. The major pathway of
magmatic fluorine to humans is in the form of fluoride ion (F - ), through
consumption of contaminated vegetables and drinking water. Contamination can
happen either through direct uptake of gaseous HF or through rainwaters and
volcanic ashes. Furthermore hydrogen fluoride, being one of the most soluble
gases in magmas, exsolves only partially (< 20%) during volcanic activity.
Volcanic rocks thus contain high levels of fluorine, which are transferred to
groundwaters through water-rock interaction processes in the aquifers. Large
magmatic provinces, like for example the East African Rift Valley, are therefore
endemic for fluorosis. Finally a literature review of volcanic related fluorosis is
given.
Keywords: fluorosis, magmatic fluorine, volcanic activity, groundwater.
1 Introduction
The influence of the geological environment on human health has long been
known with the first links being recognized probably by Chinese physicians in
Recent research on Old World chiefdoms and states has largely retreated from the general comparative explanatory paradigm of the 1970s and has focused instead on more historically oriented analyses of culture-specific developmental trajectories. Both theoretical and empirical work tend to emphasize a heterogeneous, conflict-based model of complex society and political economy. This analytical framework has been quite successful in documenting variation and historically determined patterning in the organization of urbanism, craft production, specialization, and exchange. I present an overview of this research and argue that we now need to reintegrate culturally specific analyses within a modified comparative/generalizing perspective on complexity.
We present new U-series isotope, 87Sr/ 86Sr, 143Nd/ 144Nd and trace element data for a set of mafic, K-rich rocks from volcanoes in Central–Southern Italy. These shoshonitic to ultrapotassic lavas display strongly depleted high field strength element (HSFE) abundances with respect to other incompatible trace elements together with high but variable 87Sr/ 86Sr and low but variable 143Nd/ 144Nd values. Such characteristics are thought to be due to addition of subducted crust of variable amount and composition to their mantle sources prior to magma genesis. Rocks from the northernmost region (i.e. Tuscan Magmatic Province and Northern Roman Magmatic Province) display (230Th/ 238U) activity ratios close to radioactive equilibrium, suggesting that metasomatism of their sources occurred before 400 ka and recent melting took place at shallow depths, in the absence of garnet. A 238U excess of up to 27% has been measured in rocks from the Neapolitan District. The occurrence of significant U excesses is a feature of arc magmas, but is typically seen in depleted lavas rather than in highly enriched rocks such as these (∼20 ppm Th). This signature requires a recent addition of a U-rich component to the already strongly enriched mantle wedge beneath this region of Italy. We suggest that a supercritical liquid, from deeply subducted carbonate-rich sediments of the still-active Ionian slab, is responsible for generating a high-U, low-Th component, which produces the observed disequilibria. A 30% 230Th excess measured in a single unaltered sample from the Lucanian Magmatic Province, along with a less marked negative HFSE anomaly, suggests the contribution of a deeper, garnet-bearing component in the genesis of these magmas, plausibly related to the upwelling of asthenospheric mantle around the corner of the Ionian slab
A new procedure is described in which combined lead and strontium isotope analysis of archaeological human dental tissues can be used to comment on the lifetime movements of individuals. A case study is presented of four Neolithic burials – an adult female and three juveniles – from a shared burial pit excavated at Monkton-up-Wimbourne, Dorset. It is demonstrated that the adult's place of origin was at least 80km to the north-west in the area of the Mendips. It is also shown that all three juveniles moved over significant distances during their lives.
The Sr contents of 54 samples of Quaternary travertines from 23 deposits of Latium were measured. Sr isotope ratios of only selected samples were also determined.On the basis of the Sr contents, ranging 20–3700 ppm, it is possible to distinguish two different geographic areas: the northwestern part of Latium (“A” zone) characterized by high Sr contents () and the southeastern part (“B” zone), where the travertines have low Sr contents (). Such low contents are quite compatible with a provenance of the element from the dissolution of marine limestones.The Sr isotope ratios () of the travertines from the A zone are significantly lower than the values characteristic of the Sr-rich volcanics from the same area. This suggests that leaching of the volcanic rocks was not generally a major factor in providing Sr to the travertine-bearing waters. Due to the high Sr content, the Upper Triassic evaporties seem to be the most likely source of the element for the travertines from the A zone. Only the Palidoro deposit has an isotopic ratio (0.7125) close to the value of the local volcanics, clearly suggesting a provenance of the element from the leaching of such rocks.
A previously reported, experimentally determined, relationship between the oxygen isotopic composition of bone and teeth phosphate (δp) and drinking water (δw), which has application to paleoclimatic interpretations, is shown to require modifications when applied to present day human populations.The oxygen isotopic compositions of 40 well documented human teeth and 11 urinary stones have shown that in both cases δp is well correlated with δw. The slope of the linear regression ffit of this relationship is, however, lower than expected. This is explained by a mixing of intake waters from high and low latitudes in a diet of a modern human. Urinary stones are enriched in18O by about 2% which we explain by: (a) different physiological (metabolic) rates of humans when teeth are formed (below the age of 20) compared to those rates when urinary stones form (generally in middle age); or (b) variations in the relative proportions of the different water intakes and outputs between healthy individuals and those forming urinary stones.
TO DATE, MOST development theory andpractice have focused on either “urban” or“rural” issues with little consideration of theinterrelations between the two. By contrast,several empirical studies show that the link-ages between urban centres and the coun-tryside, including movement of people, goods,capital and other social transactions, play animportant role in processes of rural and ur-ban change. Within the economic sphere,many urban enterprises rely on demand fromrural consumers, and access to urban mar-kets and services is often crucial for agricul-tural producers. In addition, a large numberof households in both urban and rural areasrely on the combination of agricultural andnon-agricultural income sources for their live-lihoods. This paper reviews some of the re-cent literature on rural-urban interactions,with particular attention to the ways in whichthey have been affected by recent and cur-rent economic, social and cultural transfor-mations. The paper is organized as follows:the first three sections discuss definitions ofrural and urban areas and activities, reviewconceptual frameworks and consider howrural-urban interactions are conceptualizedwithin development planning. The last foursections review empirical studies on differ-ent flows connecting rural and urban areas(flows of people, of goods and of wastes), andon sectoral interactions (agriculture in thecities, non-agricultural employment in thecountryside and rural-urban interlinkages inperi-urban areas).
This paper isolates movement as a topic for analysis in Roman imperial history. Movement is regarded under three aspects: translation (of texts, practices, ideas), migration (of officials, merchants, students, etc.), and communication (i.e. the movement of written documents). Interrelationships among the three aspects of movement are identified and discussed, as are the shared impact of translation, migration, and communication on issues of cultural and social identity and political negotiation and control. The article argues that movement changes the role of the state as well as relations between individual and states, augments the use of writing in society. transforms identities, and gives impulse to internal and external regulations. The implications of movement are understood as both pragmatic and formal, altering relations to space and time and influencing ways of organizing and thinking. The author surveys current work in the field and identifies potential areas for future research. The paper draws heavily on both literary and documentary sources and discusses material from the late republic through late antiquity, paying particular attention to continuities and discontinuities between early and later periods of the Roman empire.
Modern and ancient historians have long been willing to engage in the comparative analysis of ancient and modern slave-owning societies, yet archaeologists of both the Greek and Roman worlds have been far less willing to do the same. To the extent that they study slavery at all, they do so almost entirely within Graeco-Roman spatial and temporal confines. Taking Roman slavery as its starting point, this contribution attempts to remove some of the hurdles that archaeologists have placed in the way of a comparative analysis of slavery, and offers some suggestions for new ways forward.
The study of the isotopic composition of structural carbonate in fossil vertebrate hydroxylapatite has been hampered by uncertainty concerning sample treatment and arguments about the susceptibility of this material to diagenetic alteration. Our investigation of sample treatment reveals that some methods commonly used to remove organic matter and secondary minerals induce significant isotopic offsets, particularly for oxygen isotopes in bone and dentin. Treatment with dilute sodium hypochlorite, to oxidize organic matter, followed by leaching with very dilute or acetate-buffered acetic acid, to dissolve secondary mineral contaminants, is recommended. Using this protocol, we explore the isotopic fidelity of different carbon- and oxygen-bearing components from individual fossil skeletons of Holocene humans and late Pleistocene mastodons and mammoths. Enamel hydroxylapatite yields reliable results, with low within-group isotopic variability and values that match those expected from well-preserved collagen from the same individual. In contrast, isotopic values from bone and dentin hydroxylapatite are more variable within groups of samples, and many specimens do not produce isotopic values consistent with those expected from collagen or enamel from the same individual. These results suggest that bone and dentin are unreliable source materials for isotopic analysis of structural carbonate, even for relatively young, mid-Holocene to Pleistocene specimens.
Food in the Ancient World. Joan P. Alcock. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 2006. 276 pp.
The current archaeological model of cultural interaction on the North Carolina Coastal Plain during the Late Woodland period (A.D. 800-1650) divides the region into three groups primarily on the basis of language and artifacts. Human skeletal remains were brought into this ethnolinguistic model in order to correlate the visual appearance of crania with material culture, even though few of the skeletal populations had been scientifically studied. In spite of mounting evidence in the past decade of increased social complexity in the Late Woodland, some researchers still attempt classification of sites based on a checklist of characteristics. The present study was undertaken in order to assess the current archaeological model as it relates to human skeletal remains on the Coastal Plain. Using biological distance statistics based on cranial nonmetric (epigenetic) trait expression, biological interaction among the various native groups living along the North Carolina Coastal Plain was investigated. Only one statistically significant difference was found among the thirteen skeletal populations, thus hindering easy classification of human skeletal remains into discrete populations. These results indicate that a new model needs to be created to better understand the spheres of interaction among the natives on the North Carolina Coastal Plain.
LA COLTIVAZIONE DEL MIGLIO NELL'ITALIA ROMANA
Questo articolo dimostra che la policoltura dei cereali rimase normale in Italia in tutto il periodo romano. Entro questo quadro generale, il miglio era un prodotto importante e ubiquitario: si poteva adattare a una grande varietà di terreno e di clima ed aveva molteplici usi come cibo per gli uomini, foraggio per gli animali, becchime, e nella medicina. Era coltivato dai piccoli agricoltori come precauzione contro la sempre presente minaccia di un cattivo raccolto di altri cereali, in particolari quelli seminati in autunno, e dai proprietari di grandi terreni coltivabili per le necessità della tenuta e per la vendita al mercato.
L'argomento è affrontato unendo testimonianze letterarie, archeologiche e comparate (dal periodo pre-classico e medievale) con particolare attenzione alla realtà agricola.
The aim of this article is to consider three questions which seem to me to be crucial to the understanding of the late-republican and Augustan censuses: ( a ) Why was only one lustrum —that of 69—performed between 86 and 28 B.C.? ( b ) Does this mean that there was only one census of the Roman people held in that period ? ( c ) Why was the figure of civium capita published in 28 B.C. (4,063,000) so much larger than that for 69 (900,000 or 910,000) ? The third question was re-opened recently when Professor Arnold Toynbee, in a long Annex on the republican census-figures in the first volume of Hannibal's Legacy , endorsed Beloch's view, which Tenney Frank had rejected, that Augustus used radically different criteria for his enumeration from those employed by the censors of the Republic. Moreover, P. A. Brunt has indicated his adherence to Beloch's view in several places, and defends it in detail in his forthcoming book on Italian manpower.
One of the measures carried by Gaius Gracchus in the course of his first tribunate in 123–2 B.C. provided for the regular sale of grain to citizens of Rome at the price of 6⅓ asses per modius. Gracchus also, presumably by the same law, provided for the construction of state granaries.
The sources for the law are meagre. None of them is contemporary, and those later writers who do comment on the law furnish few details. What is known of its content is conveyed in a brief sentence from Livy's Epitomator supported by a scholiast on Cicero's pro Sestio , and in a few words of Appian. The Epitomator and Scholiast give the price at which the grain was sold.
The relative importance of different sources of slaves in the Roman Empire during the Principate cannot be gauged from ancient texts. However, simple demographic models show that, for purely statistical reasons, natural reproduction made a greater contribution to the Roman slave supply than child exposure, warfare, and the slave trade taken together and was in all probability several times as important as any other single source. The most plausible projections also suggest that on average the incidence of manumission was rather low. By implication, overall fertility of ex-slaves in general and of freedwomen in particular would be low as well, which must have reduced their chances of acquiring legal privileges that accrued from sexual reproduction.
How did the relentless spread of Roman power change people's lives? From military mobilization, urbanization, slavery, and the nexus between taxation and trade to linguistic and religious change and shifting identities, the most pervasive consequences of empire all had one thing in common: population movements on an unprecedented scale. Yet despite its pivotal role in social and cultural change, the nature of Roman mobility has never been investigated in a systematic fashion. In this study, I develop a comprehensive quantitative model of population transfers within, to, and from Italy, from the late fourth century B.C. to the first century A.D. Owing to the diverse and complex character of these movements, I develop my argument in two steps. The present paper deals with the demographic context, scale, and distribution of the migration of free persons. I argue that the total population of Italy in the early imperial period was of the order of five to six million rather than fourteen to twenty million (Section II); that state-sponsored re-settlement programmes dramatically increased overall levels of mobility on three occasions (during the Italian wars in the late fourth and early third centuries B.C., in the aftermath of the Second Punic War in the early second century B.C., and in the period of constitutional transition from the 80s to the 10s B.C.) (Section III); and that in the last two centuries B.C., colonization programmes and urban growth in Italy required the permanent relocation of approximately two to two-and-a-half million adults (Section IV).
The investigation of prehistoric human migration from the measurement of Sr-isotope ratios within preserved tissue is critically dependent on the preservation of biogenic Sr. A number of recent studies have involved isotope ratio measurements on samples of archaeological tooth and bone, but doubt remains as to the extent of diagenesis in various skeletal tissues and the effectiveness of procedures designed to decontaminate them. The authors have compared Sr abundance and isotope ratios in enamel and dentine from archaeological teeth in order to assess the integrity of the biogenic Sr signal preserved within the respective tissues. It is concluded that enamel appears, in most cases, to be a reliable reservoir of biogenic Sr, but that dentine, and by implication bone, is not. The diagenesis of dentine is highly variable even between burials within a single site. For the majority of teeth, dentine diagenesis was not simply by addition of soil-derived Sr, but involved substantial, sometimes complete, turnover of the original biogenic material. It is suggested that, for most of the samples investigated, current decontamination techniques may not have been effective in isolating biogenic Sr from dentine. Similar considerations are likely to apply to archaeological and fossil bone, but the possibility arises to use dentine and enamel measurements to assess the effectiveness of decontamination procedures which may then be used for bone.
Discussions of methods of isotope dating using Rb-Sr, K-Ar, /sup 40/Ar//sup 39/Ar, Re-Os, Lu-Hf, K-Ca, U, Tb-Pb, /sup 14/C, common lead, S,O,H, fission track, and U-series disequilibrium are included in respective chapters. Introductory chapters discussing the basics of isotope geology, atomic structure, decay mechanisms and mass spectrometry are included along with two appendices; the geological time scale for the Phanerzoic and a fitting of isochrons for Rb-Sr dating methods. (DLS)
Intra-tooth δ18O variations within the carbonate (δ18Oc) and phosphate (δ18Op) components of tooth apatite were measured for Miocene and Pliocene hypsodont mammals from Afghanistan, Greece and Chad in order to evaluate the resistance of enamel to diagenetic alteration. Application of water-apatite interaction models suggest that the different kinetic behaviours of the phosphate-water and carbonate-water systems can be used to detect subtle oxygen isotope disequilibria in fossil enamel when intra-individual variations are considered. Selective alteration of the oxygen isotope composition from the carbonate component of Afghan and Greek enamels suggests inorganic isotopic exchange processes. Microbially-induced isotopic exchange for phosphate is demonstrated for the first time in enamel samples from Chad, in association with extensive recrystallization. In Chad, δ18Op values were derived from partial isotopic exchange with fossil groundwater during early diagenesis. Mass balance calculations using average carbonate content in enamel as a proxy for recrystallization, and the lowest δ18Op value of dentine as a proxy for the isotopic composition of the diagenetic fluid, indicate that diagenesis can alter δ18Op by as much as 3‰ in some enamel samples. This diagenetic alteration is also responsible for a decrease in intra-individual variations of up to 1‰ in affected specimens. The effects of diagenesis on δ18Op values of fossil enamel are not systematic, however, and can only be estimated if sequential δ18Op and δ18Oc analyses are performed on fossil enamel and dentine. Reconstruction of large temporal- or spatial-scale paleoclimates based on δ18Op analyses from mammalian teeth cannot be considered valid if enamel has been affected by bacterial activity or if the data cannot be corrected for diagenetic effects.
This literature review features the main theoretical frameworks from which modern anthropological immigration and migration studies have been conducted. It was not until the 1950s and 1960s that immigration/migration became a high-priority area for anthropologists when they noted the high rate of rural-to-urban migration, particularly in Africa and Latin America. In featuring the processes of immigration and migration, this review highlights the major neo-classical theories related to dependency, world systems, and articulation and the transnational theories related to diaspora, border, and feminist perspectives. Anthropologists have made significant contributions to the interdisciplinary field of migration studies. The review concludes with implications for understanding human behavior and the social environment within the context of immigration and migration.
In this paper, I seek to delineate the build-up of the Italian slave population. My parametric model revolves around two variables: the probable number of slaves in Roman Italy, and the demographic structure of the servile population. I critique existing estimates of slave totals and propose a new ‘bottom-up’ approach; discuss the probable sex ratio, mortality regime and family structure of the Italian slaves; and advance a new estimate of the overall volume of slave transfers. I argue that the total number of slaves in Roman Italy did not exceed one-and-a-half million, and that this population had been created by the influx of between two and four million slaves during the last two centuries B.C.
The Social History of Rome - AlföldyGeza: Römische Sozialgeschichte. (Wissenschaftliche Paperbacks: Sozial- und Wirtschaftsgeschichte.) Pp. xii + 239; 1 diagram. Wiesbaden: Franz Steiner, 1975. Paper, DM. 18. - Volume 28 Issue 1 - M. T. W. Arnheim
By Clark Spencer Larsen. New York: Cambridge University Press. 1997. 461 pp. ISBN 0-521-49641-1. $85.00 (cloth).
Strontium isotope analysis of the tooth enamel of 69 adults from Grasshopper Pueblo reveals aspects of the settlement of and immigration to the area during the late 13th and 14th centuries. Depending on the range of local strontium isotope compositions, non-local residents vary from one-third to more than half of the individuals analysed. Based on associated archaeological evidence, it is likely that the latter figure is more accurate. The majority of locals are associated with Room Block 2 and the Great Kiva. Individuals associated with Room Blocks 1 and 3 tend to be immigrant, and this is also the case of the two individuals analysed from Room Block 5, a room block which has been thought to represent an immigration to the site. There are both locals and immigrants in the outliers, and the temporal data indicates that immigration continued throughout the occupation of the pueblo. Immigrants originate largely from two geologic areas: those underlain by Precambrian rocks located to the west and south of Grasshopper, or from areas underlain by Phanerozoic sedimentary rocks to the north and immediately east of Grasshopper. Ten individuals buried with diagnostic artefacts were analysed in the sample, and they represent both local and non-local origins, supporting earlier notions that the diagnostic artefacts symbolized sodalities which cross-cut ethnic and social boundaries.
ABSTRACT KRISTINA KILLGROVE: Bioarchaeology,in the Roman,World. (Under the direction,of Nicola Terrenato.) On account,of differences in the evolution of the field of anthropology,in American and Italian scholarship, the role of bioarchaeology has been nearly non-existent in the latter. Numerous,scholars over the past two decades,have advocated,a more,holistic approach to Roman archaeology, namely fostering communication between the disciplines of anthropology and classics, yet little has been accomplished towards this goal. A change in the current perception of the Roman,world is necessary in order to dismantle long-held assumptions,about this culture. The purpose,of this thesis is to demonstrate,the utility of bioarchaeology,as applied to the Roman,world for framing,and answering,questions about the lifeways of people in this ancient society. ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to thank the members of my committee, Nicola Terrenato, Dale Hutchin-
If the title of this work seems rather specialized, do not be misled. This book would be worthwhile reading for archaeologists, economic and social historians, and their students. Cool’s examination of dietary habits in Roman Britain is a didactic exercise to address a common problem: the propensity to “lose the will to live when faced with the reams of specialist reports that even a minor excavation can generate” (xiii). These specialist reports are often so technical that they are accessible only to other experts in the same field, while the disparate methods that specialists employ can lead to disjointed results at a single site, let alone across multiple projects. The segregated nature of finds analysis also limits the ways in which the data can be utilized. In other words, our own approaches and publishing practices can interfere with the basic goal of enhancing the picture of an ancient society.
Cool’s aim is to demystify the various fields of specialization and demonstrate how their results can be pooled to address a variety of issues. Her topic of demonstration, eating and drinking practices, can reveal social conditioning related to such considerations as religion, gender, economic status, trade, occupation, and cultural background. Any activity of such primary importance will leave a wealth of traces in the ancient records; in this case, the evidence comes in such varied forms as shopping lists written on stylus tablets, culinary ceramics, charred seeds, glass and metalwork, dental cavities, butchered bones, and quern stones. While Cool is not the first to point out the benefits of a holistic approach, she has done an exemplary job of integrating these many facets both cohesively and intriguingly.
Cool assumes that the reader has a rudimentary background in Roman history but may not be familiar with Roman Britain, so she provides geographic and historic background to give context to her discussions. Although the chronological focus is the first five centuries A.C., Cool sets up the discussion by explaining late Iron Age trends. Then, if the ancient evidence is scanty, she draws on practices from post-antique Britain, though always with caveats about the dangers of doing so. The bibliography is accordingly profuse and diverse (21 pages, excluding individual chapters within volumes).
Cool has a special talent for making this vast amount of complex material accessible and stimulating. Her approach is tripartite. The first third of her book is devoted to introducing the types of evidence for the Romano-British diet, including food packaging materials; vessels and utensils used to store, prepare, and serve food and drink; faunal and paleobotanical remains; nutritionally-significant pathologies on human skeletons; and epigraphic and written evidence. The main approaches used to study these finds are explained and evaluated, providing the reader with a good base of knowledge. Since Cool intends to assess the relative contributions of various foodstuffs to the ancient Britons’ diet, she pays particular attention to considerations such as survival rates, collection techniques for finds, and the quantification methods employed by specialists. She explains technical terminology and concepts in easily-understood language; if, further on in the text, readers forget a term, they can use the index to relocate the definition.
In the second section of her book, Cool employs these basic principles and categories of evidence for examining the individual components of the Romano-British diet: staples and store cupboard supplies (such as grains, salt, fish sauce, olive oil, and sweetenings), meat, dairy products, poultry and eggs, fish and shellfish, game, fruits and vegetables, and beverages. The reader learns the techniques that were used for preparation, such as extracting salt from seawater, grinding grain, and brewing beer. Published finds of each food type allow Cool to assess its relative popularity over time and place. As in all sections of the book, line drawings of artifacts and statistical tables and graphs support the author’s statements; she also provides an appendix detailing her data sources.
The chapters of the final section are divided into chronological periods, from the changeover to Roman control to the fall of Roman supremacy. In each, she examines the dietary evidence for various types of settlements (urban, small town, rural, and military) as well as temples and cemeteries...
This wide-ranging study of the Roman army covers its political, historical, and social aspects as well as its peacetime occupations and its operation in war.
The Roman Army: A Social and Institutional Historyoffers a revealing portrait of a legendary fighting force in peacetime and at war from a soldier's-eye view. Organized thematically, it explores the army's history, culture, and organization, while providing fascinating details of the soldier's daily life and of the army's interactions with citizens, politicians, and the inhabitants of conquered territories.
Written by a leading scholar of Roman military history,The Roman Armyhelps readers appreciate the distinctive traits that helped the army sustain itself for nearly 1,000 years, including its adaptability (soldiers did civilian police and military duty and the army continually modified its tactics and weapons), as well as its training methods, compensation system, strict regimen of punishment and rewards, and its skill at "Romanizing" foreign lands. Readers will also see how historians pieced together their understanding of the army's way of life, drawing on everything from Rome's rich historical record to depictions of military subjects in literature and art.
▪ Abstract Changes of the isotopic composition of water within the water cycle provide a recognizable signature, relating such water to the different phases of the cycle. The isotope fractionations that accompany the evaporation from the ocean and other surface waters and the reverse process of rain formation account for the most notable changes. As a result, meteoric waters are depleted in the heavy isotopic species of H and O relative to ocean waters, whereas waters in evaporative systems such as lakes, plants, and soilwaters are relatively enriched. During the passage through the aquifers, the isotope composition of water is essentially a conservative property at ambient temperatures, but at elevated temperatures, interaction with the rock matrix may perturb the isotope composition. These changes of the isotope composition in atmospheric waters, surface water, soil, and groundwaters, as well as in the biosphere, are applied in the characterization of hydrological system as well as indicators of paleo-c...
Composite monthly samples of atmospheric precipitation were collected over different periods of time ranging from one to seven years at 77 different locations throughout Italy. These samples were measured for their oxygen and hydrogen isotopic composition to obtain basic information for hydrological and meteorological studies in this area. On the basis of the results obtained a first map of the isotopic composition of precipitations in Italy has been drawn up. The main features of this map are the following: (1) no isotopic latitudinal gradient has been found along the Tyrrhenian coast from Sicily to the Italian–French border, despite the considerable range of latitude; (2) a minor latitudinal gradient is found in the southeasternmost section of the country (Apulia), partially favored by the local morphology; (3) a marked ‘shadow effect’ of the Apennines is apparent along the southern section of the Po valley and along the central section of the Adriatic coast; (4) the contribution of water vapor from the northernmost section of the Adriatic sea affects the eastern and central sections of the Po plain; (5) the shadow effect of the Alps is considerably smaller than expected; (6) the isotopic vertical gradients calculated in nine different areas and based on groups of two to five different stations vary but are essentially close to about −0.2‰/100m; (7) when mean monthly temperature values were available, their relationship with the isotopic composition of precipitation was found to be, on average, very poor; (8) the relationship between mean δ18O and mean δD calculated for the collection locations shows shifts of both the slope and the deuterium excess when compared to the global meteoric water line. These shifts are different for northern, central, and southern Italy; (9) in a few cases anomalously low monthly δ values suggest the existence of pronounced ‘amount effects’.
An ethnologist has here tested some sociological theories about society and the relation of the individual to the culture. 4 widely different communities in Yucatan were chosen for intensive, ethnological study: a Mayan tribal village, a peasant village, a market town, and a Spanish-modern city. The main conclusions are that these communities, in this order, are progressively less isolated and less homogeneous, and progressively characterized by greater cultural disorganization and inconsistency, by more individualization of behavior, and by more secularization of the culture and individual attitudes. The findings also support the view that cultural disorganization, individualization, and secularization have not simply been diffused, in varying amounts, from the city to the other 3 communities, but are causally interrelated with mobility and heterogeneity and with one another. Chapter V is of particular interest in its treatment of the close relation between the highly integrated culture of the more isolated village and a corresponding integrated personality organization among its individual members. At the other extreme is the greater amount of personal disorganization, struggle for individual status, sense of insecurity, and inner conflict among residents in the more disorganized urban community. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
A general coefficient measuring the similarity between two sampling units is defined. The matrix of similarities between all pairs of sample units is shown to be positive semidefinite (except possibly when there are missing values). This is important for the multidimensional Euclidean representation of the sample and also establishes some inequalities amongst the similarities relating three individuals. The definition is extended to cope with a hierarchy of characters.
The oxygen isotopic composition of phosphate (δ18Op) and structural carbonate (δ18Oc) of hydroxylapatite was determined in 31 bone and tooth samples of modern mammals from different countries. These two variables are highly correlate (r2 = 0.98) and the calculated best fit of linear regression is very similar to the equation calculated from the phosphate and carbonate palaeotemperature equations [1,2]. According to previous measurements [3–6] on fossils of different ages from different areas it seems quite improbable to find isotopically altered skeletal remains showing a good correlation between δ18Op and δ18Oc, as is the case with modern samples. It therefore seems possible, at least in some cases, to use these measurements for monitoring fossil bone and tooth diagenetic alteration. When a set of points lie on the equilibrium line or close to it, the δ18O values could be considered close to the original values. In contrast, when the points lie to the left or to the right of this line this probably means that the values are diagenetically modified, due to interaction with meteoric water or18O-enriched water, respectively.
Bell et al. (2009) have recently published an isotopic investigation of the origins of 18 men whose remains were found in the wreck of the Mary Rose, Henry VIII’s warship, which sank in 1545. They conclude that a high proportion of the ship’s crew were foreigners and that this may have contributed to confusion on board ship and the sinking of the vessel. We have re-evaluated the data of Bell et al. and conclude that only one of the 18 sailors demonstrably spent his childhood outside the British Isles.
The development of complex societies, irrigation agriculture and sociopolitical transitions are of interest to researchers working in the Nasca region on the south coast of Peru. Occupied for thousands of years, many questions regarding the circumstances of these changes in the area are being investigated. Oxygen isotope analysis provides a method for exploring residential mobility of past peoples during these transitions. This study presents new δ ¹⁸ O data from water sources that would have been used by the ancient inhabitants, providing important information regarding the oxygen isotope variability in the region and the necessary baseline data for migration studies in this region. Our results suggest that the isotopic composition of water sources in the Nasca region is not highly variable. In addition, archaeological human tooth enamel samples from the sites of La Tiza and Pajonal Alto are analysed. The δ ¹⁸ O c results of the human enamel samples confirm the local nature of the burial population, as suggested by previous strontium isotope analysis ( ⁸⁷ Sr/ ⁸⁶ Sr). Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
This article was published online on 13 January 2010. An error was subsequently identified. This notice is included in the online and print versions to indicate that both have been corrected 15 January 2010.
This paper describes a spinal infection in an adult male skeleton from Ist century AD necropolis in Rome. Pathological alterations of the lower thoracic vertebrae, including bone destruction and fusion, suggest tuberculous spondylitis as the most probable diagnosis. The rarity of healing infections, as well as the non-diagnostic appearance of the lesions, have prompted this note.