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Bioarchaeology and Dietary Reconstruction across Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages in Tuscany, Central Italy
No full textMultiple myeloma in paleopathology: A critical review
No full textThis paper provides a critical literature review concerning paleopathological evidence of multiple myeloma discovered both in the Old and in the New World. A critical assessment of the bioarchaeological and paleopathological documentary sources permitted to identify a total of 25 ascertained cases of multiple myeloma from different geographical areas in the world ranging from Prehistoric times up to the Contemporary age. The distribution of multiple myeloma findings in past times shows that the majority of cases have been discovered in the Old World (n = 18) and extend back to the Middle Ages, while the evidences in the New World (n = 7) seems to date back to the pre-Columbian era. The demographic profile suggests a sex ratio of 1.3:1, while 91.7% of affected individuals (n = 24) are adults. This critical review also discusses the diagnostic criteria and methodological issues commonly attempted in paleo-oncological research, with particular regard to the differential diagnosis of multiple myeloma. As such, the main focus of this work is to present a comprehensive and exhaustive scrutiny of the skeletal manifestations identified as multiple myeloma in order to improve the accuracy of diagnoses within the field of paleopathology
Affezioni dentoalveolari e abitudini alimentari dei nobili del Rinascimento italiano: la famiglia Guinigi di Lucca
Get PDFFirst Portrait of a Syphilitic Patient: Ulrich Von Hutten
Get PDFThe painting of Hans Holbein the Younger represents the first realistic portrait of a sure case of syphilis, during the peak virulence of the disease, just after three decades from its first appearance in Europe, giving a perfect match between artistic representation, historical sources and paleopathological evidence of the disease
Due casi di osteoma del seno frontale dalla necropoli romana di Collatina di età imperiale (I-III d.C.)
Get PDFDentoalveolar diseases and dietary habits in the social upper classes of the Italian Renaissance: the Guinigi family from Lucca
Get PDFTeeth and their pathologies are very important when studying the life-style, social behaviour, health condition and diet of ancient populations. Many articles in paleoanthropological literature describe dentoalveolar diseases in the Antiquity, mainly in the low-class societies, and only a few reports regard the oral conditions of the social upper classes. The purpose of this research is to examine the dental condition in an upper-class family of the Italian Renaissance, in terms of dietary habits and food resources. The research was carried out on the skeletal remains of the Guinigi family from Lucca (Tuscany), dated back between the end of the 14th and first half of the 17th century. The study of dentoalveolar diseases was performed on 45 individuals and 325 teeth, equally distributed between males and females, and isotopic analysis of 13C and 15N was performed on 13 samples. The frequency of dentoalveolar diseases was very high in the upper class samples, and varied from 27% to 60% of the teeth/ alveoli affected, while the frequencies were lower (16-20%) in the rural samples. Caries was extraordinary frequent in the Guinigi family with a prevalence of 70.8% in females and 43.5% in males, while ante-mortem tooth loss and abscesses were more frequent in males, whose life span was higher. Different factors may promote tooth decay, but dietary habits, as well as physiological or behavioural factors, certainly play an important role in caries development, and may explain the differences observed between sexes. The results of isotopic analysis indicated a diet based on higher protein intake with respect to the lower social classes, with a good presence of vegetables, but gave no indication about cariogenic foods. A large consumption of not complex sugars may be responsible, at least in part, for the high frequency of caries among the wealthy classes and in particular in the Guinigi family. It is well known that expensive and elaborate foods, including sweets, sugar cane and honey, adorned the banquet tables of Renaissance Princes. Moreover, some members of the Guinigi family, in the middle of the 16th century, founded a company for sugar cane refining and trade, probably due to the consumption of very large quantities of this elitarian food.
References Fornaciari G. Food and disease at the Renaissance courts of Naples and Florence: A paleonutritional study. Appetite 2008;51:10-4. Fornaciari G. “Tu sei quello che mangi”: le economie alimentari nelle analisi isotopiche di campioni medievali e post-medievali della Toscana. Centro Italiano di Studi sull’Alto Medioevo, LXIII Settimana di Studio (Spoleto, 9-14 aprile 2015). In press. Grieco AJ. Alimentazione e classi sociali nel tardo Medioevo e nel Rinascimento in Italia. In: Flandrin JL, Montanari M, Storia dell’alimentazione. Bari 2003, pp. 371-380
Exploring activity-induced dental modifications in medieval Pieve di Pava (central Italy, 10th-12th centuries AD)
No full textObjective: This study aims to investigate the following aspects: i) presence of activity-induced dental modifications
(AIDMs) in a medieval population from Pieve di Pava (Siena, central Italy); ii) sex-specific and age-specific
distribution of AIDMs in the sample; iii) potential correlations between AIDMs and the tradi tional activities and
cultural habits of rural communities in medieval Italy.
Design: The permanent teeth of 204 individuals buried at Pieve di Pava (10th-12th centuries AD) were systematically
examined in order to assess the distribution of five types of AIDM, i.e. lingual surface attrition of the
maxillary anterior teeth (LSAMAT), excessive occlusal load, grooving, notching, and chipping.
Results: Prevalence rates of LSAMAT, excessive occlusal load and grooving were low, whereas higher frequencies
were recorded for the other types of AIDMs. Prevalence was higher in the male subsample for all the modifications
recorded. Overall, the frequencies of AIDMs increased with age.
Conclusions: The very low prevalence of LSAMAT was thought to be connected to leatherworking in the sample
under study, while excessive occlusal load was interpreted as evidence that hard materials requiring preliminary
chewing and softening were not regularly processed with teeth. The unique case of interproximal grooving in an
old male individual may reflect the use of a toothpick for therapeutic purpose. Conversely, the very high
prevalence of notching and chipping was taken as indicative of the processing of wool fibers. The sex-specific
distribution of these AIDMs suggests that males performed activities involving the use of teeth more
frequently than females
A case of therapeutic trepanation from 13th century Tuscany
No full textDuring the archaeological excavations carried out in 2007 in the Medieval cemetery of the Church of S. Agostino in Poggibonsi, Tuscany (Italy), a collective tomb was investigated. The large funerary structure, which contained the skeletal remains of 24 individuals, is dated back to the 13th century. A skull, belonging to an adult male, was found among the skeletal remains showing evidences of two head lesions produced by bladed instruments.
The first consists in a linear wound that involved only the outer cranial table of parietal bones; bone remodeling indicates that the individual survived the injury for a long time.
The second is located on the right portion of the frontal squama and involves all the thickness of the bone with clean and well-defined margins; the absence of any traces of reparative processes and signs of healing allows a diagnosis of peri mortem lesion. Only the triangular extremities of this injury can be recognized because the central portion of the wound is obliterated by an oval bone loss, 3x2 cm, characterized by clean cutting-edges along the outer cranial table, whereas the margins of the inner cranial table are irregulars. In order to treat this lesion, the patient was submitted to a surgical intervention, probably performed to clean the wound and remove any bone splinters.
Trepanation performed to treat cranial traumas was described in detail by several medical classic and medieval Authors, whose texts were available in the 13th century. In particular, the surgeon from Poggibonsi had access to the medical literature and he probably followed the prescriptions of the surgical texts, such as that of Albucasis, which was one of the most famous during the Middle Ages. Despite he was skilled in the management of head wounds, the surgical intervention failed and the patient dead in surgery or soon afterwards. This case represents a rare direct Middle Ages evidence of neurosurgery practised to treat a bone injury
Solitary osteochondromas in paleo-oncology: A case report from 4th-century BCE Pontecagnano (southern Italy)
No full textObjective: This study presents a new case of solitary osteochondroma (SOC) identified on the proximal tibia of a 4th-century BCE individual from Pontecagnano (Salerno, Italy) with an aim to contribute to differential diagnosis of bone tumors in archeological contexts. Materials: Paleopathological assessment of a male individual with an estimated age-at death of 45.9-62.9 years brought to light during the archaeological excavations in the funerary sector of 'Sica de Concillis' within the necropolis of Pontecagnano. Methods: Macroscopic and radiographic analyses were performed for diagnostic purposes. Results: The proximal portion of the right tibia exhibited a large exophytic bone formation extending from the anteromedial to the posteromedial portion of the diaphysis. The x-ray confirmed the lesion being characterized by regular trabecular bone tissue with cortico-medullary continuity. Conclusions: The lesion observed is diagnostic of sessile SOC, a neoplasm that must have had aesthetic and, possibly, neurovascular complications due to its large size. Significance: By offering a detailed description of a case of tibial osteochondroma and discussing the possible complications the individual might have experienced during life, this study highlights the role and importance of benign bone tumors in paleo-oncology. Limitations: Histological analysis was not carried out in order to preserve the integrity of the affected tibia. Suggestions for further research: More attention should be devoted to benign tumors in paleopathology as their occurrence and manifestations in the past will lead to a better understanding of their impacts on the quality of life of affected individuals and to greater knowledge of their natural history
A case of secondary hypertrophic osteoarthropathy from medieval Tuscany (central Italy, 10th-12th centuries CE)
No full textObjectives: This study aims to provide a detailed evaluation of a case of secondary hypertrophic osteoarthropathy
(HOA) and to explore insights into the presence and consequences of disease in medieval rural Italy.
Materials: The skeleton of a male (US 4405) with an estimated age at death of 51–69 years excavated from the
medieval rural site of Pieve di Pava (Siena, Italy).
Methods: Macroscopic and radiological (x-ray, CT) analyses were performed.
Results: Symmetrical extensive periosteal new bone formation on the diaphyseal and metaphyseal regions of this
individual’s long bones; the lower limbs were more extensively and severely affected than the upper limbs and
the distal segments were more severely altered in comparison to the proximal ones.
Conclusions: The macroscopic and radiological features are highly consistent with a diagnosis of secondary HOA.
Significance: The excellent state of preservation allowed the evaluation of rarely noted skeletal manifestations of
HOA and provided insight into aspects of rural life in medieval Italy.
Limitations: Molecular analysis was not successful in sequencing the aDNA of tuberculosis, therefore the underlying
primary cause of secondary HOA, whether pulmonary or extrapulmonary, remains obscure in this case.
Suggestion for the future research: It is advisable to regularly revisit the data available from osteoarchaeological
collections in order to identify further cases of HOA, along with to further investigate the known cases to search for the underlying primary disease
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