Journal article
A short and sickly life. Multi-indicator analysis of an infant from a late antique Italian burial site (Piano della Civita, Artena, 3rd-5th cent CE)
International journal of paleopathology, v 49, pp 93-103
04 Apr 2025
PMID: 40184887
Abstract
To evaluate pathological lesions and related growth impairment in an infant from a late antiquity context in central Italy.
The individual labeled as 04.AR.60004 comes from a small burial plot in Piano della Civita di Artena, Italy, dated to the 3rd-5th centuries.
Macroscopic examination, metric analysis, dental histomorphometry, amelogenin sequencing, and aDNA analyses were employed.
Individual 04.AR.60004 is an infant male with an estimated age-at-death of 2 months showing two metabolic stress events, one before birth and one a few days before death. The well-preserved skeleton shows diffuse abnormal cortical porosity and subperiosteal new bone formation.
The type and distribution of the skeletal lesions suggest a diagnosis of infantile scurvy, probably associated with a general status of malnutrition. Dimensions of cranial and postcranial bones show a wide discrepancy between the skeletal age (38-40 fetal weeks) and the dental histological age (2 months).
Including enamel histology age-at-death determination may expand our knowledge on the influence of severe pathological cases on growth.
Although scurvy remains the most obvious diagnosis, we cannot exclude other related micronutrient deficiencies affecting the individual.
Including dental histometric and molecular sex estimation in infant pathological cases can help us to recognize impaired growth and enhance our understanding of sex-based susceptibility and potential biases in childcare within ancient communities.
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Details
- Title
- A short and sickly life. Multi-indicator analysis of an infant from a late antique Italian burial site (Piano della Civita, Artena, 3rd-5th cent CE)
- Creators
- Viola Cecconi - Sapienza University of RomeAlessia Nava - Sapienza University of RomeFederico Lugli - Goethe University FrankfurtAlissa Mittnik - Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary AnthropologySusanna Sawyer - University of ViennaJan Gadeyne - Temple UniversityCécile Brouillard - Institut National de Recherches Archéologiques PréventivesRon Pinhasi - University of ViennaDavid Reich - Broad InstituteAlessandra Sperduti - University of Naples - L'Orientale
- Publication Details
- International journal of paleopathology, v 49, pp 93-103
- Publisher
- Elsevier Inc
- Number of pages
- 11
- Grant note
- European Union: 101104566 European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union: 101077348 Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Modena
F.L. is supported by the European Union's Horizon Europe Research and Innovation Programme under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie IF action (Grant Agreement no. 101104566 - AROUSE) . A.N. received funding from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union's Horizon Europe Research and Innovation Programme (GA no. 101077348 - MOTHERS; https://erc-mothers.eu/) . The authors acknowledge the "Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Modena" for funding the nLC-MS system at the CIGS of UNIMORE; Dr. Diego Pinetti and Dr. Filippo Genovese are deeply thanked for the assistance during LC-MS analyses.
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Language
- English
- Academic Unit
- Surgery
- Web of Science ID
- WOS:001464477100001
- Scopus ID
- 2-s2.0-105001731635
- Other Identifier
- 991022043943004721
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- Collaboration types
- Domestic collaboration
- International collaboration
- Web of Science research areas
- Paleontology
- Pathology