Bioarchaeology of Human Remains in Sicily: Laws and Guidelines

The Human Embalming Project© team is currently focusing on the study of Sicilian archival documents and human bioarchaeological material. In the best spirit of the Code of Conduct of the Paleopathology Association, we would like to share information on the laws and guidelines applied in Sicily with a broader readership of colleagues

The mummy of Rosalia Lombardo at the end of 2022: an update on the status quaestionis and a reflection on the level of evidence

In this communication we present key new evidence on the story of the famous Salafia embalming manuscript that further clarifies the genesis of a series of studies on this topic and corroborates our assumptions published in previous articles on this matter. In the second part of the paper, we provide a concise ethical analysis of Rosalia Lombardo’s case and try to establish a level of evidence in the assessment of her preservation by comparing facts and interpretations. Finally, we call for an independent assessment of the mummy’s state of preservation and the disclosure of the full content of the Salafia manuscript. Rosali

Acta Palaeomedica. International Journal of Palaeomedicine

The first issue of this journal aims to offer its new readership with a very interesting set of topics, ranging from the Black Death to family interrelations of Egyptian pharaohs, from the discovery of skeletons dated to the 4th century BC in Syracuse to the study of cranial trepanation in mummies in Cuba, and much more, including some book reviews. [Editor-in-Chief: Francesco M. Galassi; Managing Editor: Varotto Elena

Bioarchaeological and Paleopathological Analysis of a Burial from the Late Roman Necropolis of Pianotta di Calatabiano (CT, Sicily)

This contribution focuses on the human osteological remains recovered from a tomb in the necropolis of Contrada Pianotta di Calatabiano (Catania, eastern Sicily). In antiquity, this fertile, water-rich land along the Via Pompeia connecting Messina to Syracuse was ideal for intensive agricultural exploitation. In the 1990s this site was subjected to an early archaeological investigation that brought to light the ruins of the baths of a mid-imperial era-built villa, whose stratigraphy dated the ultimate abandonment of the site to the end of the 5th century AD. Between 2014 and 2015 the excavation of the necropolis was carried out in an area that extends immediately north of the mouth of the river Fiumefreddo

Cyclopes and giants: ancient mythological figures through an anatomical and palæopathological lens

This paper examines the origin of the myths about giants and cyclopes from the palæontological and palæopathological perspectives, highlighting how much more attention should be devoted to the possibility that a pituitary condition may have indeed played a role in the mythopoietic process

“Cola u’ Nanu”: an early nineteenth century case of disproportionate small stature

This report considers Cola “u’ Nanu” (Cola the Dwarf) (Fig. 1) who was depicted in 1840 by the famous nineteenth century Sicilian painter Michele Panebianco (1806–1873)