Death and the Societies of Late Antiquity

Ce volume bilingue, comprenant un ensemble de 28 contributions disponibles en français et en anglais (dans leur version longue ou abrégée), propose d’établir un état des lieux des réflexions, recherches et études conduites sur le fait funéraire à l’époque tardo-antique au sein des provinces de l’Empire romain et sur leurs régions limitrophes, afin d’ouvrir de nouvelles perspectives sur ses évolutions possibles. Au cours des trois dernières décennies, les transformations considérables des méthodologies déployées sur le terrain et en laboratoire ont permis un renouveau des questionnements sur les populations et les pratiques funéraires de l’Antiquité tardive, période marquée par de multiples changements politiques, sociaux, démographiques et culturels. L’apparition de ce qui a été initialement désigné comme une « Anthropologie de terrain », qui fut le début de la démarche archéothanatologique, puis le récent développement d’approches collaboratives entre des domaines scientifiques divers (archéothanatologie, biochimie et géochimie, génétique, histoire, épigraphie par exemple) ont été décisives pour le renouvellement des problématiques d’étude : révision d’anciens concepts comme apparition d’axes d’analyse inédits. Les recherches rassemblées dans cet ouvrage sont articulées autour de quatre grands thèmes : l’évolution des pratiques funéraires dans le temps, l’identité sociale dans la mort, les ensembles funéraires en transformation (organisation et topographie) et les territoires de l’empire (du cœur aux marges). Ces études proposent un réexamen et une révision des données, tant anthropologiques qu’archéologiques ou historiques sur l’Antiquité tardive, et révèlent, à cet égard, une mosaïque de paysages politiques, sociaux et culturels singulièrement riches et complexes. Elles accroissent nos connaissances sur le traitement des défunts, l’emplacement des aires funéraires ou encore la structure des sépultures, en révélant une diversité de pratiques, et permettent au final de relancer la réflexion sur la manière dont les sociétés tardo-antiques envisagent la mort et sur les éléments permettant d’identifier et de définir la diversité des groupes qui les composent. Elles démontrent ce faisant que nous pouvons véritablement appréhender les structures culturelles et sociales des communautés anciennes et leurs potentielles transformations, à partir de l’étude des pratiques funéraires.This bilingual volume proposes to draw up an assessment of the recent research conducted on funerary behavior during Late Antiquity in the provinces of the Roman Empire and on their borders, in order to open new perspectives on its possible developments. The considerable transformations of the methodologies have raised the need for a renewal of the questions on the funerary practices during Late Antiquity, a period marked by multiple political, social, demographic and cultural changes. The emergence field anthropology, which was the beginning of archaeothanatology, and then the recent development of collaborative approaches between various scientific fields (archaeothanatology, biochemistry and geochemistry, genetics, history, epigraphy, for example), have been decisive. The research collected in this book is structured around four main themes: Evolution of funerary practices over time; Social identity through death; Changing burial grounds (organisation and topography); Territories of the Empire (from the heart to the margins). These studies propose a review and a revision of the data, both anthropological and archaeological or historical on Late Antiquity, and reveal a mosaic of political, social, and cultural landscapes singularly rich and complex. In doing so, they demonstrate that we can truly understand the cultural and social structures of ancient communities and their potential transformations, based on the study of funerary practices

Un antico rimedio per i dolori articolari in un malato di tubercolosi medievale

Il lavoro presenta i risultati dell'indagine archeologica, antropologica e paleopatologica condotta sullo spazio funerario pluristratificato, sviluppatosi intorno all'edificio religioso medievale rinvenuto nelle campagne di scavo condotte nel Parco archeologico di Siponto. In particolare le indagini paleopatologiche su una sepoltura hanno evidenziato nella robbia il possibile "rimedio" per lenire la patologia del giovane inumato. Lo studio ripercorre anche sulla base delle fonti antiche questa antica pratica medica

Long-term persistence of saliva-derived microRNA in human dental calculus for Forensic investigations

Our study suggests that it is possible to recover well preserved miRNA in the tartar matrix increasing the sustainability of dental calculus research. Although the cause of different levels of some miRNAs between ancient and modern tartar samples has not been explained because it is influenced by several sources of degradation such as water, enzymes and microorganism for extended periods of time. Therefore the analysis of the saliva-derived miRNAs in dental calculus could provide futher valuable information to estabilish postmortem individual identification of unknown human remains, especially for unidentified subjects following mass calamities, fire or explosions of which the teeth are the only human tissue available for analysis. It must also beunderlined that our study is a pilot study and in future futher investigations are needed to estabilish if miRNA-based identification procedures in tartar samples are a reliable source

Signs of interpersonal violence and war: paleotraumatology in Apulia during the Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages

This paper analyses the skeletal remains with signs of violence coming from some archaeological sites located in Apulia (Southern Italy) and dated between Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages. The research is based on historical, archaeological, anthropological and paleopathological sources and aims to determine the nature of the detected injuries. The careful recording and statistical analysis have enabled the observation of their distribution on the bones, hypothesize the weapons used, as well as reconstruct how injuries were inflicted and pinpoint any elements and cultural influences. In particular, a data registration model has been developed; if accepted by the scientific community, it would allow a homogeneous recording and database, useful for the study of traumas in different geographical and chronological contexts. The findings have been interpreted based on the historical events of the region and they represent the first extensive database for the study of paleotraumatology in Apulia in this historical period

Cranial Trepanation: Case Studies between the IV Century BC and VI Century in Southern Italy

Cranial trepanation is among the oldest head surgical procedures, creating a hole through the skull. This procedure is the surgical removal of a portion of the skull as a medical treatment to cure a specific disease or as a religious or magical ritual. Cranial trepanation has been reported from very early times and widespread all over the world. This work is based on data from six trepanned skulls from the Hellenistic Age (IV century BC) to the Late Antiquity (VI century). The samples come from Puglia (Southern Italy), from the northern (the peninsula of Gargano) to the central area: three cases come from Vieste (Foggia), Ischitella (Foggia) and Alberona (Foggia), the others three from Gravina in Puglia (Bari) and Canosa (Barletta, Andria, Trani). All skulls have been evaluated via an anthropological, radiological and odontological approach. This study indicates the value of a methodology, which encompasses anthropology, radiology and imaging, and archeo-forensic investigations, highlighting the need for multidisciplinary teamwork in any assessment of human remains. The study supports the hypothesis of the presence of a long tradition of medical centres in the Mediterranean basin area

CRANIAL TREPANATION IN THE APULIAN REGION OF ITALY BETWEEN THE IV CENTURY BC AND VI CENTURY AC: CASE STUDIES

Cranial trepanation is among the oldest head surgical procedures, creating a hole through the skull. This procedure is the surgical removal of a portion of the skull as a medical treatment to cure a specific disease or as a religious or magical ritual. Cranial trepanation has been reported from very early times and widespread all over the world. This work is based on data from six trepanned skulls from the Hellenistic Age (IV century BC) to the Late Antiquity (VI century). The samples come from Puglia (Southern Italy), from the northern (the peninsula of Gargano) to the central area: three cases come from Vieste (Foggia), Ischitella (Foggia) and Alberona (Foggia), the others three from Gravina in Puglia (Bari) and Canosa (Barletta, Andria, Trani). All skulls have been evaluated via an anthropological, radiological and odontological approach. This study indicates the value of a methodology, which encompasses anthropology, radiology and imaging, and archeo-forensic investigations, highlighting the need for multidisciplinary teamwork in any assessment of human remains. The study supports the hypothesis of the presence of a long tradition of medical centres in the Mediterranean basin area

Genetic Evidence of the Black Death in the Abbey of San Leonardo (Apulia Region, Italy): Tracing the Cause of Death in Two Individuals Buried with Coins

The Abbey of San Leonardo in Siponto (Apulia, Southern Italy) was an important religious and medical center during the Middle Ages. It was a crossroads for pilgrims heading along the Via Francigena to the Sanctuary of Monte Sant’Angelo and for merchants passing through the harbor of Manfredonia. A recent excavation of Soprintendenza Archeologica della Puglia investigated a portion of the related cemetery, confirming its chronology to be between the end of the 13th and beginning of the 14th century. Two single graves preserved individuals accompanied by numerous coins dating back to the 14th century, hidden in clothes and in a bag tied to the waist. The human remains of the individuals were analyzed in the Laboratorio di Antropologia Fisica of Soprintendenza ABAP della città metropolitana di Bari. Three teeth from each individual were collected and sent to the Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale di Puglia e Basilicata to study infectious diseases such as malaria, plague, tuberculosis, epidemic typhus and Maltese fever (Brucellosis), potentially related to the lack of inspection of the bodies during burial procedures. DNA extracted from six collected teeth and two additional unrelated human teeth (negative controls) were analyzed using PCR to verify the presence of human DNA (β-globulin) and of pathogens such as Plasmodium spp., Yersinia pestis, Mycobacterium spp., Rickettsia spp. and Brucella spp. The nucleotide sequence of the amplicon was determined to confirm the results. Human DNA was successfully amplified from all eight dental extracts and two different genes of Y. pestis were amplified and sequenced in 4 out of the 6 teeth. Molecular analyses ascertained that the individuals buried in San Leonardo were victims of the Black Death (1347–1353) and the data confirmed the lack of inspection of the corpses despite the presence of numerous coins. This study represents molecular evidence, for the first time, of Southern Italy’s involvement in the second wave of the plague pandemic

Social inequality and household goods in central Iberia during the Early Middle Ages

[EN ]We present in this paper the preliminary results of an archaeological and spatial analysis of household objects from two sites from the early medieval period in central Iberia. Our basic hypothesis is that the critical and detailed study of household goods may serve to illuminate social differences and inequalities within peasant societies in this period. Our conclusion is that, even though a general impoverishment at the level of household goods is detected, the presence of particular commodities may also serve as a social mechanism to represent status in a context of power control at the local level. [ES] Presentamos en este artículo los resultados preliminares de un análisis arqueológico y espacial de objetos domésticos de dos yacimientos del período altomedieval en el centro de Iberia. Nuestra hipótesis básica es que el estudio crítico y detallado de los bienes del hogar puede servir para iluminar las diferencias y desigualdades sociales dentro de las sociedades campesinas en este período. Nuestra conclusión es que, aunque se detecta un empobrecimiento general a nivel de bienes domésticos, la presencia de mercancías particulares también puede servir como un mecanismo social para representar el estatus en un contexto de control de poder a nivel local.S