Il sepolcreto dell’Ospedale Maggiore (Ca’ Granda) di Milano: indagini antropologiche di un singolare contesto di resti commisti

Recently lots of human inhumations have been found in the burial chambers of Milan ancient hospital (Ospedale Maggiore commonly named Ca’ Granda). This institution was able to provide free medical assistance for the poorest of the city and to improve efficiency in healthcare starting from the 15th century. Actually, only people suffering from acute diseases could be admitted to this hospital. The Ca’ Granda connected the concept of charity with the therapeutic ideas, being a model for similar institutions in Italy and all over Europe. The commingled human remains found into the burial chambers represent an extraordinary biological and historical archive remarkable for the large amount of bones (over 2.000.000 remains estimated) and the uniqueness of the context. In fact, according to the historical sources, the osteological findings refer to the deceased population from the 17th century onwards. In order to outline the main features of this context, standard macroscopic and microscopic anthropological and paleopathological analyses have been carried out. In addition, toxicological, chemical and entomological studies have been conducted. Furthermore, taphonomic modifications have been observed. Results allow to classify the context as a long-term usage commingled assemblage, indicative of long-term use of the same burial space through time, sometimes over hundreds years, as confirmed by the entomological study. The population seems to be heterogeneous both from sex and age, showing remains belonging to males and females of all age classes, even foetuses. Paleopathological studies reveal the presence of signs referring to lots of different diseases, such as osteoarthritis, erosive arthropathies, congenital anomalies, metabolic disorders, dental diseases. Particularly interesting are the infectious pathologies, especially the signs of syphilis, and the evidences of trauma. Results also show how important laboratory analyses may be in providing additional pieces of the complex puzzle of palaeopathological analysis. This study represents a remarkable case of commingled human remains and highlights the importance of a multidisciplinary approach

Il sepolcreto dell\u2019Ospedale Maggiore (Ca\u2019 Granda) di Milano: indagini antropologiche di un singolare contesto di resti commisti

Recently lots of human inhumations have been found in the burial chambers of Milan ancient hospital (Ospedale Maggiore commonly named Ca\u2019 Granda). This institution was able to provide free medical assistance for the poorest of the city and to improve efficiency in healthcare starting from the 15th century. Actually, only people suffering from acute diseases could be admitted to this hospital. The Ca\u2019 Granda connected the concept of charity with the therapeutic ideas, being a model for similar institutions in Italy and all over Europe. The commingled human remains found into the burial chambers represent an extraordinary biological and historical archive remarkable for the large amount of bones (over 2.000.000 remains estimated) and the uniqueness of the context. In fact, according to the historical sources, the osteological findings refer to the deceased population from the 17th century onwards. In order to outline the main features of this context, standard macroscopic and microscopic anthropological and paleopathological analyses have been carried out. In addition, toxicological, chemical and entomological studies have been conducted. Furthermore, taphonomic modifications have been observed. Results allow to classify the context as a long-term usage commingled assemblage, indicative of long-term use of the same burial space through time, sometimes over hundreds years, as confirmed by the entomological study. The population seems to be heterogeneous both from sex and age, showing remains belonging to males and females of all age classes, even foetuses. Paleopathological studies reveal the presence of signs referring to lots of different diseases, such as osteoarthritis, erosive arthropathies, congenital anomalies, metabolic disorders, dental diseases. Particularly interesting are the infectious pathologies, especially the signs of syphilis, and the evidences of trauma. Results also show how important laboratory analyses may be in providing additional pieces of the complex puzzle of palaeopathological analysis. This study represents a remarkable case of commingled human remains and highlights the importance of a multidisciplinary approach

Gli scheletri della fossa comune di viale Sabotino a Milano: le vittime della peste manzoniana?

Demographic and paleopathological studies are an important resource for the analysis of earlier populations, and can furnish useful information for the reconstruction of epidemic events, where emergencies make it impossible to have good information about the more general health of the population. The current study concerns the find of a mass grave in Milan, near the ‘Spanish’ wallls of the seventeenth century, the period during which the plague of 1630 exploded in the city. On the basis of the hypothesis that the individuals found were victims of this epidemic anthropological and paleopatholical analyses were carried out on the skeletal remains. Anthropological analyses have revealed a minimal number of 240 individuals. The population was heterogeneous in sex and age with a high mortality in peripartum, adolescential and people between 36 and 65 years old, as in the demographic structure of ancient society. The paleopathological investigations have shown nutritional deficits, chronic anemia, debilitating congenital diseases, dental pathologies indicative of a low level of oral hygene, arthritis and lesions even in the case of adolescents. A highly important find is the presence of syphilis and tuburculosis, infective diseases with social re-percussions. Anthropological and paleopathological investi-gations have thus given us precious information on the health of the population of Milan during the critical period of the epidemi

Sexual dimorphism of canine volume: A pilot study

Sex assessment is a crucial part of the biological profile in forensic and archaeological context, but it can be hardly performed in cases of commingled and charred human remains where DNA tests often are not applicable. With time literature have analyzed the sexual dimorphism of teeth (and especially canines), but very few articles take into consideration the teeth volume, although with time several technologies have been introduced in order to assess 3D volume (CT-scan, laser scanner, etc.).This study aims at assessing the sexual dimorphism of dental and pulp chamber volumes of a sample of canines. Cone beam computed tomography analyses were performed by 87 patients (41 males and 46 females, aged between 15 and 83years) for clinical purposes, and were acquired in order to measure canine volumes. Results show that the dental volume amounted to 0.745cm3 (SD 0.126cm3) in males, 0.551cm3 (SD 0.130cm3) with a statistically significant difference (p <0.01). A diagnostic threshold of 0.619cm3 was stated, which provides a percentage of correct answer of 80.5% in the chosen sample. The novel method was then applied with success to 7 archaeological: where in all the cases the results were concordant with those provided by the assessment of the cranium and pelvis.The study adds a contribution to the wide analysis of dental sexual dimorphism confirming the statistically significant differences of volume between males and females and providing a method for the diagnosis of sex applicable to forensic cases