Dental health in adults and subadults from the 16th-century plague cemetery of Alghero (Sardinia, Italy)

Objective: The aim of this study is to examine a set of dental health indicators, including caries, periodontal disease, abscesses, ante-mortem tooth loss, calculus, and tooth wear of a 16th-century population from the city of Alghero, Sardinia (Italy), in order to evaluate the state of dental health and the diet. Design: The cemetery is referable to the plague outbreak that ravaged the city in 1582-1583. A total of 160 individuals (81 adults and 79 subadults) were suitable for dental examination. Results: The oral conditions of the urban population of Alghero are characterised by high frequency of carious lesions, periodontal disease, ante mortem tooth loss, and calculus, but a low prevalence of abscesses and moderate tooth wear are recorded. In general, no statistically significant sexual differences are observed, suggesting a uniform scenario for diet access and oral health. The subadult subsample shows moderate rates of caries and is affected by calculus. The results suggest that the diet was rich in soft and refined food, with a prevalence of carbohydrates and cariogenic aliments; the effects of the diet are associated with a lack of oral hygiene. Conclusions: The patterns of dental health observed in the Alghero population fit with the data observed in other Modern Age samples, reflecting increased prevalence of dentoalveolar diseases resulting from a less abrasive diet and an increase in carbohydrate consumption, as documented during the transition from the Middle Ages to the Modern period

Restoration and preservation of the anatomical specimens of the Museum of Pathological Anatomy at the University of Pisa

The recent establishment of the University Museum System, whose aim is to promote and enhance the University collections, encouraged the rearrangement of the Museum of Pathological Anatomy, currently not operating, because its precious pieces are stored in a warehouse. The economic support of the “Fondazione Pisa” permitted, in the last year, to begin the recovery and restoration of a part of the specimens. The collection consists in 1500 human and animal pathological specimens of great scientific relevance, some of which dated back to the Granducal period. The remains consist in pathological changes and congenital anomalies detected on human and animal bodies and organs, preserved in formaldehyde or dry. In particular, the Museum includes: a collection of 50 human bladder stones dating back to the first half of the 19th century; a collection of malformed human newborns documenting 25 rare congenital malformations, dating back to the end of 19th and the beginning of 20th century; a collection of animal teratology; a collection of helminthic parasitology. In the last 30 years, the Museum was then enriched with a collection of pieces from pathological autopsies, such as lung, cardio-vascular, renal, and brain diseases. The recovery was initially addressed to restore the wet preparations preserved in formaldehyde that required an urgent emergency. In fact, in many cases the evaporation of the liquid has determined the deterioration of the specimens; moreover, formalin was replaced with alcohol because it has been declared toxic and the new Museum dispositions require impose the substitution with not dangerous preserving liquids. In the GiPaleo Meeting a selection from over 100 artifacts restored will be exhibited

Dentoalveolar diseases and dietary habits in the social upper classes of the Italian Renaissance: the Guinigi family from Lucca

Teeth 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

Il contributo della microusura dentaria nella ricerca antropologica: metodologia, tecniche e differenti applicazioni

Dottorato di ricerca in scienze antropologiche. 8. ciclo. A.a. 1994-95. Relatore S. M. Borgognini TarliConsiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche - Biblioteca Centrale - P.le Aldo Moro, 7, Rome; Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale - P.za Cavalleggeri, 1, Florence / CNR - Consiglio Nazionale delle RichercheSIGLEITItal

Archeologia in Liguria (2012-2013). Vol. 5

Il volume, a cura della Soprintendenza ai Beni Archeologici della Liguria, illustra l’attività di ricerca archeologica, di tutela, didattica e valorizzazione, restauro e conservazione svoltasi in Liguria nel corso del biennio 2012-2013. Sono illustrate le più importanti ricerche e scoperte avvenute sul territorio ligure per quanto riguarda la preistoria (dal Paleolitico all’età del Ferro); l’epoca romana con una particolare attenzione per i siti di Ventimiglia, Albisola Superiore e l’antica città di Luni. Notevoli sono i dati relativi al periodo medievale che riguardano specialmente il centro storico di Genova, il borgo “vescovile” di Brugnato e una serie di altri siti, come i castelli, sparsi sul territorio. Alcuni articoli, posti a fine volume, vanno ad approfondire particolari aspetti della ricerca archeologica in Liguria

Due donne dalla Massa medioevale: analisi dei resti umani

Analisi antropologica e paleopatologica di due individui altomedievali rinvenuti durante gli scavi di Piazza del Mercurio a Mass

Paleopatologia dei resti umani

The increasing attention of archaeological and anthropological research towards palaepathological studies has allowed to focus the examination of many skeletal samples on this aspect and to evaluate the presence of many diseases afflicting ancient populations. This paper describes the most interesting diseases observed in skeletal samples from some necropoles found in urban and suburban areas of Rome during archaeological excavations in the last decades, and dating back to the Imperial Age. The diseases observed were grouped into the following categories: articular diseases, traumas, infections, metabolic or nutritional diseases, congenital diseases and tumours, and some examples are reported for each group. Although extensive epidemiological investigation in ancient skeletal records is impossible, the palaeopathological study allowed to highlight the spread of numerous illnesses, many of which can be related to the life and health conditions of the Roman population