Exploring activity-induced dental modifications in medieval Pieve di Pava (central Italy, 10th-12th centuries AD)

Insights into medieval rural lives: A paleo-odontological investigation of two central European communities

OBJECTIVE

Oral status is an important indicator of past lifestyles. Determining the presence and extent of oral pathologies helps reconstruct average oral health, paramasticatory activities and diet of ancient and historical populations.

DESIGN

In this study, the dental remains from the early medieval cemetery of Früebergstrasse in Baar (Canton of Zug, Switzerland) and the high medieval Dalheim cemetery (North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany) were analyzed. Caries, periodontal condition, periapical lesions, antemortem tooth loss, and enamel hypoplasia were assessed in 654 teeth (993 observable loci) from 68 individuals (Baar: n = 36; Dalheim: n = 32).

RESULTS

The oral status of both populations was affected by age with higher values of tooth wear in advanced age individuals. High tooth wear values in both populations point towards the consumption of abrasive foods. Pronounced anterior tooth wear in Baar may also be due to non-masticatory tooth usage. Finally, possible nutritional deficiencies were hypothesized for the Baar population. A higher caries prevalence was observed in the Baar group, probably due to differences in carbohydrate intake. The oral conditions observed in the two studied populations exhibited several analogies, suggesting comparable lifestyles despite their separation in space and time. The only differences observed are related to the use of teeth as "tools" and are thus determined by behavioral choices rather than diverse socioeconomic factors.

CONCLUSIONS

Using multiple dental parameters to examine the oral health of premodern individuals can provide useful insights into the interactions between humans and their environment, from dietary patterns to paramasticatory activities.

A case of secondary hypertrophic osteoarthropathy from medieval Tuscany (central Italy, 10th-12th centuries CE)

OBJECTIVES

This study aims to provide a detailed evaluation of a case of secondary hypertrophic osteoarthropathy (HOA) and to explore insights into the presence and consequences of disease in medieval rural Italy.

MATERIALS

The skeleton of a male (US 4405) with an estimated age at death of 51-69 years excavated from the medieval rural site of Pieve di Pava (Siena, Italy).

METHODS

Macroscopic and radiological (x-ray, CT) analyses were performed.

RESULTS

Symmetrical extensive periosteal new bone formation on the diaphyseal and metaphyseal regions of this individual's long bones; the lower limbs were more extensively and severely affected than the upper limbs and the distal segments were more severely altered in comparison to the proximal ones.

CONCLUSIONS

The macroscopic and radiological features are highly consistent with a diagnosis of secondary HOA.

SIGNIFICANCE

The excellent state of preservation allowed the evaluation of rarely noted skeletal manifestations of HOA and provided insight into aspects of rural life in medieval Italy.

LIMITATIONS

Molecular analysis was not successful in sequencing the aDNA of tuberculosis, therefore the underlying primary cause of secondary HOA, whether pulmonary or extrapulmonary, remains obscure in this case.

SUGGESTION FOR THE FUTURE RESEARCH

It is advisable to regularly revisit the data available from osteoarchaeological collections in order to identify further cases of HOA, along with to further investigate the known cases to search for the underlying primary disease.

Contextualizing bilateral asymmetry and gender: A multivariate approach to femoral cross-sectional geometry at rural Medieval Pieve di Pava, Italy

OBJECTIVES

Our objective was to identify the relationship between biocultural factors of sex-gender and age and patterns of femoral cross-sectional geometry with historical evidence about labor and activity from an archeological skeletal sample excavated from the rural Medieval site Pieve di Pava.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The study site, Pieve di Pava, was a rural parish cemetery in Tuscany with osteoarcheological remains from the 7th to 12th centuries. Cross-sectional geometric analysis of femora from 110 individuals dated to the 10th-12th centuries were used to examine trends in bone quantity, shape, and bending strength between age and sex groups, as well as in clusters identified through Hierarchical Cluster Analysis (HCA).

RESULTS

Overall, our study sample showed remarkable heterogeneity and our cluster analysis revealed a complex underlying structure, indicating that divisions of labor did not follow a strict gender binary in our sample. We found high levels of bilateral asymmetry in our sample in multiple cross-sectional areas for a significant proportion of the population. We found minimal differences between age groups or sex.

DISCUSSION

Our results suggest that males and females had varied experiences of labor and work during their lives that did not reflect the strict binary gender roles sometimes documented for medieval Europe. One important axis of difference is the direction and magnitude of bilateral asymmetry observed in our femur sample, which is associated with divergent trends in section moduli and bone area measures.