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Thompson JE, Panella S, Booth TJ, Soncin S, Rajkovaca T, Belcastro MG, Isetti E, Mariotti V, Muntoni IM, Radina F, Sivilli S, Traverso A, Tafuri MA, Robb JE. Histotaphonomic analysis of bone bioerosion reveals a regional framework of diverse deathways in the Neolithic of Southeast Italy. PLoS One 2024; 19:e0304058. [PMID: 38843275 PMCID: PMC11156350 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0304058] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/26/2023] [Accepted: 05/06/2024] [Indexed: 06/09/2024] Open
Abstract
The wide diversity of Neolithic funerary practices is increasingly recognised. In Southeast Italy, recent studies have drawn attention to the co-existence of multiple ways of treating the dead within single sites and across the region. In this study, we address how such diverse deathways form a regional framework of ritual practice through histotaphonomic analysis of bone bioerosion. Samples were obtained from articulated, semi-articulated and disarticulated remains from four sites in Apulia which each presented different modes of treatment and disposal of the dead. Bone thin sections were analysed by light microscopy to characterise microstructural preservation through features including bacterial bioerosion, staining, inclusions, and Wedl tunnelling. We investigate the early post-mortem histories of individuals whose remains ended up in various states of dis/articulation and diverse depositional contexts. Disarticulated remains frequently displayed arrested or extensive bacterial bioerosion, which was also found in articulated and semi-articulated skeletons. Additionally, remains deposited in similar contexts, as well as articulated and disarticulated remains deposited together in the same context, often showed different histotaphonomic characteristics, suggesting diverse early post-mortem trajectories. As a result, we argue that Neolithic deathways in southeastern Italy incorporated a high level of diversity in the early post-mortem treatment of the body. A framework for funerary practices emerges, whereby disarticulated remains probably originated from bodies which had been buried previously and subjected to varying extents of shelter, exposure to invertebrates, and duration of burial. However, we acknowledge the ongoing research into the origins of bacterial bioerosion and the problem of equifinality, which leaves open the possibility for further scenarios of early post-mortem treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jess E. Thompson
- McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research, Cambridge, United Kingdom
- Darwin College, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Sofia Panella
- Department of Environmental Biology and Mediterranean bioArchaeological Research Advances (MAReA) Centre, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
| | | | - Silvia Soncin
- Department of Environmental Biology and Mediterranean bioArchaeological Research Advances (MAReA) Centre, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
| | - Tonko Rajkovaca
- Department of Archaeology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Maria Giovanna Belcastro
- Department of Biological, Geological and Environmental Sciences, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - Eugenia Isetti
- Istituto Italiano per l’Archeologia Sperimentale, Genova, Italy
| | - Valentina Mariotti
- Department of Biological, Geological and Environmental Sciences, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - Italo Maria Muntoni
- Soprintendenza Archeologia, Belle Arti e Paesaggio per le Province di Barletta-Andria-Trani e Foggia, Italy
| | - Francesca Radina
- Soprintendenza Archeologia, Belle Arti e Paesaggio per la Città Metropolitana di Bari, Bari, Italy
| | | | | | - Mary Anne Tafuri
- Department of Environmental Biology and Mediterranean bioArchaeological Research Advances (MAReA) Centre, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
| | - John E. Robb
- Department of Archaeology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
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Parkinson EW, Stoddart S, Sparacello V, Bertoldi F, Fonzo O, Malone C, Marini E, Martinet F, Moggi-Cecchi J, Pacciani E, Raiteri L, Stock JT. Multiproxy bioarchaeological data reveals interplay between growth, diet and population dynamics across the transition to farming in the central Mediterranean. Sci Rep 2023; 13:21965. [PMID: 38081902 PMCID: PMC10713518 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-49406-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/24/2023] [Accepted: 12/07/2023] [Indexed: 12/18/2023] Open
Abstract
The transition to farming brought on a series of important changes in human society, lifestyle, diet and health. The human bioarchaeology of the agricultural transition has received much attention, however, relatively few studies have directly tested the interrelationship between individual lifestyle factors and their implications for understanding life history changes among the first farmers. We investigate the interplay between skeletal growth, diet, physical activity and population size across 30,000 years in the central Mediterranean through a 'big data' cross-analysis of osteological data related to stature (n = 361), body mass (n = 334) and long bone biomechanics (n = 481), carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen (δ15N) stable isotopes (n = 1986 human, n = 475 animal) and radiocarbon dates (n = 5263). We present the observed trends on a continuous timescale in order to avoid grouping our data into assigned 'time periods', thus achieving greater resolution and chronological control over our analysis. The results identify important changes in human life history strategies associated with the first farmers, but also highlight the long-term nature of these trends in the millennia either side of the agricultural transition. The integration of these different data is an important step towards disentangling the complex relationship between demography, diet and health, and reconstruct life history changes within a southern European context. We believe the methodological approach adopted here has broader global implications for bioarchaeological studies of human adaptation more generally.
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Affiliation(s)
- E W Parkinson
- Archaeology & Palaeoecology, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, UK.
| | - S Stoddart
- Department of Archaeology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - V Sparacello
- Dipartimento di Scienze della vita e dell'ambiente, Università degli Studi di Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy
| | - F Bertoldi
- Dipartimento di Studi Umanistici, Università Ca Foscari Venezia, Venice, Italy
| | - O Fonzo
- Museo Archeologico "Genna Maria" di Villanovaforru, Villanovaforru, Italy
| | - C Malone
- Archaeology & Palaeoecology, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, UK
| | - E Marini
- Dipartimento di Scienze della vita e dell'ambiente, Università degli Studi di Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy
| | - F Martinet
- Soprintendenza per i beni e le Attività Culturali della Valle d'Aosta, Aosta, Italy
| | - J Moggi-Cecchi
- Dipartimento Di Biologia, Università degli Studi Firenze, Florence, Italy
| | - E Pacciani
- Soprintendenza Archeologia, Belle Arti e Paesaggio di Firenze, Pistoia e Prato, Florence, Italy
| | - L Raiteri
- Soprintendenza per i beni e le Attività Culturali della Valle d'Aosta, Aosta, Italy
| | - J T Stock
- Department of Anthropology, Western University, London, Canada
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