A short and sickly life. Multi-indicator analysis of an infant from a late antique Italian burial site (Piano della Civita, Artena, 3rd-5th cent CE).

International journal of paleopathology
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Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate pathological lesions and related growth impairment in an infant from a late antiquity context in central Italy.MATERIALS: The individual labeled as 04.AR.60004 comes from a small burial plot in Piano della Civita di Artena, Italy, dated to the 3rd-5th centuries.METHODS: Macroscopic examination, metric analysis, dental histomorphometry, amelogenin sequencing, and aDNA analyses were employed.RESULTS: Individual 04.AR.60004 is an infant male with an estimated age-at-death of 2 months showing two metabolic stress events, one occurring before birth and one a few days before death. The well-preserved skeleton shows diffuse abnormal cortical porosity and subperiosteal new bone formation.CONCLUSIONS: The type and distribution of the skeletal lesions suggest a diagnosis of infantile scurvy, probably associated with a general status of malnutrition. Dimensions of cranial and postcranial bones show a wide discrepancy between the skeletal age (38-40 fetal weeks) and the dental histological age (2 months).SIGNIFICANCE: Including enamel histology age-at-death estimation may expand our knowledge of the influence of severe pathological cases on growth.LIMITATIONS: Although scurvy remains the most obvious diagnosis, we cannot exclude other related micronutrient deficiencies which might have affected the individual.SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH: Including dental histometric and molecular sex estimation in infant pathological cases can help us to recognize impaired growth and enhance our understanding of sex-based susceptibility and potential biases in childcare within ancient communities.

Year of Publication
2025
Journal
International journal of paleopathology
Volume
49
Pages
93-103
Date Published
04/2025
ISSN
1879-9825
DOI
10.1016/j.ijpp.2025.03.004
PubMed ID
40184887
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