Tag: anthropology

First studies on cases of congenital anemia from the skeletal sample from Vetricella

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Duriung the recent Archaeorganics international conference, we emphasized the role of stable isotope analysis in the differential diagnosis of anemia. The sample of individuals from the medieval cemetery of Vetricella presents high percentages of porotic hyperostosis, in the two forms of cribra cranii and cribra orbitalia (Walker et al., 2009). This alteration may be due to anaemic states with different aetiologies, such as inherited hemolytic anaemia, due to infectious or parasitic diseases, iron deficiency anaemia or megaloblastic anaemia. Therefore, a… Continue reading

anthropological investigations at the site of Vetricella

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During the third excavation campaign at Vetricella, between September and October 2018, a targeted anthropological investigation was carried out under the supervision of anthropologists in order to understand the real extension of the cemetery area and expand the currently analysed anthropological sample (Fig.1). Twenty-one burials were found, eight of which refer to adult individuals and thirteen to sub-adults. As already observed in the study of burials found in previous campaigns, the number of sub-adults is significantly higher than that of… Continue reading

The application of CT to a case of amputation and healing from Vetricella

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A male individual from the cemetery of Vetricella shows an evident well-healed amputation of the distal end of the right lower limb. Amputation appears to be the result of medical treatment and cases, such as these of survival with an amputated limb in pre-antibiotic era are rare in the anthropological literature. For this study it is essential to analyze the CT (computed tomography) of the lower limbs, recently acquired with a Siemens SOMATOM Scope CT scanner (Fig.1-2). Images of each… Continue reading

Age estimation of adult skeletons from Vetricella by pulp/tooth ratio in canines

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The recent acquisition of X-ray images of canines from adult individuals of Vetricella has allowed us to perform the determination of age at death by the canine radiographic method (Cameriere et al., 2007a,b; 2009). Traditional anthropological methods to estimate age at death of adults can be based on observations of remodelling and skeletal degeneration, such as cranial sutures closure, sternal ends of the ribs, remodeling of the pubic symphysis and of the auricular surface of the ilium, dental wear and… Continue reading

The anthropological study of the burials from the site of Vetricella

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The cemetery area of ​​Vetricella has returned 31 burials in a earth pit, with and without headers. Thanks to the observation of the type of decomposition, we can say that, in most cases observed, there was a willingness to fill the pit without throwing the ground directly on the face and body of the inhumed. In fact, the cases of decomposition in empty space can be explained only by the presence of elements in perishable material used as a covering.… Continue reading