Possible micronutrient deficiency disease in Medieval non-adults from a religious alpine context in northeastern Italy
Main Article Content
Keywords
Bioarchaeology, rickets, scurvy, nonadults, Alps, Middle Ages, paleopathology, Italy
Abstract
Recent paleopathological investigations, aimed at identifying and proposing new morphological criteria to diagnose possible micronutrient deficiencies in the human skeletal sample, have opened new interpretative perspectives in bioarchaeological contexts, enriching them with their biocultural context. Particular importance is given to the analysis of pathologies related to non-adults, as they represent a human sample more susceptible to environmental insults, providing a valuable biological record to explore otherwise inaccessible aspects. The study focused on the non-adult osteological sample found in the church of San Vittore in Tonadico, Trento (Northeast Italy). Morphological osteological analyses were conducted to examine any present pathologies. The sample is characterized by the presence of diseases related to micronutrient deficiencies, which have been analyzed and interpreted from a biocultural perspective. This work fits into a research line that, in recent years, has explored the paleopathological aspects of Alpine populations in northern Italy, with particular attention to the medieval and modern periods, which are still relatively unexplored but of enormous scientific relevance.
References
Brickley, M.B., Ives, R. (2006). Skeletal manifestations of infantile scurvy. American Journal of Physical Anthropology 129, 163-172. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajpa.20265
Brickley, M.B., Ives, R., Mays, S. (2020). The Bioarchaeology of Metabolic Bone Disease. Academic Press, San Diego.
Brickley, M.B., Mays, S., George, M., Prowse, T.L. (2018). Analysis of patterning in the occurrence of skeletal lesions used as indicators of vitamin D deficiency in subadult and adult skeletal remains. International Journal of Paleopathology 23, 43-53. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpp.2018.01.001
Buikstra, J. (2019). Ortner's identification of pathological conditions in human skeletal remains. Elsevier, United Kingdom.
Cavada, E. (2017). Vicende dell’edificio viste da un archeologo. In Brunett, E. (ed), La chiesa di San Vittore a Tonadico, Storia Arte Restauri. Cooperativa di Ricerca Testo, Trento.
Cavada, E., Rapanà, M. (2013). Fiera. Santa Maria Assunta. In Brogiolo G.P. Cavada, E., Ibsen, M., Rapanà, M. (eds), APSAT 11. Chiese Trentine dalle origini al 1250. SAP Società Archeologica, Mantova.
Elamin, F., Liversidge, H.M. (2013). Malnutrition has no effect on the timing of human tooth formation. PLoS One 8(8). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0072274
Fazekas, I.G., Kosa, K.F. (1978). Forensic fetal osteology. Akademiai Kiado, Budapest.
Geber, J., Murphy, E. (2012). Scurvy in the Great Irish Famine: Evidence of vitamin C deficiency from a mid-19th century skeletal population. American Journal of Physical Anthropology 148, 512-524. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajpa.22066
Larentis O., Licata, M., Pangrazzi, C., Tonina E. (2023b). Probable micronutrient deficiency diseases in a rural community. The nonadults of Mary's Nativity church, 16th century, Trentino Alto-Adige, Italy. Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports 47, 103774. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jasrep.2022.103774
Larentis O., Pangrazzi, C., Tonina E. (2023a). Osteological Evidence of Possible Tuberculosis from the Early Medieval Age (6th–11th Century), Northern Italy. Heritage 6(7), 4886-4900. https://doi.org/10.3390/heritage6070260
Larentis, O. (2017). San Martino di Lundo (Trento) Grave 1. Case study of an individual introducing possibilities markers of horse riding. Medicina Historica 1(2), 103-110. https://mattioli1885journals.com/index.php/MedHistor/article/view/6380
Larentis, O., Bruno, A., Iemmi, F., Immordino, L., Leto, A. (2021). Preliminary anthropological and historical investigation of the Saint Cristopher Church in Pian di Marte, Italy (18th-19th century). Medicina Historica 5(1), 1-15. https://mattioli1885journals.com/index.php/MedHistor/article/view/11564
Larentis, O., Tonina, E. (2021). A possible case of tuberculosis from a medieval site in northeast Italy. The infant of the Immacolata and San Zenone church, Tassullo, Trentino. Medicina Historica 5(2), e2021021. https://mattioli1885journals.com/index.php/MedHistor/article/view/12100
Larentis, O., Tonina, E., Iorio, S., Gorini, I., Licata, M., (2020) Osteological evidence of metabolic diseases from a post medieval North Italy archaeological site. Journal of Maternal-Fetal & Neonatal Medicine 33, 2735-2742. https://doi.org/10.1080/14767058.2018.1560405
Larentis, O., Tonina, E., Tesi, C., Rossetti, C., Gorini, I., Ciliberti, R., Licata, M. (2020). A probable case of subligamentous tuberculous spondylitis: The concealed body of the Late Modern Period (early 16th century to early 20th century), Franciscan crypt of St. Anthony and St. Eusebius church, Lombardy, It. International Journal of Osteoarchaeology 30(2), 180-196. https://doi.org/10.1002/oa.2845
Lewis, M.E. (2004). Endocranial lesions in non-adult skeletons: Understanding their aetiology. Int. J. Osteoarchaeol. 14 (2), 82-97. https://doi.org/10.1002/oa.713
Mays, S. (2008). A likely case of scurvy from early Bronze Age Britain. International Journal of Osteoarchaeology 18, 178-187. https://doi.org/10.1002/oa.930
Mays, S., Brickley, M., Ives, R. (2006). Skeletal manifestations of rickets in infants and young children in a historic population from England. American Journal of Physical Anthropology 129, 362-374. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajpa.20292
Ortner, D.J. (2003). Identification of Pathological Conditions in Human Skeletal Remains. Academic Press, New York.
Ortner, D.J., Butler, W., Cafarella, J., Milligan, L. (2001). Evidence of probable scurvy in subadults from archeological sites in North America. American Journal of Physical Anthropology 114(4), 343-351. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajpa.1046
Ortner, D.J., Ericksen, M.F. (1997). Bone changes in the human skull probably resulting from scurvy in infancy and childhood. International Journal of Osteoarchaeology 7, 212-220. https://doi. org/10.1002/(SICI)1099-1212(199705)7:3<212::AID-OA346>3.0.CO;2-5
Ortner, D.J., Kimmerle, E.H., Diez, M. (1999). Probable evidence of scurvy in subadults from archeological sites in Peru. American Journal of Physical Anthropology 108, 321-331. https://doi. org/10.1002/(SICI)1096-8644(199903)108:3<321::AID-AJPA7>3.0.CO;2-7
Ortner, D.J., Mays, S. (1998). Dry-bone manifestations of rickets in infancy and early childhood. International Journal of Osteoarchaeology 8, 45-55. https://doi.org/10.1002/(SICI)1099- 1212(199801/02)8:1 <45::AID-OA405>3.0.CO;2-D
Schaefer, M., Black, S., Scheuer, L. (2009). Juvenile osteology. Academic Press, USA.
Schattmann, A., Bertrand, B., Vatteoni, S., Brickley, M. (2016). Approaches to co- occurrence: Scurvy and rickets in infants and young children of 16-18th century Douai, France. International Journal of Paleopathology 12, 63-75. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpp.2015.12.002
Snoddy, A.M.E., Buckley, H.R., Elliott, G.E., Standen, V.G., Arriaza, B.T., Halcrow, S.E. (2018). Macroscopic features of scurvy in human skeletal remains: A literature synthesis and diagnostic guide. American Journal of Physical Anthropology 167, 876-895. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajpa.23699
Tonina, E., Licata, M. Pangrazzi, C., Maspero, U., Romano, L., Larentis, O. (2018). A case of Concha Bullosa and potentially related evidences. Concha bullosa discovered in the bones of a medieval skeleton from Brentonico, northeast Italy: A case report. Medicina Historica 2(2), 94-98. https://www.mattioli1885journals.com/index.php/MedHistor/article/view/7481
Ubelaker, D.H. (1979). Human skeletal remains: excavation, analysis and interpretation. Smithsonian Institute Press, Washington.
Article Sidebar
Article Details
How to Cite
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0) which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Transfer of Copyright and Permission to Reproduce Parts of Published Papers.
Authors retain the copyright for their published work. No formal permission will be required to reproduce parts (tables or illustrations) of published papers, provided the source is quoted appropriately and reproduction has no commercial intent. Reproductions with commercial intent will require written permission and payment of royalties.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.