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Nicolosi T, Mariotti V, Talamo S, Miari M, Minarini L, Nenzioni G, Lenzi F, Pietrobelli A, Sorrentino R, Benazzi S, Belcastro MG. On the traces of lost identities: chronological, anthropological and taphonomic analyses of the Late Neolithic/Early Eneolithic fragmented and commingled human remains from the Farneto rock shelter (Bologna, northern Italy). ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND ANTHROPOLOGICAL SCIENCES 2023; 15:36. [PMID: 36874257 PMCID: PMC9974402 DOI: 10.1007/s12520-023-01727-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/20/2022] [Accepted: 01/31/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
UNLABELLED The present study examines the prehistoric human skeletal remains retrieved starting from the 1920s in the deposit of the Farneto rock shelter, situated in the area of the 'Parco dei Gessi Bolognesi e Calanchi dell'Abbadessa' (San Lazzaro di Savena, Bologna, northern Italy). An exact dating and a reliable interpretation of the assemblage had not been reached so far because of the lack of contextual data useful for dating purposes, the inaccurate recovery procedures of the remains and their state of preservation. In fact, the skeletal remains from the Farneto rock shelter are highly fragmented and commingled, whereas reliable information about their original position and their recovery procedures are not available. Despite these difficulties, radiocarbon analyses allowed the precise dating of the remains to a final phase of the Neolithic and an early phase of the Eneolithic period in Emilia Romagna (northern Italy). The study of the assemblage enabled to clarify the use of the context for funerary purposes. Moreover, the anthropological and taphonomic analyses of the skeletal remains shed light on the biological profile of the individuals and on some events that occurred after their death. In particular, the analysis of perimortem lesions highlighted the existence of intentional interventions related to corpse treatment, referable to dismembering/disarticulation and scarnification, i.e. cleaning of bones from soft tissues. Finally, the comparison with other Italian and European Neo/Eneolithic funerary contexts enabled a better understanding of these complex ritual practices. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12520-023-01727-2.
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Affiliation(s)
- Teresa Nicolosi
- Department of Biological, Geological and Environmental Sciences, Alma Mater Studiorum University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
- Department of Cultural Heritage, Alma Mater Studiorum University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - Valentina Mariotti
- Department of Biological, Geological and Environmental Sciences, Alma Mater Studiorum University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - Sahra Talamo
- Department of Chemistry ‘Giacomo Ciamician’, Alma Mater Studiorum University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
- Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Monica Miari
- Soprintendenza Archeologia, Belle Arti e Paesaggio per la città metropolitana di Bologna e le province di Modena, Reggio Emilia e Ferrara, Bologna, Italy
| | | | - Gabriele Nenzioni
- Museo della Preistoria ‘Luigi Donini’, San Lazzaro di Savena, Bologna, Italy
| | - Fiamma Lenzi
- Museo della Preistoria ‘Luigi Donini’, San Lazzaro di Savena, Bologna, Italy
| | - Annalisa Pietrobelli
- Department of Biological, Geological and Environmental Sciences, Alma Mater Studiorum University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - Rita Sorrentino
- Department of Biological, Geological and Environmental Sciences, Alma Mater Studiorum University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
- Department of Cultural Heritage, Alma Mater Studiorum University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - Stefano Benazzi
- Department of Cultural Heritage, Alma Mater Studiorum University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - Maria Giovanna Belcastro
- Department of Biological, Geological and Environmental Sciences, Alma Mater Studiorum University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
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Oxilia G, Fiorillo F, Boschin F, Boaretto E, Apicella SA, Matteucci C, Panetta D, Pistocchi R, Guerrini F, Margherita C, Andretta M, Sorrentino R, Boschian G, Arrighi S, Dori I, Mancuso G, Crezzini J, Riga A, Serrangeli MC, Vazzana A, Salvadori PA, Vandini M, Tozzi C, Moroni A, Feeney RNM, Willman JC, Moggi-Cecchi J, Benazzi S. The dawn of dentistry in the late upper Paleolithic: An early case of pathological intervention at Riparo Fredian. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2017; 163:446-461. [PMID: 28345756 DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.23216] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/23/2016] [Revised: 03/10/2017] [Accepted: 03/10/2017] [Indexed: 11/12/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Early evidence for the treatment of dental pathology is found primarily among food-producing societies associated with high levels of oral pathology. However, some Late Pleistocene hunter-gatherers show extensive oral pathology, suggesting that experimentation with therapeutic dental interventions may have greater antiquity. Here, we report the second earliest probable evidence for dentistry in a Late Upper Paleolithic hunter-gatherer recovered from Riparo Fredian (Tuscany, Italy). MATERIALS AND METHODS The Fredian 5 human consists of an associated maxillary anterior dentition with antemortem exposure of both upper first incisor (I1 ) pulp chambers. The pulp chambers present probable antemortem modifications that warrant in-depth analyses and direct dating. Scanning electron microscopy, microCT and residue analyses were used to investigate the purported modifications of external and internal surfaces of each I1 . RESULTS The direct date places Fredian 5 between 13,000 and 12,740 calendar years ago. Both pulp chambers were circumferentially enlarged prior to the death of this individual. Occlusal dentine flaking on the margin of the cavities and striations on their internal aspects suggest anthropic manipulation. Residue analyses revealed a conglomerate of bitumen, vegetal fibers, and probable hairs adherent to the internal walls of the cavities. DISCUSSION The results are consistent with tool-assisted manipulation to remove necrotic or infected pulp in vivo and the subsequent use of a composite, organic filling. Fredian 5 confirms the practice of dentistry-specifically, a pathology-induced intervention-among Late Pleistocene hunter-gatherers. As such, it appears that fundamental perceptions of biomedical knowledge and practice were in place long before the socioeconomic changes associated with the transition to food production in the Neolithic.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gregorio Oxilia
- Department of Biology, University of Florence, Via del Proconsolo, 12, Firenze, 50122, Italy.,Department of Cultural Heritage, Laboratory of Anthropology, University of Bologna, Via degli Ariani 1, Ravenna, 48121, Italy
| | - Flavia Fiorillo
- Department of Cultural Heritage, Conservation Science Laboratory for Cultural Heritage, University of Bologna, Via degli Ariani 1, Ravenna, 48121, Italy
| | - Francesco Boschin
- Study Centre for the Quaternary Period (CeSQ), Via Nuova dell'Ammazzatoio 7, Sansepolcro, Arezzo, I-52037, Italy.,Department of Physical Sciences, Earth and Environment, University of Siena, Research Unit in Prehistory and Anthropology, Via Laterina 8, Siena, 53100, Italy
| | - Elisabetta Boaretto
- Max Planck-Weizmann Center for Integrative Archaeology and Anthropology, D-REAMS Radiocarbon Laboratory, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, 7610001, Israel
| | - Salvatore A Apicella
- Department of Cultural Heritage, Conservation Science Laboratory for Cultural Heritage, University of Bologna, Via degli Ariani 1, Ravenna, 48121, Italy
| | - Chiara Matteucci
- Department of Cultural Heritage, Conservation Science Laboratory for Cultural Heritage, University of Bologna, Via degli Ariani 1, Ravenna, 48121, Italy
| | - Daniele Panetta
- Institute of Clinical Physiology, IFC-CNR, Via G. Moruzzi 1, Pisa, 56124, Italy
| | - Rossella Pistocchi
- Department of Biological, Geological and Environmental Sciences, University of Bologna, Via Sant'Alberto 163, Ravenna, 48123, Italy
| | - Franca Guerrini
- Department of Biological, Geological and Environmental Sciences, University of Bologna, Via Sant'Alberto 163, Ravenna, 48123, Italy
| | - Cristiana Margherita
- Department of Cultural Heritage, Laboratory of Anthropology, University of Bologna, Via degli Ariani 1, Ravenna, 48121, Italy
| | - Massimo Andretta
- School of Science, University of Bologna, Via dell'Agricoltura 5, Ravenna, 48123, Italy
| | - Rita Sorrentino
- Department of Cultural Heritage, Laboratory of Anthropology, University of Bologna, Via degli Ariani 1, Ravenna, 48121, Italy.,Department of Biological, Geological and Environmental Sciences - BiGeA University of Bologna, Via Selmi 3, Bologna, 40126, Italy
| | - Giovanni Boschian
- Department of Biology, University of Pisa, via Derna 1, Pisa, 56125, Italy
| | - Simona Arrighi
- Study Centre for the Quaternary Period (CeSQ), Via Nuova dell'Ammazzatoio 7, Sansepolcro, Arezzo, I-52037, Italy.,Department of Physical Sciences, Earth and Environment, University of Siena, Research Unit in Prehistory and Anthropology, Via Laterina 8, Siena, 53100, Italy
| | - Irene Dori
- Department of Biology, University of Florence, Via del Proconsolo, 12, Firenze, 50122, Italy
| | - Giuseppe Mancuso
- Department of Cultural Heritage, Laboratory of Anthropology, University of Bologna, Via degli Ariani 1, Ravenna, 48121, Italy
| | - Jacopo Crezzini
- Study Centre for the Quaternary Period (CeSQ), Via Nuova dell'Ammazzatoio 7, Sansepolcro, Arezzo, I-52037, Italy.,Department of Physical Sciences, Earth and Environment, University of Siena, Research Unit in Prehistory and Anthropology, Via Laterina 8, Siena, 53100, Italy
| | - Alessandro Riga
- Department of Biology, University of Florence, Via del Proconsolo, 12, Firenze, 50122, Italy
| | - Maria C Serrangeli
- Department of Cultural Heritage, Laboratory of Anthropology, University of Bologna, Via degli Ariani 1, Ravenna, 48121, Italy
| | - Antonino Vazzana
- Department of Cultural Heritage, Laboratory of Anthropology, University of Bologna, Via degli Ariani 1, Ravenna, 48121, Italy
| | - Piero A Salvadori
- Institute of Clinical Physiology, IFC-CNR, Via G. Moruzzi 1, Pisa, 56124, Italy
| | - Mariangela Vandini
- Department of Cultural Heritage, Conservation Science Laboratory for Cultural Heritage, University of Bologna, Via degli Ariani 1, Ravenna, 48121, Italy
| | - Carlo Tozzi
- Department of Civilisations and Forms of Knowledge, University of Pisa, Via Pasquale Paoli, 15, Pisa, 56126, Italy
| | - Adriana Moroni
- Study Centre for the Quaternary Period (CeSQ), Via Nuova dell'Ammazzatoio 7, Sansepolcro, Arezzo, I-52037, Italy.,Department of Physical Sciences, Earth and Environment, University of Siena, Research Unit in Prehistory and Anthropology, Via Laterina 8, Siena, 53100, Italy
| | - Robin N M Feeney
- UCD School of Medicine, Health Science Centre, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4, Ireland
| | - John C Willman
- Department of Anthropology, Campus Box 1114, Washington University, Saint Louis, Missouri, 63130
| | - Jacopo Moggi-Cecchi
- Department of Biology, University of Florence, Via del Proconsolo, 12, Firenze, 50122, Italy
| | - Stefano Benazzi
- Department of Cultural Heritage, Laboratory of Anthropology, University of Bologna, Via degli Ariani 1, Ravenna, 48121, Italy.,Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, Leipzig, 04103, Germany
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