Zita Laffranchi

La población infantil de la Motilla del Azuer: Un estudio bioarqueológico

Our main goal in this paper is the analysis of children through funerary record at the archaeological Bronze Age site of La Motilla del Azuer, Daimiel, in La Mancha area. We have chosen a settlement with high-quality archaeological and anthropological data, and a precise methodology of excavation, documentation and contextualization allow us to formulate cultural hypothesis and understand the roles of different members of the social group, not only due to sex and age identities but also to economic and social positions.

Stable C & N isotopes in 2100 Year-B.P. human bone collagen indicate rare dietary dominance of C4 plants in NE-Italy

C4 plants (e.g. maize, millet), part of our current diet, are only endemic of reduced areas in South-Europe due to their need of warm climates. Since the first vestiges of agriculture in Europe remains of C4 plants were recorded but their overall proportion in the human diet remains unknown. Therefore, isotopic (δ13C and δ15N) composition of bone collagen from the skeletal remains (human and animals) of a Celtic population, Cenomani Gauls, from Verona (3rd to 1st century BC) in the NE Italy provide a new perspective on this matter. The δ13C collagen values of 90 human skeletal individuals range between −20.2‰ and −9.7‰ (V-PDB) with a mean value of −15.3‰. As present day C4 plants have δ13C values around −11‰, which is equivalent to −9.5‰ for samples of preindustrial age, the less negative δ13C values in these individuals indicate a diet dominated by C4 plants. This palaeodietary study indicates that some European populations predominantly consumed cultivated C4 plants 2100 year B.P. This is supported by the paleobotanical records and ancient Roman sources (e.g. Pliny the Elder), which indicate that millet was a staple food in South-Europe.

La cronología y variedad de los sistemas funerarios en Marroquíes. Una aproximación desde las excavaciones del Sistema Tranviario de Jaén.

Este trabajo ofrece informacion sobre tres aspectos dentro de la complejidad arqueologica del yacimiento de Marroquies (Jaen, Espana): 1) la composicion de la poblacion inhumada en las estructuras excavadas en la roca y el diferente tratamiento que los individuos sufrieron especialmente en cuanto a su integracion en enterramientos multiples o colectivos y su afeccion o no por estrategias de remocion de los huesos; 2) la composicion de la cabana ganadera y el uso diferencial de esta en cuanto al ritual; 3) la contextualizacion cronologica de las inhumaciones como paso imprescindible para elaborar (y sobre todo sustentar) cualquier hipotesis sobre las poblaciones prehistoricas, y para comprender las alteraciones que muchos cadaveres sufrieron a lo largo del periodo de culto que les afecto. Las dataciones han mostrado que estas estrategias se desarrollaron fundamentalmente a partir de la segunda mitad del III Milenio A.C.

Sexual dimorphism in two mediaeval Muslim populations from Spain

Sexual dimorphism in humans is mainly observed as a difference in the anatomy of genitals and breasts. There are also some differences in the stature and metric or morphological traits of the skeleton. Degree of sexual dimorphism varies among populations and depends on their genetic composition and various cultural and environmental factors. In this study, two Mediaeval Muslim populations from Granada, Spain, were compared, testing whether differences in living environment (urban vs. rural) would result in distinct degrees of sexual dimorphism of long bones. We studied skeletal material from urban (Sahl ben Mālik, Granada, Spain) and rural (La Torrecilla, Arenas del Rey, Granada, Spain) cemeteries. Only adult individuals (66 from Sahl ben Mālik and 72 from La Torrecilla) were selected for the study. Maximum length, minimum circumference of the shaft and maximum widths of the proximal and distal epiphyses were measured in each bone. The index of sexual dimorphism (ISD) was calculated for each variable and each population. The degree of sexual dimorphism was greater in La Torrecilla. These results indicate that Muslim women in large urban centres may have played a more active role in social and working life in comparison to their rural counterparts and may have enjoyed superior living conditions, which contributed to enhancing the body development of women and reducing sexual dimorphism. We conclude that living in an urban or a rural environment may influence the degree of sexual dimorphism.

Foot polydactyly and bipartite medial cuneiform: A case of co-occurrence in a Celtic skeleton from Verona (Italy).

We report a case of bilateral foot polydactyly and bipartite medial cuneiform in a male individual buried in a Celtic/Roman necropolis (3rd to 1st century BCE) in the city of Verona (Italy). During the construction of an underground garage in the main courtyard of the Bishops Seminary at Verona between 2005 and 2010, archaeologists uncovered the remains of 174 individuals (108 non-adults and 66 adults). It is thought that these graves could belong to some of the first inhabitants of the urban area of Verona. The individual presented here (US 2807) is a middle-aged male (40-50 years) in a good state of preservation. His estimated stature is 1756 mm (± 32.1 mm). This male presents congenital anomalies in the feet and dental agenesis. We believe this to be the only known archaeological case of bilateral postaxial polydactyly with forked (Y) shape, in which both fifth metatarsals are associated with complete bipartition of the left medial cuneiform and partial bipartition of the right one. Polydactyly is fairly common in modern clinical cases but bipartite medial cuneiform is relatively rare; neither of these congenital conditions is well documented archaeologically.