Growing up and growing old on an Imperial estate: preliminary palaeopathological analysis of skeletal remains from Vagnari

BEYOND VAGNARINew themes in the Study of Roman South Italy

Proceedings of a conference held in the School of History, Classics and Archaeology,

University of Edinburgh, 26-28 October 2012

edited by Alastair M. Small

Bari 2014

38

o f f p r i n t

beyond vagnari. new themes in the Study of Roman South Italy - ISbn 978-88-7228-726-2 - © 2014 edipuglia s.r.l. - www.edipuglia.it

TRAcy PRowSE, cHRySTAl NAUSE AND MARiSSA lEDGER

GRowiNG UP AND GRowiNG olD oN AN iMPERiAl ESTATE: PREliMiNARy PAlAEoPATHoloGicAl ANAlySiS

oF SKElETAl REMAiNS FRoM VAGNARi

Introduction

This paper investigates the health of people living at Vagnari through the analysis

of three separate lines of evidence from the skeleton; linear enamel hypoplasias,

dental health (i.e., dental caries and antemortem tooth loss), and evidence of trauma.

Evidence for health, diet, and disease in the Roman world comes primarily from

historical sources that are largely focused on the more affluent members of society,

but recent efforts have integrated skeletal and historical evidence largely in urban

contexts.1 comparatively less is known about the lives of rural Roman populations,

so the skeletal sample from the Vagnari cemetery provides an opportunity to

investigate issues of morbidity and mortality on an imperial estate in southern italy.

Preservation of the skeletal material from the Vagnari cemetery is variable; those

individuals who were interred in cappuccina burials had better overall preservation,

while those buried in pits or without grave covers were less well preserved. The age

and sex of the skeletons was estimated using standard osteological indicators.2

Palaeopathological data were collected by each of the co-authors during different

field seasons on sub-samples of the 98 individuals excavated from the cemetery based

on the presence of the necessary skeletal elements for analysis.

Exploring childhood health - Linear enamel hypoplasias

linear enamel hypoplasias (lEHs) are defects on the teeth caused by disruptions

in the formation of the enamel during growth and development. These defects are

1 E.g., R. Gowland - P. Garnsey, Skeletal evidence for health, nutritional status and malaria in Romeand the empire, in H. Eckardt (ed.), Roman Diasporas: Archaeological Approaches to Mobility andDiversity in the Roman Empire, JRA Supplement, 78 (2010), 131-156.

2 Age and sex were estimated using morphological features on the skeleton, following the standards inJ.E. Buikstra - D.H. Ubelaker, Standards for Data Collection from Human Skeletal Remains, Arkansas 1994.


referred to as non-specific indicators of stress, because a number of conditions can

contribute to their formation, including malnutrition, nutritional deficiencies,

metabolic disorders, and diseases during infancy and childhood. The specific cause

of the defect is often unknown, but lEHs can provide an indication of the overall

health and quality of life during the time of tooth formation, that is, during infancy

and childhood.3 The presence of linear enamel hypoplasias indicates that the

individual survived the stress event, because in order for the defect to be visible on

the tooth the individual was alive for a period of time after the stress occurred.

one of the co-authors (cN) collected lEH data on a sub-sample of 48 skeletons.4

Thirty-one individuals (64.6%) had at least one tooth with a lEH and only the

permanent teeth displayed defects, so only those burials with observable permanent

teeth are reported here (n=40).5 of the 525 permanent teeth observed, 280 (53.3%)

had at least one defect.

in order to control for variation in lEH frequencies in relation to the date of the

burials, the percentage of teeth affected by lEH (% lEH) and the average number of

defects per tooth (AVG) were examined in relation to burial chronology (Table 1).6

Table 1. Prevalence of lEH in Permanent Teeth by Date of Burial.

Most of the tombs in this sample date to the 2nd century AD (n=24), with a smaller

number of tombs from the 3rd and 4th centuries AD. Nine burials could not be

3 A.H. Goodman - G.J. Armelagos - J.c. Rose, Enamel hypoplasias as indicators of stress in threeprehistoric populations from Illinois. HBiol, 52 (1980), 515-528.

4 The sample consisted of 15 females, 10 males, and 23 individuals of unknown sex (18 subadults,aged <15 years; the remaining 5 were adults of unknown sex). in total, 656 teeth were examined (131deciduous and 525 permanent).

5 The identification and recording of lEHs followed the criteria outlined in R.S. corruccini - G.c.Townsend - w. Schwerdt, Correspondence between enamel hypoplasias and odontometric bilateralasymmetry in Australian twins, AJPA, 126 (2005), 177-182. For a comprehensive discussion of the datacollection methods and statistical analysis of the data, see c. Nause, Prevalence and timing of enamelhypoplasias in the Vagnari skeletal sample, unpublished MA thesis, Southern illinois Universitycarbondale, 2010: http://opensiuc.lib.siu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1358&context=theses.

6 Dates for the burials were determined through analysis of the grave goods by Philip Kenrick andAlastair Small.

TRAcy PRowSE, cHRySTAl NAUSE AND MARiSSA lEDGER112

Date of Burial

n Number of teeth

observed

Number of teeth with

LEH

Percent affected (%LEH)

Total number of LEHs

Average number of defects per

tooth (AVG) 2nd c. AD

24 442 193 44 438 1.0

3rd c. AD

5 101 43 43 82 0.8

4th c. AD

2 29 13 45 48 1.7


assigned dates. There is less than 2% variation in %lEH between the 2nd to 4th

century burials (Table 1). The AVG is similar between the 2nd and 3rd century burials,

but higher (1.7) in the 4th century burials. This, however, is likely due to the small

number of burials from that time period (n=2). The data from the different time

periods were then combined to investigate variation in the sample with respect to

age, sex, and tomb type.

when the results were examined by sex, females had a slightly higher %lEH

(55%) than males (52%), but the difference in %lEH between the sexes was not

statistically significant (Table 2).7 The AVG was the same for both sexes. These

results suggest that males and females were equally exposed to stress events during

infancy and childhood, as there are no differences in the expression of lEH between

the sexes.

Table 2. Prevalence of lEH in Permanent Teeth by Sex.

when the data were examined by age category, all age groups displayed 51% or

more teeth affected by lEHs (Table 3).8 individuals in the 31-45 age category had the

highest %lEH (59%), but a comparatively low average number of defects per tooth

(1.1). in contrast, the highest AVG was among individuals in the 0-14 age category.

The differences between the age categories was statistically significant for both

%lEH and AVG.9 This age-related variation in the prevalence of lEHs indicates that

the youngest individuals in the cemetery were chronically or repeatedly stressed, as

indicated by the higher average number of defects, and by the fact that they died at a

younger age. children under the age of 14 years at death had fewer teeth affected by

lEHs (51%) compared to individuals in the older age categories, but those children

who were affected had more stress events recorded on their teeth (AVG = 1.8). The

data for individuals in the 31-45 age category indicate that, as young children, they

experienced and survived fewer stress episodes and lived to an older age. The

combination of older age at death and lower average number of defects per tooth

PREliMiNARy PAlAEoPATHoloGicAl ANAlySiS oF SKElETAl REMAiNS FRoM VAGNARi 113

7 independent samples t-test (p = .924); chi-square test (p = .449).8 Age categories in this study were set at 15-year intervals that roughly correspond to the social age

categories in the Roman period, discussed by Brent and Prowse (this volume).9 Kruskal-wallis test (significance: p <0.05). w.H. Kruskal - w.A. wallis, Use of ranks in one-

criterion variance analysis, JamStatAssoc, 47 (1952), 583-621.

Sex Category

Number of teeth

observed

Number of teeth

with LEH


Total number of

LEHs

Average number of defects per tooth (AVG)

Male 166 87 52 183 1.1 Female 247 135 55 273 1.1 Unknown 112 58 52 163 1.5 Total 525 280 53 619 1.2


suggest that those individuals who experienced fewer stress events during childhood

(i.e., that were of sufficient duration and severity to be recorded on the developing

tooth) survived longer.

Table 3. Prevalence of lEH in Permanent Teeth by Age category.

An analysis of the prevalence of lEHs by tomb type (cappuccina, funnel,

disturbed, soil)10 revealed that %lEH and the AVG were higher among individuals

buried in cappuccina burials (Table 4). The relatively higher values in the cappuccina

burial category may be related to the differences in sample sizes between the different

categories, so these results should be interpreted with caution, as the differences

between tomb types is not statistically significant.11

Table 4. Prevalence of lEH in Permanent Teeth by Tomb Type.

Dental health

Analysis of dental health can provide information on the consistency and quality

of the diet consumed by the people at Vagnari. Data on dental caries and

antemortem tooth loss (AMTl) were collected by one of the co-authors (TP) on

10 See Brent and Prowse (this volume), for a description of the specific tomb types and theircharacteristics.

11 Kruskal-wallis test (significance: p< 0.05).


Age Category Number of teeth

observed


LEH

Percent of teeth

affected (%LEH)

Total number of LEHs

Average number of defects per

tooth (AVG) 0 – 14 59 30 51 106 1.8 15 – 30 177 94 53 234 1.3 31 – 45 78 46 59 82 1.1 46+ 114 61 54 107 0.9 Adult (unknown age)

97 49 51 90 0.9

Total 525 280 53 619 1.2

Tomb Type Number of teeth

observed


LEH


Total number of

LEHs

Average number of defects per tooth (AVG)

Cappuccina (N=29)

367 207 56 493 1.3

Funnel (N=3)

69 33 48 61 0.9

Disturbed (N=3)

86 40 47 65 0.8

Soil (N=6)

3 0 0 0 0

Total 525 280 53 619 1.2


44 individuals.12 There were low levels of dental pathology observed on the

deciduous dentition; only one individual had two cavities and there was no

evidence of AMTl, so only the permanent dentition will be discussed further. The

calculated Total Percent caries for the permanent teeth was 8.4%.13 This is not the

best method to quantify the level of caries in a sample because it does not account

for individual variability, antemortem loss of teeth, or biased postmortem

preservation of teeth. Total Percent caries is the most common way that the

frequency of caries is reported in other studies of Roman skeletal material, so it is

provided here for potential future comparisons. caries Rate and Disease Missing

index (DMi) provide a quantification of dental caries in the sample, and permit the

analysis of variation based on chronology, age-at-death, sex, and tomb type.14

caries Rate can underestimate the actual prevalence of caries, because it does not

consider AMTl that may have been caused by cavities, although the DMi may

overestimate this prevalence as it assumes that all AMTl is due to carious

lesions.15

Table 5 presents caries Rate and DMi according to the date of the burials. There

was a higher average caries Rate among individuals in 3rd and 4th century AD burials,

possibly indicating a decline in oral health over time; however, this hypothesis is ten-

tative at this point due to the small number of burials from these later time periods.

Similarly, when caries Rate was analyzed according to burial type (Fig. 1), there was

a lower average caries Rate

among individuals buried in

cappuccina burials (6.6);

however the small number

of funnel and soil burials in-

cluded in this preliminary

analysis likely over-esti-

mates the average caries

Rate for these burial types,

so further analysis is war-

ranted with a larger sample.

12 The sample consisted of 13 subadults (0–14 years) and 31 adults (15 years and older). A total of668 permanent teeth and 152 deciduous teeth were examined (n = 943 observable tooth sockets).

13 Total Percent caries = total number of carious teeth/total number of observable teeth × 100.14 caries Rate by individual = # of carious teeth × 100

# of teeth presentDiseased Missing index (DMi) = (# of carious teeth + # of teeth lost antemortem)

(# of observable teeth + # of teeth lost antemortem)15 S. Hillson, Dental pathology, in M.A. Katzenberg - S.R. Saunders (eds), Biological Anthropology

of the Human Skeleton, New york 2000, 249-286.16 This difference is statistically significant (Mann-whitney U test, significance: p < .05). H.B. Mann

- D.R. whitney, On a test of whether one of two random variables is stochastically larger than the other,AnnMathStats, 18 (1947), 50-60.


Date of burial Caries Rate Disease Missing

Index (DMI

2nd c. AD (n=17) 7.3 13.1

3rd c. AD (n=5) 11.3 11.3

4th c. AD (n=2) 10.0 28.8

Undatable (n=7) 6.4 17.1

Table 5. caries and Diseased Missing index in the PermanentDentition According to Date of Burial.


when the prevalence

of caries was examined by

age and sex, some inter-

esting patterns emerged.

when males and females

were compared (all ages

combined), males had a

caries Rate of 13.2 and fe-

males had a rate of 2.6.16

To ensure that the varia-

tion between the sexes

was not due to differences

in the average age-at-

death, the results were

also examined within each

age category (Table 6).

Figure 2 presents caries

Rate by age and sex, and

shows that males had a

dramatically higher average

caries Rate in the young

(16-30) and older adult

(46+) age categories. Fe-

males had a slightly high-

er average caries Rate in

the 31-45 age category, but

again the small number of

individuals (n=3) in this

age category suggests that

this pattern may be due to

sample size rather than to

actual differences between


Fig. 1. - caries Rate by Burial Type.

Age Category

Caries Rate DMI Antemortem Tooth Loss (%)

F M F M F M

16 – 30 2.2 18.2 6.1 24.7 3.0 11.4

31 – 45 5.3 4.8 5.3 4.8 0 0

46+ 4.7 17.0 13.6 31.5 11.5 12.0

Table 6. caries Rate, DMi, and Antemortem Tooth loss in the Permanent Dentitionby Age and Sex categories.

Fig. 2. - caries Rate by Age and Sex.


the sexes. The pattern was the same for dMi, with higher average dMi values among

males in the younger and older age categories. Males also had a higher rate of ante-

mortem tooth loss (11.4%) than females (5.9%), and higher rates of AMTl in all age

categories, particularly in the 16–30 year age category (Table 6).17

it has been suggested that females will have a higher rate of caries due to life

history variables such as earlier eruption of teeth, hormonal changes associated with

reproduction, and sex-based variability in dietary patterns (e.g., frequency of

consumption of food).18 These variables affect the biochemical composition and flow

rate of saliva, both of which have an impact on the formation of cavities; thus, all

other things being equal, females should have more cavities. These preliminary data

from the Vagnari skeletal sample do not support this hypothesis, and indicate that

males were consuming a more cariogenic diet leading to higher rates of caries and

AMTl. dental caries is caused by the consumption of foods high in sugar and

carbohydrates, and higher rates of AMTl are associated with increased dental

disease.19 This suggests that there were gender-based differences in the diets of the

adult males and females at Vagnari.

A study on a Roman period (1st - 3rd centuries Ad) skeletal sample from isola

Sacra also revealed differences in dental health between the sexes, which were

attributed to the unequal status of males and females in Roman society.20 The analysis

of grave goods in the burials at Vagnari (Brent and Prowse, this volume) revealed

that males had, on average, more grave goods in their burials (6.1) than females (5.4),

and that relatively uncommon metal items, such as bronze vessels, were more often

found in male burials. These gender-based differences in funerary treatment may

reflect disparities in status during life, and the dental health evidence also suggests

variability in the diets of males and females, which may be tied to differential access

to resources based on social status within the family and within the community at

Vagnari.

comparison of the Vagnari sample with other samples from Roman italy indicates

that the people at Vagnari were similar in their overall levels of oral health to urban

Roman populations (Table 7).21 The skeletal samples from isola Sacra, lucus

Feroniae, and Pompeii are all associated with urban or peri-urban locations, so the

rural location of Vagnari did not necessarily mean that the diet was any less cariogenic

17 with the exception of the 31-45 year age category, in which the percentages are 0 for both sexes.18 J.R. lukacs - l.M. Thompson, Dental caries prevalence by sex in prehistory: magnitude and

meaning, in J.d. irish - G.c. Nelson (eds), Technique and Application in Dental Anthropology,cambridge 2008, 136-177.

19 Further analysis of diet using stable isotopes may help to discern differences in diet based on sex.20 T.l. Prowse, Diet and dental health through the life course in Roman Italy, in S.c. Agarwal - B.

Glencross (eds), The Handbook of Social Bioarchaeology, oxford 2011, 410-437.21 Total Percent caries can only provide a general indication of the overall prevalence of caries, but

caries Rate and dMi were not reported for the samples from lucus Feroniae and Pompeii.



than those found in urban centers.22 The sample from Vagnari is second only to the

sample from Pompeii in Total Percent caries.

Table 7. Total Percent caries in comparative Skeletal Samples from italy.

Adult activity at Vagnari – trauma analysis

Skeletal evidence for fractures, muscle tears, irregular bone formation, Schmorl’s

nodes, and vertebral fusion was collected by one of the co-authors (Ml) on a sub-

sample of 36 individuals (15 years of age and older).23 The sample consisted of 18

males, 15 females, and 3 adult individuals of unknown sex.24 The majority of burials

(n=22, 61%) used in this part of the study dated to the 2nd century Ad. one burial

(F216) was dated to the 3rd century Ad, and the remaining 13 burials could not be

assigned a date, so chronological variation in trauma patterns cannot be studied until

the sample is enlarged.

Twenty-five individuals (69%) presented evidence of one or more traumatic injury

22 However, see Gowland and Redfern for a critique of identifying cemeteries as either urban or rural,because there may not be a direct association between the location of a cemetery and the community thatused it, although this is likely not the case for Vagnari: R. Gowland - R. Redfern, Childhood health inthe Roman world: perspectives from the centre and margin of the Empire, childhood in the Past, 3(2010), 15-42.

23 For this preliminary analysis of trauma only adults were examined, so individuals in the youngerage categories (0-14 years) were intentionally not included. All skeletal elements were examined forevidence of pathological conditions, and data were recorded using osteoware, following the standardsused in Buikstra - ubelaker, Standards, 1994.

24 Some individuals in the skeletal sample could not be included in this study due to poor skeletalpreservation or to heavy accretions on the bones that limited observation of palaeopathological changes.

TRAcy PRowSE, cHRySTAl NAuSE ANd MARiSSA lEdGER118

Sample Sample

Size Time Period Obs. Teeth Carious Teeth

Total % Caries

(n) (n) (n) Vallerano1 77 2nd – 3rd c. AD 1408 35 2.5 Herculaneum2 87 79 AD 1798 58 3.2 Isola Sacra3 365 1st – 3rd c. AD 5548 297 5.4 Lucus Feroniae4 25 1st – 3rd c. AD 942 57 6.1 Vagnari 31 2nd – 4th c. AD 574 48 8.4 Pompeii5 * 79 AD 758 93 12.3

1

1 A. cucina et alii, The necropolis of Vallerano (Rome, 2nd – 3rd century AD): an anthropological perspective on theancient Romans in the suburbium, intJosteoarch, 16 (2006), 104-117.2 Herculaneum: M. Torino - G. Fornaciari, Gli scheletri di Ercolano: richerche paleopatologiche, in M. Pagano (ed.),Gli antichi ercolanesi: antropologia, società, economia, Naples 2000, 60-63.3 Prowse, Diet and dental health, 430.4 G. Manzi et alii, Discontinuity of life conditions at the transition from the Roman Imperial Age to the early MiddleAges: example from central Italy evaluated by pathological dento-alveolar lesions, AmJHBiol, 11.3 (1999), 327-341.5 Pompeii: E. lazer, Resurrecting Pompeii, New york 2009, 171.


on the skeleton. The most

common injuries observed

were fractures (32%), followed

by Schmorl’s nodes and other

irregular bone formations (Fig.

3).25 Fractures were found

most often on bones in the tho-

rax region (ribs and vertebrae)

(40%), while the lower limbs

(27%), upper limbs (20%),

and cranium (13%) had com-

paratively fewer fractures. This

pattern of injury on the skele-

ton is significant, because in-

juries due to assault or inter-

personal violence are typical-

ly found on the cranium and

particularly in the facial re-

gion.26 The relatively low lev-

el of cranial trauma in the

Vagnari sample suggests that most of the injuries at Vagnari were not due to interpersonal

violence, and were more likely related to daily activities.

when the distribution of all traumatic injuries was examined by age, there was no

variation in prevalence with increased age-at-death, so advanced age did not

necessarily result in a greater number of traumatic injuries linked to age-related

physiological deterioration. Schmorl’s nodes were present on vertebrae of individuals

except those in the oldest age category (i.e., 46 years of age and older). Schmorl’s

nodes were observed more frequently in older adults (i.e., 31-45 years), as expected;

however, they were also present on individuals in the youngest age category (15-30

years). it is unlikely that congenital defects were responsible for the presence of these

nodes in younger adults, so the presence of these defects in this age category indicates

that the people at Vagnari were likely engaged in strenuous activities from a young

age, which is not surprising for a working population on an imperial estate.

Eleven of the 36 individuals (31%) had one or more fractures, and all fractures

showed evidence of healing so they did not occur at, or around, the time of death. of

25 Schmorl’s nodes are depressions on the bodies of vertebrae caused by prolapsed intervertebraldiscs that put pressure on the vertebral body. They can result from congenital defects, traumatic events,or processes associated with aging, although in younger individuals they are associated with excessivestrain on the vertebral column; see K.J. Faccia - R.c. williams, Schmorl’s nodes: clinical significanceand implication for the bioarchaeological record, intJosteoarch, 18 (2008), 28-44.

26 M. Judd, Trauma in the city of Kerma: ancient versus modern injury patterns, intJosteoarch, 14(2004), 34-51.


Fig. 3. - Breakdown of Traumatic injury (by category) in theVagnari Skeletal Sample.


those individuals with fractures, a higher percentage was male (58%), but more

importantly the location of injuries on the skeleton varied between the sexes. Males had

more fractures in the lower limbs, whereas females had more in the thorax region and

upper limbs. This variability in fracture pattern within the skeleton suggests a gendered

division of labour at Vagnari. Archaeological evidence from the site indicates that tile

production, iron working, animal husbandry, and agriculture were regular economic

activities, so its inhabitants were likely involved in a wide range of work.27

An analysis of trauma among adults in two urban Roman period skeletal samples

(1st - 3rd century Ad) from urbino, italy, revealed that the overall prevalence of trauma

was 20% in the combined samples.28 The pattern of traumatic injuries was the same

for both sexes, exhibiting injuries on the upper portion of the skeleton consistent with

interpersonal violence (e.g., stab wounds and blunt force trauma to the cranium). The

different prevalence and pattern of traumatic injuries observed in the Vagnari sample

suggests that males and females had different risks of fracture associated with gender-

based activities. Further, research on trauma patterns in a rural farming population in

medieval Britain (10th - 12th century Ad) found a similar pattern of trauma between

the sexes (i.e., a higher percentage of fractures among males, and differences in

fracture locations between the sexes), which was attributed to heavier work among

males associated with fieldwork, plowing, herding, and other farm-related activities.29

The pattern of more fractures among the upper limbs of females was associated with

falls and activities linked to animal husbandry.30 Although this sample differs in

geographic location and time period, it may be comparable to Vagnari in the rural

agricultural lifestyle and associated risks of injury. The evidence from both of these

rural sites indicates that males and females were consistently engaged in different

subsistence and economic activities.

Discussion and conclusions

Historical evidence from the Roman period suggests that males and females were

treated differently starting at birth.31 Garnsey discusses differential access to food in

the Roman household based on the disparate status of males and females, with

females typically receiving a smaller proportion of the available resources.32 The head

27 Vagnari, passim.28 R.R. Paine et alii, A health assessment for Imperial Roman burials, recovered from the necropolis

of San Donato and Bivio CH, Urbino, Italy, JAnthropSci, 87 (2009), 193-210. Prevalence of trauma:males - 21%; females - 20%.

29 M.A. Judd - c. A. Roberts, Fracture trauma in a medieval farming village, AJPA, 109 (1999),229-243.

30 Judd - Roberts, Fracture trauma, 240.31 M. Harlow - R. laurence, Growing Up and Growing Old in Ancient Rome, New york 2002.32 P. Garnsey, Food and Society in Classical Antiquity, cambridge 1999.



of the Roman family was the pater familias, usually the father or oldest male member,

and all other members of the household were under his legal authority. According to

a law attributed to Romulus, fathers were required to take care of all their male

offspring, but only the first female born into the family.33 young male children were

also given preference in social assistance programs; for example, both private and

state-run alimenta schemes provided funds designed to support children with more

support usually reserved for male children in the community.34 Ancient medical

writers such as oribasius and Galen wrote about the need to control the diet and

lifestyles of females, particularly in their reproductive years, reflecting the disparate

status of males and females in Roman society.35 if this were the case at Vagnari, we

would expect to see a higher prevalence of lEHs among females, which is not the

pattern observed. Females had a slightly higher %lEH, but this difference was not

significant and both sexes had the same average number of defects per tooth. This

evidence suggests that males and females at Vagnari experienced similar levels of

stress during infancy and childhood. Preliminary dNA and stable isotope analysis of

the skeletal material from Vagnari indicated that this population was composed

primarily (~75%) of local inhabitants (i.e., southern italian), so we can be certain that

most of the individuals in the sample grew up at, or near, Vagnari.36

This pattern of equal levels of health between the sexes appears to change after the

transition to adulthood. An individual’s status in society is influenced by changing

social roles associated with the transition between different life stages, often

associated with age.37 Status within the household and society has an impact on access

to resources and on overall levels of health. The dental data revealed higher rates of

dental disease among the adult males at Vagnari, indicating differences in the diet of

males and females in adulthood. The consumption of foods that are high in

carbohydrates or that are sticky and sweet provides an ideal environment in the mouth

for the formation of cavities, so the males at Vagnari were consuming more foods

that had these properties. we do not know if these foods were considered ‘higher

status’ foods, but in general males had higher status in Roman society so they likely

had access to a wider variety of foods.38 There is evidence from historical sources

concerning views on what was considered an appropriate diet for females, particularly


33 S.B. Pomeroy, Goddesses, Whores, Wives, and Slaves: Women in Classical Antiquity, New york1995.

34 B. Rawson, Marriage, Divorce, and Children in Ancient Rome, oxford 1991; l. casson, EverdayLife in Ancient Rome, Baltimore 1998.

35 Garnsey, Food and Society, 100-105.36 T.l. Prowse - J.l. Barta - T.E. von Hunnius - A.M. Small, Stable isotope and mitochondrial DNA

evidence for geographic origins on a Roman estate at Vagnari (Italy), in Eckardt (ed.), Roman Diasporas(supra, n. 1), 175-198.

37 Harlow - laurence, Growing Up, 54-78; Gowland - Redfern, Childhood health, 18.38 See Prowse, Diet and dental health, 420, for a discussion of Roman attitudes towards the diets of

males and females.


once they had reached the reproductive years, so the difference between males and

females at Vagnari may be a reflection of a more restricted, simple diet for women.

ongoing stable isotope analysis of the Vagnari skeletal sample may help to discern if

males and females were consuming different foods, or greater quantities of certain

types of foods. The pattern of adult trauma in the Vagnari sample also indicates that

males and females were performing different activities on the site. This gendered

pattern of diet and activity-related trauma is further reflected in the treatment of males

and females in death. The analysis of burial practices and grave goods in the Vagnari

cemetery by Brent and Prowse (this volume) revealed patterns in burial treatment

that were linked to the gender and age of the deceased, with adult males having, on

average, more grave goods in their burials. it seems that the transition from childhood

to adulthood, and the changing social and economic roles of adult males and females,

led to changing patterns of health throughout the life course.

Acknowledgements

we are grateful to numerous organizations and individuals for their support of the

Vagnari cemetery project: the landlord of Vagnari, dott. Mario de Gemmis Pellicciari,

the Fondazione Ettore Pomarici Santomasi of Gravina, the British School at Rome,

and the Soprintendenza per i Beni Archeologici della Puglia, in particular the

Superintendent, dott. luigi la Rocca, dott.ssa Giuseppina canosa, and dott.ssa

Francesca Radina. Funding for this project was provided by the Social Sciences and

Humanities Research council of canada (SSHRc). we would also like to

acknowledge the insightful comments of the anonymous reviewer.


Ulrike Roth, Beyond Vagnari: a small achieve-ment

Alastair M. Small, Introduction

Douwe Yntema, Romanization and south-eastItaly

Edward Herring, “The ties that bind”: ethnic-ity and social cohesion in Hellenistic CentralPuglia

Bice Peruzzi, The (d)evolution of grave good as-semblages in Peucetia in the 3rd century BCE

Saskia T. Roselaar, Economic developments andthe integration of southern Italy in the RomanRepublic

Alastair M. Small, From Silvium to Vagnari:sheep, wool and weaving on the saltus

Carola M. Small, Vagnari and the Basentello Sur-vey. A brief summary

Alastair M. Small, Tile stamps of privati from theBasentello valley field survey

Maureen Carroll, Vagnari 2012: New work in thevicus by the University of Sheffield

Alan Dalton, The excavation of the cistern atVagnari: an update

Liana Brent and Tracy Prowse, Grave goods,burial practices and patterns of distribution inthe Vagnari cemetery

Tracy Prowse, Chrystal Nause and MarissaLedger, Growing up and growing old on an im-perial estate: preliminary palaeopathologicalanalysis of skeletal remains from Vagnari

Myles McCallum and Hans vanderLeest, Re-search at San Felice: the villa on the imperialestate

Philip Kenrick, Domestic pottery at Vagnari: re-gional character and Adriatic connections

Alessandra De Stefano, The presence and cir-culation of lamps at Vagnari and in the valleyof the Basentello 143

Giacomo Disantarosa, Contextualizing the con-

text: amphorae from the site of Vagnari and fromthe Basentello valley

Myles McCallum and Adam Hyatt, A view ofVagnari from across the Basentello: initial re-sults from the BVARP survey, 2012

Maria Luisa Marchi, The landscape of Daunia:Ager Venusinus

Helena Fracchia, Rural agglomerations in theUpper Bradano Valley

Maurizio Gualtieri, The villa at Masseria Cic-cotti in the 3rd century AD

Helga Di Giuseppe, Imperial estates in inlandLucania

Edward Bispham and Susan Kane, The MiddleSangro Valley under the Empire: a productivelandscape?

Darian Marie Totten, Building regional con-nections in Late Antique southern Italy

Marcella Chelotti, The development of imperi-al properties in the Second Augustan Region fromthe 1st to the 3rd century AD

Marcella Chelotti and Alastair M. Small, AP-PENDIX. An updated location map of inscrip-tions relating to imperial slaves and freedmenin Regiones II and III

Nicholas Purcell, ‘No two characters seemmore inconsistent than those of trader andsovereign’ (Adam Smith, The Wealth of Nations,V, 2, I). The problem of Roman imperial estates

Pasquale Rosafio, Vagnari, an outline of the im-perial estate

Domenico Vera, Imperial estates in Late Romansouthern Italy: land concentration and rent dis-tribution

Pasquale Favia, The Alta Murgia and the Basen-tello valley between Late Antiquity and the Ear-ly Middle Ages: transformation of the country-side and changes in settlement in inland Cen-tral Apulia

Bibliography

TABLE OF CONTENTS

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Documents

Growing up and growing old on an Imperial estate: preliminary palaeopathological analysis of skeletal remains from Vagnari