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Roman conquest, lifespan, and diseases in ancient Italy

2003; Elsevier BV; Volume: 362; Issue: 9384 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1016/s0140-6736(03)14175-x

1474-547X

Luigi Capasso, Ruggero D’Anastasio, Lia Pierfelice, Antonietta Di Fabrizio, P.E. Gallenga,

Forensic Anthropology and Bioarchaeology Studies

High rates of immigration through the Mediterranean have begun to produce changes in the biological characteristics of the Italian population, especially with respect to demographics and disease. The population has stopped getting older, the birth rate has increased, and some infections and infestations have reappeared after decades of absence, for example scabies. Such change is typical among populations affected by migration or war, but few data are available about similar situations in the past. Central Italy has played host to a continuous series of migrations and ethnic wars because of its central position in the Mediterranean; the first well documented violent population change took place when the Romans conquered the Italian peninsula. Though the town of Rome was established in 753 BC, the Romans did not begin their military conquest until several centuries later, when the Roman army crossed the Apennines in 343–41 BC (the so-called First Samnitic War) and began to subjugate the populations of the Adriatic side of Italy. Through the paleobiological examination of 1620 human skeletal remains (figure), we have identified differences in the demographic and paleopathological characteristics of the ancient Adriatic populations before and after the Roman conquest. Before the Roman conquest, the local populations had a life expectancy of between 28 and 42 years; between 5% and 15% of children died during the first decade of life; osseous evidence of chronic inflammatory diseases (which are linked to personal and environmental hygiene)1Lallo JW Rose JC Patterns of stress, diseases, and mortality in two prehistoric populations from North America.J Hum Evol. 1979; 8: 323-334Crossref Scopus (14) Google Scholar was rare, occurring in 2–5% of the skeletal remains assessed; and there were large variations in the number of traumatic lesions, the incidence of which ranged from 3·7–18·0% in the various populations examined, a fact that suggests that the people lived in various microenvironmental and sociocultural contexts.2Di Tota G Melillo L Capasso L La mortalità nella prima e nella seconda infanzia in alcune popolazioni abruzzesi antiche: implicazioni paleodemografiche e paleopatologiche.Medicina nei Secoli, Arte e Scienza. 1996; 6: 147-161Google Scholar The most isolated groups, such as the population of Val Fondillo (who lived from the 6th to the 4th century BC in a particularly impervious area), were characterised by low infant mortality (from 7 to 12%) and a very low frequency of infectious diseases.3Capasso L Primo contributo alla conoscenza alla Paleobiologia dei Sanniti Peligni: gli inumati della necropoli di Sulmona-Fonte D'Amore (Abruzzo, IV-II secolo a.C.).Archivio per l'Antropologia e l'Etnologia. 2000; 129: 125-135Google Scholar, 4Capasso L Rise and evolution of human diseases.J Paleopathol. 2000; 12: 5-16Google Scholar After the Roman conquest, the populations had a shorter lifespan, with a life expectancy at birth of about 27 years; in particular, infant mortality was greatly increased, reaching 25% in the population of Sulmona (about 4–2 centuries BC). Furthermore, inflammatory diseases became more common, and the nature of traumatic diseases changed: in Sulmona's necropolis, we found two cases of stress fractures of the clavicle; these fractures are rare and are linked to the habit of carrying heavy objects on the shoulder.3Capasso L Primo contributo alla conoscenza alla Paleobiologia dei Sanniti Peligni: gli inumati della necropoli di Sulmona-Fonte D'Amore (Abruzzo, IV-II secolo a.C.).Archivio per l'Antropologia e l'Etnologia. 2000; 129: 125-135Google Scholar Also, arthrosis increased in frequency, indicating increased exposure of the conquered populations to debilitating activities suggestive of slavery. As the Roman empire spread from Italy across Europe, so did these adverse health effects.