The book presents a bioarchaeological analysis of the individuals exhumed from the cemetery of Alghero (Sardinia, Italy), which is associated with the plague outbreak that ravaged the city in 1582-1583. This cemetery revealed a particular burial typology, consisting in long and narrow trenches, each containing multiple inhumations, which attests a catastrophic event, such as an epidemic with high mortality in a short period of time. Given the rarity of human remains from epidemic contexts and buried in trenches, the skeletal sample from Alghero represents valuable material that offers a bioarchaeological picture of a post-medieval population which faced a plague episode. In fact, no other Italian plague cemeteries have been examined through a detailed bioarchaeological analysis, representing a model and a comparison for future researches. The author examines a series of parameters, starting from the demographic profile of the sample, constituted by 181 individuals from 15 trenches, and the taphonomic analysis, and then analyzing stature, dental pathologies, stress indicators, degenerative joint disease, entheseal changes and other pathologies. The study is intended to illuminate a cross section of the Sardinian society during the 16th century in a coastal city through a holistic view, which interweaves the documentary evidence for plague, funerary responses and population health status at the time. The main objective is therefore to examine a population which lived during a period of plague, revealing its lifestyle, activity pattern and illnesses and providing a significant contribution to bioarchaeology, paleopathology, and archaeology of the Italian territory.
The cemetery of Alghero (1582-1583). The bioarchaeological study
GIUFFRA VALENTINA
2022-01-01
Abstract
The book presents a bioarchaeological analysis of the individuals exhumed from the cemetery of Alghero (Sardinia, Italy), which is associated with the plague outbreak that ravaged the city in 1582-1583. This cemetery revealed a particular burial typology, consisting in long and narrow trenches, each containing multiple inhumations, which attests a catastrophic event, such as an epidemic with high mortality in a short period of time. Given the rarity of human remains from epidemic contexts and buried in trenches, the skeletal sample from Alghero represents valuable material that offers a bioarchaeological picture of a post-medieval population which faced a plague episode. In fact, no other Italian plague cemeteries have been examined through a detailed bioarchaeological analysis, representing a model and a comparison for future researches. The author examines a series of parameters, starting from the demographic profile of the sample, constituted by 181 individuals from 15 trenches, and the taphonomic analysis, and then analyzing stature, dental pathologies, stress indicators, degenerative joint disease, entheseal changes and other pathologies. The study is intended to illuminate a cross section of the Sardinian society during the 16th century in a coastal city through a holistic view, which interweaves the documentary evidence for plague, funerary responses and population health status at the time. The main objective is therefore to examine a population which lived during a period of plague, revealing its lifestyle, activity pattern and illnesses and providing a significant contribution to bioarchaeology, paleopathology, and archaeology of the Italian territory.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
