ADAPTIVE STRATEGIES FOR ADVERSE ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS: A PALEOPATHOLOGICAL INVESTIGATION OF PHYSIOLOGICAL STRESS MARKERS IN PRE-ROMAN ITALY.

The analysis of physiological stress markers offers direct insights into the health status of ancient communities, shedding light on their adaptive strategies, at different life stages, to the cultural and biological environment. The present research pertains to the paleopathological investigation of 109 individuals, inhumated in the funerary sector of Di Renna, within the eastern necropolis of Pontecagnano (Salerno), one of the best archaeologically-documented pre-Roman sites of Italy; the burials are dated back to the Iron Age and Archaic period (8th - 6th century BC), but most of them to the Classical period (5th-4th century BC). The purpose of this research is to explore general health conditions, through the analysis of several skeletal and dental stress markers, including adult and non-adult stature, dental enamel hypoplasia, cranial porosities, cribra femoris, and periosteal reaction of the lower limbs. High prevalence of these lesions and some cases of short adult stature were detected, suggesting evidence of stress episodes, frailty, and nutritional deficiencies, occurring not only in childhood, but also during growth spurt and adulthood. These results might be interpreted evaluating the socio-economic transformation of the site during the Classical period, characterized by mobility of Samnite groups and cultural admixture with Greeks, Etruscans and other Italic people already settled in the area. The individuals likely experienced a complex relationship with adverse environmental conditions (e.g., food shortage, poor sanitation, elevated risk of disease) and they coped with these constraints with long-term skeletal consequences as adaptive response to stressors, possibly related to the different historical phases of Pontecagnano. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]