Unravelling biocultural population structure in 4th/3rd century BC Monterenzio Vecchio (Bologna, Italy) through a comparative analysis of strontium isotopes, non-metric dental evidence, and funerary practices

PLOS ONE, Nov 2019

The 4th century BC marks the main entrance of Celtic populations in northern Italy. Their arrival has been suggested based on the presence of Celtic customs in Etruscan mortuary contexts, yet up to now few bioarchaeological data have been examined to support or reject the arrival of these newcomers. Here we use strontium isotopes, non-metric dental traits and funerary patterns to unravel the biocultural structure of the necropolis of Monterenzio Vecchio (Bologna, Italy). Subsamples of our total sample of 38 individuals were analyzed based on different criteria characterizing the following analyses: 1) strontium isotope analysis to investigate migratory patterns and provenance; 2) non-metric dental traits to establish biological relationships between Monterenzio Vecchio, 13 Italian Iron age necropolises and three continental and non-continental Celtic necropolises; 3) grave goods which were statistically explored to detect possible patterns of cultural variability. The strontium isotopes results indicate the presence of local and non-local individuals, with some revealing patterns of mobility. The dental morphology reveals an affinity between Monterenzio Vecchio and Iron Age Italian samples. However, when the Monterenzio Vecchio sample is separated by isotopic results into locals and non-locals, the latter share affinity with the sample of non-continental Celts from Yorkshire (UK). Moreover, systematic analyses demonstrate that ethnic background does not retain measurable impact on the distribution of funerary elements. Our results confirm the migration of Celtic populations in Monterenzio as archaeologically hypothesized on the basis of the grave goods, followed by a high degree of cultural admixture between exogenous and endogenous traits. This contribution shows that combining different methods offers a more comprehensive perspective for the exploration of biocultural processes in past and present populations.

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Unravelling biocultural population structure in 4th/3rd century BC Monterenzio Vecchio (Bologna, Italy) through a comparative analysis of strontium isotopes, non-metric dental evidence, and funerary practices

March Unravelling biocultural population structure in th rd 4 /3 century BC Monterenzio Vecchio (Bologna, Italy) through a comparative analysis of strontium isotopes, non-metric dental evidence, and funerary practices Rita Sorrentino 1 2 Eugenio Bortolini 0 2 Federico Lugli 2 Giuseppe Mancuso 2 Laura Buti 2 Gregorio Oxilia 2 Antonino Vazzana 2 Carla Figus 2 Maria Cristina Serrangeli 2 Cristiana Margherita 2 Annachiara Penzo 2 Giorgio Gruppioni 2 Antonio Gottarelli 2 Klaus Peter Jochum 2 Maria Giovanna Belcastro 1 2 Anna Cipriani 2 Robin N. M. Feeney 2 Stefano Benazzi 2 0 Complexity and Socio-Ecological Dynamics Research Group, Department of Humanities Universitat Pompeu FabraRamon Trias Fargas , Barcelona , Spain , 4 Department of Chemical and Geological Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia , Via Campi 103, Modena , Italy , 5 Department of Biology, University of Firenze , Via del Proconsolo, Florence , Italy , 6 UCD School of Medicine, Health Sciences Centre, University College Dublin Belfield , Dublin, Ireland , 7 Department of History and Cultures, University of Bologna , Piazza San Giovanni in Monte 2, Bologna , Italy , 8 Biogeochemistry Department and Climate Geochemistry Department, Max Planck Institute for Chemistry , Mainz, Germany , 9 Climate Geochemistry Department, Max Planck Institute for Chemistry , Mainz, Germany, 10 Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory , Columbia University , Palisades , New York, United States of America, 11 Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology , Deutscher Platz 6, Leipzig , Germany 1 Department of Biological, Geological and Environmental Sciences±BiGeA, University of Bologna Via Selmi 2 Editor: David Caramelli, University of Florence , ITALY The 4th century BC marks the main entrance of Celtic populations in northern Italy. Their arrival has been suggested based on the presence of Celtic customs in Etruscan mortuary contexts, yet up to now few bioarchaeological data have been examined to support or reject the arrival of these newcomers. Here we use strontium isotopes, non-metric dental traits and funerary patterns to unravel the biocultural structure of the necropolis of Monterenzio Vecchio (Bologna, Italy). Subsamples of our total sample of 38 individuals were analyzed based on different criteria characterizing the following analyses: 1) strontium isotope analysis to investigate migratory patterns and provenance; 2) non-metric dental traits to establish biological relationships between Monterenzio Vecchio, 13 Italian Iron age necropolises and three continental and non-continental Celtic necropolises; 3) grave goods which were statistically explored to detect possible patterns of cultural variability. The strontium isotopes results indicate the presence of local and non-local individuals, with some revealing patterns of mobility. The dental morphology reveals an affinity between Monterenzio Vecchio and - Data Availability Statement: All relevant data are within the paper and its Supporting Information files. Funding: This project was funded by the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union's Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme (http://www.erc-success.eu/) grant agreement No 724046 ± SUCCESS awarded to Iron Age Italian samples. However, when the Monterenzio Vecchio sample is separated by isotopic results into locals and non-locals, the latter share affinity with the sample of noncontinental Celts from Yorkshire (UK). Moreover, systematic analyses demonstrate that Prof. Stefano Benazzi, and Programma Giovani Ricercatori Rita Levi Montalcini (to AC). Competing interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist. ethnic background does not retain measurable impact on the distribution of funerary elements. Our results confirm the migration of Celtic populations in Monterenzio as archaeologically hypothesized on the basis of the grave goods, followed by a high degree of cultural admixture between exogenous and endogenous traits. This contribution shows that combining different methods offers a more comprehensive perspective for the exploration of biocultural processes in past and present populations. Introduction The ethnic and genetic background of northern Italy has been radically impacted by repeated invasions of central European Celtic populations from the 4th century BC to the beginning of the 2nd century BC. Such migratory processes began when members of different Celtic tribes crossed the Alps, while looking for unoccupied and disposable land to settle. According to ancient sources such as Polybius (Pol., II, 17), this migration was a traumatic experience for the local population, mostly involving Etruscans of the Po Valley, that often resulted in either the expulsion of indigenous populations or their subjugation [1±3]. Over the last few decades, great attention has been focused on the complex mechanisms of interaction between Celts and local populations in northern (...truncated)


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Rita Sorrentino, Eugenio Bortolini, Federico Lugli, Giuseppe Mancuso, Laura Buti, Gregorio Oxilia, Antonino Vazzana, Carla Figus, Maria Cristina Serrangeli, Cristiana Margherita, Annachiara Penzo, Giorgio Gruppioni, Antonio Gottarelli, Klaus Peter Jochum, Maria Giovanna Belcastro, Anna Cipriani, Robin N. M. Feeney, Stefano Benazzi. Unravelling biocultural population structure in 4th/3rd century BC Monterenzio Vecchio (Bologna, Italy) through a comparative analysis of strontium isotopes, non-metric dental evidence, and funerary practices, PLOS ONE, 2018, Volume 13, Issue 3, DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0193796