Biohistory of the Roman Republic:
A Pilot Study
Kristina Killgrove, PhD ([email protected])
Department of Anthropology, University of West Florida, Pensacola, Florida 32514
Isotopes: Results and Interpretation
Background
Of the 28 skeletons, only five from Phase 1 and one from Phase 2 possessed a first molar that could be biochemically tested. All were measured for Sr, but only four were measured for O and C. Two of six individuals are outside of the expected Sr isotope range of Rome,[4] and two of
the four individuals are outside of the expected O isotope range of Rome.
[5]
Further, one of the four individuals tested for C was outside of the expected range for a wheat-based Roman diet.[6]
Interpretation of the data is problematic not only because of the small
sample size but also because of the complete absence of comparative osteological and biochemical studies from Rome in the Republican era. This
lack of data means, for example, that it is as yet unclear if the higher oxygen isotope values are related to migration or to dietary practices. However, with dramatically different strontium and carbon isotope values, individual ET82, a male in his 30s when he died, makes the strongest case
for evidence of immigration to Rome. Geological strontium values tend
to be lower in the south of Italy,[4] and research has suggested greater
consumption of millet in the south as well;[7] it is possible that ET82 migrated to Rome from a more southern location.
0.7105
Local Range
0.7100
0.7095
0.7090
87Sr/86Sr
The Republican era (509-27
BC) of Rome, sandwiched between the overthrow of the monarchy and
the ascendency of the emperors, boasted a constitution characterized
by checks and balances and a separation of governmental power. Yet it
also boasted a growing military, and by the mid-Republican era (4th-1st
centuries), Rome was expanding beyond the Italian peninsula into
Greece and Africa. This expansion meant the movement of people, both
to the newly conquered areas and to Rome and other cities in need of
slaves and supplies. Migration during the Republican period, however,
has only been investigated by demographers using scant historical records,[1] as bioarchaeology in ancient Rome has focused primarily on the
Imperial period, when inhumation succeeded cremation as the dominant burial rite. Human skeletal remains that do exist from the Republican period can therefore provide new and relevant information on migration and lifestyle
in this important yet
underexamined historical era.
0.7085
0.7080
0.7075
0.7070
0.7065
ET82
ET85
ET93
ET98
ET79
ET70
Phase 1
Phase 2
Fig. 1 (top) - Strontium isotope results.
Conclusions & Future Prospects
Fig. 2 (bottom) - Strontium and oxygen isotopes
0.7105
Materials:
Castellaccio
Europarco
Local Range
0.7100
0.7095
The suburban cemetery of Castellaccio Europarco lay roughly 12km
south of the city walls of Rome along the ancient via Laurentina. Excavation revealed three phases of burial – mid-Republican (4th-3rd centuries
BC), late Republican (2nd-1st centuries BC), and early Imperial (1st-2nd centuries AD).[2] The Republican graves were mostly simple pit burials with very
few artifacts, suggesting these individuals were from the lower classes of
society.[3] Seventeen skeletons were dated based on stratigraphy to
Phase 1 (8 subadults under the age of 15 and 9 adults over the age of 30),
and eleven skeletons were dated to Phase 2 (4 subadults under 15 and 7
adults over 30).
87Sr/86Sr
0.7090
0.7085
0.7080
0.7075
ET82
0.7070
0.7065
24.0
24.5
25.0
25.5
26.0
26.5
d 18O (‰ VSMOW)
27.0
27.5
28.0
The data from this pilot study are few but represent important information about the lives of the lower classes in Republican Rome. In particular, the data suggest greater physical mobility in the Roman Republic
than previously assumed. The type of long-distance migration that is seen
as characteristic of the Roman Empire[8] likely has its roots in the midRepublican period, if not earlier.
Further analysis of other individuals from this early time period, from
periurban, suburban, and rural contexts, would constitute significant progress towards our understanding of the lower classes of Republican
Rome. As a significant number of slaves were being transported to Italy
and around the Mediterranean at this point in history, further research into nonlocals at Rome could
help advance the archaeological study of slavery in antiquity.
Acknowledgments
References
Permission to study the skeletons from Castellaccio Europarco was granted by the Soprintendenza Speciale per i
Beni Archeologici di Roma. Strontium isotope analysis was done by the author with the help of Dr. Drew Coleman
(UNC-CH); oxygen and carbon isotope analyses were performed by Dr. Janet Montgomery (Durham U). This study was
supported by the NSF (BCS-0622452) and Wenner-Gren. The poster was designed by Nelma Bell (UWF).
1. Broadhead, W. 2002. Internal migration and the transformation of Republican Italy.
PhD diss, UCL. 2. Buccellato, A. et al. 2008. Les Dossier d’Archéologie 330:14-19. 3. Toynbee, J. 1971. Death and burial in the Roman world. 4. Killgrove, K. 2010. Migration and
mobility in Imperial Rome. PhD diss, UNC-CH. 5. Prowse, T. et al. 2007. AJPA 132:510-519.
6. Killgrove, K. & R. Tykot. In press. JAA. 7. Tafuri, M. et al. 2009. AJPA 139(2):146-153. 8.
Scheidel, W. 2004. JRS 94:1-26; 2005. JRS 95:64-79.