Foot polydactyly and bipartite medial cuneiform: A case of co-occurrence in a Celtic skeleton from Verona (Italy)

Gendered division of labor in a Celtic community? A comparison of sex differences in entheseal changes and long bone shape and robusticity in thepre‐Romanpopulation of Verona (Italy, third–first centuryBC)

“…Bioarchaeological and paleopathological studies on the Celtic populations of Italy have mainly focused on the Boii Gauls, a population occupying the modern Emilia Romagna region of Northern Italy (Brasili, 1992, 2008; Brasili & Belcastro, 2003; Brasili, Mariotti, Neretti, & Facchini, 2000; Mariotti, Dutour, Belcastro, Facchini, & Brasili, 2005; Sorrentino et al, 2018). A series of recent studies has, however, expanded the actual knowledge of the lifestyle of the pre‐Roman populations in Italy by investigating a relatively little known group, the Cenomani Gauls, who inhabited the modern Veneto and Lombardy regions during the last centuries BC (Laffranchi, 2015; Laffranchi, Cavalieri Manasse, Salzani, & Milella, 2019; Laffranchi, Delgado Huertas, Jiménez Brobeil, Granados Torres, & Riquelme Cantal, 2016; Laffranchi, Jiménez Brobeil, Delgado Huertas, Granados Torres, & Miranda, 2018; Laffranchi, Martín Flórez, Jiménez Brobeil, & Castellani, 2015). According to Roman sources (e.g., Livius, Ab Urbe Condita , V, 35.1), the Cenomani arrived in Northern Italy (Verona, Brescia and surrounding areas) under the command of Etitovius, and allied with the Romans during the conflicts of the latter against the local populations of the Italian peninsula during the third–second century BC.…”

“…The necropolis of SV was excavated from 2005 to 2010 in Verona (NE Italy), following its discovery during the construction of an underground parking lot. Radiocarbon datings of six human skeletons place its use between the third–first century BC, while typological patterns of grave goods link it to the Cenomani culture during the first phase of Romanization (Laffranchi, 2015; Laffranchi et al, 2015, 2019; Malnati, Salzani, & Cavalieri Manasse, 2004). With a minimum number of individuals of 174, SV stands out not only as one of the largest Cenomani necropolises of Italy with a large number of inhumations (other Cenomani contexts yielded a large number of cremations), but also as one of the biggest and better preserved Celtic necropolises in the entire Italian peninsula.…”

Stable C & N isotopes in 2100 Year-B.P. human bone collagen indicate rare dietary dominance of C4 plants in NE-Italy

“…Therefore, we performed an isotopic study to unveil the dietary habits of the Celtic population Cenomani Gauls, from the necropolis of Seminario Vescovile in Verona (Italy) dated between the 3 rd to 1 st century BC33. This necropolis counts with a minimum of 174 skeletons in a good state of preservation, and the majority of them are non-adults (see Supplementary Information for detailed descriptions of the archaeological context).…”

Patterns of funerary variability, diet, and developmental stress in a Celtic population from NE Italy (3rd-1st c BC)

“…necropolises of Monterenzio and Monte Bibele), and especially on two research areas: the paleopathological analysis of diet and quality of life [12–16], and the isotopic investigation of mobility patterns [17, 18]. Recent studies by Laffranchi and colleagues [19–21] provide an alternative regional and methodological angle, and include paleopathological and isotopic (diet and infant feeding practices) analyses of skeletal series pertaining to the Cenomani population of North-Eastern Italy. Note however that, with the exception of Sorrentino and colleagues [18], the above studies do not compare different lines of evidence (e.g.…”

“…This occupation was followed by the gradual incorporation of these areas in the Roman political sphere, a process completed during the 1 st Century BC with the foundation of Brixia (actual Brescia) and Verona, and in the subsequent acquisition of the status of Municipium by the latter in 49 BC [44]. To date, a biological overview of these populations is provided by anthropometric studies [45, 46] and more recent isotopic and paleopathological analyses [19–21, 47–49]. However, the possible social meaning of these data and their link to patterns of social differentiation (age, gender, and status) remain largely unexplored, making the Cenomani one of the most enigmatic people of the Italian Late Iron Age.…”