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Urgent RAI announcements
FORTHCOMING EVENTS
The Wellcome Trust and The Royal Anthropological Institute
A
Wellcome Medal Lecture
will be given by
Professor Luigi Capasso
Professor of Physical Anthropology
Università G. d'Annunzio - Chieti e Pescara
Title
PALEOBIOLOGY OF THE VICTIMS OF THE VOLCANIC ERUPTION OF HERCULANEUM
Monday 8 December 2008
at 6.00 pm
at the Wellcome Collection, 183 Euston Road, London NW1 2BE
This is a FREE event.
However places must be booked in advance as space is very limited.
Contact: [log in to unmask] or call 020 7611 8744.
Please reply by 1 December 2008.
Abstract
In his lecture, Professor Capasso describes the sequence of events
that destroyed Herculaneum during the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 AD,
and the effects on the human population. The 162 skeletons that have
been brought to light provide the author with invaluable material for
the reconstruction of the palaeobiology of the Roman population.
The eruption began on the morning of August 24, and during that day
the worried, albeit not frantic, citizens prepared themselves for the
evacuation that probably allowed most of the 5000 inhabitants to
escape. Tragedy struck those who were still in town at 01.00 the next
day, when a burning cloud of up to 400°C caught them and killed them
instantly. A wave of incandescent material and a second burning cloud
subsequently buried the city under 23m of debris. Although today only
bones are left of these people, the relatively low temperature and
force to which the bones were subjected aided in the preservation of
their structure and their arrangement in relation to one another.
An important preliminary issue for Professor Capasso is whether the
sample under examination represents a cross section of the population
living in Herculaneum at that time. He gives plausible reasons for
this being the case. The data is synchronic and can, therefore, be
recognized as equivalent to a census. The information it provides is
therefore quite different from that resulting from bones found in
graves.
Professor Capasso presents data on the composition of the population
and their habits and occupations. There seem to have been more men
than women in the population, and all the inhabitants were of small
stature. There was a high degree of endogamy and the population was
living on a predominantly vegetarian diet. The birth rate in 79 AD
was probably between 24 and 30 live births per 1000 people, and the
first pregnancy was estimated to occur at the age of 20 years.
The paleopathology includes fractures, congenital lesions (including
a few cases of spina bifida) tumours, and infectious diseases.
Tuberculosis was known to be endemic in those days, not due to the
use of cows’ milk, which Romans did not drink, but due to the
practice of eating poorly cooked entrails during religious
ceremonies. In fact, Romans used ovine milk to produce cheese, and
this produced a very high prevalence of bone lesions due to
brucellosis. Other pathological data, such as the presence of
specific bone alterations in children, suggests that child labour was
used by the Romans.
The microbiological analysis of the carbonized remains of food found
in the houses of Herculaneum provides new information about the
possible relationship between infectious diseases and the
microbiological contamination of Roman foods. In particular,
Professor Capasso demonstrates the presence of Brucellae in the
carbonized cheese from Herculaneum. Additional microbiological
studies show the presence of viruses in the eggs, and bacteria in the
wine, bread yeast and bread sourdough. Finally, the dried
pomegranates and figs contain an intense proliferation of
Streptomiycetes spp, that provide a possible source of natural
antibodies. These were demonstrated on the human bones with a special
microscopic technique using fluorescent light. All this data opens a
new perspective and a possible link between the microbiological
contamination of food and the diseases in the Roman world.
NEWS
GCE A level qualification in Anthropology
The Royal Anthropological Institute and AQA Awarding Body are pleased
to announce that they will work together in 2008 to develop an A
level qualification in anthropology. Preliminary work on an A level
has been carried out by the RAI over several years, with financial
support from the Higher Education Funding Council for England and
Economic and Social Research Council. AQA will now develop the
qualification in detail, in consultation with specialists drawn from
the RAI. AQA will then seek accreditation of the qualification by the
Qualifications and Curriculum Authority. Following (and subject to)
accreditation, the RAI and AQA anticipate working together in the
longer term to support delivery and resourcing of the A level, which
is expected to become the flagship of the RAI’s programme of
education in anthropology at pre-University and FE levels.
www.aqa.org.uk
www.therai.org.uk
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