Urban vs rural lifestyle in Roman Italy: a bioarchaeological and paleopathological investigation
Level 4 - case-series / case-control
Level 4 by design analogy (cross-sectional comparative bioarchaeological study of skeletal remains)
OpenAlex W4407138346 · doi:10.1016/j.jasrep.2025.105007
What was done
Anthropological and radiographic assessments were conducted on skeletal remains from two Imperial-era necropolises in Italy: a rural site at Contrada Nevola in Corinaldo (1st–3rd century CE, n = 60) and an urban site at Università Cattolica in Milan (1st–5th century CE, n = 50). Investigators evaluated physiological and biomechanical stress markers, including cribriotic lesions, Harris lines, linear enamel hypoplasia, Schmorl’s nodes, entheseal changes, and antemortem trauma.
What was found
No specific numerical values, percentages, or statistical effect sizes were reported in the abstract. Qualitatively, individuals from rural Corinaldo showed evidence of better overall living conditions than those from urban Milan. Qualitative differences were noted in infectious conditions and stress marker distributions. Women died earlier in the urban context and later in the rural context. Additionally, sex-based disparities in resource access and physical work-related tasks were more pronounced in the rural setting than in the urban setting.
Why it matters
This study provides comparative bioarchaeological evidence illustrating how urban versus rural environments and sex-differentiated labor roles influenced health, physiological stress, and mortality patterns in Imperial Roman Italy.
Limits
The abstract reports purely qualitative summaries without providing exact prevalence rates, sample demographics, or confidence intervals. The chronological windows of the two sites differ (1st–3rd century CE vs. 1st–5th century CE), introducing potential historical confounders. The total sample size is modest (n = 110), and skeletal remains represent only individuals who died and were preserved, which introduces inherent osteological paradox and mortuary sample selection biases.
Cited by
- context Ancient cities suffered continuous negative natural population growth due to disease density, losing approximately 1% to 3% of their population annually.