Abstract
In the Early Middle Ages (500-1000 AD), South Tyrol, in the Italian Alps, played a key military and geographical role as a transit area between southern and northern Europe. The limited early medieval historical sources document a change in the Alpine societies, following the weakening of the Western Roman Empire, the withdrawal of Roman troops from the Alps and the rise of the Romano-Barbarian kingdoms. Archaeological sources attest mutual cultural exchanges among previously settled (Raetho-roman) and allochthonous (βάρβαροι or barbari) peoples through a complex process of cultural hybridization over time. However, both historical and archaeological sources are often inconclusive on the settling of barbaric groups in this territory. While anthropological and paleopathological analyses could help to reconstruct the lifestyle at that time directly from human remains, few such studies have been performed in this area, and no isotopic data have been published to date. Therefore, the present cumulative dissertation promotes a multidisciplinary synergy between the research fields of anthropology, paleopathology and geochemistry (analysis of stable isotopes). The objectives are: 1) to provide insights into the health condition of the inhabitants of early medieval South Tyrol, focusing on metabolic diseases and trauma analyses, 2) to explore their dietary and (3) mobility patterns within and between valleys. To address the first objective, the two studies presented in Article I and Article II deal with paleopathology, giving first information on the health status of the individuals, which had never anthropologically examined before. In particular, the first article (Article I) presents the subadult scurvy (vitamin C deficiency) cases in the early medieval cemetery of Castel Tirolo in Merano basin. Indication of malnutrition provided new insights into possible climatic events, as well as on the poorly understood sociocultural and local historical context, suggesting a different scenario to what had previously been supposed based on the archaeological investigations. Results of the second paleopathological study (Article II) provide details on interpersonal violence in early medieval Sabiona-Säben (Isarco valley), where a young adult male (SK63) exhibited traumatic lesions in both the cranium and postcranium, including perimortem sharp force trauma. To address the second and third objectives of the dissertation, Article III investigates, by means of stable δ15N, δ13C and δ34S isotopes analysis, the dietary and mobility patterns of early medieval human communities and fauna from various valleys, altitudes and sites in South Tyrol. The results show that the differences in subsistence strategies were dependent on the environmental context, mainly altitudes, and they indicated a higher degree of mobility at lower sites (Adige valley) than at higher areas (Venosta valley). Overall, the presented doctoral thesis suggests that the newly obtained paleopathological and isotopic results can be better interpreted in the light of environmental and geomorphological (exploited by the Roman road network) factors rather than economical or cultural aspects, e.g. trading, cultural or technologies exchanges, at that time. However, it cannot be ruled out that some historical events (e.g., militarization of the territory, passage and provisional settlement of troops in certain areas, encounters/disputes between groups) might also have influenced the individuals’ health status (e.g., sporadic episodes of vitamin C deficiency or interpersonal violence). The applied multidisciplinary dialogue was an effective approach towards progressing our understanding of early medieval populations in north- eastern Italian Alps, highlighting productive areas of research for future studies.