Pulmonary pathologies: bioarchaeological insights from the adult individuals of the church of San Colombano, Bobbio

Arianna Vanni; Roberta Fusco; Nicol Rossetti; Eleonora Destefanis; Marta Licata

doi:10.18778/1898-6773.89.3.01

Authors

Arianna Vanni Department of Medicine and Surgery, University of Insubria, Varese, Italy https://orcid.org/0009-0001-3162-7696
Roberta Fusco Department of Biotechnology and Life Science, University of Insubria, Varese, Italy https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5443-8364
Nicol Rossetti Department of Medicine and Surgery, University of Insubria, Varese, Italy https://orcid.org/0009-0005-7229-8285
Eleonora Destefanis Department of Humanities, University of Eastern Piedmont, Vercelli, Italy https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8472-4369
Marta Licata Department of Biotechnology and Life Science, University of Insubria, Varese, Italy https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3343-3999

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18778/1898-6773.89.3.01

Keywords:

bioarchaeology, paleopathology, rib lesions, respiratory disease, San Colombano, medieval population

Abstract

INTRODUCTION
The Church of San Colombano in Bobbio, Italy, represents one of the most important centers of early medieval monasticism in Europe and offers a valuable context for bioarchaeological research. Among the most significant discoveries is Tomb 1, a deep, multi-use burial chamber containing commingled remains of numerous individuals. The assemblage provides an opportunity to investigate health conditions and lived experiences within a medieval monastic community.
STUDY AIM
This study aims to investigate external rib lesions in adult individuals interred in Tomb 1, with particular attention to pathological alterations potentially related to respiratory disease, trauma, or nonspecific inflammatory processes, while also reconstructing aspects of the individuals’ biological profiles.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Anthropological analysis was conducted on the osteological remains recovered, comprising a minimum of 11 adults. Standard methods were applied for sex and age-at-death estimation, while rib preservation and fragmentation were assessed following established protocols. Macroscopic paleopathological examination focused on ribs, with detailed photographic documentation used to record surface alterations, new bone formation, and degenerative changes.
RESULTS
Five adult individuals preserved rib fragments suitable for pathological assessment. Observed lesions include periosteal new bone formation, microporosity, striations, widened costal grooves, and degenerative changes at articular facets. Notably, most alterations affect the ventral rib surface, while visceral involvement is limited and focal. Vertebral remains show degenerative changes but no clear evidence of infectious destruction.
CONCLUSIONS
The predominance of external rib surface lesions, combined with the absence of osteolytic changes, suggests that healed trauma, mechanical stress, or chronic nonspecific periosteal reactions are more likely than classic pleuro-pulmonary infections such as tuberculosis. Although definitive diagnoses are precluded by fragmentation and commingling, the Bobbio assemblage highlights the interpretative complexity of rib pathology and underscores the importance of cautious, contextualized approaches in paleopathological research on medieval populations.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

Acsádi, G., & Nemeskéri, J. (1970). History of human life span and mortality. Akademia Kiadò.

Assis, S., & Keenleyside, A. (2019). The macroscopic and histomorphological properties of periosteal rib lesions and its relation with disease duration: evidence from the Luis Lopes Skeletal Collection (Lisbon, Portugal). Journal of Anatomy, 234(4), 480–501. https://doi.org/10.1111/joa.12936

Bass, W. M. (1995). Human osteology. A laboratory and field manual (4th ed). Missouri Archaeological Society Inc.

Baumer, L. E. (2008). Evidence of pulmonary disease in the Poole‑Rose Ossuary population: an analysis of the ribs. Doctoral dissertation, Louisiana State University.

Brickley, M. B. (2006). Rib fractures in the archaeological record: a useful source of sociocultural information? International Journal of Osteoarchaeology, 16, 61–75. https://doi.org/10.1002/oa.809

Brooks, S. T., & Suchey, J. M. (1990). Skeletal age determination based on the os pubis: a comparison of the Acsàdi-Nemeskéri and the Suchey-Brooks method. Human Evolution, 5, 227–38. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02437238

Buckberry, J. L., & Chamberlain, A. T. (2002). Age estimation from the auricular surface of the ilium: a revised method. American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 119, 231–9. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajpa.10130

Buikstra, J., & Ubelaker, D. (1994). Standards for data collection from human skeletal remains. Arkansas Archaeological Survey.

Conversi, E., & Destefanis, E. (2014). La chiesa di San Colombano a Bobbio (PC). Dati di scavo e considerazioni architettoniche per una prima ricostruzione dell’abbaziale in età medievale. Archeologia Medievale. Cultura materiale. Insediamenti. Territorio, 41, 289–312.

Conversi, E., & Destefanis, E. (2017). Bobbio e il territorio piacentino tra VI e VII secolo: questioni aperte e nuove riflessioni alla luce dei dati archeologici. Archeologia Medievale. Cultura materiale. Insediamenti. Territorio, 44, 95–121.

Davies-Barrett, A. M., Antoine, D., & Roberts, C. A. (2019). Inflammatory periosteal reaction on ribs associated with lower respiratory tract disease: A method for recording prevalence from sites with differing preservation. American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 168(3), 530–42. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajpa.23769

Gernay, M. J. C. (2015). Health in urban late medieval North-West Europe: a bioarchaeological study of Caen, Canterbury and Ghent. Doctoral dissertation, Durham University

Hartnett, K. M. (2010). Analysis of Age-at-Death Estimation Using Data from a New, Modern Autopsy Sample–Part I: Pubic Bone. Journal of Forensic Sciences, 55(5), 1145–51. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1556-4029.2010.01399.x

Hartnett, K. M. (2010). Analysis of Age-at-Death Estimation Using Data from a New, Modern Autopsy Sample-Part II: sternal end of the fourth rib. Journal of Forensic Sciences, 55(5), 1152–6. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1556-4029.2010.01415.x

İşcan, M. Y., Loth, S. R., & Wright, R. K. (1985). Age estimation from the rib by phase analysis: white females. Journal of Forensic Science, 30(3), 853–63.

Knüsel, C. J., & Outram, A. K. (2004). Fragmentation: The zonation method applied to fragmented human remains from archaeological forensic contexts. Journal of Human Palaeoecology, 9, 85–98. https://doi.org/10.1179/env.2004.9.1.85

Lambert, P. M. (2002). Rib lesions in a prehistoric Puebloan sample from southwestern Colorado. American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 117(4), 281–92. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajpa.10036

Lovejoy, C. O., Meindl, R. S., Pryzbeck, T. R., & Mensforth, R. P. (1985). Chronological metamorphosis of the auricular surface of the ilium: a new method for the determination of adult skeletal age at death. American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 68, 15–28. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajpa.1330680103

Mann, R. W., & Hunt, D. R. (2005). Photographic regional atlas of bone disease: a guide to pathologic and normal variation in the human skeleton. Charles C Thomas.

Matos, V. (2009). Broken ribs: paleopathological analysis of costal fractures in the human identified skeletal collection from the Museu Bocage, Lisbon, Portugal (late 19th to middle 20th centuries). American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 140(1), 25–38. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajpa.21032

Matos, V., & Santos, A. L. (2006). On the trail of pulmonary tuberculosis based on rib lesions: results from the Human Identified Skeletal Collection from the Museu Bocage (Lisbon, Portugal). American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 130(2), 190–200. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajpa.20309

Mays, S. (1992). Taphonomic factors in a human skeletal assemblage. Circaea, 9, 54–8.

Mays, S., Fysh, E., & Taylor, G. M. (2002). Investigation of the link between visceral surface rib lesions and tuberculosis in a Medieval skeletal series from England using ancient DNA. American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 119(1), 27–36. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajpa.10099

Molto, J. E. (1990). Differential diagnosis of rib lesions: a case study from Middle Woodland southern Ontario circa 230 A.D. American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 83(4), 439–47. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajpa.1330830405

Murail, P., Brůžek, J., Houët, F., & Cunha, E. (2005). DSP: A tool for probabilistic sex diagnosis using worldwide variability in hipbone measurements. Bulletins et mémoires de la société d’anthropologie de Paris, 17(3–4), 167–76. https://doi.org/10.4000/bmsap.1157

Nelson, E. A., Halling, C. L., & Buikstra, J. E. (2019). Evidence of Skeletal Fluorosis at the Ray Site, Illinois, USA: a pathological assessment and discussion of environmental factors. International Journal of Paleopathology, 26, 48–60. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpp.2019.05.003

Nicklisch, N., Maixner, F., Ganslmeier, R., Friederich, S., Dresely, V., Meller, H., Zink, A., & Alt, K. W. (2012). Rib lesions in skeletons from early neolithic sites in Central Germany: on the trail of tuberculosis at the onset of agriculture. American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 149(3), 391–404. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajpa.22137

Phenice, T. W. (1969). A newly developed visual method of sexing the os pubis. American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 30(2), 297–301. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajpa.1330300214

Rana, R. S., Wu, J. S., & Eisenberg, R. L. (2009). Periosteal reaction. American Journal of Roentgenology, 193(4), W259–W272. https://doi.org/10.2214/AJR.09.3300

Roberts, C. A., Boylston, A., Buckley, L., Chamberlain, A. C., & Murphy, E. M. (1998). Rib lesions and tuberculosis: The palaeopathological evidence. Tubercle and Lung Disease, 79, 55–60. https://doi.org/10.1054/tuld.1998.0005

Rogers, T. L. (1999). A visual method of determining the sex of skeletal remains using the distal humerus. Journal of Forensic Sciences, 44(1), 57–60.

Trotter, M., & Gleser, G. C. (1952). Estimation of Stature based on measurements of Stature Taken during Life and Long Bones after Death. American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 10(4), 463–514. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajpa.1330100407