Teeth are biological archives capable of preserving unique information about the growth, health and lifestyle of past populations. A team coordinated by Sapienza University, including researchers from the Museo delle Civiltà in Rome, University of Bologna, University of Salerno and the Polish Academy of Sciences, studied the dental remains of individuals buried in a 7th-6th century BC necropolis located in Pontecagnano, in Campania, and preserved at the Museo delle Civiltà in Rome, reconstructing their childhood health and eating habits in adulthood.

Pontecagnano, one of the largest pre-Roman sites in southern Italy, was founded by groups of Villanovan culture from southern Etruria and, subsequently, during the Orientalising period (720-580 BC), experienced significant economic expansion and increased cultural contact with the Greek world, accompanied by growing social stratification.

Through an integrated and innovative approach combining dental histomorphometry and analysis of micro-residues trapped in dental tartar, researchers at the BIOANTH laboratories, directed by Alessia Nava, and DANTE, directed by Emanuela Cristiani, were able to reconstruct the timing of tooth formation and identify events of physiological stress during childhood, particularly during weaning. The analyses identified traces of cereals, legumes, plant fibres and yeast spores in dental tartar, indicating a varied diet and the consumption of fermented foods such as bread, wine and beer

‘Teeth allowed us to open a unique window onto the lives of the inhabitants of Pontecagnano between the seventh and sixth centuries BC,’ says Roberto Germano, lead author of the study and researcher at Sapienza University. ‘We were able to follow the growth and health of individuals in their childhood with almost daily precision and understand how the community faced the environmental and social challenges of the Iron Age.’

The study demonstrates the value of an interdisciplinary approach combining biology, bioarchaeology and anthropology to better understand past communities, helping to paint a broader picture of bio-cultural adaptation strategies in pre-Roman Italy and enriching our knowledge of the origins and transformations of Mediterranean societies.

References: Roberto Germano, Owen Alexander Higgins, Emanuela Cristiani, Alessia Galbusera, Carmen Esposito, Dulce Neves, Carmine Pellegrino, Alessandra Sperduti, Giorgio Manzi, Luca Bondioli, Alessia Nava. (2026) Health and lifestyle in the Iron Age Italian community of Pontecagnano (Campania, Italy, 7th-6th century BCE). PLoS One 20(12): e0338448. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal. pone.0338448

https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0338448

Further Information

Roberto Germano - Department of Environmental Biology

r.germano@uniroma1.it

Alessia Nava - Department of Oral and Maxillo-Facial Sciences

alessia.nava@uniroma1.it