The Roman DNA Project (2011-present)
As principal investigator, I am undertaking the first DNA analysis of people from the city of Rome with the collaboration of ancient DNA expert John Dudgeon of Idaho State University. Our main goals with this project are: 1) to use mitochondrial DNA analysis to more fully understand the demographics of the population of Imperial Rome; 2) to investigate the genetic diversity of the population of Rome from the earlier Republican period; and 3) to use mitochondrial DNA analysis to learn more about female mobility in the Empire. Funding for this phase of research was raised through RocketHub’s crowdfunding platform, and analysis will get underway by early summer 2012, with publication planned for 2013. Future phases of this project will involve: combining DNA, isotope, and palaeopathological analyses to answer questions about disease ecology in the Italian peninsula, particularly with respect to the frequency of malaria and the presence of genetic anemias (thalassemia, sickle-cell, and G6PD or favism); and undertaking a full genomic analysis of one or more people from Rome. In essence, the results of this project will provide a glimpse into the physical and social ramifications of immigration in the Roman Empire. This is a new approach to understanding the lives of the plebeians and slaves who are rarely mentioned in the historical records of the Roman Empire. Eventual publication is planned for the Journal of Archaeological Science.
Intramural Burial in the Roman Suburbs (2010-present)
I am the bioarchaeologist for the Gabii Project, directed by Nicola Terrenato at the University of Michigan and Jeffrey Beckerat the University of North Carolina. Gabii was an urban area about 20 km east of Rome, occupied continuously for about 1,500 years and densely populated by the Republican period. Fieldwork at the site is ongoing from 2009-2014 and has revealed a number of burials from several different time periods. The skeletons from Gabii are allowing me to answer questions about health, lifestyle, diet, and status using: a) palaeopathological analysis to investigate how urban development and collapse affected the denizens of the city; b) a thorough study of the Gabine diet through a combination of dental pathology, C/N isotope analysis, and analysis of phytoliths in dental calculus; c) a full osteological, isotope, and DNA analysis of the skeletons found in lead sarcophagi, which represent quite anomalous burials in the Roman world; and d) comparative analysis with the populations I studied for my dissertation research. Earlier this year, I produced an osteological report on the skeletons studied to date. Biochemical analyses are expected to get underway in 2012. Publication of these data is intended for Journal of Archaeological Science, and the results will be synthesized with the Gabii excavation report as well.
