The individual of the early Neolithic of Balsignano (Bari, Italy): a study of some skeletal indicators of stress and palaeonutritional analysis

Recent archaeological digs in the Neolithic site of Balsignano (Bari, Puglia, Italy) revealed a human burial in a sub-rectangular pit lined with large stones. The anthropological investigation of the skeletal remains shows an adult male individual with a larger than average stature and a calculated body mass of approximately 72.8 kg. The skeletal traits of this individual were slightly different from those commonly associated with Neolithic people in Puglia: in fact he has a more robust structure, a taller stature, and shows strong musculo-skeletal markers of the lower limbs. The individual was probably less sedentary than others in the Neolithic. The contemporary presence of osteochondritis dissecans (OD) on the left ulna, lipping on the lumbar section of the axial skeleton, eburnation of the condylar borders of the femora, severe degenerative joint diseases of the first metatarsal and of the proximal phalanx of the hallux of the right foot, can be related to a specific subsistence activities, like that of the grinding of cereals on a millstone in a bent and kneeling position, despite that the subject was a male. The study of trace elements in the bone tissue of the individual revealed nutrition based largely on the consumption of vegetables and cereals.