Clues About Human Migration to Imperial Rome Uncovered in 2,000-Year-Old Cemetery

Clues About Human Migration to Imperial Rome Uncovered in 2,000-Year-Old Cemetery http://bit.ly/1PuRylI

Isotope analysis of 2000-year-old skeletons buried in Imperial Rome reveal some were migrants from the Alps or North Africa, according to a study published February 10, 2016 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Kristina Killgrove from University of West Florida, USA, and Janet Montgomery from Durham University,

UK. Previous work has focused on the overall human migration patterns within the Roman Empire. To understand human migration on a more granular level, the authors of this study examined 105 skeletons buried at two Roman cemeteries during the 1st through 3rd centuries AD.

They analyzed the oxygen, strontium, and carbon isotope ratios in the skeletons’ teeth to determine their geographical origin and diet. Skull of skeleton T15, a 35- to 50-year-old male who was buried in a cemetery in the modern neighborhood of Casal Bertone, Rome, Italy. Isotope ratios suggest he may have been born near the Alps.

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