Multiple injuries and injury recidivism in Milan over 2,000 years

Abstract

Injury recidivism is a clinical term defined as the recurrence of traumatic injuries from temporally distinct events, whereas multiple injuries correspond to skeletal injuries to more than one body region. The analysis of these dynamics can lead to a better understanding of the individual’s way of life and social environment. The present investigation examines the rates of multiple injuries, and in particular their distribution according to sex and age-at-death, as well as their association with stress markers, among 200 skeletons from Milan covering four historical periods (roman, medieval, modern, and contemporary eras), equally divided between sexes. In addition, injury recidivism was investigated in the sample and three cases were identified and detailed as case studies. As a result, multiple injuries were more frequent in the Medieval period (41%), followed by the Contemporary (25%), Roman (19%) and Modern eras (15%). Statistical analyses showed a significant association between multiples injuries and male sex, but not with age-at-death or stress markers. The three cases of recidivism included one female from the modern era and two males from the Medieval period. The analysis of the injuries and their recurrence permitted to improve our understanding of the individuals’ social environment and hypothesize on their causes (accidents/occupational work, and interpersonal violence).