Temporal and Spatial Biological Kinship Variation at Campovalano and Alfedena in Iron Age Central Italy

Abstract

This chapter utilizes craniometric, dental metric, and Arizona State University Dental Anthropology System (ASUDAS) data to investigate temporospatial differences in biological distance patterns at the monumental necropoles of Campovalano and Alfedena, Iron Age Central Italy. Results of craniometric one-way analyses of variance suggest that Campovalano crania exhibit great biological continuity through time, while geometric mean scaled dental metric multidimensional scaling and ASUDAS neighbor-joining clustering indicate Campovalano samples are more similar to each other than compared to Alfedena Campo Consolino, the ritual core of the broader Alfedena necropolis. Also, Mantel tests reveal that male faces and cranial bases faintly correlate with burial distances at Alfedena Campo Consolino, which is consistent with previous research. However, female tooth row metrics slightly correlate with burial distances at Campovalano, which was unexpected. Finally, logistic regression and analyses of covariance models of a small dental metric subset could suggest that Alfedena Campo Consolino is the most different of the metric samples and that more comprehensive modelling of sex-specific dental morphogenetic field variation should be considered in bioarchaeology. Results are discussed in terms of biological and physical distances, endogamy and marriage rules, heritability, and small and imbalanced samples for investigating the frontiers and borderlands of the past.