Changes in Skeletal Robusticity in an Iron Age Agropastoral Group: The Samnites From the Alfedena Necropolis (Abruzzo, Central Italy) V.S. Sparacello, 1 * O.M. Pearson, 1 A. Coppa, 2 and D. Marchi 3 1 Department of Anthropology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 2 Dipartimento di Biologia Animale e dell’Uomo, Universita ` ‘‘Sapienza’’ di Roma, Italy 3 Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, Duke University, Durham, NC KEY WORDS cross-sectional geometry; humeral asymmetry; mobility; pastoralism; Neolithic ABSTRACT Cross-sectional geometrical (CSG) prop- erties of an Iron Age Samnite group from the Alfedena necropolis (Abruzzo, Italy, 2600–2400 B.P.) are com- pared with a Ligurian Neolithic sample (6000–5500 B.P.). In the period under examination, Samnites were organized in a tribal confederation led by patrilinear aristocracies, indicating incipient social stratification. In comparison, Neolithic society lacked clear signs of social hierarchy. The subsistence of both groups was mainly based on pastoralism and agriculture, but changes in habitual behavior are expected due to the socio-economic transformations that characterized the Iron Age. The Samnites’ warlike ideology suggests that unimanual weapon-use and training would have become frequent for males. The intensification of agri- culture and the adoption of transhumant pastoralism, performed by a smaller subset of the population, likely led to a lower average level of logistic mobility. The strongly genderized ideology of the period suggests a strict sexual division of labor, with women primarily performing sedentary tasks. CSG properties based on periosteal contours were calculated for humeri, femora, and tibiae (N 5 61). Results corroborated the expecta- tions: Alfedena males show substantial humeral bilat- eral asymmetry, indicating prevalent use of one arm, likely due to weapon training. In both sexes lower limb results indicate reduced mobility with respect to the Neolithic group. Sexual dimorphism is significant in both humeral asymmetry and lower limb indicators of mobility. Although both groups could be broadly defined as agropastoral based on archeological and his- torical evidence, CSG analysis confirmed important dif- ferences in habitual behavior. Am J Phys Anthropol 144:119–130, 2011. V V C 2010 Wiley-Liss, Inc. The purpose of this research is to use biomechanical analysis to help interpret changes in activity patterns that occurred with the deep social and economical trans- formations of the Metal Ages, particularly the Italian Iron Age. This period saw a dramatic demographic expansion, agricultural intensification, a novel pattern of land use, and a level of social stratification unknown in Italy previously. In comparison, Neolithic pastoralists in Italy had a society lacking indicators of social hierarchy (Guidi, 2000; Robb, 2007). By the Iron Age, a more struc- tured, proto-urban society had developed, with indica- tions of incipient state formation (Peroni, 1989). Although both Neolithic and Iron Age subsistence were based on agriculture and pastoralism, changes in social structure and economy are expected to have led to sub- stantial changes in activity patterns. Testing if those hy- pothetical changes in habitual behavior are mirrored in the skeletal biology of Iron Age groups may greatly con- tribute to our understanding of a crucial period of human history. Changes in habitual stresses and activities are inferred here through the comparison of long bone me- chanical parameters obtained from cross-sectional dia- physeal geometry (CSG) in two Italian samples: an Iron Age sample from the Alfedena necropolis (2600–2400 B.P.; Parise Badoni and Ruggeri Giove, 1980) and a Mid- dle Neolithic sample from the Finale Ligure area (6000– 5500 B.P; Maggi, 1997). Relevant bioarchaeological pa- rameters such as the degree of mobility of a population, the dissimilarity between male and female activities, and the preferential use of one arm can be qualitatively predicted from material and cultural evidence drawn from archeology, ethnology, and history. CSG provides a means to evaluate biological evidence for habitual activ- ity, and the quantitative nature of its results provides a more defined framework for comparisons between human groups. The integration of numerical data derived from biomechanical analysis of skeletal remains with ethnographic and archaeological information has proven to be a useful tool in reconstructing the physical and behavioral environment of past and recent popula- tions (e.g., Bridges, 1989; Ruff et al., 1993; Churchill et al., 1996, 2000; Ruff, 1999, 2000a; Holt, 2003). Corti- cal bone is primarily responsive to strain prior to sexual maturity (Pearson and Lieberman, 2004), suggesting that inferences on activity patterns drawn from adult skeletal properties should be limited to these groups on which individuals participate in adult economic behav- iors sufficiently early. However, as discussed by Ruff et al. (2006b), CSG also reflect in part adult activities, and *Correspondence to: Vitale Stefano Sparacello, Department of An- thropology MSC01-1040, 1 University of New Mexico NM87131- 0001, Albuquerque, NM. E-mail: Vito@unm.edu Received 24 December 2009; accepted 11 June 2010 DOI 10.1002/ajpa.21377 Published online 17 August 2010 in Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com). V V C 2010 WILEY-LISS, INC. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 144:119–130 (2011)