Conference: Nutrition and well-being in the Roman world

This Friday (9 November 2012) there will be a conference at the American Academy in Rome on "Nutrition and well-being in the Roman world: the evidence from human bones". The afternoon session will include presentations on Herculaneum.
Download the programme here.

How “well” were ancient Roman populations? Did Romans suffer from widespread malnutrition and its concomitant cycles of chronic illness? Or did Rome’s pan-Mediterranean “food-network,” improved transportation and agricultural techniques yield healthier, better-fed populations?
Human bones are an important source of information on what Romans ate and how well they were: stature may reflect nutritional patterns in youth; cavitiesand wear patterns in teeth can be markers of sugars and grains in the diet; and isotope analysis can indicate the source and quantities of proteins, like terrestrial meat or fish. New discoveries of mass graves in and around Rome – from the great graveyards unearthed in the suburbs, the graves of epidemic victims found in the catacombs at Ss. Peter and Marcellinus – and the re-evaluation of material from Herculaneum and Ostia have now made it possible to re-assess Roman diet and Roman well-ness with new evidence and new techniques.
This one-day conference considers the problem of Roman nutrition from the perspective of human skeletal evidence, focusing on skeletal collections from Rome and central Italy. Participants are asked not only to discuss their material as it relates to problems of human nutrition, but also to discuss the usefulness and pitfalls of using skeletal evidence for understanding human diet and well-ness.
Contact Information: Kim Bowes, Mellon Professor-in-Charge, American Academy in Rome. kimberly.bowes@aarome.org

_________________________________________________ Qual era lo stato di salute degli antichi Romani? I Romani hanno sofferto di malnutrizione diffusa e concomitanti cicli di malattie croniche? Oppure l'intera rete di distribuzione alimentare, il miglioramento dei trasporti e le tecniche agricole hanno reso la popolazione più sana e meglio nutrita?
Le ossa umane sono un’importante fonte di informazioni per raccogliere elementi sulla nutrizione dei Romani e sul loro stato di salute: l’altezza probabilmente rispecchia la modalità di nutrizione in giovinezza; la carie dentale può essere un indicatore della presenza di zucchero e grano nella dieta; l’analisi degli isotopi può indicare la fonte e la quantità delle proteine, come carne o pesce. Nuovi ritrovamenti di fosse comuni dentro e fuori la città di Roma – dai grandi cimiteri scoperti nei sobborghi, tombe di vittime di epidemie trovate nelle catacombe di SS Pietro e Marcellino- e la riconsiderazione di materiale da Ercolano e Ostia hanno ora reso possibile la rivalutazione della dieta romana e del benessere con una nuova testimonianza e nuove tecniche.
Questa giornata di studio esaminerà il problema della nutrizione sulla base della testimonianza dei resti degli scheletri, concentrandosi su recenti scoperte e analisi di collezioni di scheletri provenienti da Roma e dal centro Italia. I partecipanti saranno invitati non soltanto a parlare del loro materiale in relazione ai problemi di nutrizione ma anche per discutere l'utilità e le modalità più mirate di studio sull'analisi dei resti degli scheletri per studiare la dieta ed il benessere.
Per informazioni: Kim Bowes, Mellon Professor-in-Charge, American Academy in Rome. kimberly.bowes@aarome.org

Lecture: The Story of the Villa 'of Poppaea' at Oplontis (50 B.C.-A.D. 79) and its Archives: Daybooks, Photographs, and Plaster Fragments

At the American Academy in Rome (follow the link to book a place):
 
The Story of the Villa 'of Poppaea' at Oplontis (50 B.C.-A.D. 79) and its Archives: Daybooks, Photographs, and Plaster Fragments 
by Prof. John R. Clarke, RAAR'95 AAR Trustee and Annie Laurie Howard Regents Professor, The University of Texas at Austin

24 May 2011 - 6:00 pm
Villa Aurelia Largo di Porta San Pancrazio, 1

American Academy in Rome: Rome prize

Each year, the coveted Rome Prize is awarded to thirty emerging artists and scholars in the early or middle stages of their careers who represent the highest standard of excellence in the arts and humanities.

Fellows are chosen from the following disciplines:
- Architecture
- Design
- Historic Preservation and Conservation
- Landscape Architecture
- Literature (awarded only by nomination through the American Academy of Arts and Letters)
- Musical Composition
- Visual Arts
- Ancient Studies
- Medieval Studies
- Renaissance and Early Modern Studies
- Modern Italian Studies

Prize recipients are invited to Rome for six months or eleven months to immerse themselves in the Academy community where they will enjoy a once in a lifetime opportunity to expand their own professional, artistic, or scholarly pursuits, drawing on their colleagues' erudition and experience and on the inestimable resources that Italy, Europe, the Mediterranean, and the Academy have to offer.

Rome Prize winners are the core of the Academy's residential community, which also includes Residents and Visiting Artists and Scholars.

Fellows are encouraged to work collegially within and across disciplines in pursuit of their individual artistic and scholarly goals.

Eligibility
—Applicants for all Rome Prize fellowships, except those applying for the National Endowment for the Humanities post-doctoral fellowship, must be United States citizens at the time of the application.

—U.S citizens and those foreign nationals who have lived in the United States for three years immediately proceeding the application deadline may apply for the NEH post-doctoral fellowships.

—Graduate students in the humanities may apply only for pre-doctoral fellowships.

—Previous winners of the Rome Prize are not eligible to re-apply.

—Undergraduate students are not eligible for Rome Prize fellowships.

Individuals may submit joint applications provided the work is genuinely collaborative in nature as demonstrated by the materials submitted. In the case of joint applications, each individual must meet all eligibility requirements. Joint applications must be submitted in one package. Joint applicants selected as winners will share one prize.

Winners of the Rome Prize may hold other fellowships concurrently, as long as the requirements of such fellowships do not conflict with the Academy's rules. Applicants are required to disclose all fellowships and awards they expect to hold during their proposed residency in Rome, including sabbatical pay. The Academy may make adjustments to the stipends based on other awards held by Rome Prize recipients. Winners may not hold full-time jobs while at the Academy.