Bioarchaeological evidence of mycoses during the Late Antiquity–Early Middle Ages transition in Central Italy

The collapse of the Roman Empire led to significant changes in the health status of populations in Italy. Socio-cultural, climatic, and geopolitical shifts, including the migration of the Longobards, influenced the lifestyle of many post-Roman communities. Their conquest led to agricultural intensification and reduced crop diversity, which likely contributed to deteriorating health. In this study, we examine burials from the archaeological site of Selvicciola (Viterbo, central Italy, late fourth - early eighth centuries CE) and find evidence of mycoses infections in several individuals (C14 dated between 426 and 639 CE). We propose that changes in agriculture, limited diet, and environmental factors may have increased infection rates, including those caused by fungi, which are often underdiagnosed by paleopathologists. This is due to the lack of uniform criteria for identifying mycotic infections in the discipline. In this study, we build on the existing clinical and paleopathological literature on fungal disease to develop a structured differential diagnostic approach, using the Selvicciola assemblage as a case study. Our approach integrates lesion morphology, internal bone response, and 3D imaging, and includes a threshold method applied to mycotic infections.