Insights into early life of a child in Late Bronze Age Cyprus (1630-1150 BC) through Virtual Histology based on microfocus 3D X-ray imaging

In Bioarcheology, early life, survival rates, and funerary rituals of newborns and infants are considered as proxies of social and biocultural dynamics of past societies. This study aims to reconstruct the pathobiography of a newborn individual from Hala Sultan Tekke (Cyprus), one of the largest and multicultural settlements in the eastern Mediterranean area during the Late Bronze Age, through Virtual Dental Histology. The crown of an upper central deciduous incisor has been scanned using propagation-based phase-contrast laboratory-based X-ray computed tomography (XµCT) to investigate pre- and post-natal stresses, the birth conditions, and the age at death, as well as identify potential factors that may have contributed to the early death of the infant. The analysis of the XµCT images showed a clear presence of the Neonatal Line (NL), i.e. the birth marker left on the dental enamel, confirming that the individual survived about 23 days, as estimated from the amount of enamel tissue deposited after the NL. Furthermore, the presence of two Accentuated Lines (AL), at 10 and 17 days after birth, may indicate a physiological response to systemic stress in the newborn prior to death. This study confirms the effectiveness of XµCT in accurately estimating the age-at-death, survival time and stress exposure, outlining potential applications of lab-based techniques as a complement to morphological assessment of archaeological odontoskeletal remains.