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Necropolis study in Heraclea Sintica: Afro-European woman


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The Greco-Roman city of Heraclea Sintica in Bulgaria has been the site of archaeological research (see post below).
 

Analysis of a necropolis of 156 graves at the site of yielded some interesting findings. Most of the individuals studied died before the age of 40, with a rare individual over 60.

One woman researched had died in the second half of the fourth century AD and was aged 35-40. Analysis points to someone of mixed European and African descent.
 

 

 

 

https://www.bta.bg/en/news/culture/1070372-anthropological-analysis-reveals-mixed-race-inhabitants-of-heraclea-sintica

 

 

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Gotta get that "African" (with Woke implication of "African" must = "black") in there to ensure future funding.....There's still the bunch that insist Hannibal and Shakespeare's Othello were "black."....

African merely means pertaining to Africa...and that's a big place with the  wastelands of the Sahel & Sahara imposing a gigantic barrier to migration and therefore to interbreeding among sub- Saharan populations with Mediterranean populations. Ancient Egyptians, Numidians (Nomads) Carthaginians  (migrants originally from Phoenicia) and Mauritanians (pronounced in Latin as moor-ee-tah'-nee-ah) have DNA analysis showing minimal sub- Saharan input....Napolean's hair was recently analysed and found to have a large component of African/Middle Eastern origin.

With the Mare Nostrum being a heavily trafficked area and Roman legions continually marching about, and soldiers and sailors being soldiers and sailors, it's no big surprise that the genetic pool of the lands of the Roman Empire should be highly mixed..... Is the discovery that a man from S.Carolina married a woman from Oregon news-worthy?

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Thanks for reading my post. 

I agree the current obsession with race can distort and even trivialize research findings. Even so, an individual of African descent being found in distant Bulgaria is historically meaningful, because it highlights the interconnectedness of the Empire.

More importantly for me, I was surprised that so few elderly individuals were discovered among the remains studied.

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Yes, that info confirms scientifically what we should have deduced about migration & breeding patterns and slave trade within the empire....

Given the hygiene and role of poor nutrition & infectious disease in the days prior to the late 19th century, living longer than 60 years was unusual the world over...Life expectancy in the US in 1966 when Medicare went into effect was only 67 years (!!!).

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20 hours ago, guidoLaMoto said:

Life expectancy in the US in 1966 when Medicare went into effect was only 67 years (!!!).

I wonder what expectancy for non smoking teetotalers, etc. Anecdotally, I encounter a lot of reports of famous wealthy ancients living that long. And I checked my 100 closest Norwegian ancestors and barring accidents they typically lasted about 87 years. The earliest recorded one lived 1287 to 1377. AI podcasters promise infinite lifespans for those under age 51 due to personalized drugs.

 

edit: it may have been just my male ancestors that lived long, w/o childbirth dangers

Edited by caesar novus
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