Sepolture infantili bassomedievali: il caso della chiesa della Natività della Vergine Maria di Segno (Taio - TN)

The St Mary’s Nativity church is situated in Segno, in Val di Non, in the North Western part of Trento Province (Trentino Alto Adige, Italy). The earliest recorded mention of a religious building in Segno is in 1327. A burial ground was realized near the church from the end of the XVth century AD and it was used at least until the first half of the XVIIth century AD. This cemetery area, used for children burials, was archeologically excavated from 2003 to 2004. This paper presents the anthropological and palaeopathological analysis of the sample. These data, compared to archaeological analyses, historical documents and archival researches allowing to corroborate or improve our knowledge about the health condition and the quality of life of an Italian rural population from the end of the XVth until the first half of the XVIIth century AD.