Accommodating difference in the prehistoric past: Revisiting the case of Romito 2 from a bioarchaeology of care perspective

• Romito 2 is the earliest known case of dwarfism (11,000 BP) (Frayer et al., 1987).
• Claims Romito 2 required care for survival have been challenged (Dettwyler, 1991).
• Bioarchaeology of care analysis tests whether claims for care have validity.
• Application of the Index of Care, a tool to aid research into care, is demonstrated.
• Conclusion: Romito 2 received care in the form of ‘accommodation of difference’.

The remains of Romito 2 (probable male, 17–20 years) date to around 11,000 BP and represent the earliest known case of chondrodystrophic dwarfism (acromesomelic dysplasia). From a hunter-gatherer community in a mountainous region of southern Italy, Romito 2's skeletal dysplasia limited his participation in typical economic and other cultural activities undertaken by his cohort, and anomalies in appearance distinguished him from his peers from infancy onwards. Frayer et al. (1987) were first to describe Romito 2 in detail, suggesting survival to age-at-death indicates group support. Four years later Dettwyler (1991) challenged this conclusion and, a decade after this, Frayer retracted the original claim for care (Bower, 2002). Using the Index of Care (Tilley and Cameron, 2014), this study revisits Romito 2 from a bioarchaeology of care perspective to ascertain whether a valid basis for inferring caregiving exists. Concluding Frayer et al. (1987) were right the first time – that Romito 2's survival reflects caregiving in the form of ‘accommodation of difference’ – this contribution argues that focus on contemporary context is the key to estimating functional impact of pathology and related need for care. This paper also briefly considers ethical concerns raised by archaeology's treatment of Romito 2's remains.