Images: Abandoned Baby Bones in Ancient Tuscany

Poggio Civitate

Poggio Civitate in Tuscany

(Image credit: Anthony Tuck)

The site of the ancient village Poggio Civitate in Italy, where archaeologists have uncovered scattered baby bones.

Poggio Civitate

Poggio Civitate in Tuscany

(Image credit: Anthony Tuck)

The bucolic site was occupied for centuries, but the bones were found scattered on the floor of 7th-century B.C. structures in the village.

Infant Humerus

Baby arm bone

(Image credit: Anthony Tuck)

The humerus, or arm bone, of a baby around newborn age found discarded with rubbish in Poggio Civitate.

Baby Ilium

Baby pelvis

(Image credit: Anthony Tuck)

The ilium, a portion of the pelvis, of a near-newborn-age infant in Poggio Civitate, found among discarded animal bones in a 7th-century workshop at Poggio Civitate.

Poggio Civitate Workshop

Poggio Civitate workshop

(Image credit: Anthony Tuck)

The workshop floor where most of the bones were found, as seen under excavation today.

Stephanie Pappas
Live Science Contributor

Stephanie Pappas is a contributing writer for Live Science, covering topics ranging from geoscience to archaeology to the human brain and behavior. She was previously a senior writer for Live Science but is now a freelancer based in Denver, Colorado, and regularly contributes to Scientific American and The Monitor, the monthly magazine of the American Psychological Association. Stephanie received a bachelor's degree in psychology from the University of South Carolina and a graduate certificate in science communication from the University of California, Santa Cruz.