Terentius Neo
Terentius Neo

"Indeed, one cannot doubt that the Ethiopians are scorched by heat of the nearby star, and appear burned even at birth, with their crimped hair and beards; while on the other side of the world there are people with glacial white skin and flowing blonde manes;
As to the intermediate areas, there, a healthy mixture of the two extremes provides fertile lands for every crop, moderate body size and considerable balance even in coloring ...".

(Pliny, Naturalis historia, II, 80)

In 79 AD Pompeii was a primarily commercial city. Its inhabitants, coming from various provinces in the Empire, displayed different physical characteristics, some showing the traits typical of people of African origin.
The average life span of adults was 41 years for men, and 39 for women. About half the number of babies born died before reaching 15 years of age. An average woman gave birth to a child every three years.
Evidence of some diseases are found on the bones of the Pompeians. These diseases included arthritis, bone tumors, and chronic infections like tuberculosis and syphilis. The frequency of trauma to the bones was low, however, even though there were some cases of blows to the head and of limb fractures, which were sometimes poorly treated.