Excavation of the historic period cemetery in Cepin, Croatia revealed the presence of a large number of perimortem injuries distributed among males, females, and subadults. Archaeological and historical data suggest these individuals were victims of a raid carried out by Turkish akinji light cavalry in 1441. Comparisons with the frequencies of perimortem trauma in 12 other, temporally congruent skeletal series from the Balkans (n = 2,123 skeletons) support this assumption. The role of the akinji in the Ottoman army was twofold: to supply war captives, and to terrorize and disperse local populations before the advance of regular troops. This article tests the hypothesis that the purpose of the 1441 raid was the latter. To accomplish this, perimortem trauma in the series were analyzed by sex, age, location, and depth of the injury. A total of 82 perimortem injuries were recorded in 12 males, 7 females, and 3 subadults. The demographic profile of the victims suggests that young adults were specifically targeted in the attack. Significant sex differences are noted in the number, distribution, and pattern of perimortem trauma. Females exhibit significantly more perimortem injuries per individual, and per bone affected, than males. The morphology and pattern of perimortem trauma in females is suggestive of gratuitous violence. Cumulatively, analysis of the osteological data suggest that the objective of the 1441 akinji raid was to spread terror and panic in the Cepin area, either as revenge for recent military setbacks, or as part of a long-term strategy intended to depopulate the area around Osijek.
Childhood stress, using both subadult and adult remains from early mediaeval (8-11 c. CE) sites on the eastern Adriatic coast is analysed in this report. A total of 242 individuals (83 subadults, 69 adult females, and 90 adult males) were assessed for the presence of linear enamel hypoplasia, cribra orbitalia, sub-periosteal new bone formation, and scurvy. In addition, the dietary profile of nine subadults was assessed by the analysis of carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes from bulk collagen. Over three quarters of individuals with preserved permanent dentition (44/56 or 78.6%) exhibited evidence of linear enamel hypoplasia, while analysis of the onset of this condition shows that all defects formed between 1.2 and 5.6 years of age. Cribra orbitalia was identified in 60 out of 190 individuals with preserved frontal bones (31.6%). Sub-periosteal new bone formation was recorded in 42.6% of analysed subadults (29/68) with fourteen cases still active at the time of death. Additionally, scurvy was identified in three subadults. The isotopic study of carbon and nitrogen suggests that diet of the analysed subadults was based on terrestrial C3 resources, with a varying input from C4 and a low intake of marine resources. The presented study strongly indicates that a large majority of the analysed individuals suffered from poor health during their childhood as indicated by the high frequencies of linear enamel hypoplasia, cribra orbitalia and sub-periosteal new bone formation.
Bioarchaeological investigations of indicators of subadult stress, oral health, physical stress and trauma were conducted on the skeletal material from the kuća Andrić and Hrvojeva ulica sites, late antique cemeteries situated in the Diocletian's Palace in Split. These indicators include several pathological conditions: cribra orbitalia, dental enamel hypoplasia, non-specific periostitis, caries, alveolar abscess, antemortem tooth loss, vertebral and joint osteoarthritis, Schmorl's nodes and traumas. The sample includes 33 skeletons from 17 graves -12 adults and 21 subadults. Results indicate a higher ratio of subadults in the sample, relatively low frequencies of indicators of subadult stress, caries, and trauma and a higher frequency of alveolar bone disease and Schmorl's nodes, especially in males. In comparison to other late antique samples from the eastern Adriatic coast, the sample from the kuća Andrić and Hrvojeva ulica shows similar or even better living conditions in some aspects.
The early mediaeval period in Croatia is rarely mentioned in historical sources. The development of society during this period was greatly influenced by formation of communities, within which there were many inequalities. The social group one belonged to and its ordinance were the main factors in the material and spiritual life of mediaeval man. Within Croatia, during the Early Middle Ages the process of social disintegration and the formation of social groups/strata varied from area to area. However, it can be deduced that this process was the quickest and most complete in the most socially-developed area – the Eastern Adriatic coast. The basic hypothesis of this paper is that people who belonged to different social groups also had different living conditions, which was reflected in their health, quality of life and lifespan. An individual's social status was assessed using the archaeological context, i.e. form of burial. The assumption was made that differences in status were reflected in the manner of the burial. The criteria used to determine social status were grave architecture and quantity and quality of grave finds and goods. In order to assess the health of the individuals anthropological methods were used. These methods included the assessment of age and sex, as well as the analyses of pathologies that leave traces on dry bones. Multivariate statistical methods showed that even though there were social inequalities in the early mediaeval society, the individuals belonging to higher-ranking groups had neither better health, nor lived longer. The results of the analyses carried out in the course of this work show that even though social stratification did exist in the early mediaeval society, biological sex was a much more important factor in life expectancy and quality of life than which social group an individual belonged to.
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