Assyrian Attitude Towards Captive Enemies: A 2700-year-old Paleo-forensic Study

Cohen, Haim Y.; Slon, Viviane; Barash, Alon; May, Hila; Medlej, Bahaa; Hershkovitz, Israel

doi:10.1002/oa.2288

Cited by 10 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 49 publications

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“…The description of the cranial wounds is based on the criteria defined in literature (Berryman & Symes, ; Maples, ; Boylston, ; Weber & Czarnetzki, ; Novak, ; Cohen et al ., , ). Sharp force traumas are caused by bladed instruments, such as swords, daggers, axes and poleaxes, which produce linear lesions with clean well‐defined edges and flat and smooth cut surfaces; blunt force fractures are produced by blunt instruments, including war hammers, maces and top spikes of poleaxes, which leave concentric or radiating fractures with an internal bevel; and projectile force traumas are inflicted by projectile weapons, such as arrows and crossbow bolts.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Weapon‐related Cranial Lesions from Medieval and Renaissance Turin, Italy

Giuffra

Baricco²,

Subbrizio³

et al. 2013

Intl J of Osteoarchaeology

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Archaeological excavations carried out in the square around the Cathedral of S. Giovanni in Turin brought to light burials referable to the medieval and Renaissance periods. The anthropological examination of the skeletal\ud remains allowed to identify two skeletons from the medieval period (10th–11th centuries) and four skeletons from the Renaissance age (15th century) showing weapon-related cranial injuries. These peri mortem lesions are\ud indicators of interpersonal aggression and in particular of armed conflicts. The two individuals from the early\ud medieval period presented three traumas consisting in sharp force lesions caused by bladed weapons. As\ud regards the Renaissance sample, themajority of the nine peri mortem injuries were sharp force wounds, followed\ud by a blunt force trauma. These distribution patterns might reflect different fighting techniques, whereas the side\ud distribution and location of the skull trauma provide further indications on the fighting modalities. Identification of\ud the weapons that caused these traumas is suggested. The lack of post-cranial wounds at Piazza S. Giovanni might be explained by the greater attention paid to the head, which was the main target of attack, or by adequate protection of the body through medieval and Renaissance armours. Otherwise, the wounds in the body would have been found only in the soft tissues, with no involvement of the bones.\ud Despite the presence of weapon injuries, the results obtained from the study of the Renaissance sample are different from the findings of other contemporary battlefields. It is highly likely that the individuals of the\ud Renaissance age were not young soldiers employed in war episodes and brought back for burial in Turin after battles that had taken place elsewhere. Instead, they were probably individuals who had died in riots or in other violent city episodes, as the historical records for the Renaissance age seem to confirm

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Weapon‐related Cranial Lesions from Medieval and Renaissance Turin, Italy

Giuffra

Baricco²,

Subbrizio³

et al. 2013

Intl J of Osteoarchaeology

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“…This could have been done with a single cut made with a bladed weapon, and/or bending the bone. Comparable evidence of amputations are not very abundant in the prehistoric archeological record, but some are known from the Iron Age (Cohen et al, 2015; Fernández‐Crespo et al, 2020), Bronze Age (Bloom et al, 1995), Chalcolithic (Zäuner et al, 2013), Neolithic (Buquet‐Marcon et al, 2007; Crubézy, 1996; Grupe & Herrmann, 1986), and the Upper (Maloney et al, 2022) and Middle Paleolithic (Estabrook & Frayer, 2014; Trinkaus & Zimmerman, 1982).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The main difference between the marks found at Roc de les Orenetes and those cases interpreted as a secondary treatment of the body is their distribution and abundance on the skeleton. In the cases in which the body is processed to disarticulate the limbs or remove soft tissues, the cuts are preferentially or exclusively, located in the joint areas or muscle attachment points (Belcastro et al, 2021; Cohen et al, 2015; Crozier, 2016; Duday, 2009; Erdal, 2015; Geber et al, 2017; Hurlbut, 2000; Pérez, 2012; Robb et al, 2015; Santana et al, 2015), such as the shoulder, elbow, hip, and knee. It is common in these cases to find more than one cut mark on each bone mainly in the form of slice marks (but sometimes chop marks as well) forming groups of marks in the same direction relating to repetitive movements involving cutting soft tissue or separating one body element from another.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Death in the high mountains: Evidence of interpersonal violence during Late Chalcolithic and Early Bronze Age at Roc de les Orenetes (Eastern Pyrenees, Spain)

Moreno‐Ibáñez,

Saladié,

Ramírez‐Pedraza

et al. 2024

American Journal of Biological Anthropology

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ObjectivesTo test a hypothesis on interpersonal violence events during the transition between Chalcolithic and Bronze Age in the Eastern Pyrenees, to contextualize it in Western Europe during that period, and to assess if these marks can be differentiated from secondary funerary treatment.Materials and MethodsMetric and non‐metric methods were used to estimate the age‐at‐death and sex of the skeletal remains. Perimortem injuries were observed and analyzed with stereomicroscopy and confocal microscopy.ResultsAmong the minimum of 51 individuals documented, at least six people showed evidence of perimortem trauma. All age groups and both sexes are represented in the skeletal sample, but those with violent injuries are predominantly males. Twenty‐six bones had 49 injuries, 48 of which involved sharp force trauma on postcranial elements, and one example of blunt force trauma on a cranium. The wounds were mostly located on the upper extremities and ribs, anterior and posterior. Several antemortem lesions were also documented in the assemblage.DiscussionThe perimortem lesions, together with direct dating, suggest that more than one episode of interpersonal violence took place between the Late Chalcolithic and the Early Bronze Age in northeastern Spain. The features of the sharp force trauma indicate that different weapons were used, including sharp metal objects and lithic projectiles. The Roc de les Orenetes assemblage represents a scenario of recurrent lethal confrontation in a high mountain geographic context, representing the evidence of inferred interpersonal violence located at the highest altitude settings in the Pyrenees, at 1836 meters above sea level.

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“…In a case of mass execution by decapitation, the mandibles and the upper vertebrae would be associated with the crania. The skeleton of a person killed by the Assyrian army found in a burial cave at Khirbet Shemsin has been recognized, and indeed bears clear signs of severe injury and cut marks (Cohen et al 2015).…”

Section: An Alternative Explanation For Cave 120mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The skeleton of a person killed by the Assyrian army found in a burial cave at Khirbet Shemsin has been recognized, and indeed bears clear signs of severe injury and cut marks (Cohen et al . 2015).…”

Section: When Was the Concentration Of Crania Formed?mentioning

confidence: 99%

A Violent End or a Respectful Beginning? Cave 120 at Lachish Revised

Garfınkel

Cohen

2022

Oxford J Archaeology

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Summary Cave 120 and three adjacent caves at Tel Lachish in southern Israel produced the largest concentration of human crania ever unearthed in the Near East. The conventional interpretation associates this deposit with primary burials of victims of the city’s destruction by King Sennacherib of Assyria in 701 BC. Taking into consideration attitudes to human skulls, site formation processes and taphonomic aspects, we indicate that these conclusions are incorrect. The caves contained mainly crania and almost completely lacked other skeletal material. The numerous morphological and morphometric studies carried out on the assemblage could not point to any standardized population. We conclude that large‐scale quarrying of stones, probably for the construction of the city wall in the seventh century BC, destroyed a large number of older burial caves. The crania from these caves, each symbolizing a deceased person, were carefully collected and reburied.

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Assyrian Attitude Towards Captive Enemies: A 2700-year-old Paleo-forensic Study

Cited by 10 publications

References 49 publications

Weapon‐related Cranial Lesions from Medieval and Renaissance Turin, Italy

Weapon‐related Cranial Lesions from Medieval and Renaissance Turin, Italy

Death in the high mountains: Evidence of interpersonal violence during Late Chalcolithic and Early Bronze Age at Roc de les Orenetes (Eastern Pyrenees, Spain)

A Violent End or a Respectful Beginning? Cave 120 at Lachish Revised

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