Childhood trauma in several populations from the Iberian Peninsula

Abstract

A study was conducted on a collection of 123 juvenile skeletons from various sites dating to the Bronze Age (Argar culture) and from the medieval cemeteries of La Torrecilla, Villanueva de Soportilla and San Baudelio, all in the Iberian Peninsula. No cranial trauma was observed. However, four postcranial fractures were found, including three from Castelló n Alto, a typical Argaric village of some urban complexity built on steep terraces in high and rugged terrain. The combination of a hazardous environment and a climate that encourages outdoor play may explain the relatively high frequency of childhood trauma in the burials from the Argar culture.

Veinte años de arqueología de la Prehistoria tardía en la Península Ibérica. Mirando hacia atrás y hacia adelante

“…Emslie et al (2015) detected moderate-high levels of mercury in some individuals from LN/CA burials in southern Portugal caused by contact with cinnabar used in body paint or in painting objects. Postcranial fractures were found on the skeletons of children from the Argaric site of Castellón Alto (Granada) (Jiménez-Brobeil et al 2006), which were likely incurred by falling from steep slopes at the site. DNA studies are shedding new light on the demographic dynamics of late prehistoric populations of Iberia (Fernández et al 2010;Lacan et al 2011;Gamba et al 2012;Hervella et al 2012;Carvalho et al 2016;Martiniano et al 2017;Szécsényi-Nagy et al 2017).…”

Skeletal and radiological manifestations of child abuse: Implications for study in past populations

“…For a quick reference guide to disease manifestations that may mimic abuse (see Wheeler et al, ). To date, several articles have been written about potential cases of child abuse and about childhood trauma in bioarchaeological contexts (Glencross and Stuart‐Macadam, ; Blondiaux et al, ; Jiménez‐Brobeil et al, ; Gaither, ; Gaither and Murphy, ; Wheeler et al, ; Verlinden and Lewis, ). However, these serve to highlight the difficulty in the identification of what constitutes abuse.…”

Violence targeting children or violent society? Craniofacial injuries among the pre‐Hispanic subadult population of Gran Canaria (Canary Islands)

“…The two most common are subadults' osteological characteristics and, above all, the type of activities carried out by these individuals before attaining maturity. It is well known that the bone tissues of children respond external forces differently to those of adults giving way to different processes and recovery periods (Bilo, Robben, & van Rijn, 2010;Frick & Jones, 2014;Green & Swiontkowski, 2003;Jiménez-Brobeil, Al Oumaoui, & Du Souich, 2007;Lewis, 2007Lewis, , 2014Symes, Ericka, L'Abbé, Chapman, & Dirkmaat, 2012). Furthermore, there is also a vast chronological and spatial variability as to the types of ventures that can result in recognizable injuries among the skeletons of subadults (play and learning activities, war, and labour) that can generate in each case different degrees of exposure to the different agents of injury.…”