Osteobiography: The History of the Body as Real Bottom-Line History

Abstract

What is osteobiography good for? The last generation of archaeologists fought to overcome the traditional assumption that archaeology is merely ancillary to history, a substitute to be used when written sources are defective; it is now widely acknowledged that material histories and textual histories tell equally valid and complementary stories about the past. Yet the traditional assumption hangs on implicitly in biography: osteobiography is used to fill the gaps in the textual record rather than as a primary source in its own right. In this article we compare the textual biographies and material biographies of two thirteenth-century townsfolk from medieval England-Robert Curteis, attested in legal records, and "Feature 958," excavated archaeologically and studied osteobiographically. As the former shows, textual biographies of ordinary people mostly reveal a few traces of financial or legal transactions. Interpreting these traces, in fact, implicitly presumes a history of the body. Osteobiography reveals a different kind of history, the history of the body as a locus of appearance and social identity, work, health and experience. For all but a few textually rich individuals, osteobiography provides a fuller and more human biography. Moreover, textual visibility is deeply biased by class and gender; osteobiography offers particular promise for Marxist and feminist understandings of the past. ¿Para qué sirve la osteobiografía? La última generación de arqueólogos luchó para superar la suposición tradicional de que la arqueología es meramente (accesoria) a la historia, una sustituta que se puede utilizar cuando las fuentes escritas son deficientes. Ahora es ampliamente reconocido que las historias materiales y las historias textuales igualmente válido y complementario del pasado. Sin embargo, la suposición tradicional continúa implícitamente en la biografía: se utiliza la osteobiografía para llenar los vacíos en el historial textual en vez de utilizarla como fuente primaria por derecho propio. En esta investigación comparamos las biografías textuales y biografías materiales de dos ciudadanos de la Inglaterra medieval del siglo XIII-Robert Cuteis, documentado en registros legales, y "Feature 958", excavada arqueologicamente y examinada osteobiograficamente. Como demuestra la primera, biografías textuales de la gente común sobre todo revelan algunos rastros de transacciones financieras o legales. La interpretación de estos rastros de hecho presume implícitamente una historia del cuerpo. La osteobiografía revela una clase de historia distinta, la historia del cuerpo como un sitio que contiene información sobre apariencia e identidad social, trabajo, salud y experiencia. Para todos aparte de algunos

A life less ordinary: analysis of the uniquely preserved tattooed dermal remains of an individual from 19th century France

“…Tattoos are often described as a phenomenon that sits at the interface between the cultural and the biological (Robb and Harris 2013). In this unusual example, the tattoo designs present offer unique insights into biographical details regarding the experiences, relationships and thoughts of an individual that would otherwise be completely inaccessible.…”

“…Such a circumstance could explain the medical involvement with M. Bonheur's skin, which appears to have been excised following his autopsy. In bearing so many tattoos, this individual's body had become a kind of artefact whilst he was alive, as are all bodies in a way (Robb and Harris 2013). In this case, however, this man's skin then further became incorporated as an artificial preparation after death, first with the application of considerable medical skill and then through further modification in the mounting of his skin for display.…”

“…This notion has been eloquently articulated by Gowland (2015, 30) who describes the biographies of individuals as 'nested or embedded within the lives of others'. Further, Robb et al (2019) note the unique value of such studies as offering a 'different kind of history, the history of the body as a locus of appearance and identity'. Osteobiographical studies are also noted as holding particular promise for Marxist and feminist understandings of the past (ibid.)…”

Sketchbook archaeology: Bodies multiple and the archives they create

“…"Human remains," they write, "stand in stark contrast to most all other historical resources: they have not been created or manufactured by humans; they are humans" (Grauer and Miller, 2017: 41). This kind of statement is not unusual in skeletal studies, even with a resurgence of interest in how to integrate "disparate things" (Mant and Holland, 2016;Mant et al, 2021;Robb et al, 2019). Still the problem remains, as Lucas (2012) points out, that the ontological status of our material sources-the many tissues and types-persist in our studies unexamined.…”

“…Recently, Robb and colleagues (2019) have emphasized what textual sources lack—women and children, the colonized and subaltern, those “peoples without history” (Wolf, 1982). “[W]e are far more likely to encounter a woman, a child, or a poor person in the grave than on the page,” they write (Robb et al, 2019: 29). Yet in the case of Spring Street, such a blanket statement does not hold up, nor does it serve our inquiry well.…”