Trepanation and artificial cranial deformations in ancient Armenia

Abstract

The purpose of the paper is to review surgical and ritual practices on people living on the Shirak Plateau (Armenia) during the Late Antiquity period (1st century BC -3rd century AD) and is based on human remains uncovered at sites in Beniamin, Black Fortress I, Shirakavan, Karmrakar and Vardbakh. The basic demographic data for these cases, including the age and sex of the skeleton, the precise location of the trepanation, the form of the trepanation and instruments used, and the presence of any associated pathologies, injuries, diseases, or developmental deformities on the skeleton, are specified. The phenomenon of artificial skull and teeth modifications identified at ancient burials sites in Armenia clearly points to the emergence of social complexity and class differentiation, and hence the need for social distinction, which in this case was accomplished through the use of body markings. A compilation of case reports and information on trepanation and deformation is essential for a bioarcheological study of the procedure.

Migrating Huns and modified heads: Eigenshape analysis comparing intentionally modified crania from Hungary and Georgia in the Migration Period of Europe

“…All the modified crania in our study were of the annular or circumferential type produced by the application of a circular bandage around the head, although there are variations, where a second vertical bandage is applied to the circular one. The annular form of modification is most commonly encountered in West Asia, Europe, the Caucasus, Trans-Ural and Siberian regions [ 2 , 13 , 15 , 23 , 47 – 50 ]. As with Perez [ 9 ], we use a geometric morphometric approach of Procrustes superimposition to remove differences related to orientation, translation and scale, so as to highlight differences in the annular modification style.…”

Население Эпохи Поздней Бронзы И Раннего Железного Века Из Областей Ширак И Гехаркуник (Армения), По Данным Палеопатологии

“…н.э. Мотивами преднамеренной деформации головы могут быть следующие традиции и медицинские манипуляции: 1) непреднамеренное воздействие предмета быта (особый вид колыбели, приводящий к уплощению затылочной кости), 2) подчеркивание социального статуса и отличие от инородных групп, 3) исправление «неправильной» формы черепа и получение «красивой» формы головы, удовлетворяющей определенным эстетическим нормам, 4) возможность изменить психотип человека, 5) необходимость приостановить быстрый рост мозгового вещества, 6) стремление ускорить процесс зарастания родничка, 7) результат массажа (для снятия головных болей), 8) желание защитить голову новорожденного от природных факторов (холод, ветер, жара) [12,21,22,24].…”

Bioarchaeological Analysis of Human Skeletal Remains of Iron Age from the Shirakavan Cemetery, Shirak Plateau, Armenia

“…An ancient skull (1st c. BC-3rd c. AD) from Shirakavan (excavations in 1990) also showed evidence of trepanation (Khudaverdyan, 2011c : Figure 3). The individual was a juvenile (8 -9 yr. old).…”

“…It is this population approach to bioarchaeology that is employed in the current study. Such studies have been done on various Armenian archaeological populations such as at Lchashen (II millennium BC-I millennium BC), Beniamin, Vardbakh, the Black Fortress (1st century BC-3rd century AD) and others (Khudaverdyan, 2010a(Khudaverdyan, , 2010b(Khudaverdyan, , 2010c.…”