Bioarchaeology International provides rigorous peer-reviewed publication of substantive articles in the growing field of bioarchaeology. This vibrant, interdisciplinary field of study cross-cuts biological anthropology, archaeology, and social theory to situate past peoples within their biological, cultural, and environmental circumstances. Bioarchaeology emphasizes not only the study of human remains but the integrative analysis and interpretation of their context, including the archaeological, socio-cultural and political milieu, and environmental setting. Bioarchaeologists use both state-of-the-art methodological innovation and theory to investigate a diversity of questions. The goal of this journal is to publish research articles, brief reports, and invited commentary essays that are contextually and theoretically informed and explore the human condition and ways in which human remains and their funerary contexts can provide unique insight on variation, behavior and lifestyle of past people and communities. Submissions from around the globe using varying scales of analysis that focus on theoretical and methodological issues in the field are encouraged. Bioarchaeology International is included in multiple indexes and databases, including Ebsco Academic Search Ultimate, Gale Academic OneFile, ProQuest Central, and ProQuest Social Science Database.
The numerous adult inhumations at the Archaic period (c. seventh to fifth centuries B.C.) burial ground of Phaleron exhibit a wide range of burial treatments. These likely reflect not only the identities of the deceased but also the intentions and social perceptions of the mourners. While most burials follow normative patterns, a minority are interred in nonnormative, distinctive ways. These include individuals buried prone or with restraints, suggesting marginal or contested social identities formed later in life. To examine whether atypical burials reflect early life experiences or later social stigmatization, we conducted serial dentine stable isotope analysis of early diets in 18 adults across various burial types. These individuals represent 6 males, 10 females, and 2 of ambiguous sex. Nine were recovered from distinctive burial contexts. Breastfeeding duration could be estimated for six individuals, all of whom were weaned by 3 years of age, which is consistent with relevant textual sources. Data from the remaining individuals provide a contrasting picture of dietary variation throughout early childhood. Statistically significant differences in stable isotope values between normative burials, individuals buried in prone positions, or with restraints suggest that the marginal sociopolitical status implied by these burial forms may have roots earlier in the life course, rather than solely a result of later life nonconformity or punishment.
Biocultural Aspects of Physiological Stress During Classical Antiquity in Thebes, Central Mainland Greece
During the first millennium B.C.E., mainland Greece experienced notable economic and demographic growth, though this trajectory shifted from 300 B.C.E. onward, when Macedonian dominance and the rise of larger political entities concentrated wealth in the hands of elites. Within this broader context, cycles of prosperity, destruction, and recovery in Thebes closely mirror wider historical, social, and economic transformations. This study investigates skeletal remains from the northeastern cemetery of the city to explore how sociopolitical shifts affected local health and living conditions by examining demography and physiological stress indicators, namely, cribra orbitalia, porotic hyperostosis, linear enamel hypoplasia, and periosteal new bone formation in 73 individuals dating to the Classical period and 151 individuals dating to Hellenistic times. The results of this study mostly contradict historical expectations and other bioarchaeological studies that support worse living conditions during later times. The results further suggest that both sexes experienced similar living conditions during Classical times, with higher female mortality in later periods, while urban living did not negatively affect stress levels compared to rural contexts. These patterns suggest that the inhabitants of ancient Thebes were more resilient to stressors presented by sociopolitical upheaval than was expected. Overall, the article demonstrates that sociopolitical change did not translate uniformly into deteriorating living conditions, emphasizing the complex and context-dependent interplay of health and social transformations in the ancient Greek world.
Copyright (c) 2026 Bioarchaeology International
Regional and Temporal Differences in Disease, Trauma, and Mortality in Iron Age Britain
The British Iron Age (eighth to first centuries B.C.) is characterized by agrarian communities who were regionally diverse and highly distinctive. In this study, we explored three new research questions about these communities using data derived from the primary inhumations of Middle Iron Age (400–100 B.C.) Yorkshire and Early to Late Iron Age Dorset (eighth century B.C. to early–mid first century A.D.) and a range of statistical approaches: did they differ in terms of survivorship and experiences of stress and disease? Did non-locals and locals have different outcomes? Were there any regional differences with respect to peri- and antemortem trauma? Our results indicate that survivorship and mortality varied by region and age-group, with non-adults in Yorkshire having higher survivorship and lower hazards of death, with the reverse true for Dorset non-adults. We find significant differences in skeletal pathologies between regions for non- adults and adults, particularly for tuberculosis. The comparison of non-locals and locals did not provide clear results, a reflection of the small sample size. Yorkshire, renowned for its martial material culture and burials, was expected to have higher frequencies of peri- and antemortem trauma, but unexpectedly, this was found for Dorset. Overall, our study finds that the complex lived realities of these communities created different outcomes for their members. It also provides evidence for regional differences in disease, survivorship and hazard of death existing prior to the Roman conquest.
During excavations of over 2,100 individuals at the Phaleron burial ground (PBG), archaeologists identified mortuary contexts that fell outside expected burial forms and designated these with the Greek letter Delta (Δ) or “D-Group.” In addition to the well-known Archaic Period “Esplanada” mass burials of 79 shackled young adult men, 84 individuals were interred in mass graves and single D-Group burial contexts at the PBG. Nearly all the individuals in mass burials are considered desmotes (δεσμώτες), bound captives or prisoners, identified by metal shackles or body positioning. While 40% of D-Group individuals were bound at the time of interment, the others were not, being considered distinctive solely based on body positioning falling outside expected forms, such as prone or tightly flexed. This article analyzes the cohesiveness of the PBG D-Group archaeological category, investigating internal variation of burial positions, demography, and paleopathology. Contextualized osteobiographies are integrated to reveal hidden complexities and explore connections between marginalization and violence during life and the distinctive burial forms representing their deaths.
Invasive Preservation Practices and Bioarchaeological Study in Two Blessed Nuns from Fourteenth-Century Central Italy
This study examines two rare cases of artificial mummification of Augustinian cloistered nuns, Blessed Illuminata (†1320) and Blessed Chiarella (†1345), who were venerated in Montefalco, Umbria (central Italy). Despite their differing roles, one as a lay sister and the other as an abbess, their bodies have long been venerated and exhibited together in the Church of Saint Agostino. Following their canonical recognition in 2021, a bioarcheological assessment of the mummified remains of the two Blessed was sanctioned. The examination revealed previously undocumented invasive preservation methods, including organ removal via cranial and dorsal incisions and fractures, insertion of fabrics and plants, and rough wound suturing. These procedures reflect a rudimentary form of mummification involving unrefined techniques. This process was likely conducted by individuals without formal medical training from the cloistered monastic community. The practice of body manipulation was officially banned by Pope Boniface VIII in 1299. Despite this prohibition, the mummification of these two nuns occurred in secrecy, representing a rare and unauthorized continuation of body treatment in an ecclesiastical context. The motivation for mummification may have been to ensure body incorruptibility for devotional purposes, even at the risk of contravening the papal law. The mummification of the two Blessed challenges conventional assumptions about medieval attitudes toward the body and sanctity, illustrating how religious communities redefined the corpse as material culture embodying holiness, collective memory, and local identity.
Dental and skeletal elements of perinatal and infant individuals (<1 year) from four early Christian sites (tenth–thirteenth centuries) in Northern Iceland were assessed to estimate age and evaluate growth disruption. Diaphyseal lengths were compared with clinical growth charts. Sixty individuals had at least one long bone preserved, 79 had dental remains, and 51 had both elements available. Dental age was estimated by assessing tooth development, and skeletal age was calculated from diaphyseal length measurements of the humeri, femora, and tibiae. Additionally, diaphyseal lengths were compared against modern clinical reference data. Growth disruption was indicated if the widest error ranges of the skeletal and dental age estimates did not overlap or if measurements fell below the tenth centile. Skeletal age estimates consistently indicated younger ages than dental age estimates. In six cases, the error ranges did not overlap, suggesting severe growth disruption. Additionally, 24 individuals fell below the tenth centile. No specific bone was found to be particularly sensitive to growth disruption. The results suggest that individuals experienced compromised health beginning in utero. Disrupted growth in young infants reflects poor maternal health, adversely affecting fetal and infant growth. The observed postnatal decline in growth indicates that postnatal care, along with immunological and nutritional support, was inadequate, leaving infants vulnerable to environmental and physiological stress.
Communities of Care at the Phaleron Burial Ground
This article extends a bioarchaeology of care model to care for infants and young children interred at the Phaleron Burial Ground in Attica, Greece (ca. 700–480 B.C.) and investigates the impact of child care and health care on social relationships within the household. Four case studies are presented that explore how caregiving of children living with scurvy and other comorbidities at varying stages in the life course would have affected household social dynamics. Our results reveal that not only did children interred at Phaleron survive extended periods of potentially debilitating illness, but also their survival would have been impossible without a community of cooperative agents facilitating their care. Moreover, contrary to previous assumptions that health care of young children would not have been noticeably different from daily childrearing of healthy children, this study demonstrates that age would have significantly impacted the types of health care needed and the burdens placed on the household. Not only does this study provide a framework through which childhood health care and its social impacts can be explored at multiple scales, but it also underscores the emotional impact of child care and loss on the communities that buried their deceased at Phaleron.
Were There Double Cremations at the Phaleron Burial Ground in Greece?
This article examines cremation deposits containing more than one individual from the Archaic archaeological site of Phaleron (ca. 750–480 BCE), located in Phaleron Delta, Attica, Greece. Our research question focuses on whether these individuals were intentionally burned together and what this practice meant for the individuals involved. To address this inquiry, we reconstructed the biological profiles of the cremated individuals, examining details of thermal alterations and reviewing contextual archaeological information. Additionally, we provide the main questions asked and the decision tree used to distinguish double cremations from alternatives, such as inadvertent mixing due to taphonomic actions or human activity. The proposed analytical process can be applied to cremation deposit, from any period or location. Following detailed analysis of the five features that contained more than one burned individual, we determined that two pyres represent instances where more than two individuals were burned together. While we cannot specify the reasons for this practice, the evidence suggests that circumstances of death, rather than a specific cultural tradition, likely account for the phenomenon.
Few documentary sources survive for the Archaic Period (c. 700–480 B.C.) in Athens and the surrounding region, including the nearby port of Phaleron. Therefore, bioarchaeological insights from the Phaleron Burial Ground (PBG) are invaluable for this period of political and social transformation prior to the well-known Greek democracy of the Classical period. The PBG was the final resting place for individuals from different social classes, some of whom exhibit trauma and other evidence of stress. We present here the osteobiography of an individual who exhibits multiple examples of trauma and sequelae that include mandibular asymmetry, malocclusion, unilateral enlargement of a mandibular condyle, a healed cranial depression fracture, and a healed pelvic fracture. We first assess the maxillofacial and mandibular conditions and perform a differential diagnosis, including conditions such as osteochondroma, osteoma, osteosarcoma, and traumatic injury. We next evaluate additional evidence of trauma and discuss this individual within their community of care. We aim to provide a life history that links to broader societal trends. In addition, an argument will be made for this individual’s inclusion in the non-normative burial group at Phaleron due to the individual’s positioning and relationship with other nearby burials.
Bodies of the famous dead have interested the public and academics for more than 200 years. Most contributions focus on positive identification, characterizing the lives and deaths of the famous dead, or asking how human remains might inform on historical events that capture public imagination. This work is known as forensic biohistory, and typical exploration of this work consists of documenting examples of the aforementioned questions. Here we offer a relational definition of the field, one that undergirds and frames all three types of inquiries, and explore the implications of this definition. Forensic biohistory consists of inquiry situated at the intersection of spectacular subjects and contested bodies, with scientists being among those contributing to and contesting the narratives surrounding these personages. In light of this definition, we consider how forensic biohistory reflects larger questions regarding power dynamics within biological anthropology that have come into acute focus in recent decades. We reflect on the relationship and differences between forensic biohistory and other fields, both to discern disciplinary boundaries and to highlight the need to problematize and theorize forensic biohistory separately from them. Finally, we highlight ethical and professional challenges, as well as opportunities that stem from a field that is so relationally conditioned and defined. We suggest that forensic biohistory offers unique potential both because the intersection of such subjects and bodies can and should be studied in its own right, and doing so offers opportunities to contribute to contemporary public discourse and historical consciousness.
Intrapopulation Variation in St. Peter’s Medieval (Tenth-Sixteenth Centuries) Cemetery (Osor, Croatia)
This study investigates intrapopulation variation within the medieval cemetery from Osor, Croatia (900–1500s A.D.), by examining diet, nonspecific stress, and mortality risk using multivariable statistical methods. The δ13C and δ15N stable isotope analysis, macroscopic analysis of osteoblastic nonspecific lesions, and age-at-death data were collected for 196 monastic and lay individuals from five burial sectors in St. Peter’s Monastery cemetery. Binary and multinomial multiple logistic regression were employed to analyze intrapopulation variation. The multivariable analyses reveal that dietary stable isotope values, prevalence and characteristics of nonspecific lesions, and age at death varied significantly between Osor’s lay and monastic samples, as well as between the various lay burial sectors. Notably, Osor’s monastic population’s diet significantly differed from that of lay individuals, exhibiting lower δ15N and higher δ13C values. Additionally, monastic individuals showed a higher prevalence of nonspecific lesions, with more nonspecific lesions and larger nonspecific lesions than lay individuals. While the presence of nonspecific lesions was associated with older ages at death, monastic individuals did not exhibit lower levels of mortality risk. Osor’s elite individuals consumed a more protein-rich diet with more marine resources compared to Osor’s wider lay population and monastic individuals. These elite individuals displayed greater levels of frailty, evidenced by higher mortality risk and lower nonspecific lesion prevalence, however. Finally, lay individuals from burial sector 6 differed from the wider lay population and exhibited lower δ15N and δ13C values and higher average age at death, indicating a more terrestrial protein-based diet and lower mortality rates.
REFERENCE: Gagnon, Celeste, Bethany L. Turner, Branden Cesare Rizzuto, and Scott E. Burnett. 2025. Foreigner(?) in a foreign land: Multimethod exploration of the first decorative dental inlay identified in a pre-Hispanic Peruvian context. Bioarchaeology International 9(1):27–51. DOI: 10.5744/bi.2024.0032.
Copyright (c) 2025 Bioarchaeology International
Accumulating and Negotiating Meaning(s) of Two Egyptian Women
Legacy skeletal collections reflect the shifting historical meanings attributed by researchers to these collections and the individuals that comprise them. This article employs osteobiography and object itinerary as a methodological approach to combine the lived and posthumous experiences of two Egyptian women. This research exposes the meaning(s) accumulated over two individuals’ lives but also those following their death, highlighting the role researchers play in interpretations and understandings of the past. The two Egyptian individuals studied here were excavated by archaeologists funded by the Metropolitan Museum of Art (Met) in 1907 from the site of Lisht but ultimately traded to and curated by Earnest A. Hooten, the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology at Harvard University. Osteobiographies and object itineraries produced for these two individuals outline the ways in which their lived experiences influenced posthumous experiences for these women, including counteracting their abstraction in representations, where their material culture alone has dominated narratives. Of note, the differences uncovered for these two individuals, who did not live during the same time and would never have encountered one another except in death, have been tied to one another through their posthumous experiences.
Accessibility and Educational Standards in Human Osteology through Digital Learning Practices
This article explores the growing use of digital tools in teaching human osteology, highlighting the need for standardized educational practices in biological anthropology and proposing ways to enhance accessibility and ethical guidelines through digital pedagogy. Digital tools are becoming more prominent in the teaching and education of human skeletal remains. Currently, no standards exist regarding educational practices utilizing digital pedagogical tools in biological anthropology. To better understand current practices of digital pedagogy for human osteology, a survey was distributed to professionals and students in biological anthropology inquiring about teaching methods in osteology-related courses. The goal of this survey was to gauge current applications of digital osteological pedagogy to serve as a foundation to initiate conversations around standard digital education in biological anthropology. The results indicate that, while most educators have access to physical remains, almost half of the survey participants incorporate digital tools in teaching. Additionally, we found that respondents almost unanimously believe digital tools should be included in our educational practices and that digital learning can improve accessibility to education. Incorporating pedagogical theories and current virtual anthropology research, we propose ways to move education and training in biological anthropology forward through digital pedagogical tools, training, and collections while promoting both standard educational and ethical practices.
The recently excavated Phaleron Burial Ground in Attica, Greece, documents the lived experiences of Archaic period individuals (700–480 B.C.). In this study, we employ stable isotope analysis to infer temporal changes in dietary patterns for ancient Greece and to explore the dietary habits and social organization of adult individuals from the Phaleron Burial Ground (n = 60). Stable carbon and nitrogen isotopes of bone collagen and stable carbon isotopes of bone bioapatite are used to address two research questions: (1) Do stable isotopes reveal evidence of dietary change in ancient Greece over time? and (2) Is dietary variation between individuals buried in the Phaleron Burial Ground linked to burial form, chronology, skeletal sex, or age at death? Bone collagen carbon and nitrogen data were limited due to poor preservation (n = 4) and suggest a focus on C3 terrestrial resources. The bioapatite carbon data (n = 60) also indicate a diet primarily consisting of C3 terrestrial resources, although there is a significant increase in the consumption of C4 products in archaeological populations in Greece over time. Our results do not, however, suggest that there were significant differences in the whole diet at Phaleron according to burial form, chronology, skeletal sex, or age at death.
Spine Hyperkyphosis with Extensive Ankylosis in Seventeenth-Century Lucca (Italy) Disability in a Time of Crisis
Archaeological excavations in the city of Lucca (Tuscany, central Italy) brought to light a cemetery of 91 burials for people of low social status dating to the first half of the seventeenth century that originated during a catastrophic epidemic event. There were two epidemics in this period, plague in 1630–1631 and petechial typhus in 1648–1650. A double tomb (T.29) contained the skeletal remains of a female aged 16–20 years and a non-adult aged five to six years. The female presented pathological skeletal alterations: the thoracolumbar tract of the spine from T5 to L1 was affected by a severe hyperkyphosis with a curvature of 180°, due to the complete collapse of the bodies of T8, T9, and T10, and ankylosis of bodies and posterior arches of all the vertebrae. On the endocranial surface of the cranium, two rounded depressions at the end of the enlarged meningeal sulcus of the left parietal are consistent with aneurysms of the meningeal artery. Moreover, the long bones of the limbs appeared slender, with all the indices of robustness lower than the sample average. The differential diagnosis suggested that hyperkyphosis could be attributed to a severe case of Pott’s disease, which likely caused prolonged paraplegia. Undoubtedly, the young woman received care and assistance during the acute phase of the disease, in the rehabilitation period, and for the rest of her life due to the pathological deformities of her spine.
Non-Adult Morbidity and Mortality at Tell Abraq, United Arab Emirates (2197–2036 cal. B.C.)
A large number of commingled non-adult human remains were recovered from a Bronze Age tomb (2197–2036 cal. B.C.) at the site of Tell Abraq in the United Arab Emirates. Non-adult age representation was assessed from femora in the tomb, which were subsequently analyzed for periosteal reactions and cortical thickness. Among the 127 non-adults, approximately 32% (n = 40) were aged as preterm or neonate. Evidence of periostosis among 41% of the observable femora suggests the possibility of infections or other diseases among some infants, but the deaths of the remaining non-adults are less clear in origin. Cortical bone maintenance was generally good, but older non-adults were more variable in percent cortical area scores. These results suggest that morbidity and mortality among Tell Abraq non-adults may be best understood through a more thorough examination of environmental and cultural factors.
Spatial Organization and Cemetery Structure at Phaleron
This article uses human craniodental data to evaluate the spatial structure of the Archaic period site of Phaleron in Attica. The site was a burial ground located near the first port of Athens in use from around 700 to 480 B.C.E., a tumultuous time in the history of ancient Greece that witnessed the emergence of city-states and western democratic ideals. A key consideration of the project is understanding the lives of ancient communities beyond just the political elite, and this article seeks to understand how the structure of the burial ground may reflect the social dynamics of the time. Data on 59 cranial nonmetric and 128 dental morphological variables were recorded for approximately 600 individuals. After trait editing, 18 cranial nonmetric and 19 dental morphological variables were used to estimate the Mean Measure of Divergence statistics among Phaleron subsamples. Results indicated the Esplanada burial group comprising 79 bound individuals were phenotypically distinct from the rest of the sample, while other distinctive (D-group) burials identified throughout the site were not significantly different from the combined non-D-group burial sample. Burial sectors also exhibited phenotypic spatial structure reflecting a north-to-south transect of variation. These results may reflect the effects of localized kin structuring of the Phaleron cemetery or an organization based on larger groups relevant to Archaic society.
Paleopathological study uses complex terminology, including medical jargon, to describe and understand a disease process and/or diseased individual. Such terminology might not be comprehensible and accessible to non-bioarchaeologists, including similarly affected individuals. This is especially the case when considering the interplay of disease with disability. How is disability defined, recognized, and understood in past peoples? Can this be communicated using nontraditional mechanisms? Developing other or nonstandard mechanisms for communication of bioarchaeological and paleopathological studies is vital for public understanding of and engagement with the discipline. This project studied a small cemetery assemblage from Roman Alington Avenue in Dorset. Osteobiographies were developed for those buried within the cemetery, and then, following grounding in disability theory and using a feminist standpoint theory approach, three interweaving fictive narratives were written about three specific individuals. One of these three was an individual previously diagnosed as having Langer-type mesomelic dwarfism. In writing the narratives, the implications of the constructions of possible bodily impairment and socially constructed views of disability were considered. Through this writing, focusing on bodily materiality and object-relations, the constructive effects of the interactions between the three people themselves and between them and their physical and social environments became clear regarding Roman views of disability, thereby producing new knowledge and understanding. This article explores the potential of integrated narrative fiction to enable communication of the implications of putative disability in one past group.
This study investigates whether social factors influence patterns of head trauma in a bioarchaeological population sample of known identity. By examining the relationship between individual-level social variables and head trauma, it is hypothesized that social determinants shape behaviors leading to injury. Skulls and crania of 135 males who died in Karlau Prison, Graz, Austria-Hungary, between 1858 and 1908 were analyzed. Head trauma was quantified statistically by region (cranial base, vault, and face) and type. Social variables were defined from historical records and included age, legitimacy status at birth, language, and occupation. Head trauma was present in 23.0% of all individuals, with 2.2% to cranial bases, 20.5% to vaults, and 5.9% to faces. The social variables considered have a limited impact on the occurrence and patterns of head injuries in this group. The only significant patterns observed related to legitimacy status in individuals older than 40 years. Individuals born to married parents displayed a higher trauma rate, as well as Slovenian speakers classified as unskilled laborers. A logistic regression analysis revealed that social variables poorly predicted trauma outcomes, despite the well-contextualized sample. The random pattern of head trauma could possibly be linked to the social dynamics within the prison system, rather than life outside the institution that the variables considered in this study reflect. This study highlights how social complexity, which is evident from the historical records pertaining to these individuals, does not necessarily manifest as patterns of health and injury in bioarchaeological population samples.
Comparing In Situ and Laboratory Osteological Observations
Among the more than 2,000 interments from the Phaleron Burial Ground, 79 individuals buried in the Esplanada mass graves are said to have died violently, perhaps bludgeoned to death. The Esplanada remains were observed in the field by Ingvarsson and Bäckström (2019); ten of these 79 were later excavated and studied by Buikstra and colleagues in a laboratory setting. The field and laboratory analyses for these ten individuals are compared here. Estimates of skeletal sex and age at death were refined slightly through laboratory analysis. Stature estimates trended toward slightly larger values following laboratory measurements of long bones. Pathology observations for both teeth and bones differed significantly between laboratory and field contexts. While these results should not be generalized uncritically to other contexts and observers, we indicate that estimates of skeletal sex and age at death for adults varied little between these field and laboratory situations. Re-searchers should, however, note the differences reported here between field and laboratory observations of dental and skeletal pathology.
Possible Behavioral Changes Associated with Severe Cranial Trauma at Early Bronze Age Bab adh-Dhra’
The osteological remains of individuals from the Early Bronze Age II–III site of Bab adh-Dhra’, located in modern-day Jordan, indicate comparatively high levels of cranial trauma when analyzed alongside other archaeological collections, and those afflicted may have required varying levels of care from the community. This research examines trauma to specific portions of the skull in two individuals, suggesting prospective consequences and possible effects of antemortem cranial depression fractures (CDFs), of interest to disability studies in bioarchaeology. Both individuals were analyzed via gross morphological examination, digital visualization using computed tomography scans and X-rays, and the Index of Care (a progression of four analytical steps to determine possible short-and long-term effects of trauma). Depending on the location of the CDF, a combination of clinical and neurological data was used to propose possible outcomes. Based on the severity of injuries, these individuals may have required short-term care related to mobility and immediate aid, as well as possible long-term care for impaired neurological/motor function. Despite potential challenges in navigating the social and physical landscapes at Bab adh-Dhra’, the survival of both individuals following their initial trauma suggests that head injury was both an understood and accepted reality.
Pamela L. Geller Response to Letter
Comments on “‘How to Do a Good Job of Body Snatching’: Historicizing Radiogenic and Stable Isotopic Studies,” by Pamela L. Geller
J. M. Wampler Letter to the Editor
Using Content and Bibliometric Network Analysis to Understand the Development and Study of "Violence" in Bioarchaeology
Violence is an interdisciplinary concept subjected to the fluctuations of social and personal perceptions of morality, ethics, and justice. While its definition therefore proves to be elusive, it may serve as a way to research and reconstruct human behavior. This also applies to bioarchaeology, which is dedicated to the study of past societies through the analysis of human remains. The aim of this article is to analyze the general development, methodological key concepts, studied markers, and potential paradigm changes in the study of violence in bioarchaeology. This is done by applying bibliometric tools to selected scientific publications and building on previous research analyzing paleopathological literature. The results are then compared to qualitative reviews on violence in bioarchaeology to draw conclusions about significance and applicability of bibliometric network analysis in the light of the expanding scientific literature. Finally, a future trajectory of the concept of “violence” in bioarchaeology is presented.
Cremation at the Royal Necropolis of Salamis New Bioarchaeological Insights
This article provides an analysis of cremated human remains from the Royal Necropolis of Salamis, enabling new insights about a little-known funerary rite in Cyprus. Cremation was seldom practiced in Cyprus, never superseding inhumation as the primary funerary rite throughout the island’s history. Cremated human remains have received little scholarly attention, rarely being discussed in the bioarchaeological literature of Cyprus. Until now, legacy assemblages containing cremation burials like that of the Royal Necropolis of Salamis have been primarily interpreted from a contextual and artifactual perspective. The bioarchaeological data indicate that cremation at the Royal Necropolis of Salamis was not a standardized practice, as different individuals were subjected to very different conditions and processes, both during the cremation process and after. Unfortunately, a lack of comparative data from Cyprus does not allow for wider conclusions about the origin and purpose of the cremation rite and the biological characteristics of the cremated individual to be made at this point in time. Further research needs to be conducted on other contemporary cremation burials from Cyprus to determine whether patterns relating to cremation exist. O presente artigo apresenta uma análise de restos humanos cremados da Necrópole Real de Salamina, permitindo novos conhecimentos sobre um rito funerário pouco conhecido no Chipre. A cremação era raramente praticada na ilha, nunca substituindo a inumação como o principal rito funerário ao longo de sua história. De maneira geral, os restos humanos cremados recebem pouca atenção acadêmica e, portanto, são pouco discutidos na literatura bioarqueológica, inclusive a do Chipre. Até agora, os conjuntos arqueológicos encontrados que contêm ossos cremados, como é o caso da Necrópole Real de Salamina, têm sido interpretados principalmente de uma perspectiva contextual e artefatual, ficando à margem as potenciais observações derivadas de estudos bioarqueológicos. Neste caso, os dados bioarqueológicos indicam que a cremação não era uma prática normalizada, uma vez que diferentes indivíduos eram sujeitos a condições e processos muito diferentes, tanto durante a cremação como depois. Infelizmente, a falta de dados comparativos vindos do Chipre não permitem, neste momento, tirar conclusões mais amplas sobre a origem e o objetivo do rito de cremação e as caraterísticas biológicas dos indivíduos cremados. É necessário efetuar mais investigações sobre outros contextos de cremação contemporâneos locais para determinar se existem padrões relacionados às práticas de cremação.
Reconstructing Multiple Injuries through Osteobiography
This investigation aims to underscore the value of an osteobiographical approach that focuses on understanding the interactions between status, medical treatments, and disability. This article presents the interpretation of a multitrauma case within an archaeological framework. The site of Selvicciola, dated between the first half of the fourth century C.E. and the beginning of the eighth century C.E., with its Roman villa rustica and a cemetery with a church, provides the background context for this study. The individual (T90/5) has been selected from the funerary area for this investigation. During his life, T90/5 experienced several injuries. He received care and rehabilitation but died within weeks from a femoral neck fracture. Questa indagine si propone di valorizzare un approccio osteobiografico che esplora le interazioni tra stato sociale, trattamenti medici e disabilità. L’articolo presenta l’interpretazione di un caso di multi-trauma all’interno di un contesto archeologico proveniente dal sito di Selvicciola. L’area archeologica, datata alla prima metà del IV secolo d.C. con continuità d’uso fino all’VIII secolo d.C., include una villa rustica romana e un cimitero con una chiesa. L’individuo al centro di questa indagine (T90/5), rinvenuto nell’area cimiteriale, subì durante la sua vita diversi traumi fisici, ricevendo dalla comunità cure e riabilitazione. Morì poche settimane dopo la frattura del collo del femore.
This work documents the first unambiguous case of a pre-Hispanic Peruvian with dental inlays—an adult bearing two labially drilled maxillary canines, one of which retains an electrum inlay in situ. Intentional dental modification, occurring in a wide variety of forms, is a geographically and temporally wide-ranging cultural practice. Most commonly identified in Mesoamerica, intentional dental modification has also been reported both ethnohistorically and archaeologically in South America. Most definitive archaeological cases are Ecuadorian, and thus this individual, recovered from a primary ritual center of the Southern Moche State, located in north coastal Peru, presents a unique case. This work employs a microhistorical osteobiographical approach to documenting this individual. To characterize aspects of their life history and the nature of the inlay, enamel was analyzed for carbonate δ13C, δ18O, 87Sr/86Sr, and 206,7,8Pb/204Pb characterization and dentin for collagen δ13C and δ15N characterization and accelerator mass spectrometry dating. Inlay composition was analyzed using X-ray fluorescence spectrometry. Together, these data suggest that the inlaid individual likely migrated to the Moche Valley from Ecuador. The burial context of the skeletal individual’s remains and the cultural context of Moche society imply that their unique presentation and connection to Ecuador were important status markers. Este trabajo documenta el primer caso inequívoco de un peruano prehispánico con incrustaciones dentales: un adulto con dos caninos maxilares perforados en los labios, uno de los cuales conserva una incrustación de electrum in situ. La modificación dental intencional, que se presenta en una amplia variedad de formas, es una práctica cultural de amplio alcance geográfico y temporal. Si bien se identifica con mayor frecuencia en Mesoamérica, también se ha reportado etnohistórica y arqueológicamente en Sudamérica. Dado que la mayoría de los casos arqueológicos definitivos son ecuatorianos, este individuo, recuperado de un centro ritual primario del Estado Moche del Sur, ubicado en la costa norte de Perú, presenta un caso único. Este trabajo emplea un enfoque osteobiográfico microhistórico para documentar a este individuo. Con el propósito de caracterizar aspectos de su historia de vida y la naturaleza de la incrustación, se analizó el esmalte para la caracterización de carbonatos δ13C, δ18O, 87Sr/86Sr, y 206,7,8Pb/204Pb, y la dentina para la caracterización de colágenos δ13C y δ15N, y la datación por espectrometría de masas con acelerador. La composición de la incrustación se analizó mediante espectrometría de fluorescencia de rayos × de alta resolución. En conjunto, estos datos sugieren que el individuo con incrustación probablemente migró al valle de Moche desde Ecuador. El contexto funerario de los restos esqueléticos del individuo y el contexto cultural de la sociedad Moche implican que su singular presentación y conexión con Ecuador fueron importantes indicadores de estatus.
Making Space for Disability Expertise in Bioarchaeology
Among disabled anthropologists, Shanidar 1 is frequently evoked as a disabled ancestor—part of an expansive community of past people who were disabled during their lives. Bioarchaeologists often rely on biomedical theory and knowledge to understand disease from its etiology to its pathogenesis; however, the deep and meaningful knowledge disabled people have generated about care and disability is rarely engaged. Disabled people are seldom considered the audience for bioarchaeological studies on disability or paleopathology. This article models one way of incorporating what anthropologist Cassandra Hartblay has described as “disability expertise” to contextualize skeletal indicators of physical activity such as humeral cross-sectional geometry and entheseal changes for Shanidar 1. These alternative interpretations, formed by synergies between disability expertise and bioarchaeology, suggest that Shanidar 1 was not incapacitated and did not necessarily require care from others to survive. Generating speculations about daily life and behavior in the past with disability expertise offers an opportunity to consider archaeological communities without relying on contemporary stereotypes about disability experiences and disabled life. Entre los antropólogos discapacitados, Shanidar 1 es frecuentemente evocado como un ancestro con discapacidad—parte de una comunidad expansiva de personas del pasado que vivieron con discapacidad. Los bioarqueólogos a menudo dependen de la teoría y el conocimiento biomédico para entender las enfermedades desde su etiología hasta su patogénesis; sin embargo, el profundo y significativo conocimiento que han generado las personas con discapacidad sobre el cuidado y la discapacidad rara vez son considerados. A la misma vez, las personas discapacitadas rara vez son consideradas como la audiencia de los estudios bioarqueológicos sobre discapacidad o paleopatología. Este artículo modela una forma de incorporar lo que la antropóloga Cassandra Hartblay ha descrito como disability expertise (experiencia personal en discapacidad) para contextualizar indicadores esqueléticos de actividad física en Shanidar 1, como la geometría de la sección transversal del húmero y los cambios en las entesis. Estas interpretaciones alternativas, formadas de la sinergia entre la experiencia personal en discapacidad y la bioarqueología, sugieren que Shanidar 1 no estaba incapacitado ni requería necesariamente del cuidado de otros para sobrevivir. Generar especulaciones sobre la vida cotidiana y el comportamiento en el pasado a partir de la experiencia personal en discapacidad brinda una oportunidad para considerar comunidades arqueológicas sin tener que depender de estereotipos contemporáneos sobre las experiencias y la vida con discapacidad.
Detailed Recovery Methods Show the Complexity of Ancient Mortuary Practices in Later Stone Age Hunter-Gatherers of Southern-Central Africa
This article examines mortuary practices by terminal Pleistocene and Holocene hunter-gatherers from Malawi and eastern Zambia in southern-central Africa, with a focus on the evidence for secondary burial and postmortem body manipulation over the past ~16,000 years. Published regional archaeological literature documents widespread but variable reports of incomplete or isolated remains from these contexts. While pre-burial body exposure, post-burial manipulation, and/or secondary burial with selective removal or interment of certain body parts are possible explanations, inconsistent recovery and reporting of archaeological contexts and bone modifications makes it challenging to fully exclude taphonomic processes. The social significance of such practices in regional hunter-gatherer lifeways is also undertheorized because most remains were reported in appendices as element lists that focus on population characteristics. Here, we report human remains recovered between 2016 and 2019 through detailed archaeological excavations from five rock shelters in Malawi, which provide a way to investigate burial practices with high-resolution data sets. We recovered remains from 19 individuals, 16 of whom are represented only by isolated elements. Individuals found in primary burials have evidence for pre-burial loss or post-burial removal of elements that are not readily explained by non-anthropogenic processes. We interpret some of these patterns as likely evidence of mortuary treatments involving posthumous exposure, manipulation, and/or curation of body parts. En este artículo se examinan las prácticas mortuorias de los cazadores-recolectores de Malawi y el este de Zambia en el centro-sur de África durante el Pleistoceno terminal y el Holoceno. Particularmente nos concentramos en la evidencia de entierro secundario y manipulación de cuerpos post-mortem durante los últimos ~16,000 años. La literatura arqueológica regional publicada documenta muchos entierros incompletos o aislados de diversas formas en estos contextos. La exposición del cuerpo antes del entierro, manipulación del cuerpo después del entierro, entierro secundario con remoción selectiva de restos óseos y/o entierro de ciertos partes del cuerpo son explicaciones posibles. Sin embargo, la recuperación y las modificaciones de los huesos en los informes de hallazgos arqueológicos son inconsistentes y eso dificulta la exclusión total de los procesos tafonómicos de los contextos de restos humanos. La importancia social de tales prácticas en los modos de vida regionales de los cazadores-recolectores también es poco teorizado, ya que la mayoría de los restos y hallazgos se describen en apéndices que se centran en las características de la población y solo hay listas de los elementos óseos. Aquí informamos sobre los restos humanos recuperados entre 2016 y 2019 a través de excavaciones arqueológicas detalladas de cinco refugios rocosos en Malawi, que proporcionan una manera de investigar las prácticas funerarias usando un conjunto de datos de alta resolución. Recuperamos restos de diecinueve individuos, dieciséis de los cuales están representados sólo por elementos aislados. Individuos encontrados en entierros primarios tienen evidencia de remoción de elementos óseos antes de ser enterrados o después del entierro que no se explican fácilmente a través de procesos no antropogénicos. Interpretamos que algunos de estos patrones son posibles evidencias de tratamientos mortuorios que involucran exposición póstuma, manipulación y/o curación de partes del cuerpo.