Size and shape of Greek Late Neolithic livestock suggest the existence of multiple and distinctive animal husbandry cultures

In this paper we discuss domestic livestock morphometric data from the Late Neolithic Greek regions of Macedonia and Thessaly. Six sites are considered, including a substantial and previously unpublished dataset from Promachon (Macedonia). The analysis of the size and shape of the animals indicates great variation between sites and regions, suggestive of the co-existence of multiple styles of husbandry. The site of Sitagroi stands out for its large and robust cattle and sheep, probably a consequence of its environmental setting, as well as the dynamism of its cultural and economic connections. In Thessaly, despite the existence of inter-site connections documented through the material culture, different sites maintained their independence in terms of husbandry choices

Reassessing the Age, Sex and Metric Variation of Commingled Human Remains from a 1911 Excavation of a Neolithic Passage Tomb Complex in North-West Ireland

The Neolithic passage tomb complex at Carrowkeel, County Sligo, Ireland, is one of the best preserved and most significant megalithic funerary and ritual landscapes in Europe. The most substantial archaeological excavations at the complex were undertaken in 1911, from which a relatively large sample of commingled unburnt and cremated human remains from seven chambered passage tombs was recovered. Although the archaeological value of this material is reduced as its spatial and stratigraphic context is uncertain, the skeletal remains have the potential to provide insights into how these monuments were used. This study is a quantitative reassessment of that osteological material from the passage tombs excavated in 1911, with a focus on a contextual analysis of the remains. Overall, the age-at-death and sex ratios do not indicate any demographic differentiation between monuments in selecting locations for the deposition of bodies, and there is no clear evidence to suggest any selectiveness of certain skeletal elements took place. There may however have been a differentiating age and gender aspect in terms of the unburnt versus cremated bone surface depositions within the passage tombs, as a higher proportion of 5+years non-adults and adult females were present in the cremated material. By using the log-ratio metric scaling technique on the cremated adult material, a statistically significant difference in skeletal dimensions is observed between individual passage tombs; however, it is unclear how significant this disparity is from a biocultural point of view. Despite apparent methodological difficulties in assessing an archaeological bone assemblage collected by early 20th-century antiquarians, the material can still yield new knowledge about the rituals conducted at Carrowkeel

Temporal Trends in Vertebral Size and Shape from Medieval to Modern-Day

Human lumbar vertebrae support the weight of the upper body. Loads lifted and carried by the upper extremities cause significant loading stress to the vertebral bodies. It is well established that trauma-induced vertebral fractures are common especially among elderly people. The aim of this study was to investigate the morphological factors that could have affected the prevalence of trauma-related vertebral fractures from medieval times to the present day. To determine if morphological differences existed in the size and shape of the vertebral body between medieval times and the present day, the vertebral body size and shape was measured from the 4th lumbar vertebra using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and standard osteometric calipers. The modern samples consisted of modern Finns and the medieval samples were from archaeological collections in Sweden and Britain. The results show that the shape and size of the 4th lumbar vertebra has changed significantly from medieval times in a way that markedly affects the biomechanical characteristics of the lumbar vertebral column. These changes may have influenced the incidence of trauma- induced spinal fractures in modern populations

En storgrav från Gotlands bronsålder : arkeologisk undersökning vid Simunde i Hörsne med Bara socken på Gotland 1957-58

För över 50 år sedan undersöktes ett gravmonument vid Simunde i Hörsne med Bara socken på Gotland. Monumentet mätte nära trettio meter i diameter och innehöll ett tjugotal gravar. Den äldsta graven dateras till bronsålder omkring 1500 f. Kr. och den yngsta dateras till vendeltid. Monumentet har följaktligen använts som begravningsplats i över tvåtusen år. Under denna period har det genomgått en successiv utveckling under intryck av en tradition som ändrat innehåll och uttrycksformer, både på grund av interna och utifrån kommande influenser. Monumentet vid Simunde, dess många gravar och strukturella komplexitet, hänvisas ofta till i den arkeologiska litteraturen. Undersökningen har dock aldrig tidigare publicerats och syftet med denna bok är därför att göra en av gotländsk- och svensk arkeologis viktigaste undersökningar tillgänglig för framtida studier. Texten bygger till stora delar på originalmanus och är en produkt av ett samarbete mellan ansvarig arkeolog vid undersökningen Bengt Schönbäck och doktorand Joakim Wehlin vid Högskolan på Gotland.Med osteologisk rapport av Nils-Gustaf Gejvall 1958</p