Use of the data on infants' mortality in paleodemography

Proučavanje bioloških karakteristika prošlih populacija na osnovu skeletnih ostataka, osnovni je cilj paleodemografije. Jedan od važnih segmenata paleodemografskih istraživanja jeste proučavanje stope smrtnosti (mortaliteta). Smrtnost infanta (individue stare do godinu dana), povezana je sa širokom skalom ekonomskih, socijalnih i medicinskih uslova, i zato može biti dobar indikator opštih životnih prilika zajednice. Međutim, tumačenje stope smrtnosti infanta na osnovu skeletnih ostataka povezano je sa nizom problema, jer postoje brojni uzroci koji mogu dovesti do pririsustva skeleta infanta u nekropoli. Ti uzroci mogu biti: kiselost zemlje, otpornost same kosti na propadanje, pogrebna praksa i samo iskopavanje. Individualna starost infanta može precizno da se utvrdi, i podatak o njoj može ukazati da li se radi o neonatalnom ili postneonatalnom mortalitetu, ili eventualno može ukazati na praksu čedomorstva.Paleodemography is a study of biological patterns of past populations, trough the examination of skeletal remains. Study of infants (infants are individuals under 1 year of age) skeletons is very important, becouse infant mortality is affected by a broad range of economic, social and medical conditions, and could be regarded as an indicator of overall quality of life of past communites. But, there is a lot of problems in assessment to trace infant mortality from skeletal material. The reasons because of wich these skeletons may be unrepresented in osteoarchaeological material are: effect of soil acidity (if soil acidity decreased destruction of bone increased especial of infant bones), burial practices (may result in excluded of infant from cemetery burial), and excavation strategy. In infant skeletons we could estimate age with precision, and some authors think that in some cases this estimation provideded evidence for practise of infanticide (killing of unwonted infants). If we have information about infant age, we could put one infant skeleton in category of neonatal mortality (caused by weaknesses of infants), or in the postneonatal mortality (caused by enviromental factors)

The domestication of human birth

Observations of the burial places of newborns at the prehistoric site at Lepenski Vir (Serbia) revealed the possibility that deliveries took place inside houses that were heated. Warm houses provided a thermally stable environment which, in turn, could solve the problem of thermoregulation, that is critical for the survival of babies. In this study it is shown that the creation of these good conditions for giving birth could have been an important step in human evolution that could have led to a demographic expansion.Opazovanja prostorov s pokopi novorojenčkov na prazgodovinskem najdišču Lepenski Vir (Srbija), so pokazala možnost, da se je rojevanje dogajalo znotraj ogrevanih hiš. Ogrevane hiše so zagotavljale termalno stabilno okolje, kar je morda rešilo problem termoregulacije, ki je odločilen za preživetje otrok. V tej študiji prikažemo, da je lahko ustvarjanje dobrih pogojev za rojevanje pomemben korak v človeški evoluciji in je lahko pripeljal do demografske ekspanzije

Physical-anthropological analysis of skeletal remains from a Late Antique tomb in Remesiana

Tokom avgusta 2004, na lokalitetu Bandol u Beloj Palanci - antičkoj Remesijani, slučajno je otkrivena kasnoantička zidana grobnica. Antropološka analiza pronađenih ljudskih skeletnih ostataka pokazala je da je u grobnici bilo sahranjeno sedam odraslih individua, četiri žene i tri muškarca. Različit stepen očuvanosti kostiju mogao bi da bude indikator različitog postupka u pogrebnoj praksi, ali možda i pokazatelj hronologije sahranjivanja u grobnici. Izuzev jednog sraslog preloma radijusa i jednog srašćivanja sakruma i karlice, na kostima nisu konstatovani tragovi bolesti. Nedostatak dečijih skeleta, nepostojanje tragova mišićnog stresa ni značajnijih tragova bolesti, kao i dug životni vek, sa oprezom bi se mogli interpretirati kao indikator dobrog kvaliteta života sahranjenih individua.In August of 2004, at the Bandol site in Bela Palanka (Remesiana), a late antique tomb was discovered. Although several similar tombs have been found in this area, neither archaeological analysis nor anthropological study of the skeletons they contain have been attempted. The tomb had been looted shortly before the present author entered it and many of the bones had been disturbed. Nevertheless, some remained in their original position. For instance, close to the south (Grave 1) (pl. I/1) and the north (Grave 3) walls, the skeletons were still in their primary positions. Grave 2 is located in the southwest corner, whereas all bones found in the northwest corner (Graves 4, 6 and 7) were in their secondary positions so the original position in the tomb could not be determined (pl. I/2). Close to the north wall, on the floor of the tomb, we found a skull in situ as well as pieces of a post cranial skeleton (Grave 5). Anthropological analysis of the human skeletal remains found at Bandol indicates the following: seven adults were buried there, four females and three males, while no evidence of children or young adults were registered; six of these individuals were aged 50 or older while only the female from Grave 2 was aged between 30-40 (such an age structure might be an indicator of good living conditions between 4th and 6th century); another indicator of good living conditions might also be the fact that, aside from one fused fracture of the radius and one fused sacrum of the pelvis, no significant traces of disease were found; specific damage to some bones and the absence of a certain number of bones indicates that these individuals were buried in different ways, some of them were buried in the presence of organic matter (wood, as for coffins, etc) that encouraged bone decomposition; no signs of musculo-stress markers on the bones, which suggests that none of the individuals were exposed to heavy stressful physical labour (the fact that no evidence of such marks at the muscle-bone junctions were found, even in the bones of the males, rules out the possibility that the tomb is that of a veteran). All this leads to the conclusion that the tomb belonged to a family of aristocrats who enjoyed relatively good conditions in Remesiana

Human rib as a pendant at the Early Bronze Age necropolis in Mokrin

Nekropola ranog bronzanog doba u Mokrinu pripada moriškoj kulturi, i na njoj je istraženo 312 grobova, uglavnom inhumiranih pokojnika. U grobu 180, koji je pripadao ženi staroj oko 40-50 godina, pored "specijalne ogrlice" pronađene iza potiljka i kukova, nađena je u predelu stomaka niska koju su činili privesci i perlice od životinjskih kostiju. Jedan od privezaka na nisci bio je napravljen od ljudske kosti, i to od prvog ljudskog rebra. Upotreba ljudskih kostiju kao materijala od kojeg se prave privesci, retkost je ne samo kada je u pitanju evropska praistorija već i celokupna čovekova kultura. Određene specifičnosti u pogrebnom normativu, "specijalna ogrlica" kao i niska sa ljudskim rebrom, mogli bi da ukazuju na poseban položaj pokojnice u ovoj zajednici.The necropolis in Mokrin (north-eastern Serbia) belongs to the Early Bronze Age Maros culture. The culture was located in the eastern Carpathian basin and includes south eastern Hungary, northern Serbia and western Romania. The region of Maros culture is restricted by the Koros drainage to the north, by the Tisa river to the west and by the rivers Zlatica and Galacka to the south. It is mainly concentrated at the mouths of the Tisa and Maros rivers. Up to now 24 AMS dates indicate that the culture emerged in approximately 2700 calBC, with the majority of dates around 2000 calBC, which was also the time at which it peaked. Absolute dates show that the end of Maros culture came between 1700 and 1500 B.C. At Mokrin, about 300 individuals were buried mainly in flexed position. Six absolute dates from Mokrin show the dates between 2100 and 1800 calBC. Grave 180 from Mokrin (pl. I/2) is that of a female, 40-50 years old. By the abdominal part of her skeleton a string of beads and pendants was found. The string consists of around 90 cylindrical beads made of deer bones and sheep and goat tibia, three triangular bovine tongue bones with perforated corners and six tubular bones with parallel transverse incisions made of sheep tibia (part of the string is shown in pl. I/1). But what makes this string unusual is a pendant made of a human bone namely the first rib, perforated for suspension at the sternal end. Use of human bones for pendants is rare in European prehistory and highly unusual or even tabooed in many cultures. What could explain the use of a human bone as a pendant? Considering the fact that the string was not found in a wearing position, its use for some other proposes can be supposed. We presume that perhaps the string with the human bone pendant was used as some kind of a sash, or for ritual purposes

Demography of the Early Neolithic Population in Central Balkans: Population Dynamics Reconstruction Using Summed Radiocarbon Probability Distributions

The Central Balkans region is of great importance for understanding the spread of the Neolithic in Europe but the Early Neolithic population dynamics of the region is unknown. In this study we apply the method of summed calibrated probability distributions to a set of published radiocarbon dates from the Republic of Serbia in order to reconstruct population dynamics in the Early Neolithic in this part of the Central Balkans. The results indicate that there was a significant population growth after similar to 6200 calBC, when the Neolithic was introduced into the region, followed by a bust at the end of the Early Neolithic phase (similar to 5400 calBC). These results are broadly consistent with the predictions of the Neolithic Demographic Transition theory and the patterns of population booms and busts detected in other regions of Europe. These results suggest that the cultural process that underlies the patterns observed in Central and Western Europe was also in operation in the Central Balkan Neolithic and that the population increase component of this process can be considered as an important factor for the spread of the Neolithic as envisioned in the demic diffusion hypothesis

Becoming sedentary? The seasonality of food resource exploitation in the Mesolithic-Neolithic Danube Gorges

In this paper, we investigate whether the Mesolithic-Neolithic sites in the Danube Gorges were occupied seasonally or all year round by looking at animal skeletal remains. The hunting seasons of most important game animals have been determined on the basis of antler and teeth growth, supplemented by looking into the presence of migratory fish and birds. The patterns of food resource exploitation seem to indicate year-round occupation of the settlements, and suggest that a significant degree of sedentism existed in the Danube Gorges prior to, and independently of, the adoption of animal and plant husbandry.V članku na podlagi analize živalskih ostankov raziskujemo, ali so bila mezolitsko-neolitska najdišča na območju soteske Džerdap poseljena sezonsko ali čez celo leto. Na podlagi rasti rogovja in zob smo določili lovno sezono za najpomembnejšo divjad, podatke pa smo dopolnili z analizo selitve rib in ptic. Vzorci rabe raznih virov prehrane kažejo na celoletno poselitev na naselbinah; sklepamo tudi, da se je na območju Džerdapa delno sedentaren način življenja pojavil ločeno od in pred pojavom prvih domačih živali in kultiviranih rastlin

The bioarchaeology of the Neolithic transition: evidence of dental pathologies at Lepenski Vir (Serbia)

The Neolithic transition affected human biology, which is visible as a series of interrelated skeletal and dental pathological conditions. The population of Lepenski vir culture, which inhabited the region of the Danube Gorges between 9500-5500 BC, also went through the neolithisation process. In this study, the dental pathological conditions of 32 adult individuals from the Lepenski Vir site were examined for the incidence of enamel hypoplasia, the rate of dental wear, dental caries and ante-mortem tooth loss. The results indicate changes in biology and diet of this population in the Neolithic which were associated with the introduction of non-local identities in the region

Антрополошка анализа скелетних остатака индивидуа из периода Културе гробних хумки (1600-1200. г.п.н.е.) сахрањених на локалитетима Растина (улица Вука Караџића) и Гаково (Локалитет Васин До)

Приликом заштитних ископавања на териорији Сомбора 2012. и 2013. године, на локалитетима Растина (улица Вука Караџића) и Гаково (локалитет Васин До) истражена су два гроба за које се претпоставља даприпадају старијој фази културе гробних хумки. Антрополошка анализа показала је да скелетни остаци у гробу 1 са локалитета Растина (улицаВука Караџића) припадају детету од око 10 година, док скелетни остациу гробу 1 са локалитета Гаково (Васин До) припадају млађој индивидуи мушког пола старости 15 –18 година. Анализа је показала да ни дете ни млађи мушкарац нису имали повољене услове живота, као и да су преживели неки метаболички стрест у току детињства, будући да је код обе индивидуе забележено присуство хипоплазије зубне глеђ и и cribraorbitaliae. Поред тога, код обе индивидуе је установљено присуство каријеса на по једном зубу, док је присуство каменца забележено на више зуба, што може бити последица исхране, лоше оралне хигијене и других фактора. Такође, код обе индивидуе је забележено присуство трагова немастикаторних активности, који указују на коришћење зуба као “треће руке”. Анализа припоја мишића код млађег мушкарца показала је да јеобављао неки тежи физички рад од раног детињства имајући у виду лезије на припојима мишића хумеруса као и закривљеност дијафиза. Присутна закривљеност обе дијафизе фемура указује на неки специфичан положај у којем је ова индивидуа била приликом обављања одређених активности. Резултати анализа стабилних изотопа угљеника (13C) и азота (15N), показали су да су обе индивидуе имале исхрану претежно базирану на C4 биљкама, као што је просо, док су протеини попут меса или рибе били мање заступљени. Обављена је и археозоолошка анализа која је открила врсте присутних животиња, као и антропогене трагове у виду касапљења. Антрополошка истраживања припадника ове културе за сада су оскудна, те стога анализа ових индивидуа, иако малобројних, пружа значајне податке о расту и развоју, активностима и исхрани носилаца културе гробних хумки

Kvantificiranje fiziološkega stresa v prazgodovini s pomočjo metode anulacije zobnega cementa (TCA):: preliminarni rezultati iz osrednjega Balkana

The Neolithic way of life was accompanied by an increase in various forms of physiological stress (e.g. disease, malnutrition). Here we use the method of tooth cementum annulation (TCA) analysis in order to detect physiological stress that is probably related to calcium metabolism. The TCA method is applied to a sample of teeth from three Mesolithic and five Neolithic individuals from the Central Balkans. The average number of physiological stress episodes is higher in the Neolithic group – but the statistical significance of this result cannot be evaluated due to the small sample size, therefore these results should be taken as preliminary.Življenje v neolitiku je spremljal porast različnih oblik fiziološkega stresa (npr. bolezni, podhranjenost). Predstavljamo uporabo analitske metode anulacije zobnega cementa (TCA), s katero lahko odkrivamo fiziološki stres, ki je verjetno povezan s presnovo kalcija. Metodo smo uporabili pri analizah vzorcev treh mezolitskih in petih neolitskih posameznikov iz osrednjega Balkana. Povprečno število fizioloških epizodnih stresov je v neolitski skupini večje – vendar zaradi majhnega števila vzorcev tega rezultata statistično ne moremo ovrednotiti in ga predstavljamo kot preliminarnega

Liver cystic echinococcosis in humans — a study of 30 cases

The aim of this study is to demonstrate the clinical manifestations and diagnostic approach to liver hydatid disease and suggest its treatment. The prospective study was carried out on 30 patients with liver hydatidosis. Hepatologic examinations were based on: medical history, physical examination, biochemical and serological tests, ultrasonography and computed tomography scanning. Twenty-five (83.3 %) patients underwent radical cyst resection, while in 5 (16.7 %) cases liver resection with left lobectomy was also performed. Hydatid cyst was histopathologically verified in all the patients. Our results showed that the patients with multiple cysts had impaired functional liver tests significantly more often than patients with unilocular cyst. In addition, ultrasonography and computed tomography scans are the valid imaging procedures in diagnosis. Radical, surgical resection of hepatic hydatid cysts is the goal of treatment