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Assumpció Malgosa
Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona
Spain
Abstract
The study of antiquity can be tackled from different angles and perspectives.
The biological vision of ancient humanity is the subject of physical anthropology,
which studies the variability of the human being in space and time. This discipline
studies human remains, principally bones, and analyses their composition,
form or anomalies, to determine the life story that has been “written” in them.
The archaeological register of the Middle Ages offers a large number of human
remains, the study of which should supply an interpretation of life in that context.
Moreover, the anthropological study of medieval remains allows us to go beyond
the interpretation of an extinct society, because at the methodological level, and
given the extensive existing documentation of all types, it offers the possibility of
defending, supporting and confirming data obtained empirically.
Key Words
Capitalia Verba
1. Physical Anthropology
Biological anthropology studies the variability of the human being in space and
time. When the subject of the study is ancient man, we talk about skeletal biology,
palaeoanthropology or osteobiography. Personally, I like the latter term, coined by
the British, as it summaries in one word what is really being analysed: life through
bones. Perhaps it is not totally precise as it is not only bones but rather the whole
skeleton, bones and teeth, that supplies the information, but it does give a very clear
idea of the aim of this kind of study, namely to obtain all possible information about
the lives of the men and women of the past through studying their remains.
The application of this type of information is not limited to one period or moment,
but can explain many things about the people and societies of a specific time, based
as it is on direct evidence, i.e. skeletons, and can be compared with written sources
and other documents, images, etc.1
Medieval population has evidently been intensively studied through physical
anthropology,2 as there are many biological vestiges, and the discovery of remains
and necropoli from the medieval period fill the pages of many newspapers. They are
also on the agenda if we enter the right key words into any search engine: medieval
1. The research carried out for this work was supported by the Ministry of Science and Innovation of the
Spanish Government (MICINN) in the research project CGL2008-0800.
2. I mention the most notable works in Spain, mainly in the form of doctoral theses, but also some research
that has been published about human remains from the medieval period: Arenal, Isabel; de la Rúa Vaca,
Concepción. Antropología de una población medieval vizcaína, San Juan de Momoitio. Garai. Donostia-San
Sebastián: Eusko Ikaskuntza, 1990; Fadritque, Thais. La necròpolis Alt Medieval de Sant Esteve de Granollers
(Barcelona): Estudi bioantropològic. Bellaterra: Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (unpublished research
work), 2006; Galera, Virginia. La población medieval cántabra de Santa María del Hito. Aspectos paleodemográficos,
morfológicos, paleoepidemiológicos y de etnogénesis. Madrid: Universidad de Alcalá de Henares (PhD. Dissertation),
1989; Hernández, Miquel; Turbón, Daniel. “Parámetros del esqueleto postcraneal en la población castellana
medieval de ‘La Olmeda’”. Boletín de la Sociedad Española de Antropología Physical, 12 (1991): 61-80; Jordana,
Xavier. Caracterització i evolució d’una comunitat medieval catalana. Estudi bioantropològic de les inhumacions de les
esglésies de Sant Pere. Bellaterra: Tesis doctoral Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (PhD. Dissertation), 2007;
<http://www.tesisenxarxa.net/TDX/TDX_UAB/TESIS/AVAILABLE/TDX-0601107-162707//xjc1de1.pdf>;
Jordana, Xavier; Malgosa, Assumpció. “Terrassa, una villa medieval en transición a la Época Moderna.
Estudio bioantropológico de la necrópolis de la Plaça Vella”. Revista Española de Antropología Physical, 23
(2002): 1-25; López, Belén. Estudio antropológico de poblaciones históricas de Castilla y León. Leon: Universidad
de León (PhD. Dissertation), 2000; Martín, Encarna & Souich du, Philippe. “Estudio antropológico de
la necrópolis altomedieval del monasterio de Suso (San Millán de the Cogolla, Logroño)”. Antropología
y Paleoecología humana, 2 (1981): 3-20; Prada, Encina. Estudio antropológico de los restos humanos medievales
y modernos de la necrópolis leonesa de Palat del Rey. Lleó: Universidad de León (PhD. Dissertation), 1993;
Prevosti, María; 3Prevosti, Antonio. “Restos humanos procedentes de una necrópolis judaica de Montjuich
(Barcelona)”. Trabajos del Instituto Bernardino de Sahagún, 12 (1951): 69-148; Souich Philippe du. “Estudio
antropológico de la necrópolis medieval de la Torrecilla (Arenas del Rey, Granada)”. Antropología y
Paleoecología humana, 1 (1979): 27-40; Souich, Philippe du; Botella, Miguel Cecilio; Ruíz, L. “Antropología
de la población medieval de Palacios de la Sierra (Burgos)”. Boletín de la Sociedad Española de Antropología
Physical, 11 (1990): 117-146; Souich Philippe du & Botella, Miguel Cecilio. “Antropología de la población
medieval de Villanueva de Soportillo (Burgos)”. Antropología y Paleoecología humana, 6 (1991): 57-84;
Vives, Elisenda. Contribució al coneixement dels enterraments medievals a Catalunya i regions limítrofes. Bellaterra:
Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (PhD. Dissertation), 1987; Vives, Elisenda. La població catalana medieval:
Origen i evolution. Barcelona: Eumo Editorial, 1990.
human remains. Despite this, physical anthropology has not concentrated specifically
on this period. The fact that there is abundant documentation and that it is relatively
recent has meant that this period has not been as closely studied as other more
distant historical periods, and has not generated the same level of fascination as the
prehistoric era. However, the anthropological study of medieval human remains
is extremely interesting on many levels, both for the interpretation of an extinct
society, and on a methodological level because the parallel documentation offers the
possibility of debating, supporting and confirming empirically obtained data.
What can the physical anthropology of the Middle Ages explain? In fact, what we
should ask ourselves is what physical anthropology obtains from surviving human
remains. Initially, anthropology tells us personal stories: who the person was,
which is what we call the person’s biological profile (age, sex, stature, population
group), but also about their lives, each person’s biography, or rather osteobiography
—the register in the bones of how he or she lived, what diseases they suffered, the
circumstances that surrounded their lives and perhaps even their deaths.
Nevertheless, physical anthropology studies populations, so there are many
global questions about the groups that it can help to reconstruct. From an overall
description of medieval society, I will introduce the aspects to which anthropology
can contribute in the following paragraphs.
In the medieval period and in traditions from ancient times, when someone died,
they were wrapped in a white shroud and their relatives watched over them before
the burial. It was not infrequent to take them directly to the cemetery. This was
done not only to avoid the contagion of diseases, but also to keep the ghost of the
dead at a distance.
Anthropology in the field allows the questions related to the deposition of
the body through the excavation and recovery of the remains: the existence of
a wrapping, the type of place (silted up or not), association with material, such
peri mortem circumstances as fractures that occurred shortly before, during or after
death, non-habitual postures and particular situations to be interpreted.
The dead were buried in the village cemetery, as close as possible to the church
—especially since the 11th century— and also to the family. The nobility and clergy,
the most powerful groups, found their place closer to, and sometimes even inside,
the church.
The differences in status are often observed in nutritional markers or others
of activity, or even in the demographic data itself. On the other hand, the new
molecular analyses that can be used nowadays on skeletal remains sometimes allow
kinship to be established.
If we focus on the Middle Ages, we know that the society of the living was
predominantly rural for many centuries. At that time, ninety per cent of the
population lived in the country, which was the centre of all activity and life, and
peasants were organised around their own lands and other common lands they shared
with their neighbours.
Physical anthropology enjoys a series of tools at the level of markers of activity
and pathologies that give direct information about a type of activity and its effects
on people.
These communities were gradually taken over by lords, lay or religious, and feudalism
was adopted as a mode of social organisation. Society was divided into estates at the
base of which were the peasants, either free or serfs, who made up the vast majority
of the population. On the intermediate level were the military and the nobility, both
lay and ecclesiastical, who had different categories or status. At the top was the royalty.
This division in status not only affected everyday activities, but also access to food,
direct contact with specific pathogenic agents carried by livestock, the possibility of
suffering serious injuries, etc., where physical anthropology also supplies basic data
about lifestyle.
Membership of one group or another was decided by birth, and, given the
exclusive nature of these estates, it was not possible to move from one to another.
This was articulated by the scholars of the time, who sought a divine explanation
for this new social organisation. Each one fulfilled a function, all of which were
important, as everyone depended on everyone else through the intricate system of
dependence or vassalage.
This fact is very important as it means that the physical and environmental
conditions in which a person was immersed were maintained throughout his or
her life. Peasants, lords, soldiers and royalty had specific roles and obligations, with
few transgressions, which facilitated their recognition. Given that the bones register
acute changes that affect them directly, or chronic ones that affect them indirectly
but lastingly, the fact that [one’s social] status was maintained throughout one’s life
makes this easier to identify in anthropological studies.
The economy was one of subsistence and the family was the main unit of production
for the medieval peasantry. The nuclear family shared the houses, although it was
common to find homes with extended families. Each member of the family had a role,
and there was a division of labour according to the person’s sex, age or status. While
the men and young people worked the land, the women took care of the livestock, the
kitchen garden, the clothing, and preparing and conserving food and drink.
dentari. De totes maneres també port aportar dades sobre l’estat nutricional i de salut de la
població a través dels patrons demogràfics i de les patologies òssies.3
This was a convulsive period, which affected each feudal house’s differently.
While some families expanded greatly and established links to others through
marriage, there were also conflicts over succession and territory deriving from the
relations of vassalage and as an expression of the violence inherent in feudalism.
Although there were great population movements of conquest and territorial
predominance in great waves in earlier periods, physical anthropology can supply
genetic data from the genetic material contained in the bone remains and through
epigenetic skeletal markers. On the other hand, injuries from armed conflicts are
recognisable and allow a reconstruction of the strategies and weapons of combat.
The transformation of an eminently rural feudal society into an urban social class,
the bourgeoisie, started in the 11th century, and led to important urban growth,
thanks, among other things, to the expansion of agriculture and the spread of trade.
The model gradually evolved towards a society where the bourgeoisie marked out
their own space and functions as well as taking over small parcels of power, creating
a political and organisational system very different from the one practiced in the
country, and taking leadership over the cities.
The new bourgeoisie settled outside the walls, leading to the growth of the
suburbs, an area that would later be integrated into the city with a new wall that
included the new inhabitants, leading to an irregular layout that responded to the
new homes, and not to urban planning.
Aquest nou tipus de vida. afectarà també l’estil de vida i la salut de les persones. Els canvis
demogràfics, l’especialització que suposa algunes feines lligades als gremis i la insalubritat
dels burgs medievals, són alguns dels aspectes més notables en els que l’antropologia aporta
dades fonamentals. Ens podem preguntar doncs sobre l’estructura demogràfica de les
poblacions, cóm afectaria l’ambient a aquesta gent, quines malalties podrien patir, quin
tipus de patògens eren més freqüents en aquell lloc i època, la mortalitat concreta que van
provocar les grans epidèmies i quin era l’agent patogen responsable —ja que en un moment
donat tot rep el nom genèric de pesta—, quina importància van tenir en aquesta mortaldat
les grans fams, les dietes monòtones i escasses, etc.4
Both models, the rural and the urban, with their own social and economic
organisation, were not incompatible but rather coexisted throughout the Middle
Ages. The majority of the population continued to live off the land, the population
of the cities being a minority and so the advantages and disadvantages derived
from each of these situations, such as the greater freedom and higher income
enjoyed by the minority who lived in the towns, continued for centuries and in
some cases resulted in a longer life expectancy.
Physical anthropology studies the demographic profiles and analyses these in
the light of such other aspects as diseases and the degenerative markers and aging.
Some years ago, Wood, Milner, Harpending and Weiss demonstrated the problem
of selective mortality and the heterogeneity hidden in the susceptibility to disease,
and argued in their Osteological Paradox that interpreting the state of health of the
population from bone fragments is not simple. The palaeopathological findings
from the medieval period are more spectacular than those from other periods,
which is evidently linked to the exposure to pathological agents that can mean
worse living conditions, but is also related to a greater survival of the population,
both aspects which must not be underestimated.
The development of the city provoked a change in trade in the Middle Ages
and one must bear in mind a “before” and “after” for the 11th-century cultural,
economic and social renaissance. Since the fall of the Western Roman Empire,
there had been little trade and Early Middle Age societies were rather closed.
However, trade began to increase in the 11th century with the newly-acquired
importance of the cities and their populations. The cities had a very important
role in medieval Europe as centres of teaching, government and religion, but
especially as key places in the new trade system. Moreover, despite the economic
depression of the early medieval centuries, the demand for luxury goods and
spices from the Orient, such as silk or pepper, had not disappeared, and all Europe
was affected by the expansion in international trade.
Trade meant movement not only of goods but also people, which meant a
mixing of populations and the introduction and expansion of diseases previously
confined to certain areas of the world, both of which aspects are analysed by
physical anthropology.
unhealthiness of medieval towns are some of the most notable aspects for which anthropology supplies
fundamental data. Thus we can ask ourselves about the demographic structure of the populations,
how the environment would affect these people, which diseases they might have suffered, what type
of pathogens were more common at that time and place, the specific mortality caused by the great
epidemics, and which pathogenic agents were responsible —since at a given moment everything was
given the generic name of plague—, what importance the great famines, the monotonous and poor
diet, etc, had on this mortality”.
perhaps even its cause (Figure 1). On other occasions, it can be a question of
being able to differentaite between stones and calcified structures of organic
origin, such as kidney or liver stones.
Figure 3. Bronze Age hypogeum with a mass grave at Mas d’en Boixos (Pacs, Alt Penedès).
Thus, the anthropologist’s work covers a wide spectrum of tasks: from the
field and the laboratory, to making “a history of life” and presenting it to society
in the form of scientific information and popular divulgation.
This review of the work of anthropologists introduces the tasks they undertake
and which allow them to reconstruct the past from remains. I believe that it is
interesting to define the work of the anthropologist through the title of the book
by Mehmet Iscan and Kenneth Kennedy, Reconstruction of Life from the Skeleton,5
which talks about the methodologies for reconstructing life from skeletal
remains, and goes beyond the idea of studying exclusively the dead, which is
often associated with the study of death and not the people, who lived and died
at some moment in the past.
And it is possible to do this: it is possible to reconstruct life in the past,
obviously within limits, but it can be done, and this work can be carried out in
our laboratories. Many will ask how human remains, often scarce or damaged,
can tell us so much. The answer is “reading the bones”. The secrets are guarded
5. Iscan, Mehmet Yasar; Kennedy, Kenneth A. R., eds. Reconstruction of life from the skeleton. New York:
Alan R. Liss, 1989.
3. In the laboratory
length of the long bones, and after the age of twelve, in adolescence, the most
reliable criteria are those of epiphyseal fusion (Figure 4b). These methodologies
can be used, not only in skeletal remains, but also in recent cadavers and in
x-rays of living people. To obtain results, a reference series as close to the case
study as possible is needed, both geographically and chronologically. To evaluate
age in adults (when the growth and development of the bones has ceased),
markers that indicate degenerative processes are used. These include changes in
the sternal face of the 4th rib, the morphological changes in the pubic symphysis
(Figure 4c), or the auricular surface of the coxal.
Regarding gender, there are differences between the skeletons of men and
women that allow a reliable diagnosis (figure 5). It should be borne in mind
that the design of our skeleton has been profoundly modified by having to adapt
to an upright posture. These changes affect the position and shape of the head,
the curve of the spine, the freeing of the upper limbs, the verticality of the lower
limbs and their convergence in the supporting polygon. But they especially
affect the shape of the pelvis that, with evolution, has evolved into a bony ring
that supports the limbs, which bears all the weight of the entrails internally,
and externally allows the connection of muscles strong enough to maintain the
upright posture. These are the changes that we see in men, changes towards a
compact pelvis that has to bear the bodyweight and house stabilising muscles for
the upright position. However, in women, this pelvis must also shelter a baby for
nine months, then allow it come out, so the female pelvis has to be wider, lower
and have bigger internal cavities.
On the other hand, other secondary sexual characteristics linked to
development, such as the greater size of the skeleton and musculature in men,
also help the diagnosis (figure 5). Gender can also be analysed at the molecular
level. This methodology is mainly used in the case of infants. It must be borne
in mind that all the characteristics described to here are little developed in pre-
adults, and more reliable forms of diagnosis are required.
Figure. 4 Skeletal markers for age; a) development and dental eruption6 b) epiphyseal
fusion, c) changes in the sternal faces and the pubic symphysis, collected by Krogman
and Iscan.7
The characteristics of the long bones also contribute to other diagnoses, for
example, of stature. The bones of the limbs let us estimate the size of the person
(child or adult) while alive, through formulas that take into consideration their
length. The most reliable are those of the lower limbs, as these make the biggest
contribution to the stature. However, the body structures of each population group
are slightly different, and therefore adequate formulas must be used for each case.
Finally, this initial description includes attributing the remains to a population
group. Despite the difficulties of establishing osteological criteria that differentiate
populations, it is true that there are general characteristics that broadly differentiate
the three great branches of human population, at both cranial and postcranial
levels. The high forehead and prominent chin of the Caucasians, the wide faces of
the Mongoloids, or the wide nose of the Negroids, are some of the traits that guide
the diagnosis of population filiation.8
3.2 Palaeodemography
The diagnosis of the gender and age of remains from a necropolis leads the
study towards the issue of population structure. This is a question of analysing
the population biodynamics from the data on the mortality of a human group,
and interpreting other demographic parameters, such as fertility, migration and
population growth, all within an ecological context. Although there is a degree of
controversy about the possibility of carrying this out on ancient populations, the truth
is that there is a set of information to interpret and for which palaeodemographic
tools are essential. Palaeodemography9 is a developing discipline.
First of all, basic information is required to identify the type of funeral deposit
and whether it is a sample of a natural population where all ages and sexes will be
represented in varying proportion, or whether the sample is skewed in any way, in
one specific cemetery. The cause of this bias must be interpreted. Ancient populations
follow the pattern of populations that have not reached the demographic transition,
with high birth and mortality rates, and a very high infant death rate —with a higher
exogenous than endogenous mortality, that diminishes in adolescence and increases
progressively through adulthood. The ages with the highest mortality rates indicate
crucial moments in life —birth, infancy, and the change to adult life. An important
imbalance in the ages of female mortality is also seen in natural populations, being
much higher at earlier ages, with the increased mortality related to problems
derived from the precocity of maternity and risky pregnancies.10 The interpretation
of the structure of age and gender also supplies very valuable information about the
situation and history of that population and the conditions of life and health, and
are thus a good indicator of the demographic and social situation.11
The age bias can be due to different motives. The absence of children in a necropolis
must be considered at different levels.12 On the one hand, the taphonomic processes
must be taken into consideration as possible causes of the greater deterioration and
loss of the remains of children, leading to them being less well represented in the
13. Guy, Herve A.; Masset, Claude; Baud, Charles-Albert. “Infant taphonomy”. International Journal of
Osteoarchaeology, 7 (1997): 221-229; Walker, Phillip L.; Johnson, John R.; Lambert, Patricia M. “Age and
sex biases in the preservation of human skeletal remains”. American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 76
(1988): 183-188.
14. In the Old Testament, the tophet is a holy place, an altar, placed at the gates of Jerusalém where the
Israelites and resident immigrants practiced human sacrifices —specifically young children submitted to
fire in honour of Moloch.
15. Coleman, Emily. “L’infanticide dans le Haut Moyen Age”. Annales Économies, Sociétés, Civilisations,
29 (1974): 315-335; Crawford, Sally. Childhood in Anglo-Saxon England. Stroud: Alan Sutton Publishing,
1999; Watts, Dorothy J. “Infant burials and Romano-British Christianity”. Archaeological Journal, 146
(1989): 372-383.
16. Hernández Espinoza, Patricia Olga. La regulación del crecimiento de la población en el México prehispánico.
Mexico: Ed. Instituto Nacional de Antropología e História, 2006; Lewis, Mary E. The Bioarchaeology of
Children Perspectives from Biological and Forensic Anthropology. Cambridge-New York: Cambridge University
Press; 2007; Perry, Megan A. “Redefining Childhood through Bioarchaeology: Toward an Archaeological
and Biological Understanding of Children in Antiquity“. Antiquity. Archeological Papers of the American
Anthropological Association, 15/1 (1995): 89-111.
17. Malgosa, Assumpció. “Vida, enfermedad y muerte en la antigüedad: lo que nos cuentan los esqueletos
de los niños”, Los niños, actores sociales ignorados. Levantando el velo una mira al pasado, Lourdes Márquez,
coord. Mexico: Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia, 2010: 21-50.
18. Etxeberria, Francisco; Herrasti, Lourdes; Bandrés, Antxon. “Muertes violentas determinadas a través
de estudios de paleopatologia“. Munibe (Antropologia-Arkeologia), 57 (2005-2006): 345-357; Etxeberria,
Francisco; Vegas, José Ignacio. “¿Agresividad social o guerra? Durante el Neo-eneolítico en la cuenca
media del Valle del Ebro, a propósito de San Juan ante Portam Latinam (Rioja Alavesa)”. Munibe
(Antropologia-Arkeologia), suplemento 6 (1988): 105-112.
3.3 Palaeopathology
While the demographic structure supplies indications about the lifestyle and
health of ancient populations, it is palaeopathology that provides more direct
data about the diseases or conditions that affected humanity in ancient times.19
Etymologically, the word Palaeopathology derives from the Greek paleos (old),
pathos (condition), and logos (study), and thus literally means the study of the
diseases of the past. Palaeopathology works in a multidisciplinary terrain where
physical anthropology goes hand in hand with medicine, which supplies the clinical
information, and history, which situates us in the context. This information helps to
rebuild the history and geography of diseases, examining the interactions between
disease and cultural processes, documenting the evolution of the diseases over time,
and understanding the effects of the pathological processes on the development and
growth of bones. Thus, the study of ancient remains facilitates the interpretation of
the state of health of the individuals or population under study, and relates this to
the biological, social and geographic context in which they lived. It is true that this
has strong limitations, as we can only know about the diseases that affected the
bone either directly, like a fracture, or indirectly, by becoming chronic and affecting
the entire organism. Thus, it must be borne in mind that the cause of death can only
be determined on very few occasions, as many types of pathology leave no mark
on the bone. On the other hand, the non-specificity of the bone reactions and the
lack of supporting data, such as the medical history, soft tissues and diagnostic tests,
mean that the diagnoses are often suppositions.
The pathologies of the bone that are most often diagnosed in ancient remains are
congenital, inflammatory, traumatic, tumoral, and degenerative, and those caused
by nutritional deficiencies. Additionally, non-pathological morphological variants
and alterations of the bone surface in places of muscle insertion (the presence of
enthesopathies, etc.) are found that can be used to know about the way of life of
the individual. Regarding the specific case of palaeostomatology, the most common
lesions are caries, alveolar recession and fistulas. Moreover, kidney and liver stones,
ante mortem tooth loss and hypoplasia of dental enamel are also among the indicators
of oral health.
Finding an anomaly by macroscopic observation and detailed examination
of the remains leads to a series of other tasks: the description of the lesion, the
contextualisation of the piece or individual, complementary tests and differential
diagnosis. A detailed description and documentation of the lesion and its context
(individual, geographical, historical, cultural) is essential for the following stages.
Complementary tests, such as x-rays or DNA analysis, supply basic data. Sometimes
these tests can be destructive, so a prior evaluation of the singularity of the specimen
and the documentation should always be undertaken before applying them. Finally,
differential diagnosis brings us closer to a probable diagnosis, but will hardly ever be
19. Isidro, Albert; Malgosa, Assumpció, eds. Paleopatología la enfermedad no escrita. Barcelona: Masson,
2003.
a certainty, given that there are too many diseases that produce the same pattern of
lesions in the bone, and the evidence can be very limited.
The term congenital comes from the Latin congenitus, and literally means “born
with”. Thus, the congenital anomalies or pathologies are those that affect the
embryo and foetus during gestation or at birth. They refer to the characteristics or
traits an individual is born with, and not only depend on hereditary factors, but also
include characteristics acquired during gestation and birth.
These anomalies can be of varying severity, ranging from those that are
incompatible with life and cause the death of the embryo or foetus, to those that are
subclinical and do not lead to any disease. They can be due to genetic (hereditary)
factors or alien or external causes (the effect of drugs, radiations, infections, etc.).
In ancient times, for a person to survive, this type of disease could not be severe
or life-threatening, but rather minor (dental agenesis, some alterations of the shape
of the skull, hidden spina bifida, variations in the number of vertebrae), so that the
congenital anomaly or disease allowed these people to obtain the resources needed
to live, either alone or with the help of the community (Figure 6). This allows us to
infer data about the sociability in the population in the context of the time.
3.3.2 Infections
3.3.3 Tumours
Tumours are anomalous growths of any part of the organism. In old remains
they can be seen in both the skeleton and soft tissues in the case of mummies,
but the tumours that are seen most often in the field of archaeology are those
of the bones. Despite their varied morphology, tumours are evident, either
through the anomalous growth of some part of the bone which provoke bumps
and excrescence, either through the destruction of the bone, which appears like
“hair on end”, often affecting the cortical bone and leaving the spongy tissue
exposed. When the tumour does not affect the bone directly, through contiguity
it can leave an imprint in the form of depressions and even cavities. They can be
benign or malignant, the latter being cancerous tumours.
Benign tumours are much more frequent in the field of old findings and can
vary from small rounded lesions (like the osteomas of the skull) to large tumours
that can cause injury through compression of neighbouring structures. On the
other hand, the malignant or cancerous tumours that can be detected in the
bone develop either from the bone itself, which means their origin is a malignant
and uncontrolled proliferation of cells from the bone or bone marrow, or lesions
through the metastasis of a cancer of unknown origin. The morphological
characteristics of all malignant tumours are their irregularity and the almost
constant destruction of the cortical bone. They can be generators (osteoblastic
metastasis) or destroyers (osteolytic metastasis) of bone (Figure 8).
This section includes those diseases that affect the joints, being mainly of two
types: rheumatic and degenerative articular diseases. The joints are the points on
the skeleton where movement takes place, made up of two or more bones and
covered in cartilage, a tissue very rich in collagen and whose notable characteristics
are low friction and the absorption of weight.
Rheumatic disease is often general or systemic, their origins lying in chronic
inflammatory alterations generated in the sinovial membrane, which is the layer
that surrounds the joint. Its origins are immunologic. Some of these diseases have
a predilection for a specific sex; thus, the best known, rheumatoid arthritis, is
more common among women, while some of the seronegative spondilytis, such as
ankylosing spondilytis, are more frequent in males. Rheumatic diseases are chronic,
with relapses, and are usually quite crippling.
The degenerative articular pathology or arthrosis is an alteration very directly
related to the physical activity of a certain population segment and age. The increase
in physical activity in a joint means that this loses part of its physiological properties
and leads to arthrosis. On the other hand, on reaching a certain age, the joint
cartilage loses its properties and intra-articular (erosions and loss of cartilage) and
extra-articular (osteophyte) lesions appear. Arthrosis is very frequent in the spine
(cervical and lumbar regions) and in the load-bearing joints, mainly the hips and
knees.
Given that in antiquity, many everyday activities required a greater physical
effort, lesions to the joints were more frequent and occurred at earlier ages than
nowadays. The evidence for this type of pathology is found in the modifications
to the area of the joint, with the presence of fusions, erosions, eburnations or the
production of bone excrescences (syndesmophytes).
3.3.5 Traumatisms
Fractures are the loss of the normal continuity of the bone material. The term
is used for all kinds of breaks in bones, from those in which the bone is widely
destroyed, to very small, and even microscopic, lesions. They are very varied in
origin, from accidental or provoked traumatisms, in which a direct or indirect impact
breaks the bone, to those lesions caused by the bone’s inability to bear normal loads
or the persistence of loads on a normal bone.
Accidental traumatisms, such as those from falls or blows, can affect the skeleton,
producing fractures or dislocations of the joints. Although fractures can happen to
any bone in the body, they are more evident in the long bones, such as those in
the arms and legs. In other types of fracture, the bone cannot bear the repetition of
impacts, loss of resistance, lack of solidity or the loads it is submitted to. An example
of this are fractures of the vertebra through osteoporosis.
The physiological repair of the fracture takes place through the production of
a more or less evident bone callus, depending on whether the bones have been
displaced and if the fracture has been reduced (realigned) or not. Thus, the evidence
of a misalignment of the principal axes of the bones (Figure 10), the presence of bone
callus or the clear separation of two fragments allows a fracture to be diagnosed.
On the other hand, if the fracture is not correctly immobilised, a solid callus is
not formed and pseudo-arthrosis appears in its place (mobility of the callus of the
fracture).
Dislocations, being mainly lesions of the soft parts that surround the ends of the
bones at the joints, cannot be seen directly in the archaeological remains, but, in
some cases, their side effects may be seen through the formation of neo-articulations
in anomalous places.
material (Figure 11)20 (Malgosa and Subirà, 1996), namely caries, the loss of bone
support, alveolar abscesses, hypoplasia of the enamel, dental plaque and wear.
Caries is the result of bacterial action on the dental plaque. Its presence is due to
the high consumption of simple sugars and soft-textured foods typical of vegetarian
populations who cook their food. The frequency of caries generally reflects
the changes in diet better than other markers, although oral hygiene and other
constitutional factors also have an influence.
macroscopic and microscopic study.21 On the other hand, it is a lack of oral hygiene,
which is behind the presence of deposits of dental plaque. Microscopic analysis
offers more direct information about the composition of the diet (micro-residues
from plants (microcarbons, phytoliths, etc,) and animals (fragments of fish bones,
spicules, etc.).
21. Romero, A.; Martínez-Ruiz, N.; De Juan. “Quantitative relationship of paleonutritional indicators:
dental microwear analysis and biochemical aspects in an Islamic sample from Alicante, Spain”. International
Journal of Dental Anthropology, 3 (2002): 1-13; Romero, A.; De Juan. “Intra- and interpopulational human
buccal tooth surface microwear analysis: inferences about diet and formation processes”. Anthropologie,
45/1 (2009): 61-70.
22. Larsen, Clark Spencer. Bioarchaeology. Interpreting behavior from the human skeleton. Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press, 1997.
3.3.8 Palaeoepidemiology
From all the data obtained at the pathological level and of the presence of
anomalies, an evaluation can be made of the significance in the population of the
possible diseases that our ancestors suffered most frequently, at what age they were
most susceptible, which groups were most affected, and by what. The pathologies
not only tell us about the disease itself, but also about many other aspects: whether
the victims overcame it or not; their susceptibility; what cures they were given; their
diet and nutritional state; the resources they had available and their adequacy; the
environment; they moreover tell us about health, available products, and the origin
of the group; about the social status related to the distribution of tasks, access to
resources, etc.; occupational habits after the lesions and morphological variability;
the existence of conflicts and interpersonal violence or war; social questions, such
as customs, or support.
To obtain this data, however, one must start with the study of the disease in
the population through statistical analysis and comparison with other groups and
populations, both ancient and modern. In other words, the palaeopathological analysis
of the population has to be a palaeoepidemiological analysis. Palaeoepidemiology
is heavily restricted as, unlike epidemiology, it has no control over the selection of
the sample and is limited by a series of extrinsic and intrinsic factors. The extrinsic
factors (the proportion of deaths buried in a site, the proportion of buried individuals
who last long enough to be discovered, the proportion of those discovered, and,
finally, the proportion of individuals recovered)23 are independent on the biological
characteristics of the population, and all of these tend to reduce the size of the
sample. Among the intrinsic factors, the most important in our case is to recognise
that the sample we are studying is of dead individuals. Such an obvious point is
often forgotten, and it must be kept in mind that it is not the same to characterise
the part of the population that lives and survives, as the part that dies.
Thus, the palaeoepidemiological analysis of the population has to bear in mind
the size of the sample (one of the basic limitations of this type of study), the
distribution of the pathology or anomaly by groups (conditioned by the above issue
of sample size), and the frequency of the pathology or anomaly in the population, to
determine the importance that it might have. It must also be borne in mind where
we are. We must consider, on one hand, the geographical setting, as diseases can be
subject to very different geographical spread, and, on the other hand, the time frame
of the study. That will influence the possibility of interaction with other groups,
etc. Finally, palaeodemography is a basic prop for interpreting populations, as we
have to refer to those who suffered disease or lesions, and why; which subgroup
of the population they belonged to and what susceptibility to the disease they had,
and why. Thus, we can infer the possibility of high-risk groups and also their life
expectancy.
23. Waldron, Tony. Counting the Dead. The Epidemiology of Skeletal Populations. Chichester: John Wiley and
Sons, 1994.
4. Lifestyle
24. Galtés, Ignasio; Jordana, Xavier; García, Carlos; Malgosa, Assumpció. “Marcadores de actividad en
restos óseos”. Cuadernos de Medicina Forense, 48-49 (2007): 179-189.
25. Capasso, Luigi; Kennedy, Kenneth A. R.; Wilczak, Cynthia A. Atlas of occupational markers on human
remains. Teramo: Edigrafital S.P.A., 1999.
26. Jordana, Xavier; Galtés, Ignasi; Busquets, F; Isidro, Albert; Malgosa, Assumpció. “Clay-Shoveler’s
Fracture: An Uncommon Diagnosis in Palaeopathology”. International Journal of Osteoarchaeology, 16
(2006): 366-372.
27. Goyenechea, Alberto; Eguren, Eva; Etxeberría, Francisco; Herrasti, Lourdes; Ibáñez, Alex. “Morfología
del desgaste dentario en fumadores de pipas de arcilla”. Munibe (Antropologia-Arkeologia), 53 (2001): 151-
157.
5. Social questions
Certain aspects of the society in which one lives are reflected in the skeleton.
For example, bone28 or dental modifications,29 specific diseases, treatments (also
specific), rites of passage, types of food, etc, are associated with distinct social or
population groups and can be observed in their bones and teeth. The phenomenon of
trepanations that has appeared since prehistory30 supplies important data about the
population and their beliefs or knowledge, although there is no single justification
for this practice.
The findings in themselves, the structure of age and sex, the injuries, etc, and all
the anthropological characteristics analysed in perspective can tell us about possible
interpersonal or other types of violence, social conflict, or war. On the other hand,
the survival of people with handicaps indicates collaboration, help and solidarity.
In these cases, we can detect aspects where the person managed to overcome their
difficulties (Figure 6), for example the loss of a limb or malfunction of an organ. The
treatments of diseases also tell us about the existence of medical knowledge, or even
people who had this knowledge, such as shamans or medicine men.
Cut marks and descarnation indicate secondary burial of the body,31 for
cannibalistic rituals or food, especially when there bones have been broken to reach
the marrow or brain or they have been exposed to fire, practices which, despite the
modern Western point of view, seem to have existed in different parts of Europe at
least during the Neolithic.32
However, the analysis of an individual’s burial ritual also sheds light on cultural
and social aspects. For example, it is known that in Roman times, some bodies
were buried in decubitus prono (face down) and their presence begs the question
about the reason for this practice. Some authors tend towards, ritual or deliberate
ceremonies,33 while others mention negligence, irreverence, or the absence of a
28. Lagunas Rodríguez, Zaid; Hernández Espinosa, Patricia. “Las prácticas culturales”, Manual de Osteología.
Mexico: Escuela Nacional de Antropología e Historia, 2007: 125-141.
29. Romero, Alejandro; De Miguel Ibáñez, María Paz; Buikstra, Jane E.; Knudson, Kris J.; Prevedorou E.
A.; Díaz Zorita Bonilla, Marta; De Juan, Joaquín. “Mutilación dentaria en la necrópolis islámica de Plaza
del Castillo (siglo VIII d.C.) de Pamplona (Navarra)”. Revista Española de Antropología física, 29 (2009):
1-14.
30. Campillo, Domingo. La trepanación prehistórica. Barcelona: Bellaterra, 2007; Roca de Togores Muñoz,
Consuelo; Soler Díaz, Jorge A. “Trepanacions en la Prehistòria. Los casos datats per C14 de las Coves de la
Pastora (Alcoi) i d’en Pardo (Planes)”, Restes de vida, restes de mort, Angela Pérez Fernández, Begoña Soler
Mayor, coords. Valencia: Museu de Prehistòria de València, 2010: 117-140.
31. Duday, Henri; Courtaud, Patrice; Crubezy, Eric; Sellier, Pascal; Tillier, Anne-Marie. “La Anthropologie
du terrain: Reconnaissance et interprétation des gestes funéraires“. Bulletins et Mémoires de la Société
d’Anthropologie de Paris, 3-4 (1990): II, 29-50.
32. Botella López, Miguel C.; Alemán, Inmaculada; Jiménez, Sylvia A. Los huesos humanos. Manipulaciones
y alteraciones. Barcelona: Bellaterra, 1999; Solari, A. Identificación de huellas de manipulationn intencional en
restos óseos humanos de origen arqueológico. Granada: Universidad de Granada, 2010 (PhD. Dissertation).
33. Vaquerizo, Desiderio. ”Mortes singulares. Suicidio y muertes traumáticas”, Funus Cordubensium.
Costumbres funerarias en the Córdoba romana, Desiderio Vaquerizo, ed. Cordoba: Universidad de Córdoba,
2001: 66-67.
6.1 Palaeogenetics
One of the most important secrets held by old remains is their identity and, when
talking about a population, who it was made up of and where its members came
from. Nowadays, palaeogenetics offers very important data about this, unimaginable
only a dozen years ago. By 1989 or 1990, progress in molecular techniques
had allowed genetic information to be obtained directly from old samples, both
bones,35 and teeth,36 thus beginning the development of palaeogenetics and
palaeomicrobiology.37 At a human level, work is principally done with the recovery
of small fragments of the hypervariable region of the mitochondrial DNA (ADNmt),
as this molecule is more widely represented than the nuclear genome and thus can
more feasibly be recovered from old remains. Moreover, this little molecule is of
matrilineal transmission so it makes it possible to trace female lineages and thus see
kinship in a population nucleus. On the other hand, in the cases where it is possible
to recover nuclear DNA, it is also possible to reconstruct male lineages through
the markers of the Y chromosome. In both cases, the data can be dealt with at a
population level to offer us a vision of the genetic make-up of the population. In
34. Review of García Prósper, Elisa; Polo Cerdá, Manuel. “Enterramientos de decúbito prono y un
posible preso entre los primeros pobladores de Valencia (Siglos II a.C.- III d.C.)”, VI Congreso nacional
de Paleopatología. ¿Dónde estamos?. Pasado, presente y futuro de the Paleopatología. Madrid, 13 a 16 septiembre
2001, Manuel Campo, Francisco José Robles, eds. Madrid: Universidad Autónoma de Madrid-Asociación
Española de Paleopatología, 2001: 298-316.
35. Hagelberg, Erica; Sykes, Brian; Hedges, Robert. “Ancient bone DNA amplified”. Nature, 342 (1989):
485; Horai, S.; Hayasaka, K.; Murayama, K.; Wate, N.; Koike, H.; Nakai, N. “DNA amplification from
ancient human skeletal remains and their sequence analysis”. Proc. Japan Acad, 65B (1989): 229-233.
36. Hänni, C.; Laudet, V.; Sakka, M.; Begue, A.; Stehelin, D. ”Amplification of mitochondrial DNA
fragments from ancient human teeth and bones”. Comptes Rendus de la Académie des Sciences III, 310 (1990):
365-370.
37. Malgosa, Assumpció; Montiel, Rafael; Díaz, Nancy; Solórzano Eduvigis; Smerling, A.; Isidro, A.;
García, C.; Simón, M. “Ancient DNA. A modern look at the infections of the past”. Recent Res. Devel.
Microbiology, 9 (2005): 213-236.
these cases, the kinship between people in a group,38 or between populations, can
be reconstructed.39
On the other hand, palaeomicrobiology helps to corroborate the diagnosis of
some diseases, both genetic and infectious.40 The latter is possible thanks to the
recuperation of fragments of DNA from the pathogenic agent involved in the disease.
In some cases, the origin of these diseases is still to be found. This is the case with
syphilis, where the recovery of the DNA of the Treponema pallidum pallidum41 from
remains diagnosed with this disease in different parts of the world is fundamental
to enable us to work with real data.
However, the recovery and study of old DNA is not free of difficulties, mainly
concerning degradation and contamination.42
6.2 Palaeobiochemistry
From the molecule, we can move on to the analysis of the chemical elements
that form it. Traditionally, the trace elements and stable isotopes in skeletal remains
have been analysed to determine the diet of an ancient population.43 In both cases,
38. It is difficult to establish kinship relations as quite a lot of markers are required. However, I cite some
examples of that type of study: Haak, Wolfgang; Brandt, Guido; de Jong, Hylke N.; Meyer, Christian;
Ganslmeier, Robert; Heyd, Volker; Hawkesworth, Chris; Pike, Alistair W. G.; Meller, Harald; Alt, Kurt W.
“Ancient DNA, Strontium isotopes, and osteological analyses shed light on social and kinship organization
of the Later Stone Age”. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A, 105/47 (2008): 18226-18231; Keyser-Tracqui, Christine;
Ricaut, François; Crubézy, Eric; Ludes, Bertrand. ”Populations anciennes et ADN ancien: état actuel de
the question.” Antropo, 2 (2002): 1-8; Keyser-Tracqui, Christine; Crubézy, Eric; Pamzsav, Horolma; Varga,
Tibor & Ludes, Bertrand. “Population Origins in Mongolia: Genetic Structure Analysis of Ancient and
Modern DNA”. American Journal of Physical Anthropology 131 (2006): 272-281.
39. There are few cases of genetic studies of ancient populations. Some examples are: Díaz, Nancy. Bahía
de Alcúdia, Mallorca: Un crisol genético en the Mediterráneo. Bellaterra: Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona,
2010 (PhD. Dissertation); Montiel Rafael. Estudio diacrónico de the variabilidad del DNA mitocondrial en
poblationn Catalana. Bellaterra: Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 2001 (PhD. Dissertion). <www.
tdcat.cesca.es/TDCat-0726101-095837>; Sampietro, Lourdes; Caramelli, David; Lao, Oscar; Calafell,
Francesc; Comas, David; Lari, Martina; Agustí, Bibiana; Bertranpetit, Jaume; Lalueza-Fox, Carles. “The
genetics of the pre-Roman Iberian Peninsula: a mtDNA study of ancient Iberians”. Ann Hum Genet, 69
(2005): 535-548.
40. Malgosa, Assumpció; Montiel, Rafael; Díaz, Nancy; Solórzano, Eduvigis; Smerling, A; Isidro, A; García,
C; Simon, M. “Ancient Dna: A Modern Look at the infections of the Past”, Recent Research developments in
microbiology. Trivandrum: Research Signpot, 2005: 213-236.
41. Kolman, Connie J.; Centurion-Lara, Arturo; Lukehart, Sheila A.; Owsley, Douglas W.; Tuross,
Noreen. “Identification of Treponema pallidum subspecies pallidum in a 200-year-old skeletal specimen”.
The Journal of Infectious Diseases, 180 (1999): 2060-2063.
42. Lalueza-Fox, Carles. “ADN and Arqueologia”, Restes de vida, restes de mort: la mort en la prehistòria,
Ángela Pérez Fernández, Begoña Soler Mayor, coords. Valencia: Museu de Prehistòria de València,
2010: 73-80; Montiel, Rafael; Francalacci, Paolo; Malgosa, Assumpció. “Ancient DNA and Biological
Anthropology: Believers vs. Skeptics”, Recent Advances in Molecular Biology and Evolution: Applications to
Biological Anthropology, Christina Santos, Manuela Lima, eds. Kerala: Research Singpost, 2007: 209-249.
43. Ambrose, Santley H.; Katzenberg, M. Anne, eds. Biogeochemical approaches to paleodietary analysis. New
York-London: Kluwer Academic Press-Plenum Publishers, 2002.
the chemical elements become part of the body, in its mineral part or in the organic
matrix, through the diet. This information can be useful in itself for reconstructing
the basic food sources of a group of people. However, the study of the stable isotopes
now also covers another aspect related to the origin of persons and migrations. The
isotopes of carbon, oxygen and hydrogen can help to determine the geographic
origin of a person through the proportions in the water they drank.44 In the same
way, strontium isotopes and lead in the teeth and bones can be used to reconstruct
the migration of human populations and their cultural affinity.
7. General considerations
44. Some examples of this type of analysis can be found in: Daux, Valérie; Lécuyer, Christophe; Héran,
Marie-Annie; Amiot, Romain; Simon, Laurent; Fourel, François; Martineau, François; Lynnerup, Niels;
Reychler Hervé; Escarguel Gilles. “Oxygen isotope fractionation between human phosphate and water
revisited”. Journal of Human Evolution, 55/6 (2008): 1138-1147; Thompson, Alexandra H; Chaix, Louis;
Richards, Michael P. “Stable isotopes and diet at Ancient Kerma, Upper Nubia (Sudan)”. Journal of
Archaeological Science, 35/2 (2008): 376-387; Ehleringer, James R.; Bowen, Gabriel J.; Chesson, Lesley
A.; West, Adam G.; Podlesak, David W.; Cerling, Thure E. “From the Cover: Hydrogen and oxygen
isotope ratios in human hair are related to geography”. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences,
105/8 (2008): 2788-2793.