Anthropological assessment of skeletal remains from the Slavkov gallows
Vol.8,No.2(2017)
During a development-led archaeological research of the Slavkov gallows non-anatomically positioned human remains were uncovered in several complex accumulations. The remains were analyzed in a laboratory and fundamental demographic characteristics of the sample were assessed. With regard to the character of the find complete individual skeletons were not identifiable. Minimum number of individuals (MNI, using right femora) was established at 15. Body height was estimated using the organic correlation method by Sjøvold. The tallest individual measured 173,0 cm (±4,52 cm), the shortest individual measured 157,5 cm (±4,52 cm). Besides adult individuals also skeletal remains of two adolescents were uncovered (their age at death was estimated at 16-17 years of age). All the adult individuals belonged to the adultus and maturus categories, the oldest one lived to be approximately 50 years old. Skeletal remains of one female were uncovered. Also, the skeletal remains sample yielded some very infrequent anatomical varieties (spina bifida anterior et posterior atlantis, os bregmaticum), evidence of complicated healing process of skeletal trauma as well as evidence of non-healed long bone fractures which originated perimortem. In two cases of long bones evidence of inflammatory disease (likely syphillis) was observed.
gallows; skeletal remains; trauma; anatomical varieties
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