A multidisciplinary assessment of disability in early medieval Culmen, Poland

Bibliographic Data

ID11012872
AuthorsMagdalena D Matczak (0000-0003-2934-0036, Nicolaus Copernicus University), Tomasz Kozłowski (0000-0001-5242-6095, Nicolaus Copernicus University), Wojciech Chudziak (0000-0003-3409-0991, Nicolaus Copernicus University)
Year2023
Volume75
Issue2
Pages187-223
Publication date2023-12-31
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueSprawozdania Archeologiczne (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0081-3834 • E-ISSN: 2719-647X
PublisherInstitute of Archeology and Ethnology of the Polish Academy of Sciences (PUBLISHER • PL)
DOI10.23858/sa/75.2023.2.3432
OpenAlexW4391694417
LanguageEN
References cited69

This study bridges a gap between palaeopathology and the textual analysis, with the aim of investigating whichdiseases and pathological lesions could have been associated with disability in Early Mediaeval Culmen in Poland.We used palaeopathological methods to examine 661 skeletons, as well as reviewed Early Mediaeval hagiographiesand chronicles. The textual analysis revealed three types of disability: mobility difficulties, an abnormal posture, and blindness, which were also identified in the osteological materials from Culmen. Eight skeletons display lesions corresponding to Pott’s disease, poliomyelitis, leprosy, osteomyelitis, multiple myeloma, and amputation, which were identified as disabilities. The prevalence of disability depended on the age, with adults affected more frequently. This interdisciplinary study is the first to analyse people with disabilities on a population level, using textual sources and osteological materials from mediaeval Central Europe. The protocol forresearch on disability in archaeology presented by us may be applied to other archaeological contexts, also from sites outside Poland, from historical periods of time

Geography · Multidisciplinary approach · Sociology · Forensic Anthropology and Bioarchaeology Studies · Medicine

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