Brothers in arms

Activity-related skeletal changes observed on the humerus of individuals buried with and without weapons from the 10th-century CE Carpathian Basin

Bibliographic Data

ID4691122
AuthorsBalázs Tihanyi (0000-0001-5124-4468, Department of Biological Anthropology University of Szeged Szeged Hungary, corresponding author), William Berthon (0000-0003-1776-4798, Department of Biological Anthropology University of Szeged Szeged Hungary), Luca Kis (0000-0002-1021-2854, Department of Biological Anthropology University of Szeged Szeged Hungary), Orsolya Anna Váradi (0000-0002-7825-265X, Department of Biological Anthropology University of Szeged Szeged Hungary), O Dutour (0000-0001-8134-788X, Chaire d'Anthropologie Biologique Paul Broca, EPHE PSL University Paris France), László Révész (0000-0001-8821-3155, Department of Archaeology University of Szeged Szeged Hungary), György Pálfi (0000-0003-0989-4090, Department of Biological Anthropology University of Szeged Szeged Hungary)
Year2020
Volume30
Issue6
Pages798-810
Publication date2020-11-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueInternational Journal of Osteoarchaeology (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1047-482X • E-ISSN: 1099-1212
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1002/oa.2910
OpenAlexW3045169863
LanguageEN
Citations received5
References cited48

Investigation of warfare-related lifestyle based on the activity-induced skeletal changes is of great interest for bioarchaeologists. Numerous studies have described various skeletal traces connected to the regular practice of different types of weapons. However, methodological problems, such as the multifactorial aetiology of these presumed activity-related skeletal changes, make it difficult to evaluate which changes are reliable in the identification and characterisation of a given class of individuals in a population. This paper aims to find significant morphological and metric differences on the humerus between individuals buried with and without weapons. We focused on the Hungarian Conquest period (10th-century CE) collection of Sárrétudvari-Hízóföld, characterised by a high number of burials associated with weapons and, especially, archery-related equipment. Only adult males were selected for this study to decrease the influence of nonmechanical factors, such as age and sex. We analysed the bones for the presence of entheseal changes, joint changes, morphological variants, and traumas. The selection of these markers relied on anatomical and sport traumatological data. We also calculated indices of robusticity and shape based on the external measurements of the humerus. The values were compared according to the presence (armed group) or absence (unarmed group) of weapon deposits in the graves. An independent group of nonwarriors from the documented Luís Lopes Skeletal Collection (Lisbon) was also used for comparison.In general, the armed group exhibited higher rates of changes, and statistical tests revealed significant intergroup differences concerning certain entheseal changes and indices of robusticity and shape.Although the multifactorial aetiology of skeletal changes highly limits the possible interpretations, our results suggest that a set of morphological and metric features on the humerus is indicative of the practice of activities including archery and other fighting techniques. We assess that the further analysis of activity-related changes of the upper limb bones will contribute to the recognition of the presence of warriors at a populational level

Humerus · Population · Demography · Forensic Anthropology and Bioarchaeology Studies · Martial Arts: Techniques, Psychology, and Education · Medicine · Sports injuries and prevention · Surgery

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