Life and Death in Medieval Poland
Part of: Society for American Archaeology 88th Annual Meeting, Portland, OR (2023)
This collection contains the abstracts of the papers presented in the session entitled "Life and Death in Medieval Poland" at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.
Archaeological and osteological studies focused on populations in Medieval Poland (tenth–sixteenth centuries) remain underrepresented as we move through the third decade of this new millennium. This is especially true for studies focused on the lives of people, a subject that is more generally overlooked by historical sources. With advances in methods and technology, both archaeologists and bioarchaeologists are better equipped to answer complex questions about genetic population structure, health, stress, diet, behavior, and social structure. A synthesis of historical, archaeological, and biological data is crucial in developing a holistic view of the human experience in the past. This symposium will present current research related to these topics in the context of the High Medieval site of Giecz, and the Late Medieval sites of Gać and Dzwonowo. Although the two sites are very different in temporal and cultural context, the theme of the symposium is centered on how archaeological and osteological information can provide insight on the lives of people in Poland both during the periods of state development and the established Kingdom of Poland. The papers presented will address important and understudied topics such as studies applied to women and children, social status, urbanization, and population history.
Other Keywords
Bioarchaeology/Skeletal Analysis •
Mortuary archaeology •
Migration •
Mortuary Analysis •
Historic •
Social and Political Organization
Geographic Keywords
Republic of Bulgaria (Country) •
Georgia (Country) •
Europe (Continent) •
Ukraine (Country) •
Republic of Lithuania (Country) •
Republic of Latvia (Country) •
Republic of Belarus (Country) •
Romania (Country) •
Republic of Serbia (Country) •
Republic of Estonia (Country)
Resources Inside This Collection (Viewing 1-6 of 6)
- Documents (6)
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Analysis of Entheses Development and Implications on Labor in Late Medieval Poland (2023)
DOCUMENT Citation Only
This is an abstract from the "Life and Death in Medieval Poland" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Studies of human behavior and habitual muscle use through analysis of entheses, or muscle insertion sites on the skeleton, continue to be an important way of examining labor among people in the past. In this study, we analyze entheses development on the skeletons of individuals from the recently discovered and excavated late medieval site of Gać in...
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Analysis of the Vertebral Pathologies among Individuals from Fourteenth- to Eighteenth-Century Polish Cemeteries: Comparison between the Village and Town Inhabitants in Greater Poland (2023)
DOCUMENT Citation Only
This is an abstract from the "Life and Death in Medieval Poland" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Vertebral degenerative changes are one of the most common pathologies found among historical human skeletal remains. They occur naturally with age and/or as a result of activity-related stress or illness. This study examines human remains discovered during the archaeological excavation of cemeteries from the town Dzwonowo (fourteenth–eighteenth...
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Middle Age Childhood: Bioarchaeology and Health of Children from a Medieval Cemetery Site (Gz10) in Giecz, Poland (2023)
DOCUMENT Citation Only
This is an abstract from the "Life and Death in Medieval Poland" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. The medieval cemetery in Giecz (site 10) is part of a complex of the early Piast state stronghold (Giecz, Greater Poland voivodeship, Poland). The cemetery is dated to the eleventh–twelfth centuries. The site has been excavated since 2014 as Slavia Field School in Mortuary Archaeology. During the seasons 2014–2021, over 150 graves have been discovered....
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Migration and Population Structure Among Two Late Medieval Polish Populations (2023)
DOCUMENT Citation Only
This is an abstract from the "Life and Death in Medieval Poland" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. This bioarchaeological study employs biological distance analyses using dental metrics and morphology of 840 individuals from 25 sites to evaluate changes in population structures in Poland during the High to Late Middle Ages (eleventh to sixteenth centuries AD). Samples represent medieval Polish, German, Czech, Hungarian, Lithuanian, and Kievan Rus...
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Mortuary Practices of the Vanished Medieval Village of Gać in Poland (2023)
DOCUMENT Citation Only
This is an abstract from the "Life and Death in Medieval Poland" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. This paper is focused on the results of three seasons of archeological excavation in the vanished village of Gać, located in the central part of Greater Poland. More than 300m2 of the medieval cemetery were examined, revealing 159 burials. The vast majority of the dead were buried according to the Catholic rite. However, a few deviated significantly...
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Sociopolitical Change and Its Effect on the Biology of a Medieval Polish Population through Isotopic Analysis (2023)
DOCUMENT Citation Only
This is an abstract from the "Life and Death in Medieval Poland" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. The Jagiellonian Period (1386–1572) in Poland underwent a shift toward a feudal sociopolitical and economic structure leading to an increase in social stratification and unequal distribution of power, opportunity, and resources (e.g., food). The medieval site of Gać (fourteenth–sixteenth centuries) provides a unique opportunity to gain insight into the...