Skeletal Trauma in an Ancient High Altitude Himalayan Community of Mustang, Nepal

Summary

High altitude regions in the Himalayas provided a challenging environment for the early human populations who migrated there. In addition to the risks of hypoxia and cold stress, people had to deal with difficult terrain and limited resources. Yet populations persisted and established complex polities, including those in the Mustang region of Nepal. Surface recovery and excavations of shaft tombs located near the village of Samdzong in Upper Mustang have yielded human remains and artifacts dating to approximately AD 200-700. Bioarchaeological analysis was performed on all remains recovered, a minimum number of 105 individuals (38 subadults, 67 adults). Results indicate that while fractures from accidents are uncommon, there is evidence of interpersonal violence within the adult sample, which is not limited to male victims. Injuries include cranial fractures in four males and three females, three of those wounds perimortem, as well as an embedded projectile in the ankle bone of a male. We examine these signs of trauma for insight into interpersonal relationships at Samdzong, a major node along the ancient salt trade route, as the injuries may reflect tension within the community, or they may indicate intercommunity disputes.

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This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 80th Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA (2015)

Keywords

Spatial Coverage