Osteoarchaeological assessment of generalized stress indicators in skeletons from the Tápé-Széntéglaégető cemetery, Hungary

Summary

Generalized stress indicators are non-specific anomalies produced by the body as an adaptive response to biological stressors such as malnutrition, disease or trauma. The prevalence of these lesions may be related to daily activity, lifestyle or differential access to resources. Based on archeological analyses, the Hungarian Bronze Age is associated with significant socio-economic changes, including population increases, agricultural intensification, and the emergence of social inequality. In this study, burials from the Late Bronze Age cemetery Tápé-Széntéglaégető are used to evaluate whether differential burial treatment is associated with increased prevalence of generalized stress indicators and perhaps differing quality of life. Individuals were chosen based on associated grave goods (high prevalence and low prevalence). Remains were analyzed using macromorphological methods for recording stress indicators like cribra orbitalia and cribra cranii, linear enamel hypoplasia, periostitis, endocranial lesions and superficial vertebral changes. Macroscopically visible bone pathologies were also recorded.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 81st Annual Meeting, Orlando, FL (2016)   •
• Studying the Past with Fragments from the Fire: Student Research on an NSF-REU Field School

Keywords

Spatial Coverage