Middle Age Childhood: Bioarchaeology and Health of Children from a Medieval Cemetery Site (Gz10) in Giecz, Poland

Summary

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. Subadults (up to 11 years old) represent almost 50% of all individuals from the excavated part of the cemetery (n = 75). The study examines subadults’ burial rites and health, addressing two main questions: (1) Is there any relation between age and funeral practice? (2) Are pathological traits related specifically to any age group among juveniles? The age-at-death was determined based on Scheuer & Black (2000, 2004) and Schaefer et al. (2009). Preliminary analyses show that children’s graves do not differ much in ritual practice from the adult group. However, the youngest individuals are buried in simple pits without gender-related goods. The health status is described based on the following lesions: increased porosity, endocranial lesions, and subperiosteal bone production. They were selected as a symptom of physiological stress and nutritional deficits.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Life and Death in Medieval Poland   •
• Society for American Archaeology 88th Annual Meeting, Portland, OR (2023)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 36716.0