Analysis of Entheses Development and Implications on Labor in Late Medieval 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.

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 Greater Poland. We combine three commonly applied methods for studying entheses to account for different preferences. A sample of 44 adult individuals with estimated ages from approximately 20 to 50 years with complete or nearly complete arm and leg bones were examined in order to address the following questions: do entheses observed at Gać fit a labor model based on other similar studies in medieval Central Europe? Do entheses scores differ between males and females, supporting an observable division of labor? Do entheses scores correlate with age? Our results support evidence of intense activity related to labor throughout the sample, with few outliers. Interestingly, our results do not support a clear division of labor based on MSMs, and there is no correlation between age and degree of stress. Our preliminary findings are important in understanding the lifeways of people in late medieval Poland.

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): 36774.0