Pathological Changes on Skeletons from the Bronze Age Neplyuevsky Cemetery (Kurgan 1)

Introduction. Currently, the picture characterizing the health status of the population, inhabiting the Southern Urals during the Bronze Age, is fragmentary due to the unsystematic nature of paleopathological studies and the often small sizes or poor preservation of the analyzed skeletal samples. Th...

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Main Authors: Marina K. Karapetian, Svetlana V. Sharapova
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Volgograd State University 2022-12-01
Series:Нижневолжский археологический вестник
Subjects:
Online Access:https://nav.jvolsu.com/index.php/en/archive-en/658-2022-vol-21-no-2/articles/1778-karapetian-m-k-sharapova-s-v-pathological-changes-on-skeletons-from-the-bronze-age-neplyuevsky-cemetery-kurgan-1
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author Marina K. Karapetian
Svetlana V. Sharapova
author_facet Marina K. Karapetian
Svetlana V. Sharapova
author_sort Marina K. Karapetian
collection DOAJ
description Introduction. Currently, the picture characterizing the health status of the population, inhabiting the Southern Urals during the Bronze Age, is fragmentary due to the unsystematic nature of paleopathological studies and the often small sizes or poor preservation of the analyzed skeletal samples. This paper contributes new data to the overall discussion of the topic by presenting the results of a paleopathological study of materials from the Neplyuevsky kurgan cemetery, kurgan 1, located in the southern Chelyabinsk region and excavated between 2016 and 2017. The sample includes the remains of 14 adults (aged 18 and older) and 23 subadults (<18 years old). Methods. The skeletons were assessed for macroscopically detectable pathologies and markers of physiological stress. Pathological lesions were scored base on the recommendations given in specialized literature. Analysis. Cribra orbitalia, dental enamel hypoplasia and various traumatic injuries were common in the sample. As in other Srubnaya and Srubnaya-Alakul series of the region, the skeletons from kurgan 1 show no changes consistent with specific infections, though incidences of nonspecific infections are not excluded. Results. In general, the sample from kurgan 1 of the Neplyuevsky kurgan cemetery demonstrates similarity with materials from other synchronous sites of the Southern Urals and the Samara valley region. A distinguishing feature of the Neplyuevsky series is the relatively high frequency of bone fractures and their predominance in women.
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spelling doaj.art-a3d70d5d463b4e77a992a2ff082dc7b42022-12-25T18:26:02ZengVolgograd State UniversityНижневолжский археологический вестник2587-81232658-59952022-12-0121210011910.15688/nav.jvolsu.2022.2.6Pathological Changes on Skeletons from the Bronze Age Neplyuevsky Cemetery (Kurgan 1)Marina K. Karapetian0https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1886-8943Svetlana V. Sharapova1https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9227-3767Research Institute and Museum of Anthropology of the Lomonosov Moscow State UniversityInstitute of History and Archeology, Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of SciencesIntroduction. Currently, the picture characterizing the health status of the population, inhabiting the Southern Urals during the Bronze Age, is fragmentary due to the unsystematic nature of paleopathological studies and the often small sizes or poor preservation of the analyzed skeletal samples. This paper contributes new data to the overall discussion of the topic by presenting the results of a paleopathological study of materials from the Neplyuevsky kurgan cemetery, kurgan 1, located in the southern Chelyabinsk region and excavated between 2016 and 2017. The sample includes the remains of 14 adults (aged 18 and older) and 23 subadults (<18 years old). Methods. The skeletons were assessed for macroscopically detectable pathologies and markers of physiological stress. Pathological lesions were scored base on the recommendations given in specialized literature. Analysis. Cribra orbitalia, dental enamel hypoplasia and various traumatic injuries were common in the sample. As in other Srubnaya and Srubnaya-Alakul series of the region, the skeletons from kurgan 1 show no changes consistent with specific infections, though incidences of nonspecific infections are not excluded. Results. In general, the sample from kurgan 1 of the Neplyuevsky kurgan cemetery demonstrates similarity with materials from other synchronous sites of the Southern Urals and the Samara valley region. A distinguishing feature of the Neplyuevsky series is the relatively high frequency of bone fractures and their predominance in women.https://nav.jvolsu.com/index.php/en/archive-en/658-2022-vol-21-no-2/articles/1778-karapetian-m-k-sharapova-s-v-pathological-changes-on-skeletons-from-the-bronze-age-neplyuevsky-cemetery-kurgan-1srubnaya-alakul cultural typesouthern trans-uralmarkers of physiological stresstraumatic injuriessigns of inflammationdevelopmental anomalies
spellingShingle Marina K. Karapetian
Svetlana V. Sharapova
Pathological Changes on Skeletons from the Bronze Age Neplyuevsky Cemetery (Kurgan 1)
Нижневолжский археологический вестник
srubnaya-alakul cultural type
southern trans-ural
markers of physiological stress
traumatic injuries
signs of inflammation
developmental anomalies
title Pathological Changes on Skeletons from the Bronze Age Neplyuevsky Cemetery (Kurgan 1)
title_full Pathological Changes on Skeletons from the Bronze Age Neplyuevsky Cemetery (Kurgan 1)
title_fullStr Pathological Changes on Skeletons from the Bronze Age Neplyuevsky Cemetery (Kurgan 1)
title_full_unstemmed Pathological Changes on Skeletons from the Bronze Age Neplyuevsky Cemetery (Kurgan 1)
title_short Pathological Changes on Skeletons from the Bronze Age Neplyuevsky Cemetery (Kurgan 1)
title_sort pathological changes on skeletons from the bronze age neplyuevsky cemetery kurgan 1
topic srubnaya-alakul cultural type
southern trans-ural
markers of physiological stress
traumatic injuries
signs of inflammation
developmental anomalies
url https://nav.jvolsu.com/index.php/en/archive-en/658-2022-vol-21-no-2/articles/1778-karapetian-m-k-sharapova-s-v-pathological-changes-on-skeletons-from-the-bronze-age-neplyuevsky-cemetery-kurgan-1
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