10. századi fegyveresek aktivitás okozta szkeletális elváltozásainak összehasonlító vizsgálata – a fegyvermelléklet-adás szokásának bioarchaeológiai megközelítése

Absztrakt

The main goals were (1) to contribute to the bioarchaeological knowledge on the burials with weapons from the 10th-century CE Carpathian Basin by registering relevant activity-related skeletal changes that can help in the description and characterisation of the osteological parameters of these individuals in the future; and (2) to discuss the results in archaeological context.

The primer research material was selected from the 10th-century CE cemetery of Sárrétudvari-Hízóföld. Individuals were divided into two subgroups according to the presence/absence of weapon-related grave-goods. This cemetery is the largest known cemetery from this period and contained graves with horse riding- and weapon-related deposits in a high number. The population can be considered as one cultural group, and the armed group is consistent with the general characteristics described by the archaeological and historical sources related to the warriors from this era.

Minor skeletal differences were found between the armed and unarmed Sárrétudvari subgroups. Concerning the unarmed group, we observed higher frequency of the changes at the shoulder girdle, and especially in the clavicula, while the armed group showed higher rates of changes both at the shoulder and elbow regions. On the other hand, among all the analysed entheseal changes, joint changes, morphological variants, traumatic lesions and metric indices of shape and robusticity, we observed a statistically significant difference between the armed and unarmed group only in the case of the robusticity index of the clavicula.

Concerning the connections between the armed and unarmed groups, the anthropological research revealed that the individuals without weapon-related artefacts in their grave were practicing similar activities. Consequently, in the case of the Sárrétudvari-Hízóföld cemetery, the lack of weapon deposit does not reflect properly the past lifestyle; thus, evaluating the military potency of the population by comparing the ratios of the individuals with and without weapons in their graves is not a sufficient way.

The anthropological and bioarchaeological identification of armed individuals results in information on the level of the single graves and burials, which basically influence the possible evaluation of the cemeteries. Investigation of burial customs of the 10th and 11th centuries CE is a complex but insufficient research field; thus, every single data extends and refine our knowledge on the topic. Anthropological data concerning the Sárrétudvari-Hízóföld series proved that the lack of weapon- and, in parallel, horse riding-related grave-goods does not reflect properly the past lifestyle. Therefore, these artefacts are part of a complex burial custom, which was influenced not only by the connected lifestyle.