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The end of the Bronze Age was a tumultuous period throughout the Mediterranean, seeing the fall of the major palatial economy in Greece. This project seeks to reconstruct the lived experiences of individuals interred at the Nikoleika cemetery in eastern Achaea, utilizing a variety of methods to analyze biological profiles and pathological conditions. Through the analysis of the 55 burials of Chamber Tomb Four, it was found that low levels of pathology and the presence of locally-produced goods may emphasize the self-sufficient nature of Achaea during the Bronze Age. The osteobiographies of three primary burials also revealed a great deal of similarities that provide evidence of deliberate acts taken during mortuary processing. This project found that eastern Achaea was relatively autonomous and continued unaffected by the palatial collapse.

This study applies a life history approach to analyzing the identities of 52 Maya individuals who lived between 2000 BC and AD 900 in and around the city of Holmul, within the Petén region of Guatemala. Primary goals were to: (1) identify migrant and local individuals within the urban population; (2) determine 87Sr/86Sr isotope ratio signatures for the sites of Holmul, Cival, La Sufricaya, K’o, and Hamontun; (3) compile osteobiographies, personal life histories revealed through skeletal remains, of the individuals in the sample; and (4) evaluate evidence bearing on the identities of inhabitants of the Holmul region and how they were represented within economic, political, and cultural landscapes of the ancient Maya. This work demonstrates how bioarchaeologists can implement osteobiographical analyses to advance the understanding of multifaceted social identities and individual experiences of life and death. By integrating osteological study, stable isotope analysis, and consideration of mortuary context, material culture, inscriptions, and monumental architecture, the individual, rather than the population, becomes the focus. This aggregate approach allows for an in-depth consideration of human remains as former social beings with complex identities. The findings of this research suggest that most elite inhabitants in this ancient Maya city were local to the Holmul region, with the few outliers having originated from elsewhere in the Maya lowlands. This conclusion aligns with Maya elite ideologies of establishing lineages and reinforcing power through ancestor veneration. The local 87Sr/86Sr ratio signature of the Holmul region is comparable to other archaeological sites in the southern Maya lowlands. The osteobiographies reveal life histories, which personalize prior interpretations that considered the population only as an aggregate. This project also elucidates identities of sacrificed children, elite/royal women, and the local Holmul elite. Results of the study support the use of the isotopic analysis of human remains as an essential tool for approaching complex archaeological questions and evaluating hypotheses previously addressed primarily using architectural, iconographic, and artifactual evidence. Further, this study demonstrates the benefit of the isotopic analysis of dental enamel, especially in the Maya region and other environments characterized by difficult excavation conditions and the poor preservation of human remains.

No description available.

The aim of this thesis was to construct an osteobiografical profile of two individuals from the early medieval locality of Kostice-Zadní hrúd, identified, on the basis of grave inventory, as warriors. In order to obtain a clear picture of early medieval warriors and to provide a basis for comparison, we also tried to find out what characterised an average early medieval Great Moravian warrior. Individuals from the early medieval locality Pohansko-Břeclav were chosen as comparative samples of regular population and warriors. The following methods were used to construct an osteobiographical profile: tracking of entheseal changes of muscle attachments, analyses of cross-sectional geometry of long bones and a Fourier analysis of acetabular morphology. We found out that warriors from Pohansko-Břeclav were horse riders trained in close combat, they did not wear heavy armour and did not train with bow. Due to bad preservation, only one of the individuals subject to our study, the individual labelled KZH H003, could be analysed. The man was short in stature, he did not perform hard manual work, but he trained with sword and bow and rode a horse. Klíčová slova: Acetabulum, Warriors, CSG, entheseal changes, Fourierova analysis, early medieval, osteobiography