The
purpose of this dissertation research was to use markers of activity change to
explore the effects of imperial expansion and sociopolitical upset on a
population. This study focused on markers such as entheseal remodeling and the
development and progression of osteoarthritis that are commonly used in
bioarchaeological literature to assess changes in activity over time. Three
populations were used, comprised of seven different sites, which are divided
into the Late Medieval (pre-Ottoman), Early Modern (post-Ottoman), and Vlach
populations. These sites come from both the Adriatic and continental region of
Croatia and are curated at the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts –
Anthropology Center. The skeleton is highly plastic, which allows it to serve
as an archive for the lived experiences of the individual. Because of this
plasticity, embodiment theory was employed as a lens through which to examine
the changing activity of people under Ottoman rule. Historical narratives paint
this time period as being rife with conflict, with a large proportion of the
Croatian population being displaced, subsumed by the Ottoman threat, or killed.
This is reported to have caused drastic changes in the daily lives of all
Croatians across the country as they were forced to adapt to new rulers or
leave their homes. This was tested by examining entheseal remodeling and
osteoarthritis within the different populations. The data indicate that
although there were some differences found between the time periods, the
changes were not as drastic as what may have been expected from the historical
data. This is perhaps due to most Croatian people at the time being serfs,
living a rugged lifestyle on the lands of feudal lords. Although the Ottomans
may have been relentless rulers, they may not have worked common Croatians more
so than their Croatian lords. Most people probably remained in their roles as
craftsmen or food producers, which would not have left dramatic changes in the
form of activity markers on the skeleton.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:purdue.edu/oai:figshare.com:article/9017408 |
| Date | 13 August 2019 |
| Creators | Sarah Caldwell (7034825) |
| Source Sets | Purdue University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text, Thesis |
| Rights | CC BY 4.0 |
| Relation | https://figshare.com/articles/CONSEQUENCES_OF_OTTOMAN_EXPANSION_ON_DAILY_ACTIVITY_IN_CROATIA_AN_EXAMINATION_OF_ENTHESEAL_REMODELING_AND_OSTEOARTHRITIS/9017408 |
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