The medieval necropolis of Lozova-La hotar cu Vornicenii. Anthropological report (campaign of 2024)
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.52603/RA.XXII.1.2026_28Keywords:
medieval necropolis, skeletal series, paleoanthropological analysis, Lozova, 14th centuryAbstract
The human skeletal series referred to in this study was exhumed in 2024 from the perimeter of the medieval necropolis of Lozova-La hotar cu Vornicenii (Străşeni District, Republic of Moldova). According to the data provided by the research team, based on the funerary inventory, the use of the necropolis is chronologically placed between the 14th century and the beginning of the 15th century. The necropolis belonged to a Christian community because the deceased were buried according to the Christian ritual. The anthropological study was preceded by bone marking and restoration, to allow morphological analysis, osteometry, estimation of age at death and determination of sex, as well as paleopathological evaluation. In this excavation campaign, 18 skeletons from 17 funeral complexes were investigated: six children (three infant I and three infant II – 33,33%), four adolescents – indeterminable sex (22,22%) and eight adults (three ♂ and five ♀ – 44,45%). The state of preservation of the skeletons is satisfactory. The sex ratio (masculinity index) in this osteological series is subunitary. The presence of anomalies, pathologies and non-metric features is moderate. At the cranial level, the following were identified: dental caries, dental enamel hypoplasia (four cases each) and radicular cyst (one case). At the postcranial segment level, the following were reported: osteoarthritis, olecranon perforation (two cases each) and spina bifida occulta (one case).
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