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Space Not Only for the Living: Human Remains Found in the Late Bronze Age Settlement of Vânători, Galați County (South-East Romania)
Sorin-Cristian Ailincăi, Mihai Constantinescu, Adrian Adamescu, Tudor Mandache
Mitteilungen der Berliner Gesellschaft für Anthropologie, Ethnologie und Urgeschichte Beiheft 3 (2024)
https://doi.org/10.30819/mbgaeu.b45.3 pp: 55-72 2025-01-14
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Stichworte/keywords: Romania, Early Iron Age, Belozerka, culture, Babadag culture, settlement burials, violence
Cite: APA BibTeX
Ailincăi, S., & Constantinescu, M., & Adamescu, A., & Mandache, T. (). Space Not Only for the Living: Human Remains Found in the Late Bronze Age Settlement of Vânători, Galați County (South-East Romania). Space Not Only for the Living: Human Remains Found in the Late Bronze Age Settlement of Vânători, Galați County (South-East Romania), , 55-72. doi:10.30819/mbgaeu.b45.3
@article{Ailincăi_,
doi = {10.30819/mbgaeu.b45.3},
url = {https://doi.org/10.30819/mbgaeu.b45.3},
year = ,
publisher = {Logos Verlag Berlin},
volume = {},
pages = {55-72},
author = {Sorin-Cristian Ailincăi, Mihai Constantinescu, Adrian Adamescu, Tudor Mandache},
title = {Space Not Only for the Living: Human Remains Found in the Late Bronze Age Settlement of Vânători, Galați County (South-East Romania)},
journal = {Space Not Only for the Living: Human Remains Found in the Late Bronze Age Settlement of Vânători, Galați County (South-East Romania)}
}
Abstract
The archaeological research conducted at the site of
Vânători, Galați County (SE Romania), has led to the
identification of a settlement dated between the 11 th
and the 9 th century BC. Among the features studied,
we highlight pit 1152, in which a male individual had
been deposited in an unusual position. He surpassed
the average height of contemporary males from the
Balkan-Carpathian area and his muscle origins and
insertions were remarkably developed. At the same
time, the anthropological analysis of the bones indicates that he died of a strong blow to the skull. The
aetiology of this lesion in face-to-face combat and defensive wounds, as well as the pathological afflictions
visible on some of the bones, seem to suggest that the
individual could have been a warrior who died a warrior’s death.
Burials inside settlements were rather frequent in
the beginning of the 1 st millennium BC especially in
the Lower Danube, proving the existence of practices
of displaying human corpses whose anatomical pieces
had been manipulated. These “macabre discoveries”
consisted of complete or incomplete skeletons, some
arranged anatomically, others not, but also included
parts of skeletons, such as skulls or limbs. There are
also differences between the design of the spots chosen
for the deposition of the human remains (dwellings,
pits, ditches, etc.) as well as the number of individuals, the inventory, and the manner of deposition. By
analysing these contexts, several assumptions can be
made regarding the procedures of deposition of such
individuals inside the settlements. First, we note that
none of the incomplete skeletons (or the scattered osteological remains) revealed traces of disarticulation
with sharp tools or animal gnawing, leading to the
conclusion that their state was the result of lengthy
display (in special places) that caused the degradation of the soft parts and the drying and rigidity of
the ligaments. The absence of traces indicating the
intervention of animals suggests that the bodies had
been on display in protected spaces or on inaccessible
platforms, possibly even inside specially built houses.
These “macabre” finds from the settlements show that,
at least in the Lower Danube, these areas were not
only intended for the living; moreover, the everyday
activities of the living afforded them a permanent connection with the dead.