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Paleopathology of two Neolithic mass burials from Jagodnjak, Croatia

The aim of this paper is to present the results of the paleopathological analysis of human skeletal remains found in two prehistoric mass burials from the multi-period archaeological site of Jagodnjak in eastern Croatia. Both features can be attributed to the Neolithic period based on the preserved pottery fragments (radiocarbon dating is pending). Although the human remains were mostly articulated, the individual skeletons became partially commingled due to the haphazard placement of the bodies and post-depositional processes. The first mass burial contained the remains of ten adult males, while in the second the remains of three adult males and one adolescent were found. Most of the skeletons exhibit common pathological changes, such as caries, AMTL, ectocranial porosity, cribra orbitalia, linear enamel hypoplasia, and ante-mortem injuries. However, two skeletons show evidence of intentional violence and possible surgical intervention. More precisely, a young male (26-35 years) from G 41 exhibits a series of cranial peri-mortem cuts and blunt force injuries, while the skeleton of a young male (26-35 years) from G 79 shows evidence of a possible amputation of the left hand with visible signs of healing (the distal thirds of the left ulna and radius were affected). A combination of non-standard burial practice with an unusual demographic distribution accompanied by peri-mortem injuries and a possible surgical intervention might suggest that the remains of the victims of a violent episode were interred in these archaeological features. However, a more comprehensive archaeological and bioarchaeological study is needed to confirm this assumption.

paleopathology ; early Neolithic ; human remains ; Croatia

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