engleski

Bioarchaeological analyses of Late Bronze Age cemeteries in southern Carpathian Basin

Late Bronze Age in central and southern Europe is characterised by cemeteries of Urnfield culture. The standard burial rite was cremation of deceased on funeral pyre and deposition of cremated remains in urns. Analysis of human remains yields various types of information. Sex and age of each individual, as well as present pathological changes, form a demographic profile and health status of the entire community. Visual characteristics of the bones reveal data on pyre temperature, positioning of the body as well as collecting and depositing of the remains. Combined results of analyses of human skeletal remains and material finds create the image of burial practices of a certain society. This paper analyses published studies on human skeletal remains from Late Bronze Age cemeteries in continental Croatia and the surrounding area. Despite the relatively large number of cemeteries, only a small part of human skeletal material was analysed. This situation is present not only in Croatia, but throughout the southern Carpathian Basin. The majority of studies present only basic demographic data on sex and age of the deceased. Only a few of them provide some conclusions on pyre characteristics. There is a noticeable lack of synthetic treatment of anthropological and archaeological analyses. This leads to a limited knowledge of Late Bronze Age burial practices and calls for future multidisciplinary approach to analyses of Late Bronze Age cemeteries.

Late Bronze Age; cemeteries; Carpathian Basin; bioarchaeological analyses

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