engleski

Exploring artificial cranial deformation in a 5th century Germanic population from Croatia using multiple lines of inquiry

This project uses multiple lines of inquiry to analyse the remains of three individuals dated to the Great Migration period (5th c. CE) from Osijek in eastern Croatia. Based on archaeological context and radiocarbon dates, all individuals belonged to Germanic tribes, either Gepids or Ostrogoths. Little is known about these populations, although they played an important role during the final days of the Roman Empire. The skeletal remains belonged to three adolescents between 12 and 16 years old, two of whom exhibited intentional artificial cranial deformation. Interestingly, a comprehensive bioarchaeological analysis and CT imaging suggest the use of two different types of artificial deformation: the circular erect and tabular oblique type. While this phenomenon has been observed in various ancient populations, its origins and purpose are still not fully understood. Stable isotopes analysis (carbon and nitrogen) was performed on these two individuals. Both had high δ13C values (-17.0‰ and -15.5‰) and very similar δ15N values (9.5‰ and 9.9‰) suggesting a mixed terrestrial C3/C4 diet with a heavy reliance on resources such as millet. Results from ancient DNA analysis (still pending) will indicate molecular sex, mitochondrial haplogroup, and allelic state at ancestry informative markers, enabling us to explore the genetic background of these individuals with high resolution molecular analyses. The results of this study will provide new information on lifestyle and biological characteristics of Germanic populations inhabiting the Pannonian Basin during the 5th century, and will shed new light on the phenomenon of artificial cranial deformation in Europe.

paleoradiology, Ancient history, cranial deformation, Croatia, Great migration

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