engleski

Dental and long bone growth in four juvenile individuals from Mesolithic layers of Vela Spila Cave, Korčula, Croatia

Juvenile remains from the Mesolithic period are relatively scarce, creating a black box in our understanding of growth and health during this transitional time period. Here, we report on human remains from Vela Spila Cave in Croatia that provide a rare glimpse into life at this time. Four infant skeletons were excavated from three graves during excavations in 1986-1988. One of the skeletons was directly dated to c. 9000 years B.P., and the remaining three were found in the same layer (layer 7/2) and in close proximity (about 50 cm distance) to the directly dated skeleton, and so presumably date to the same time. Using published standards of skeletal and dental maturation, we estimate the age at death of these individuals. Grave 1 consists of the leg bones of a 7-9 month old fetus, as well as a more complete skeleton of an infant aged 2.5-3.5 years. Grave 2 contains the remains of an infant aged 2.5-3 years, and Grave 3 contains the skeleton of a 1-6 mon th old infant. Considered together, these infants do not deviate from recent human growth patterns. The presence of only young infants, lacking perimortem skeletal trauma or skeletal indicators of stress, at Vela Spila raises interesting questions as to the nature of these burials.

long bone growth, dental growth, Mesolithic, Eastern Adriatic

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