Memoirs of the Scientific Sections of the Romanian Academy (Oct 2015)
Anthropological Analysis of the Skeletal Series exhumed from the Necropolis of Piatra Neamţ – Dărmăneşti (XIVth – XVth Centuries)
Abstract
This article represents a bioanthropological study of a small osteological series (32 skeletons) discovered in 2012 in the necropolis of Piatra Neamţ – Dărmăneşti. According to the authors of diggings (Garvan Daniel, archaeologist, and his collaborators at Piatra Neamţ Museum of History and Archaeology) the necropolis is dated between the XIVth and XVth centuries. The general and child mortality rates were analyzed, by gender and age, as well as the average lifespan by calculating the average age at death. We noticed a high mortality rate in childhood stage (0–14 years: 43.75%). If we add to it the teenage mortality rate (14-20 years: 6.25%), we can see that half of the studied population died before reaching adulthood. In the 20-x years interval, the highest mortality rate was recorded for mature people (30–60 years – 25%); the incidence of death among adults (20–30 years) and subjects over 60 years is much lower (15.63% and 9.38%, respectively). The average lifespan for the entire population under study (0–x years) is 25.63 years, the value recorded by gender, being of 44.17 years in men and 40.36 years in women. Anthropological analysis indicates, on the average, a population of over-middle height in males and middle height in females, with mesocranic skulls in males and brachycranic skulls in females, orthocranic and acrocranic (in the male series), respectively chamecranic and tapeinocranic (in the female series) skullcaps. The forehead is eurimetopic (in the male series) and metriometopic (in the female series), with averagely wide (in males) and wide (in females) occipitals. The face is, on the average, leptoprosopic an leptene in males, respectively mesoprosopic and mesene in females, with hypsiconch orbits and leptorrhine nose. Mandible robustness is moderate in both genders.
