This article is a Bioarchaeology of Care and Disability focused analysis of an individual who suffered a severe fracture of the left knee in Late Medieval Lund, Scania (1300–1536 CE). We question the degree to which written sources from the period represent the reality of the disability experience, and to that end how identities intersect in the Medieval urban landscape. Following an index of care model methodology, we provide an interpretation of the pathological evidence within the archaeological and historical context of Medieval Lund. In this case, the individual received both short and long-term care, which included treatment of pain and inflammation, assistance with hygiene and nutrition, and the management of disability as a result of physical impairment for the remainder of the individual’s life. Their treatment in death with a prominent burial position close to the church, a symbol of upper social status during the Medieval period, demonstrates that the identity of disability in the past is a much more complex process than can be gleaned from the written sources. Our analysis also employed 3D online visualization and annotation solutions to aid in the analysis and dissemination of our results, making data more accessible to readers and researchers alike.

Drawing on modelling of age at death in skeletal remains, this article unveils hitherto unrecognized demographic patterns in the Nordic Corded Ware complex. This population formed part of the European Corded Ware complex that has been linked to disruption observed in the archaeological and genetic record. The newly developed methods of transition analysis 3 (TA3) and death rate ratio (DRR) were used to process skeletal data from 67 individuals deriving from single, double, and multiple graves in Scandinavia. The results disclose a high proportion of immature individuals aged less than twenty years. Attrition, however, complies with a demography with high age-nonspecific mortality , and this may connect to stressors such as epidemic diseases and endemic warfare. Compared to the partly contemporaneous Pitted Ware complex and the succeeding Late Neolithic–earliest Bronze Age period, the Nordic Corded Ware burials overall point to robust population growth, especially in the later period. This in turn aligns with a sedentary lifestyle rather than a mobile pastoral economy. Short-distance seasonal movements could fit in but cannot yet be measured. Recent genetics have demonstrated biological input in the female line from populations such as Funnel Beaker, Pitted Ware, and herders of the steppe forest zone: the remarkable tallness of Nordic Corded Ware individuals may well be an effect of such admixture. The burials moreover evidence a distinct adult male sex bias, which diminishes over time along with the growth in the number of buried females and young individuals. Judging from investment in graves and grave goods, immatures were highly valued. The scale of social status operates independently of age. Alongside the revealed Nordic Corded Ware demography and the burial and material record more broadly, this could indicate social inequality based on kinship and warrior values.

In this article we aim to highlight the potential of forgotten grave materials in our museum depositories for gaining insights into prehistoric life. By applying a multi-proxy approach to the skeletal remains of two graves of uncertain types from Falbygden in western Sweden, we were able to acquire new knowledge of burial practices, subsistence, health and mobility in Late Neolithic and Early Bronze Age communities. One of the studied graves proved to be the earliest attested gallery grave in the area, while the other is one of the few known graves from the first period of the Bronze Age. The results indicate that some overlooked excavated materials in our depositories might stem from certain time periods from which we think archaeological remains are lacking and/or from practices which are not fully understood. These remains may prove to be important for our understanding of prehistoric societies when thoroughly studied combining archaeological, osteological, biochemical and geochemical methods.

Bioarchaeology has the potential to substantially inform about ancient lifeways through osteological analyses of the remains of the once-living individuals. This article provides insights of the demography and health of the people of ancient Hermione (Geometric–Roman period). A minimum number of 85 individuals from the Hermione necropolis was osteologically analysed. Although the analysis was limited by taphonomic processes and the long period of use of the necropolis, the results point towards a population affected by urban hazards, such as infections, high child mortality, and, possibly, decreased opportunity to survive into senescence. Further, stunted growth, evidence of general stress primarily in the juvenile skeletal assemblage, and a possible case of child abuse informs of the hardships experienced by children in ancient Hermione. The osteological analysis also confirms that the two individuals buried in the “Warrior Tomb” were of both sexes. The skeletal remains were unfortunately too poorly preserved for detailed analyses of trauma or other health-related patterns. The practice of burying all age groups and both sexes in collective graves between the 6th–5th and 2nd centuries BC might correspond to the necropolis as a communal burial ground, while older and younger graves were assigned for single individuals only.

In this paper, we investigate the Scandinavian Late Neolithic and Early Bronze Age of Kinnekulle in southwestern Sweden. The above-mentioned periods in the study area are poorly understood and the archaeological record consists of a few stray finds and a concentration of 20 gallery graves. This study focuses on three of the gallery graves where commingled skeletons from successive burials were recovered. The human remains and the artefacts from the graves were used for discussing individual life stories as well as living societies with the aim of gaining new knowledge of the last part of the Neolithic and the beginning of the Early Bronze Age in southwestern Sweden. We focused on questions concerning health and trauma, mobility and exchange networks, and diet and subsistence of the people using the graves. Chronological, bioarchaeological, and biomolecular aspects of the burials were approached through the application of archaeological and osteological studies, as well as stable isotope, strontium isotope, radiocarbon, and mtDNA analyses. The study provides evidence for high mobility and diverse diets, as well as inhumations primarily dated to the transition between the Late Neolithic and Early Bronze Age. We suggest that the mountain plateau of Kinnekulle was mainly reserved for the dead, while the people lived in agriculture-based groups in the surrounding lower lying regions.

This article presents the results of an interdisciplinary study combining archaeology, osteology, and stable isotope analyses. The geological conditions and richness of megalithic graves in Falbygden is suitable for studies of Neolithic human remains. Nevertheless, the Late Neolithic period (2350-1700 BC) is poorly investigated. This paper explores new knowledge of the Late Neolithic megalithic population in Falbygden. In-depth osteological and archaeological studies focusing on a single gallery grave (Falkoping stad 5) were conducted. Radiocarbon dating and carbon, nitrogen, and strontium isotope analyses of teeth from twenty-one individuals revealed the time of the grave's use, as well as the subsistence and mobility practices of the buried individuals. The grave was already in use during the first part of the Late Neolithic and used into the second part of the period by individuals of different origin. Furthermore, the results indicated changing population dynamics in the Late Neolithic Falbygden, with increased human mobility, variability in subsistence strategies, and growing population density.

A number of papers have provided insight into frequencies of violence-related trauma, especially skull trauma, in Northern European skeletal assemblages dating to the Neolithic and Bronze Age. Although the cases are often well described, they lack further discussion about the consequences of skull trauma for the injured individual and the implications for the surrounding society, especially considering severe skull trauma leading to traumatic brain injuries. In this paper, we address questions of trauma and care for one individual associated with the Swedish-Norwegian Battle Axe Culture who suffered from 2 severe ante mortem skull traumas probably leading to brain injuries. These questions are addressed using the Web-based application and analytic tool Index of Care. We found that daily care, both short term with basic needs such as nutrition and grooming and long term with cognitive impairments, was available in the Neolithic society. Considering the frequent number of ante mortem skull trauma in the Neolithic and Bronze Age skeletal assemblages, traumatic brain injury was probably a common phenomenon. We argue that the care provided was a necessity for survival and maintenance of a socially sustainable society.

Human stature is a variable often used to study health changes in present and past populations. In this study possible differences in stature from the late Mesolithic-Early Bronze Age, based on skeletal data from southern Sweden, are investigated. The sample comprises n=203 femora where maximum lengths were evaluated using non-parametric testing. Sex was assessed primarily using criteria on the pelvis and secondarily through statistical testing of sexual dimorphism. Measurements of the vertical diameter of the femoral head, femoral anterior-posterior and medial-lateral were evaluated using an iterative discriminant analysis. Results confirm a significant difference in femoral length between archaeological culture groups for both sexes. Male femoral lengths evidence a significant increase in the Battle Axe Culture that remained high throughout the Late Neolithic and Early Bronze Age. Only a minor increase in male stature associated with the transition to agriculture could be noticed; stature then remained constant until the Pitted Ware Culture. There was no change in female stature following the Neolithic transition. Female stature then increased gradually throughout the Neolithic, but decreased somewhat in the later part of the Late Neolithic-Early Bronze Age. These findings suggest that the transition to agriculture did not affect health in any profound way, and that the high stature in the BAC-Early Bronze Age are dependent on a mix of genetic influx, population increase and good nutrition and health, possibly linked to an intensification and consolidation of the agro-pastoral economy.

Scholars have long discussed social hierarchies associated with the Early Bronze Age in southern Scandinavia. In this paper, social hierarchies are targeted through bioarchaeological methods. Fifty new radiocarbon dates from 50 individuals show that there is an increase in burial complexity from the Early Late Neolithic to the Early Bronze Age. Further, stable isotopes of carbon and nitrogen were analysed in 29 of the individuals and dental caries were then assessed in a data set of 598 post-canine teeth, to examine differences in diet between individuals associated with different inhumation practices. The nitrogen values indicate that manuring was practised during the period, but there was no statistical difference in diet or dental caries between burials. It is argued that different types of burials are associated with different social levels in society, but that there is not a higher meat consumption or visibly different food behaviour among individuals interpreted as being a member of the “elite”.

Human stature as a measurement for evaluating physical status is used by the World Health Organiza-tion (WHO) as well as bioarchaeologists. The reason for this is that only about 80% depends on genetic factors, while 20% depend on the environment. Bad living conditions decrease stature in a population. This paper aims to make a short review of earlier reports on stature in Late Neolithic–Early Bronze Age Southern Scandinavia and to provide some new data. It is clear that stature in Late Neolithic–Early Bronze Age Scandinavia was very high, equal to modern statures.

Diet and health during the Late Neolithic and Early Bronze Age Scandinavia have never been under systematic study. Still, high statures have been reported from osteologists, statures that indicate good health. This article is based on a pilot study examining health changes in relation to dietary changes due to intensified agriculture and the possible Secondary Products Revolution as discussed by Sherratt in the early 1980s. Several different bioarchaeological methods for investigating health are applied to the Late Neolithic-Early Bronze Age graves of Abbekas, southernmost Sweden, showing several parameters connected to health and viewing tendencies of health changes possibly connected to an agricultural intensification.

The task of this essay is to study paleopathology in unburned bones from the Bronze Age of Scania, Sweden. Questions about the meaning of age, sex and health is raised, due to this task. Further, this study also aims to construct a catalog over the material. The study is based upon 5771 bone fragments and 789 teeth from 18 different archaeological sites. All the material is situated in Lunds Universitets Historiska Museum, Lund and Statens Historiska Museum, Stockholm. Several different pathologies were diagnosed in the skeletal remains, such as trauma, osteoarthritis, malnutrition and dental diseases. A much too large quantity of the material was not suited for sex estimations, wherefore the results of the study of sex differences between pathologies could only be considered tentative. The meaning of age was mostly seen in cases of vertebral osteoarthritis and dental caries.