Christian Meyer
Lead Researcher @ OsteoARC - OsteoArchaeological Research Centre
// The main focus of my work is developing and applying a holistic Funerary and Osteoarchaeology, including Taphonomy, Palaeopathology, and various other bioarchaeological approaches. I mainly analyse burial sites and burial features, targeting the human skeletal remains and their specific contexts, but faunal remains from non-standard archaeological contexts are also of great interest to me.
I frequently carry out in-depth bioarchaeological studies of deviant, mass, multiple and collective graves, the former of which are often connected to past conflicts and mass violence. I always strive to work in a collaborative and interdisciplinary environment, often in close association with aDNA and isotope studies. The dedicated contextual analysis and interpretation of these special grave features can reveal highly detailed insights into the past not obtainable by other means.
In recent years I have also analysed the skeletal remains from various large European cemetery sites, utilizing a highly systematic palaeoepidemiological approach to create truly comparable datasets. These are then combined with other archaeological and biological information in a holistic population-focused bioarchaeology.
// The main focus of my work is developing and applying a holistic Funerary and Osteoarchaeology, including Taphonomy, Palaeopathology, and various other bioarchaeological approaches. I mainly analyse burial sites and burial features, targeting the human skeletal remains and their specific contexts, but faunal remains from non-standard archaeological contexts are also of great interest to me.
I frequently carry out in-depth bioarchaeological studies of deviant, mass, multiple and collective graves, the former of which are often connected to past conflicts and mass violence. I always strive to work in a collaborative and interdisciplinary environment, often in close association with aDNA and isotope studies. The dedicated contextual analysis and interpretation of these special grave features can reveal highly detailed insights into the past not obtainable by other means.
In recent years I have also analysed the skeletal remains from various large European cemetery sites, utilizing a highly systematic palaeoepidemiological approach to create truly comparable datasets. These are then combined with other archaeological and biological information in a holistic population-focused bioarchaeology.
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Neolithic by Christian Meyer
The partial absence of younger women at Talheim, Asparn/Schletz, and Schöneck-Kilianstädten may be an indicator of the selective capturing of prisoners by Neolithic raiders, while people belonging to other sex and age groups were seemingly killed, mainly by blows to the head. Moreover, children are numerous at all three sites, so as to suggest that settled communities came under attack and were possibly wiped out as a result. While these massacre sites are quite similar in their demographic structure and cranial injury patterns, two other sites discussed in the chapter, namely, Wiederstedt and Halberstadt, markedly differ from them, thus suggesting different causes for the mass fatality events. At Wiederstedt, children dominate among the sample, but no clear signs of violence could be found, while at Halberstadt children are absent, younger men dominate the sample, and the cranial injuries are tightly clustered at the back of the head. It is proposed that disease may have been the cause of death at Wiederstedt, while the Halberstadt men may have been detained and executed. However, despite originating from different events, all these mass fatality sites are unified by the enactment of deviant burial customs, which are quite different from normative LBK burials.
Eulau, Germany. The 4,600-year-old graves contained groups of
adults and children buried facing each other. Skeletal and artifactual evidence and the simultaneous interment of the individuals suggest the supposed families fell victim to a violent event. In a multidisciplinary approach, archaeological, anthropological, geochemical (radiogenic isotopes), and molecular genetic (ancient DNA) methods were applied to these unique burials. Using autosomal, mitochondrial, and Y-chromosomal markers, we identified genetic kinship among the individuals. A direct child-parent relationship was detected in one burial, providing the oldest molecular genetic evidence of a nuclear family. Strontium isotope analyses point to different origins for males and children versus females. By this approach, we gain insight into a Late Stone Age society, which appears to have been exogamous and patrilocal, and in which genetic kinship seems to be a focal point of social organization.
The partial absence of younger women at Talheim, Asparn/Schletz, and Schöneck-Kilianstädten may be an indicator of the selective capturing of prisoners by Neolithic raiders, while people belonging to other sex and age groups were seemingly killed, mainly by blows to the head. Moreover, children are numerous at all three sites, so as to suggest that settled communities came under attack and were possibly wiped out as a result. While these massacre sites are quite similar in their demographic structure and cranial injury patterns, two other sites discussed in the chapter, namely, Wiederstedt and Halberstadt, markedly differ from them, thus suggesting different causes for the mass fatality events. At Wiederstedt, children dominate among the sample, but no clear signs of violence could be found, while at Halberstadt children are absent, younger men dominate the sample, and the cranial injuries are tightly clustered at the back of the head. It is proposed that disease may have been the cause of death at Wiederstedt, while the Halberstadt men may have been detained and executed. However, despite originating from different events, all these mass fatality sites are unified by the enactment of deviant burial customs, which are quite different from normative LBK burials.
Eulau, Germany. The 4,600-year-old graves contained groups of
adults and children buried facing each other. Skeletal and artifactual evidence and the simultaneous interment of the individuals suggest the supposed families fell victim to a violent event. In a multidisciplinary approach, archaeological, anthropological, geochemical (radiogenic isotopes), and molecular genetic (ancient DNA) methods were applied to these unique burials. Using autosomal, mitochondrial, and Y-chromosomal markers, we identified genetic kinship among the individuals. A direct child-parent relationship was detected in one burial, providing the oldest molecular genetic evidence of a nuclear family. Strontium isotope analyses point to different origins for males and children versus females. By this approach, we gain insight into a Late Stone Age society, which appears to have been exogamous and patrilocal, and in which genetic kinship seems to be a focal point of social organization.
substantial millet consumption and rather low shares of animal protein. Their heterogeneous strontium isotope ratios suggest connections to the western Wetterau area, where settlements may have formed the economic hinterland of the Glauberg hillfort. The results reflect both the role of the “princely seat” in the wider regional context and Early Iron Age social complexity.
bodies, the construction and equipment of the grave. The deceased persons are still presented as individuals and embedded according to their individual cultural profile if such is relevant for the respective society. In contrast, mass graves show more or less pronounced levels of carelessness in the treatment and arrangement of the bodies, the latter also completely lacking in many cases. The individuality of the
deceased persons is suppressed or, most commonly, completely removed. Prehistoric mass graves are usually of the erratically commingled type, without any visible indication of care, while historic ones may often show at least some sense of orderly placement. This might be a result of changing religious practices or be related to the fact that historic mass graves tend to be much larger than their prehistoric
counterparts. Building upon previous and often site- or context-specific definitions of mass graves, a new and more generally applicable definition is suggested, while it is acknowledged that sometimes the distinction between mass graves and multiple burials depends on the interpretative emphasis given to certain characteristics.
Baker & Armelagos in 1988. Numerous new findings and results on both sides of the Atlantic call for a new evaluation of the available osseous material. A review of the recent literature leads to the suggestion of a worldwide distribution of non-venereal treponemal disease since the emergence of Homo and to a first epidemic outbreak of venereal syphilis in Europe of the late 15th and the early 16th century, which was a time of change and enormous sexual liberty. Old World specimens with pathological alterations attributed to venereal syphilis and dated to precolumbian times seem to invalidate the Columbian theory and call for a more differentiated analysis of the phenomenon of syphilis than a theory based on a single factor can provide. With the help of molecular methods which now allow a positive identification of Treponema pallidum pallidum, causative agent of venereal syphilis, in palaeopathological material, it seems possible to elucidate the matter of origin and spread of syphilis further and to evaluate previous diagnoses of treponemal disease."
As the overall amount of data recorded is extensive, only selected results can be presented here as representative examples. These are specifically chosen to illuminate different aspects of the bioarchaeological research brought to bear on this population. While epidemiological results will be the main theme, selected cases will be used to highlight certain points, otherwise lost in the bulk of data.
For example, a comparison of independently assessed gender and sex resulted in a 100% congruence, strengthening the notion that in this time, sex equals gender in the burial record. The distribution of violent injuries is not random, but follows a clear pattern connected to sex, age and status, indicating a highly visible warrior class. Cribra orbitalia is connected to body height and status, osteoarthrosis, HFI and parietal thinning clearly increase with age, while os acromiale is more common in women. These and other examples show the potential that large cemetery sites hold for the advancement of overall bioarchaeological knowledge.
The dataset will soon be available for comparative purposes.
To complement the epidemiological dataset regarding skeletal trauma, the patterns of long bone fractures are put into focus here, and are analysed according to sex, age, body side and affected anatomical location, utilising a dedicated osteological recording system (cf Meyer/Alt 2012). Besides few cases of obvious interpersonal violence, the postcranial skeleton seems to reflect mainly the traumatic effects of accidents, falls and other mishaps of rural early Medieval life.
All types of long bones bear evidence of fracture in this sample, but one location clearly stands out: the distal radius. While fractures of the mid-distal ulna are often interpreted as parry fractures, those of the distal radius are commonly seen as results of accidental falls. To further characterise the bioarchaeological background of this pattern, a DXA-pilot study was carried out, assessing the bone mineral density of the femoral neck in three subgroups, among them the individuals with distal radius fractures. The preliminary results show that affected individuals, especially the women, have lower density values, further corroborating the assumption that postcranial fractures in this sample are mostly due to every-day accidents, and, in marked contrast to the cranial lesions, not a result of interpersonal violence.
Meyer C, Alt KW (2012) Die Steinkistengräber vom Hermsheimer Bösfeld, Mannheim-Seckenheim: Bioarchäologische Charakterisierung der menschlichen Skelettfunde eines frühmittelalterlichen Gräberfeldes. In: Krohn N, Koch U (Eds.) Grosso Modo. Forsch. Spätantike u. Mittelalter 1. Weinstadt, 165-179.
Two Early Medieval but very different burial sites from Germany, one attached to a Late Roman fort at Bitburg, the other a large row grave cemetery from Mannheim have been screened for traumatic injuries and the respective patterns of violence have been determined. Whereas younger men were the usual victims of violence at both sites, women were rarely affected in Mannheim, but quite often in Bitburg. Possible explanations for these differences are given within a biocultural framework, specifically including the differing gender experiences at both sites.
Aus dieser Zeit liegen große und beigabenreiche Gräberfelder vor, die bei Verwendung einer entsprechenden Methodik eine systematische Erfassung von Mustern der Gewalt, unterschieden nach diversen bioarchäologischen Parametern, ermöglichen. Eine solche Studie wurde umfassend für das merowingerzeitliche Gräberfeld vom Hermsheimer Bösfeld, Mannheim-Seckenheim durchgeführt. Mehr als 900 Bestattungen bilden hier die Grundlage einer u. a. nach sozialem Status differenzierten Analyse und statistischen Auswertung der traumatischen Skelettbefunde. Dabei ergibt sich, dass lediglich männliche Individuen eindeutige Spuren scharfer Gewalt aufweisen, Frauen in dieser Population somit nicht das nachweisbare Opfer kriegerischer Handlungen geworden sind. Eine genaue Betrachtung der von Schwerthieben getroffenen Männer bietet weiteren Aufschluss über den möglichen gesellschaftlichen Kontext der Gewaltausübung, da sich entsprechende Verletzungen z. T. signifikant häufiger in eher reich ausgestatteten Gräbern finden.
Die kritische Analyse der vorliegenden Grabfunde und der nachweisbaren Spuren von Gewalt findet vor dem Hintergrund weiterer osteologischer und paläopathologischer Merkmale (z. B. Knochenfrakturen und degenerative Gelenkveränderungen) statt, um gesellschaftsspezifische Muster zu identifizieren und valide Interpretationsansätze zu formulieren.
The detailed osteological reconstruction, including age and sex estimation, forms the basis for the bioarchaeometric analyses targeting the biological profile of the individuals and the population as a whole. Palaeoepidemiological and demographic issues were further targets of the anthropological research carried out for this grave, as far as the given sample size allowed. The aDNA study revealed several likely maternal kinship ties within the population, while stable isotope results reflect a rather homogeneous diet and provide evidence for postmarital residential changes very likely following a patri- or virilocal pattern. All results are discussed within their Final Neolithic context.
Doppler, Th. (Hrsg.), Spreitenbach-Moosweg (Aargau, Schweiz): ein Kollektivgrab um 2500 v. Chr. / Spreitenbach-Moosweg (Argovie, Suisse): une sépulture collective vers 2500 av. J.-C. Antiqua 51. Basel. (estimated publication date: at the end of 2012)
For a comprehensive scientific analysis and interpretation of burials, it is necessary to combine various archaeological disciplines, constantly matching results to one another and re-evaluating them if necessary. Human skeletal remains should be the foremost focus of research in burial archaeology, as the grave, its construction, and contents are dependent on the biocultural characteristics of the persons interred within. While the anthropological profile of the deceased, a composite of osteological, genetic and isotopic results, obviously gives information of central importance, events affecting the condition of the physical bodies before, during and after the inhumation are also highly relevant for the understanding of burial features.
One example of a very complex Neolithic multiple burial is presented from Salzmünde, Germany. It contains nine individuals, which display burn and chop marks and missing body parts in a complex pattern. Utilizing mainly osteological evidence for the treatment of the dead, a chain of recurring events is reconstructed, including results of other analyses, and the most plausible interpretation is presented. In this case burial taphonomy holds the key to the whole feature, which has profound effects on the interpretation of the site as a whole. It follows that similar sites and features, including complex arrangements of human remains, have to be analysed in detail, before a definite burial scenario can be presented.
menschliche Skelettreste in Befundkontexten auf, die nicht primär oder ausschließlich als „Gräber“ erkannt
bzw. angesehen werden. Ein Beispiel sind sekundär genutzte Siedlungsgruben, in denen einzelne oder mehrere
vollständige Skelettindividuen liegen können, oder auch nur vereinzelte Knochenelemente ohne anatomischen
Zusammenhang. Ein Charakteristikum solcher Befunde sind oftmals angetroffene „abnorme“ Körperhaltungen,
die mit einem sorgfältigen Bestattungsritual nach gängiger Meinung unvereinbar erscheinen.
Wie bei allen Grabbefunden kann in solchen Fällen eine belastbare Interpretation nur auf einer detaillierten
Analyse der Knochenfunde aufbauen, sofern dies erhaltungsbedingt möglich ist. Die menschlichen Überreste
repräsentieren zum einen den direktesten und oftmals einzigen Zugang zu den zugrundeliegenden Vorgängen
(z. B. Gewalt, Seuchen), die zum Vorhandensein von Leichen geführt haben, und sind zum anderen der
zentrale Aspekt und der praktische Grund für die Anlage von spezifischen, an die persönlichen Charakteristika
der Verstorbenen angepassten Gräber. Ausgehend von den Ergebnissen, die am eisenzeitlichen Fundplatz
Glauberg mit einer Vielzahl an „irregulären“ Bestattungen exemplarisch gewonnen werden konnten, sollen
Erklärungs- und Interpretationsvorschläge gemacht werden, die mit der bioarchäologischen Faktenlage
vereinbar sind. Hierbei werden neben archäologischen, osteologischen und taphonomischen Aspekten auch
diejenigen der aDNA- und Isotopenanalysen berücksichtigt und in ein Gesamtmodell integriert.
The detailed anthropological and palaeopathological investigation carried out on the skeletons revealed a high number of traumatic bone injuries, among them healed and unhealed fractures. The two adult men of the sample both had old as well as perimortem fractures of the forearm and hands, which can be interpreted as defence injuries against blunt force attacks. The extremely violent nature of the event which led to their death and the apparent demise of all the individuals buried in these graves is also shown by a fatal arrow wound in the lumbar spine of an adult woman and several penetrating cranial fractures in another woman and in a child. These cranial defects are compatible in shape and size with stone axes, the typical weaponry of the time. In some skeletons, more ambiguous evidence of violence was found, but some were not well enough preserved to assess all bones for further evidence of perimortem trauma. But in each of the four multiple graves, at least one of the individuals can be diagnosed with having unhealed injuries.
As the victims of this violent event have not been buried in a mass grave, but have rather been carefully arranged, including obvious symbolic expressions, it is presumed that they have been buried by their surviving kin. The demographic profile suggests that mainly the younger adults of this Corded Ware community are missing, and these are likely to have survived the violent attack. Genetic analyses of the skeletons also revealed that the most complex grave, including an older woman, an older man as well as two children, in fact represents a biological family. These biological relations are also culturally expressed in the obvious arrangement of the dead within the grave, proving that the persons responsible for the burial knew about their familial relationships and respected them.
The multidisciplinary analyses carried out on the Eulau multiple graves so far, have been able to shed some new light on burial customs and social organization of the Corded Ware and on the fatal fate of a Late Neolithic family in particular.
Bei der anthropologischen Aufarbeitung des menschlichen Skelettmaterials wurde trotz des fragmentarischen Erhaltungszustands vieler Gräber eine prozentual außerordentlich hohe Zahl an intravitalen und perimortalen Gewalteinwirkungen festgestellt, die sich primär auf die Schädel beschränkten. Von neun männlichen Bestattungen mit erhaltenen Schädelfragmenten weisen fünf eindeutige Verletzungsspuren auf (56%), wobei es sich überwiegend um die Einwirkungen scharfer Gewalt handelt. Bei zwei Männern ohne Schädelverletzung wurden Traumata des postkranialen Skeletts diagnostiziert, womit mindestens 78% der bestatteten Männer zu Lebzeiten Opfer äußerer Gewalteinwirkung wurden. Lediglich zwei vollständigere Skelette wurden als weiblich bestimmt, diese weisen jedoch beide ebenfalls deutliche Spuren von Gewalteinwirkung am Schädel auf. Da weibliche Individuen im archäologischen Befund deutlich seltener als Opfer massiver Gewalt auftreten, stellt der Fundplatz trotz der kleinen Individuenzahl eine Besonderheit dar.
Die Opfer finden sich verteilt auf allen drei erhaltenen Restarealen des Gräberfeldes, daher kann höchstwahrscheinlich nicht von einem Einzelereignis ausgegangen werden, welches für die nachgewiesenen Spuren von Gewalt ursächlich ist. Vielmehr muss innerhalb der Gemeinschaft, aus der sich die in Bitburg Bestatteten rekrutierten, ein beständig hohes Gefährdungsrisiko bestanden haben, das Opfer von massiver Gewaltanwendung zu werden. Diese Gewalt hatte, zumindest unter den vorgefundenen Männern, häufig tödliche Folgen. Hinsichtlich der Ursachen für die Anhäufung von Verletzungen ist zu vermuten, dass dafür kriegerische Auseinandersetzungen, evtl. aber auch ein erhöhtes Gewaltpotential in der Bitburger Bevölkerung in Frage kommen. Im Vergleich mit anderen Fundorten gleicher Zeitstellung wird die Bedeutung des sozialen Kontexts (Militäranlage) im Spiegel von Archäologie, Anthropologie und Archäometrie kritisch diskutiert.
Unambiguous evidence of interpersonal violence is largely restricted to the skull. Other bones are rarely involved. Sharp force injuries (eg swordcuts), healed and unhealed, were seen only in men, sometimes in the same individuals. There is a clear predominance of trauma to the left side of the skull and lethal blade wounds are found mainly on younger adults. Blunt force injuries are also chiefly present on males, but not exclusively so.
The results from the completely excavated very large cemetery of Mannheim-Seckenheim are compared to another, much smaller and very fragmentary cemetery from Bitburg, which, in relation to its preserved skeletal remains, shows a high number of cranial injuries. It is discussed how site context and preservation, number of individuals and the condition of the bones can affect the interpretation of archaeological sites regarding interpersonal violence.