The late medieval/early modern necropolis of Adro Vello (O Grove, Pontevedra, Spain) from sondage 1.2017: an osteoarchaeological approach to funerary practices and childhood

Abstract

ABSTRACT The study of non-adult individuals and the concept of childhood are essential for deepening our knowledge of past communities. Adro Vello (O Grove, Pontevedra) is considered one of the most representative and iconic necropolises of medieval Galicia. However, research on the human skeletal remains has so far been scarce and has not previously focused on what osteoarchaeological analyses can reveal about lifestyle. Here we study the human skeletal remains recovered in a 2017 archaeological campaign. The results show a Minimum Number of Individuals (MNI) of fourteen – seven articulated individuals, and MNI of seven among disarticulated skeletal remains – eight of whom are non-adults (including six individuals ≤ one year). The analysis in this article revolves around the management of cemetery space, the relationship of burials with earlier and later structures, and, especially, the high presence of individuals under the age of one year in a Christian cemetery, where burial of the unbaptised would not be allowed. This demonstrates the importance of archaeological and bioarchaeological study in detecting ex norma practices and in the characterisation of childhood.