Wealth or Just Job Seekers: Medieval Skeletal Series from Kutná Hora-Sedlec (Czech Republic) with a Notable Surplus of Men

Abstract

Kutná Hora entered the 14th century as a rich, prosperous, and densely-populated city producing tons of silver. Such an amount of precious metal could not be mined and processed without an influx of people from other cities and rural areas and without the contribution of skilled specialists from abroad. Despite the apparent wealth of the city, its inhabitants (either settled or newly arrived) experienced and died during mortality crises. Evidence of such events was discovered in the Kutná Hora suburbs, where the medieval burial ground, including a significant component of mass burials, has been unearthed. In the data derived from pooled catastrophic and non-catastrophic burials (n=1785 individuals), a notable surplus of males has been identified with a striking imbalanced adult sex ratio of 149. After considering factors potentially influencing this value, we suggest that the figure likely mirrors the original population composition as a consequence of the inflow of men migrating to the town for labour/economic opportunities.