Estudio antropológico de un individuo hallado en el edificio religioso medieval de la plaza Eduardo de Castro (Astorga, España). ¿Muerte accidental o intencionada?

Abstract

Astorga (León, Spain) is one of the most ancient Christian bishopric in the Iberian Peninsula. There are not many remains form the Early Christian period in this geographical area. Nevertheless, the discovery of a church during the archaeological works around the Gothic Cathedral constitutes the oldest testimony of Christian building in the city. During these archaeological works, a human male body was found on the floor of the church. It was named Individual number 6, and his death is the principal aim of this paper. Distinguishing between perimorten and postmorten fractures is not an easy task due to the key macroscopic characteristics which can be appreciated in perimortem fractures to differentiate from the postmortem ones. However, a link is made between the time of dead and the lesion which is extremely difficult. The dampness of the bone has lasted after the time of death, thus showing similar properties such as fresh skeletal tissue. For this reason, it is necessary take care of intrinsic and extrinsic evidence in order to analyse the cause of death. In this work-study, an approximation of the cause of death of number 6, stresses the importance of the interaction between physical anthropology and archaeology with the aim of interpreting the events of these characteristics. (1) Área de Antropología Física. Facultad de CC. Biológicas y Ambientales. Universidad de León. Susana Gómez González. Área de Antropología Física. Facultad de CC. Biológicas y Ambientales. Universidad de León. Campus de Vegazana s/n. 24007-León, España. sgomg@unileon.es (2) Arqueólogo. https://doi.org/10.21630/maa.2018.69.15 Estudio antropológico de un individuo hallado en el edificio religioso medieval de la plaza Eduardo de Castro (Astorga, España). ¿Muerte accidental o intencionada? Recibido: 2018-05-29 Aceptado: 2018-03-12 Anthropological study on an individual found out in the mediaeval religious building of the Eduardo de Castro Square (Astorga, Spain). Accidental or intentional death? PALABRAS CLAVES: Estratigrafía, fractura, perimortem, postmortem, carbonización. GAKO-HITZAK: Estratigrafia, haustura, perimortem, postmortem, karbonizazioa.