{"title":"Burnt grain and crop cleaning residues: an archaeobotanical contribution to the understanding of 3rd–6th century AD longhouses in Jutland and Funen (Denmark)","authors":"R. Grabowski","doi":"10.24916/iansa.2020.1.4","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.24916/iansa.2020.1.4","url":null,"abstract":"This paper uses the composition and spatial distribution of carbonised archaeobotanical material from postholes to identify and delineate agrarian and household activities within settlements. The paper presents the analyses of seven houses/farmsteads dating to the 3rd–6th century AD, which were excavated on four separate sites: Flensted, Skovby Nygård and Gedved Vest in east-central Jutland, and Odensevej on the island of Funen. To infer settlement activities from the distributions of carbonised plant macro remains, the paper defines the various stages of plant processing and carbonisation circumstances. It also discusses assumptions about plant processing sequences and the formation of charred plant assemblages that were made during the analysis. The results show that the distribution of charred plant macro-remains can assist in the identification and delineation of spaces with different functions. The presented cases identify the locations of dwelling spaces, spaces where processed crops were stored and/or used, and spaces where fine sieving of grain was performed. The results also show a similarity between the analysed houses, which suggests the existence of a regional tradition of ordering household space. These patterns also confirm assumptions about mid-1st millennium houses previously made on the basis of other archaeological evidence. IANSA 2020 ● XI/1 ● 47–62 Radoslaw Grabowski: Burnt grain and crop cleaning residues: an archaeobotanical contribution to the understanding of 3rd–6th century AD longhouses in Jutland and Funen (Denmark) 48 they are often assumed to have been used for agriculture or crafts and are commonly termed “economy buildings” (DK: økonomibygning) (Hedeager and Kristiansen, 1988, p.142; Hvass et al., 1988; Ethelberg, 2003, p.226; Jensen, 2003, p.214; Mikkelsen and Nørbach, 2003, p.23; Herschend, 2009, p.236). From the earlier Scandinavian Iron Age (c. 500 BC– AD 100) a significant number of houses with preserved floor layers, pavements and artefact spreads have been encountered over the last hundred years; especially in the west of the country where a combination of less intensive agriculture and aeolian movement of sand have acted as factors for excellent preservation. Through these finds, detailed inferences about the use of domestic space have been possible (see comprehensive summary in Webley, 2008). For the later Iron Age, the paucity of artefacts, preserved floor layers, and architectural traces indicative of function makes interpretation of the internal arrangement of late Iron Age houses more difficult, especially in the many cases where no hearths or animal stall walls are present. This has, over the years, led to attempts at using various natural scientific approaches, such as soil phosphate mapping and plant macrofossil analysis, to provide additional insights. The use of these methods is still at a stage of evaluation by the broader archaeological community. This makes the dissemination of promising example","PeriodicalId":38054,"journal":{"name":"Interdisciplinaria Archaeologica","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-08-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"74921117","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
L. Lisá, P. Staněk, Antonín Zůbek, L. Nejman, Bezručova Archaia, Czech Republic Brno
{"title":"Floor Maintenance as a Possible Cultural Behavioural Status? Preliminary Interpretations of Floor Formation Processes from Medieval Brno, Czech Republic","authors":"L. Lisá, P. Staněk, Antonín Zůbek, L. Nejman, Bezručova Archaia, Czech Republic Brno","doi":"10.24916/iansa.2020.1.5","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.24916/iansa.2020.1.5","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":38054,"journal":{"name":"Interdisciplinaria Archaeologica","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-08-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"80131024","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Tereza Šálková, Tomáš Hiltscher, D. Dreslerová, Lenka Kovačiková, J. Jiřík
{"title":"The Benefits of Using Radiocarbon Dating and an Interdisciplinary Approach for Identifying Contamination of Archaeological Find Assemblages. A Case Study from the Multi-period Settlement Site at Rakovice, Czech Republic","authors":"Tereza Šálková, Tomáš Hiltscher, D. Dreslerová, Lenka Kovačiková, J. Jiřík","doi":"10.24916/iansa.2020.1.2","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.24916/iansa.2020.1.2","url":null,"abstract":"The contamination of archaeological find assemblages at multi-period (and other) sites can sometimes go undetected. In this article we seek to highlight this problem through analysis of the fill of settlement features from a site at Rakovice, South Bohemia, Czech Republic. After a detailed spatial evaluation of different categories of finds, an analysis of plant macroremains, and radiocarbon dating, what had originally appeared to be a clear-cut archaeological situation of the superposition of two features from the Roman and Early Mediaeval periods was shown to be much more complex. This discovery confirmed the value of a multi-disciplinary approach and especially of radiocarbon dating even in apparently simple contexts. What we are especially concerned about is the risk of assigning particular periods to multi-period sites that have been insufficiently radiocarbon dated. IANSA 2020 ● XI/1 ● 21–31 Tereza Šálková, Tomáš Hiltscher, Dagmar Dreslerová, Lenka Kovačiková, Jaroslav Jiřík: The Benefits of Using Radiocarbon Dating and an Interdisciplinary Approach for Identifying Contamination of Archaeological Find Assemblages. A Case Study from the Multi-period Settlement Site at Rakovice, Czech Republic 22 In this article we aim to demonstrate that: (a) the earlier residuality and later intrusion of plant remains can be crucial for archaeological interpretation even in a situation that appears stratigraphically clear and in which each archaeological feature comprises only artefacts (mostly ceramics) dated to specific periods; (b) the true formation history and “contamination” cannot be recognized without radiocarbon dating of several specimens and without detailed knowledge of the local archaeology and the spectrum of plants cultivated in a particular period. Our objective is to highlight the dangers of unrecognized contamination and the subsequent misinterpretation of archaeological contexts, and to suggest that such contamination can only be revealed by a multi-disciplinary approach and by including radiocarbon","PeriodicalId":38054,"journal":{"name":"Interdisciplinaria Archaeologica","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-08-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"74981279","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"3D Reconstruction as a Form of Interpretation: Example of Excavation of the Medieval Peťuša Castle (Central Slovakia)","authors":"M. Styk, Noémi Beljak Pažinová","doi":"10.24916/iansa.2020.1.6","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.24916/iansa.2020.1.6","url":null,"abstract":"The paper presents a case study from the research of the High Medieval Peťuša Castle (Zvolen District) in Central Slovakia. Its aim is to present documentation and analytical procedures based on the application of 3D techniques in archaeology. During the archaeological excavation of the Peťuša Castle, several methods were used to document the castle hill, archaeological contexts and artefacts. The aim of the paper is to reference the possibilities of 3D visualization, which serves not only as an interesting presentation of archaeological results to the general public, but also for the work of the archaeologists themselves. The primary goal is to use 3D technology in the analysis and subsequent interpretation in a way that is not common in archaeological procedures. These methods are applied in the interpretation of the architecture of the castle, walking ground level and the surrounding environment. The main contribution is the clarification of spatial relations, visualization of the examined structures, and the opening of polemics within the interpretation levels. IANSA 2020 ● XI/1 ● 73–87 Matej Styk, Noémi Beljak Pažinová: 3D Reconstruction as a Form of Interpretation: Example of Excavation of the Medieval Peťuša Castle (Central Slovakia) 74 terraces and the south side of the castle is ca. 40 metres (in shortest direct line). The location of the Peťuša Castle – on a ridge in a narrow valley above the flow of the Gran River with a good view over the southern part of the Pliešovská basin (and thus the northwest part of the historical Zvolen county) – leads us to the logical assumption that this castle served as a guard post with its main task to control the local roads and waterways. This assumption is supported by its location in the near vicinity of a medieval ford on the Gran River, called Szellősrév (Maliniak, 2009, pp.216–218), closely beyond the edge of the medieval Zvolen land area, whose citizens had been freed from paying tolls throughout the Kingdom of Hungary (Ragač, 1998, pp.13–14). The castle is also located near old pathways (and former stopping points) used as trade roads (represented by visible carriage marks) leading from the south (from Pliešovská basin) to the town of Zvolen (Pažinová, et al. 2013, p.160, pic. 4 and 8; Slamová, et al., 2014; 2016). From the crossroads of trade roads located 450 m away from Peťuša Castle, a possible access path leads to the southern terrace above the castle ditch, the path being identified with the use of datasets from a point cloud obtained from the scanning technology LiDAR (light detection and ranging; source: National Forest Centre Zvolen, average height 700 m). The main goal of the Peťuša Castle excavation is to uncover the process of its construction and the subsequent use of the area, including the functional division of interior space. Among the main research questions belong the finding of its functionality, the duration and usage of the castle, and its involvement in an historical cont","PeriodicalId":38054,"journal":{"name":"Interdisciplinaria Archaeologica","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-08-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"74696843","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Ivana Šitnerová, J. Beneš, Ivana Trpáková, J. Bumerl, V. Komárková, Tereza Majerovičová, Lenka Hrabáková, Kristina Janečková
{"title":"Landscape Transformed: Archaeological, Historical and Environmental Dating of the Early Modern Field System in Valštejn, Czech Republic","authors":"Ivana Šitnerová, J. Beneš, Ivana Trpáková, J. Bumerl, V. Komárková, Tereza Majerovičová, Lenka Hrabáková, Kristina Janečková","doi":"10.24916/iansa.2020.1.7","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.24916/iansa.2020.1.7","url":null,"abstract":"The historical field system of Valštejn represents one of the most extensive historical landscape complexes in the Czech Republic. Archaeological excavation of a former agricultural terrace (now a meadow) revealed the elaborate construction of a wall and stone foundation under the former arable field. This construction probably served for drainage and for soil protection. Archaeobotanical sampling facilitated the use of the charred plant material for radiocarbon dating of the soil profile, supported by the measurement of radionuclides 210Pb and 137Cs activity in order to estimate the age and stratigraphic integrity of the soil. An interesting record was obtained by archaeobotanical analyses of the lowermost layer, where wood charcoal and needles of fir (Abies alba) were identified and dated by AMS 14C. A discrepancy between the younger needle and much older charcoal could indicate an example of the old wood effect in archaeological chronology. The study has brought comprehensive results using environmental archaeology methods and sheds light on one of the stages of historical landscape transformation of the Early Modern Ages in central Europe. IANSA 2020 ● XI/1 ● 89–101 Ivana Šitnerová, Jaromír Beneš, Ivana Trpáková, Jiří Bumerl, Veronika Komárková, Tereza Majerovičová, Lenka Hrabáková, Kristina Janečková: Landscape Transformed: Archaeological, Historical and Environmental Dating of the Early Modern Field System in Valštejn, Czech Republic 90 a network of paths (Gojda, 2000). The visible parts of this hinterland can be typical field strips and agrarian terraces. The agrarian hinterland of a village came to be defined in central Europe by the traditional concept of German historical geography (in German “die Flur”: Krüger, 1967; Born, 1979; Denecke, 1979; Sperling, 1982). This school defines “die Flur” as the historically-developed structure of a village’s landholding, whose current layout is the result of many changes in dynamics, local economy and property ownership. The term “die Flur” was a big topic in German historical literature of the 19th century, frequently enriched with a certain ethnic significance. Attention has been paid in the last decades to the origins of different types of agrarian hinterland associated with various historical villages. Recent studies omit the ethnical meaning underpinning the historical circumstances of settlement activities (Žemlička, 2014). The German schools of agrarian history and historical geography were followed by ethnographic and historical research in Czechoslovakia and in the Czech Republic (Pohl, 1934–1935; Dohnal, 2003; Klír, 2003). Transformation of the landscape is observed primarily through the prism of medieval colonization (Klápště, 2005; 2012; Žemlička, 1997; 2014). Field systems and their patterns are, of course, an integral part of medieval and Early Modern villages to which they belong. The archaeology of medieval and Early Modern villages has primarily focused on their residential area, pa","PeriodicalId":38054,"journal":{"name":"Interdisciplinaria Archaeologica","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-08-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"89796527","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
M. Kocić, B. Hanks, Marijana Krstić, M. Bermann, Petra Basar, M. Mlyniec, Knez Mihailova Arts
{"title":"Identifying Early Neolithic Settlements in the Šumadija Region of Serbia Through Combined Pedestrian Survey and Archaeological Geophysical Prospection","authors":"M. Kocić, B. Hanks, Marijana Krstić, M. Bermann, Petra Basar, M. Mlyniec, Knez Mihailova Arts","doi":"10.24916/iansa.2020.1.1","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.24916/iansa.2020.1.1","url":null,"abstract":"The development of Neolithic lifeways represented fundamental shifts in social organization and human-environment relationships within local ecological settings. An understanding of this process in the Balkans peninsula has remained intriguing and challenging in the broader context of European prehistory. Evidence for Neolithization processes in the Balkans begins around the seventh millennium BC in the south-east at important tell sites such as Nea Nikomedia and Sesklo where rectangular house structures and other elements of the “Neolithic package” strongly resemble those of the Levant. The northern zone of the Balkans peninsula, however, presents a different situation, with small flat sites with intrusive later occupation making patterns of early Neolithization difficult to discern. This paper reports recent field research in Central Serbia (Šumadija region, Gruža River valley) where Early Neolithic occupation related to the Starčevo culture has been found at the newly identified site of Kneževac through systematic pedestrian survey, artifact spatial analysis, and near surface archaeological geophysics. The results of this research are discussed in the context of other Early Neolithic settlement evidence in the region, along with their implications for understanding early agricultural populations in Central Serbia. IANSA 2020 ● XI/1 ● 9–19 Miroslav Kočić, Bryan Hanks, Marija Kaličanin Krstić, Marc Bermann, Petra Basar, Michael Mlyniec: Identifying Early Neolithic Settlements in the Šumadija Region of Serbia Through Combined Pedestrian Survey and Archaeological Geophysical Prospection 10 found exactly above earlier Starčevo “pit-house” features (McPherron and Srejović, 1988). Unfortunately, due to heavy weathering of the early Phase I deposits, and subsequent intrusive occupation of the Divostin II phase, Phase I does not provide much additional information on the organization of early Starčevo culture settlements. Important new information about the Early Neolithic in the Central Balkans was generated in the 1980s by excavations at the site of Blagotin, situated in the Morava River valley (Stanković and Leković, 1993). There were large scale excavations completed in the 1980s at the sites of Paljevine and Grobnice, which are now located in the submerged zone of the Gruža Lake. Unfortunately, these sites (450 square meters of excavated area) were not published and the associated field reports are not available. The most recent archaeological excavation in the Morava River valley is the large-scale project at Drenovac; however, this is a multiperiod site with a very significant Vinča stratigraphic layer overlying the earlier phases/occupations at the site (Perić, 2016). Apart from these sites, other reported Early Neolithic sites are covered by later Vinča phase occupation and have only been subject to very limited excavation. This situation challenges any interpretation of the spatial organization of Early Neolithic sites in central Serbia and a","PeriodicalId":38054,"journal":{"name":"Interdisciplinaria Archaeologica","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-08-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"85896627","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
M. Šantrůčková, Květnové náměstí Průhonice Czech Republic Ornamental Gardening, J. Horák, V. Fanta
{"title":"Soil Chemistry to Support Old Map Analysis of the Built-up Area of an Abandoned Settlement. Case Study from the Romanian Banat","authors":"M. Šantrůčková, Květnové náměstí Průhonice Czech Republic Ornamental Gardening, J. Horák, V. Fanta","doi":"10.24916/iansa.2020.1.8","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.24916/iansa.2020.1.8","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":38054,"journal":{"name":"Interdisciplinaria Archaeologica","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-08-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"77459365","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
A. Danielisová, Daniel Bursák, L. Strnad, J. Trubač, Hana Čižmářová, David Daněček, Kamil Smíšek, Archeologický ústav Zelný trh Brno Czech Republic Moravské zemské muzeum, Zámek Roztoky Czech Republic Středočeské muzeum v Roztokách u Prahy
{"title":"Rituals, Hoards and Travellers? Archaeometry of the Iron Age Bronze Wheel Amulets","authors":"A. Danielisová, Daniel Bursák, L. Strnad, J. Trubač, Hana Čižmářová, David Daněček, Kamil Smíšek, Archeologický ústav Zelný trh Brno Czech Republic Moravské zemské muzeum, Zámek Roztoky Czech Republic Středočeské muzeum v Roztokách u Prahy","doi":"10.24916/iansa.2020.1.3","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.24916/iansa.2020.1.3","url":null,"abstract":"This paper aims to discuss the origin and significance of the so-called spoked-wheel amulets from the late Iron Age (3rd to 1st century BC). The type with eight spokes, which most resembles a real chariot wheel, was discovered to be made of a specific alloy containing a large amount of lead and a significant amount of antimony, plus traces of silver and arsenic. This combination of elements signifies the use of a copper known as fahlore (tetrahedrite). Its use in Bohemia after the early Bronze Age is rarely observed, if at all. These amulets are therefore a conspicuous exception. Research in Bavaria has revealed other objects made from fahlore copper. Another connection to Bavaria may be indicated by coin hoards accompanied by bronze closure rings of a similar alloy design. Other cases may suggest that antimony was added as a separate component. Here we discuss the composition and provenance of these objects from the perspective of compositional and lead isotope analysis. IANSA 2020 ● XI/1 ● 33–45 Alžběta Danielisová, Daniel Bursák, Ladislav Strnad, Jakub Trubač, Hana Čižmářová, David Daněček, Kamil Smíšek: Rituals, Hoards and Travellers? Archaeometry of the Iron Age Bronze Wheel Amulets 34 which imitate chariot wheels. They are usually made entirely from lead or from a heavily-leaded alloy (Schwab, 2011). The eight spokes are a regular feature; sometimes there are multiples of eight, as with the sixteen-spoked wheel depicted on a Gundestrup cauldron (Green, 1986). Fourand sixspoked wheels make up a larger and more heterogeneous group. These wheels appear only to suggest rather than imitate chariot wheels and have a simpler design that is perhaps more decorative in the context of late La Tène art. Archaeometric analysis of large assemblages from the La Tène period revealed the recurrence of a particular material composition of the eight-spoked wheels (Danielisová et al., 2018b), which included a large amount of lead, unusually large amounts of antimony, and increased amounts of arsenic and sometimes silver. It was noteworthy that this chemical composition was found only in these amulets and not in the other types of object. West of Bohemia, however, particularly in Bavaria, antimony bronzes have regularly been recorded and associated with the alloying of fahlore copper (Schwab, 2011; 2014a; 2014b). It was not until we detected the same composition in two bronze rings with a rhombic section, used as a closure mechanism in the context of a Celtic coin hoard from Libčice nad Vltavou (Figures 2 and 3), that the connection with Bavaria became worth considering. We therefore decided to give more attention to this matter and to investigate the alloy design and provenance of these objects and to explore the broader socio-cultural or political implications. In addition to “official” commercial Figure 1. Types of wheel amulet from the La Tène period (the oppidum of Stradonice), after Píč, 1903. Figure 2. Map of sites mentioned in the text and main deposits","PeriodicalId":38054,"journal":{"name":"Interdisciplinaria Archaeologica","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-08-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"83879113","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Laboratory of Geoarchaeology of Institute of Geology of the Czech Academy of Sciences","authors":"L. Lisá","doi":"10.24916/iansa.2020.1.9","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.24916/iansa.2020.1.9","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":38054,"journal":{"name":"Interdisciplinaria Archaeologica","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-08-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"82362921","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
J. Nováčková, Otakara Řebounová, D. Kvítková, M. Omelka, V. Stenzl, Czech Republic Prague
{"title":"Genetic Kinship and Sex Determination of Early Modern Period Human Remains from a Defunct Graveyard in the Former Village of Obora (Located on Šporkova Street in Prague’s Lesser Town District)","authors":"J. Nováčková, Otakara Řebounová, D. Kvítková, M. Omelka, V. Stenzl, Czech Republic Prague","doi":"10.24916/iansa.2019.2.4","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.24916/iansa.2019.2.4","url":null,"abstract":"The main aim of this study was to determine genetic kinship and genetic sex of individuals buried either in the same grave, multi-level grave, or neighbourhood grave. Success of genetic analyses is based on the quantity and quality of extracted aDNA, which can be compromised by degradation of DNA and possible contamination by modern DNA. We analysed archaeological skeletal remains from an Early Modern period graveyard belonging to the Church of St. John the Baptist in the former village of Obora, one of the most honourable Early Modern period archaeological sites in the Czech Republic. Most of the 906 excavated anatomically-laid burials are dated to the years 1730s–1770s. The results of 23 analysed individuals (divided into 4 groups) revealed that individuals are not blood relatives. Studies of historical written sources provide information that the parish affiliation at the time of death had a crucial role in choosing the place for burial. Genetic analyses increased success rate of sex determination to 91% compared to 61% determined by morphological methods. We were thus able to determine the genetic sex of children, an evaluation that cannot be made by morphological methods. IANSA 2019 ● X/2 ● 143–152 Jana Nováčková, Otakara Řebounová, Dana Kvítková, Martin Omelka, Vlastimil Stenzl: Genetic Kinship and Sex Determination of Early Modern Period Human Remains from a Defunct Graveyard in the Former Village of Obora (Located on Šporkova Street in Prague’s Lesser Town District) 144 (Deguilloux et al., 2014; Juras et al., 2017; Melchior et al., 2010; Simón et al., 2011). Each marker has its own unique mechanism of heritability from parent to offspring, and can reveal or exclude genetic relationships at different levels. We analysed the skeletal remains from a defunct graveyard of the Church of St. John the Baptist in the former village of Obora, situated at Šporkova Street no. 322/III in Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic. Genetic kinship and genetic sex was determined from the results of autosomal and Y-chromosomal STR markers. The site of Obora used to be a village located near Prague castle in the quarter known as Prague’s Lesser Town. The first written record referencing Obora is dated to the years 1278– 1282, but previous excavation has uncovered fragments dated to between the 9th–10th century (Dragoun, 1988a; 1988b; 1991). Obora was assigned to Prague in the 1650s, and its Church of St. John the Baptist was incorporated into the parish district of the Church of St. Wenceslas. The church with its graveyard was closed in 1784, and rebuilt into a residential building (Omelka, 2009). Skeletal remains of 906 anatomically-laid burials or parts thereof, that were dated to the years 1730s–1770s according to their grave goods, were excavated and documented during the archaeological rescue excavation conducted by the Department of Archaeology of the National Heritage Institute in Prague in the year 2002 (study no. 30/02) and 2004 (study no. 30/04) ","PeriodicalId":38054,"journal":{"name":"Interdisciplinaria Archaeologica","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-12-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"82931326","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}