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Skeletal remains of human perinatal individuals from the fortified Iberian Period settlement of Ca n’Oliver (6th century to 50 years BCE)
Stockholm University, Faculty of Humanities, Department of Archaeology and Classical Studies, Archaeological Research Laboratory. Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, Spain; University of Granada, Spain.ORCID iD: 0000-0002-6499-226x
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Number of Authors: 102023 (English)In: Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences, ISSN 1866-9557, E-ISSN 1866-9565, Vol. 15, no 10, article id 158Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

Burial customs in the Iberian Period (Iron Age II) included cremation. Only perinatal and newborn infants were buried directly beneath floor settlement. These infants represent the very few unburned human remains recovered from Iberian sites. The interpretation of these infant burials is in debate, focusing on whether they are unnatural or natural deaths. Our aim is to infer mortality patterns and developmental conditions of these individuals, in order to respond if infanticide was present in these assemblages. A large perinatal human skeletal sample from the Ca n’Oliver site (sixth century to 50 years BCE) from the Iberian Period of the northeast of the Iberian Peninsula was analysed, combining osteological methods together with tooth histology and aDNA analysis. Combining osteological and odontological estimates indicated ages between 22 and 42 weeks of gestation for 47 out of a total of 48 individuals. The remaining individual died at about 6 months after birth. Tooth height and enamel histology indicated in 9 out of a subgroup of 13 individuals a low probability of live birth. The remaining 4 individuals possibly survived birth for less than 2 months. According to morphological and molecular results, the sex ratio of this sample is approximately 1:1 male to female. The mortality distribution is consistent with natural mortality. These perinatal deaths were probably spontaneous abortions and neonatal deaths, reflecting an endogenous mortality profile due to genetic and maternal influences. The present study will serve to broaden our knowledge on perinatal individuals of the Iberian Period. 

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
2023. Vol. 15, no 10, article id 158
Keywords [en]
Perinatal individuals, Neonatal line, Tooth histology, aDNA
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Archaeology
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URN: urn:nbn:se:su:diva-223456DOI: 10.1007/s12520-023-01863-9ISI: 001083248400002Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-85173739731OAI: oai:DiVA.org:su-223456DiVA, id: diva2:1808215
Available from: 2023-10-30 Created: 2023-10-30 Last updated: 2023-10-30Bibliographically approved

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López-Costas, OlallaGötherström, AndersKrzewińska, Maja

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