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'Smrčka V, Kuželka V, Musilová Z, Gábor O, 2018: BONE DISEASES AT THE LENGYEL CULTURE BURIAL SITE IN ZENGÖVÁRKONY, HUNGARY . Anthropologie (Brno) 56, 1: 53-62'. |
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| Abstract | | Lengyel culture was named after the eponymous type site, the enclosed settlement of Lengyel in Hungary, east of the Danube. To the South of this site, the burial site Zengövárkony was discovered by Dombay (1939, 1960).
In our paper, we present the first preliminary data of the gradual research of the Zengövárkony burial site in Hungary. We want to present this burial site of the Lengyel culture in the view of palaeopathological approach. The first stage, we investigated the 31 graves with complete skeletons. The research will be continued and the remaining 20 graves where only skulls or headless skeletons were buried will be completed during the second stage of our research. Our objective is to compare with the Lengyel culture in Moravia, Czech Republic (Moravian Painted Ware culture).
In Moravia, the Neolithic Lengyel culture (4800 BC – 4500 BC) spread as the Moravian Painted Ware culture (discovered by J. Palliardi in 1888). In Bohemia it was closely followed by the Jordanov/Jordansmühl culture. (The number of skeletons found in Moravia by now cannot match the quantity of burials in Hungary.) The Zengövárkony burial site originally comprised 368 graves in 14 grave groups (of which only 64 graves less than 18%, were excavated).
At the Zengövárkony site, a reversible palaeopathological research was performed, based on macroscopic description and photographic documentation. The first palaeopathological description of the skeletons there was carried out by Gy. Regöly-Merei in 1960 and another by L. Bartucz in 1966, and resulting opinions of the two researchers differed. The survey of pathological findings at the Lengyel culture burial site in Zengövárkony comprised of congenital anomalies, arthritic deformations, traumas, inflammations, tumours, anaemia and changes due to excessive work strain. Regarding congenital anomalies, congenital amputation of both hands in forearms and scaphocephaly-type cranial synostosis.
Individual findings of arthrosis deformations occurred in the region of the jaw joint and knee joint . Spondylosis changes in the form of vertebral osteophytosis mainly affected the thoracic (N=1) and lumbar spine (N=3), and the size of osteophytes in the thoracic portion of the spine were up to 2 mm and in the lumbar portion up to 5 mm.
One special group of traumas comprised head injuries, both penetrating (N=1) and non-penetrating (N=1), and an unhealed fracture of the upper part of the femur (N=1).
Regarding inflammations, a specific tuberculosis inflammation of tarsal bones, type "spina ventosa" (N=1) was found, as well as periostoses on a rib (N=1) and on the tibia (N=1).
Regarding tumours, a case of meningioma (N1) in the occipital region occurred. Signs of anaemia in the vault of the orbit included bilateral "cribra orbitalia" (N=3), once type 1 and twice type 2. Due to excessive load on the interosseous and lumbrical muscles of the hand, 2-mm borders on the edges of the proximal phalanges (N=2) arose.
The anthropological research was performed by Zs. Zoffmann in 1969-1970. In terms of body height, the Lengyel culture was one of lowest body height Neolithic population in Europe. According to Manouvrier, K.-Zs. Zoffmann measured the average height of 164 cm in 14 male skeletons and 151 cm in 16 female skeletons, but women who were only 145 cm tall were no exception.
| | | | Keywords | | Hungary – Neolithic period – Lengyel culture – Skeletal evidence – Morbidity | | | | DOI | | https://doi.org/10.26720/anthro.17.12.12.1 | | |
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