Genesis of Artificially Deformed Early Medieval Skulls Discovered at Samtavro Cemetery and Their Historical Significance

2021 ◽  
pp. 6-22
Author(s):  
Nino Tavartkiladze ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Physiological Stress ◽  
State University ◽  
Early Medieval ◽  
Historical Sources ◽  
Average Life Expectancy ◽  
Historical Significance ◽  
Stress Markers ◽  
Class Society ◽  
Gender And Age ◽  
Burial Rites

The work ‘Genesis of Artificially Deformed Early Medieval Skulls Discovered at Samtavro Cemetery and Their Historical Significance’ looks at early medieval regular and artificially deformed skulls obtained from Samtavro cemetery and preserved at the Anthropological Research Laboratory of the History and Ethnology Institute of the Tbilisi State University. Apart from the skulls, the work deals with the catalogue of the craniological collection and individual data for every skull preserved in this institution. The work also relies on the information of the records kept in the Georgian National Museum, based on which knowledge about early medieval types of graves, burial rites and artifacts of Samtavro cemetery has been obtained. The work looks at the types of cranial deformation, gender and age structure of the buried, physiological stress markers and anomaly frequencies among the population of this period. It also outlines distribution of the inventory among the deformed and non-deformed skulls in order to estimate whether the deformed ones belonged to the upper class society. Charts are compiled based on distribution of deformed and non-deformed skulls obtained from Samtavro cemetery according to gender and age, which provides a clear picture in respect to average life expectancy among the individuals with deformed and non-deformed skulls. In order to find the reason for the deformation, historical sources are considered and final explanation for why the residents of Mtskheta practiced artificial deformation of skulls is provided.

scholarly journals Social Hierarchy Effects on Stress Responses of Subordinate Specimens in Sea Bream (Sparus aurata)

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Dioguardi ◽  
Mirella Vazzana ◽  
Mariano Dara ◽  
Irene Vazzana ◽  
Davide Accardi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Stress Responses ◽  
Phagocytic Activity ◽  
Social Stress ◽  
Physiological Stress ◽  
Sparus Aurata ◽  
Principal Component ◽  
Social Hierarchy ◽  
Sea Bream ◽  
Stress Markers ◽  
Environmental Variations

Abstract: Social stress can affect the ability of the fish to respond to various stressors, such as pathogens or environmental variations. In this paper, the effects of social stress on gilt-head bream (Sparus aurata) were investigated. To study the effects of physiological stress, we evaluated biochemical and cellular parameters as cortisol, glucose, lactate, osmolarity and phagocytosis 24 hours after the establishment of social hierarchy. Social hierarchy was determined and characterised by behavioural observation (aggressive acts and feeding order) of the specimens (dominant “α”, subordinate “β” and “γ”). After the establishment of the social hierarchy, we observed that the levels of plasma cortisol and other biochemical stress markers (glucose and lactate) were higher in subordinate individuals than in dominant ones. In addition, the modulation of phagocytic activity of the peritoneal cavity cells (PEC) demonstrated that social stress appeared to affect the immune response. At last, principal component analysis clearly separated the subordinate fish groups from the dominant groups based on stress markers and phagocytic activity of the peritoneal exudates cells.

The cosmology of the early medieval emporia?

2004 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 138-144 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard Hodges
Keyword(s):  
Middle Ages ◽  
Close Reading ◽  
Early Medieval ◽  
Historical Sources ◽  
Early Middle Ages ◽  
Imaginary World ◽  
Central Places ◽  
The Relationship

This characteristically thoughtful essay by Frans Theuws illustrates how far our analysis of central places in the early Middle Ages has advanced. Like his study of Maastricht (2001), it reveals a close reading of the archaeological and historical sources. Indeed, as Michael McCormick's encyclopaedic volume (2001) on the origins of the medieval economy shows with stunning authority, as archaeologists we have taken huge strides since Philip Grierson quipped, ‘It has been said that the spade cannot lie, but it owes this merit in part to the fact that it cannot speak’ (1959, 129). Hence it comes as no surprise that Theuws is exploring the ‘relationship between forms of exchange and the imaginary world from which “value” is derived’ (p. 121).

scholarly journals Theatres of Closure: Process and Performance in Inhumation Burial Rites in Early Medieval Britain

2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (3) ◽  
pp. 389-412
Author(s):  
Sue Harrington ◽  
Stuart Brookes ◽  
Sarah Semple ◽  
Andrew Millard
Keyword(s):  
Material Culture ◽  
Body Position ◽  
The Body ◽  
Cultural Issues ◽  
Early Medieval ◽  
Group Perceptions ◽  
Burial Rites ◽  
Funerary Ritual ◽  
And Performance ◽  
The Individual

Inhumation burials are recorded in Britain and Europe during excavations in a standardized way, especially graves of early medieval date. Just a limited number of attributes are usually foregrounded and these mainly concern skeletal identification, the grave plan and, when a burial is furnished, a list of objects, particularly metalwork, as well as occasional reference to burial structures, if present. In this paper, we argue that concealed within these recorded details are attributes that often receive little attention, but which can provide evidence for community investment in the individual funerary rite. These include grave orientation, grave morphology, the body position and the empty spaces in the grave, as well as categories of material culture. We argue here that these factors enable us to define communal burial profiles and can facilitate the identification of group perceptions and actions in dealing with death. By capitalizing on these additional aspects of funerary ritual, archaeologists can move away from a general dependency on well-furnished burials as the main stepping-off point for discussion of social and cultural issues. This has particular relevance for regions where unfurnished burial rites are the norm and where furnished rites do not rely on a wealth of metalwork.

Guidelines for Editing Africanist Texts for Publication

1990 ◽  
Vol 17 ◽  
pp. 379-387 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Henige
Keyword(s):  
Word Processing ◽  
Michigan State University ◽  
National Endowment ◽  
State University ◽  
Historical Sources ◽  
The Future ◽  
The Moment

The Association for the Publication of African Historical Sources (presently headquartered at the Department of History, Michigan State University) is now administering one umbrella National Endowment for the Humanities grant for editing, translating, and publishing significant African texts, and hopes to administer more in the future. In aid of this, the following guidelines, which should for the moment be considered to be in a draft stage, are offered in an effort both to bring uniformity to these editions and to stimulate thinking towards making the guidelines more thorough and enduring. Readers are urged to send suggestions for the latter to: David Henige, Memorial Library, 728 State St., Madison, WI 53706, U.S.A. If all goes well, it might be possible to publish an improved set of guidelines in next year's HA.As discussed briefly below, efficient mobilization of word processing programs should enable intending editors to achieve better results at less cost. Such word processing programs as are now available are probably not equally suitable and any readers who have used any programs extensively or who have developed variants of their own, with respect either to editing or to linguistic transcription, are also urged to submit brief statements (up to ca. 1000 words) as to their experiences, whether good or bad. These could then be published en ensemble, also (probably) in the 1991 HA.

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