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How much information can we extract from a fracture? When did it occur? How? Did it cause the death of the individual? Join me in this #THREAD
about our new publication on a case of #InterpersonalViolence during the #LateNeolithic - #Chalcolithic!
(paper link at the end).
about our new publication on a case of #InterpersonalViolence during the #LateNeolithic - #Chalcolithic! (paper link at the end).
#InterpersonalViolence has accompanied our species throughout our history, and even species of hominins before ours. A quick and effective way to "solve" a conflict?: Stone in the face!
But it is especially from the #Neolithic period onwards that there is an exponential increase in evidence of violent confrontation in the archaeological record. We even found now mass graves in which all individuals died in a violent attack!
Let us also remember that at this time #CollectiveBurials begin and the amount of #SkeletalRemains documented is much greater. But this increase in known sites is not the only reason, people actually become more violent at this time!
In this #Thread I present you a case study of a #CranialTrauma, which has allowed us to make inferences about how the attack (and death) of the individual occurred, and even the object that was used to produce the blow...
Our case study in question is a cranium recovered at #CovaForadada site (Calafell, Tarragona). This is a small cave, in the upper levels of which a #CollectiveBurial was excavated (study in process). Date: #LateNeolithic- #Chalcolithic (5060-4400 years cal. BP). Here is the site:
The #cranium belongs to an adult male individual (+50 years old), and presents a complete #fracture on the right parietal, as you can see in this figure (and the video of the first tweet of this thread): 
(Very photogenic, indeed!)
(Very photogenic, indeed!)
The #fracture is in the right #parietal, and we can see a series of radial and concentric #fissures, with a considerable opening of some of them, and an internal beveling. The V-shaped ends (B) represent the #PointOfImpact, with two fissures emerging from each of them.
In addition, if we look at the crossed sections of the skull, obtained through #microCT scan, we see acute angles. This, together with the previous characteristics, tells us that the bone was green at the time of breakage, that is, it is a #PerimortemTrauma.
So, with all this information, is it possible to make further inferences? Yes! Let's think. The point of impact has a specific shape, with sharp ends. This, together with the location of the fracture in the cranium, makes us rule out the hypothesis of a possible accidental blow.
There are multiple known cases of Neolithic sites in which the use of stone axes or adzes has been identified in interpersonal attacks, even in collective massacres of dozens of individuals!
The main question is... how to differentiate between two objects with such a similar morphology (stone #axe and #adze) through the fracture they cause in a skull? 
The key point is the position of the object, and not so much its shape! #BlowMind. The diffusion of the force from the point of impact is different between an object that hafted in vertical (the #axe) and one hafted in horizontal position (the #adze).
If we take into account these #biomechanical #properties, the dispersion of the force related to the location of the point of impact, it is possible to infer that the most likely object used was a #StoneAdze, and that the blow came from the individual's back.
Yes, it is very probable that this individual was killed from behind... What we do not know is if it was an intragroup attack, that is, by a member of his group, or if he was involved in an intergroup confrontation. Either scenario is possible.
But it does not end here! As an added #bonus, this same cranium presents two completely healed #antemortem lesions, on the #occipital and on the right #temporal bone. At least one of them is most likely related to another episode of #violence...
Would he be a warrior? It might be. Or is it simply the norm in the violent environment of the Late Neolithic in Europe? This second option seems more and more probable, in view of the continuous findings of #SkeletalTraumas.
This study was published TODAY in "International Journal of Paleopathology". Here the link to the full article: 
@PalmiraSaladie @jimorales12 @iphes @prehistoriaURV https://authors.elsevier.com/a/1cA466hTLQdsna
@PalmiraSaladie @jimorales12 @iphes @prehistoriaURV https://authors.elsevier.com/a/1cA466hTLQdsna
Thank you for reaching the end of this #Thread. I hope you found it interesting. In the full article you will find some more figures, we discuss the fracture patterns of more objects/weapons of this period, and where we explain in depth our interpretation.
. I hope you found it interesting. In the full article you will find some more figures, we discuss the fracture patterns of more objects/weapons of this period, and where we explain in depth our interpretation.
