Sharp force trauma to a 1,000-year-old skull from the Jerusalem mountains

Yossi Nagar, Haim Cohen, Boaz Zissu

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

5 Scopus citations

Abstract

Well-preserved human skull, two upper vertebral bodies, and bones of the right hand were found in a remote cave in the Jerusalem mountains. The individual was identified as an adult male, 30–40 years old, who was C-14 dated to the 11th century. It was attributed to the local, Bedouin population. The skull manifested four sharp force trauma lesions, resulted from interpersonal violence in different occasions: Two represent past events, one is peri-mortem, and one is the direct cause of death. The current manuscript describes the pathologies and discusses possible interpretations, which combine physical anthropology with archaeology, history, and ethnography altogether.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)162-167
Number of pages6
JournalInternational Journal of Osteoarchaeology
Volume29
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - 1 Jan 2019
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Bedouins
  • blood vengeance
  • cut marks
  • palaeopathology
  • trauma

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