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

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.