Hutterite burial site in Přibice (Brno-venkov district): summary of basic anthropological data from the first phase of research between 2018 and 2024
| Authors | |
|---|---|
| Year of publication | 2025 |
| Type | Article in Periodical |
| Magazine / Source | Anthropologia Integra |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
| Citation | |
| web | Stránky vydavatele |
| Doi | https://doi.org/10.5817/AI2025-2-7 |
| Keywords | Hutterites; bio-profiling; age at death estimation; sex estimation; stature estimation; archaeological research of burial grounds; funerary practices; Přibice |
| Description | In this study, we attempted to summarize the preliminary descriptive data obtained during research of the first segment of the Hutterite burial grounds at the Přibice – Mlynářovy site between the years of 2018 and 2024. On the surveyed area of 15x15 meters, 197 primary skeletal individuals were uncovered, along with 160 sets of disturbed skeletal remains (or admixtures) originating from disturbed burials. Among the primary individuals, there were 132 adults, of whom 64 were identified as female, 57 as male, 2 as indeterminate, and 9 could not be identified. The predominant direction of body orientation was southeast-northwest with the head to the southeast. A total of 847 objects was found. The vast majority of these were small items such as pins, cloth fastenings, and iron nails; other types of grave goods were nearly unique in their frequency. The distribution statistically differed between subadult, female and male burials, with clothing fasteners predominantly associated with female burials and the remnants of iron nails with the male and subadult burials. The site differed in some aspects from the recorded customs of the local Catholic population; hence a comparison was made with a nearby medieval to early modern burial site of Pohořelice – Klášterka. The Hutterite adults did not differ from the local population of the time in their stature, which means that this burial site does not provide any basis for the local popular notion of “habáns – tall people.” The percentage of children under 3 years of age found at this site is low (3.08%); investigating the reason for this will be a matter for further research. The presented results will serve as a starting point for follow-up specialised studies of individual aspects of funerary practices, biological characteristics, and demographics, including aDNA and isotope analyses of diet and geographical origin. |
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