Skeletal remains from the Stone Age graves at Nymölla Persson, Ove
Fornvännen 74, 85-88
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Skeletal remains from the Stone Age graves at Nymölla
By Ove Persson
Persson, O. 1979. Skeletal remains from the Sone Age graves at Nymölla.
(Skelett från stenåldersgravarna i Nymölla.) Fornvännen 74. Stockholm.
Two nearly complete but badly crushed human skeletons (Individuals I and I I ) , both from a double grave at Nymölla, Gualöv parish, Scania, and some fragments of a third skeleton (Individual III) from an adjacent grave are discussed.
Individual I: Probably a $ . Death age 17—18 years. The skull has probably been trepanned. A terminal phalanx of Halichoerus gryphus Fabr. (grey seal) suggests that the corpse was wrapped in a seal skin. Individual I I : This is a 9 . Death age 30—40 years. Yellow ochre in the fragments of the sacrum, the pelvis and the proximal parts of both femora. Individual I I I : No real sex indications ( 3 ? ) . Adult. Some animal bone fragments were found in association with this skeleton.
Ove Persson, Kulturhistoriska museet. Box 1095, S-221 04 Lund, Sweden.
Material
T h e material includes two nearly complete but badly crushed and weathered h u m a n skeletons, both from a double grave (Indivi- duals I and I I , Wyszomirski 1979, Fig. 5 ) . T h e r e are also fragments of a third skeleton (Individual I I I ) , from a grave which was disturbed by road work before the exeavation.
Some fragments of animal bones were associated with Individuals I and I I I .
T h e skulls of Individuals I and II are both crushed and laterally compressed. They were removed in blocks of soil, and in the course of preparalion the entire blocks were m a d e firm by a hardener in such way that the particular fragments of the skulls lie in the same position as when exposed. (Wyszomirski
1979, Figs. 7, 8.)
T h e postcranial part of both skeletons are so badly crushed that no measurements for estimation of the stature could be taken.
T h e identified remains of Individual I I I include Hmb bone fragments only.
Individual I
Sex determination. Since the individual was young (17—18 years; see below) and most of the sex indicating parts of the skeleton are crushed or deformed postmortally, the sex determination is not quite certain. For example, the pelvic bone is so fragmentary that none of the sex indicating parts of it could be reconstructed. T h e indications avail- able are accounted for below.
Sex indications in the skull. — T h e tabula externa of the median and left part of the frontal bone is almost completely weathered.
Accordingly the glabella is badly damaged, but so far as can be judged from its remain- ing parts it was the d type. T h e right anterior part of the frontal bone is better preserved, although crushed and somewhat deformed. T h e arcus superciliaris is not very strongly developed, but in consideration of the fact that the individual is not adult, a cf indication seems more probably than a 9
86 Ove Persson
one. T h e same can be said about the margo supraorbitalis, although it is thinner than should be the case in an adult <S •
T h e major part of the left temporal bone is available for study. Its processus mastoides is badly damaged, but so far as can be seen from the remains it was large, which is a o*
characteristic,.
T h e canines, premolars and erupted molars of the left side are available for study ( + 8 and — 8 are not e r u p t e d ) .
Since the skull fragments are fixed in situ (see above), no exact measurements of the teeth in question could be taken, but it is quite clear that they are comparativdy large
(a o" characteristic).
Sex indication in the postcranial skeleton. — Only one sex-indicating detail has been identified in the postcranial skeleton, i.e. the epiphysial part of the caput humeri sin. T h e sizes of the articular heads of humeri and femora are well documented as sex indicators
(Dwight 1904; Maltby 1917—1918; Parsons 1913—1914; 1914—1915; U b d a k e r 1974).
T h e caput femoris is referred to more often than the caput humeri but, since both these articular heads usually are of about the same size in one and the same individual, their indicative value is praetically equal. Dia- meters of 43 m m or smaller usually represent females and those of 46 m m or larger males.
I n the present case the diameter is 44 m m and hence falling within the overlap, but on the other hand we have the fact that the individual is not adult. I n view of this, the size of the caput humeri indicates rather a
o" than a 9 .
T h u s , none of the sex-indicating details available, taken separatdy, give an unequi- vocal d u e , but the sum of the indications are pointing to a rather clear o* predominance.
Determination of the death age. T h e age indications available in this skeleton are rendered in the following Hst:
Years Skullcap sutures without discemible
synostosis < 25 All permanent teeth with the excep-
tion of the 3rd molars erupted > 15
Proximal epiphyses of humerus and
tibia not fused with the shafts < 20 Capitulum et trochlea humeri fused
with the shaft > 16 Epicondylus ulnaris not fused < 18 Proximal diaphysis of radius
partially fused with the shaft 17—18 Olecranon fused > 15
Thus, the death age of the present individual is > 15 and < 20 years, probably 17—18 years.
A probable trepanation. I n the anterior part of the right parietal bone there is a subcircu- lar opening with a diameter of about 35 m m
(Wyszomirski 1979, Figs. 6, 7 ) . T h e upper- most part of its margin is about 15 m m from the sutura sagittalis. I m m e d i a t d y after the exposure of the skullcap, the marginal (or peripheral) surface of the opening was strik- ingly even and seemed to taper slightly to- wards the centre. O n the whole, the imme- diate impression one gained was that the opening and the shape of its margin result from trepanning. U n f o r t u n a t d y most of the margin had crumbled, as a result of desicca- tion, before the soil block with the skull was taken to the laboratory for further prepara- lion.
T h e regular shape of the opening and the smooth margin (originally clearly observable and still discemible to a certain extent, Wyszomirski 1979, Fig. 6) corroborate a trepanation theory rather than indicating the work of natural agencies such as weathering, a growing tree root or a digging animal.
However, in its present state the material does not offer any adequate proof confirming the theory and hence it would not be pro- fitable to speculate what methods had been used in an operation or whether the indivi- dual survived it or not.
Concerning pre-historical trepanations in general, see Anda ( 1 9 5 1 ) ; Martin & Saller
( 1 9 5 7 ) ; Matthias & Ullrich ( 1 9 6 8 ) ; Ne- meskéri (1977); Persson ( 1 9 7 8 ) ; Ullrich
(1958, 1964, 1967); Ullrich & Weichmann (1963, 1965).
An associated animal bone. N e a r the bones of Individual I, a distal phalanx ("claw-bone") of a seal was found. T h e bone is rather large.
Skeletal remains from Nymölla 87
its supposed original length being about 25 mm. A comparison with recent skeletal ma- terial has shown that the only seal species in the Baltic that would have toes of this size is Halichoerus gryphus Fabr. (grey seal).
T h e presence of a seal phalanx can be explained by assuming that the corpse was wrapped in a seal-skin.
strong tooth abrasion and hence the condi- tion of the teeth does not contradict the age indication of the skull cap sutures.
I t should be mentioned that yellow ochre was found on the fragments of the sacrum, the pelvis and the proximal parts of both femora, and also in the soil around the frag- ments of Individual I I .
Individual I I
Sex determination. I n the present skeleton the sex-indicating details available are restrided to the skull and mandible, the postcranial parts being even more crushed and weathered than in the case of Individual I.
Certain parts of the frontal bone are com- p a r a t i v d y well preserved. T h u s , the glabella and the entire left supraorbital part can be studied; both these elements are clearly of the 9 type. — T h e angulus mandibulae dx.
is exposed, though somewhat incomplete.
T h e r e is, however, no doubt that it is a 9 type.
Determination of the death age. All the permanent teeth extant are erupted and abraded, and the fragments of the long bones show distindly that the epiphysial parts were fused with the shafts. Thus, it is quite clear that we are dealing with an adult here.
— T h e major portion of the sutura sagittalis can be observed, and also about 5 cm of the left branch of the sutura lambdoidea. I n the latter there is no discemible synostosis, at least not in the tabula externa, and the same is true of the sagittal suture in a section starting from the lambda and extending 5—6 cm forward. However, in the midmost and anterior part of the suture last men- tioned there is advanced synostosis, the sutural pattern in the vertex region being nearly obliterated.
So far as can be c o n d u d e d from the synostosis in those suture parts that are observable, the death age must be somewhere between 30 and 40 years.
T h e observable teeth are rather w o m , the ocdusal faces of the molars being nearly flat. However, as is well known, the food habits during the Stone Age caused very
Individual I I I
T h e grave of Individual I I I , situated about 7 m from the double grave of Individual I and I I , has been disturbed through road work, leaving the major part of the skeleton destroyed. T h e identified parts are: tibia sin.
pars prox. et med.; fibula (sin?) pars med.;
some tarsal and metatarsal bones (more or less fragmentary) from both feet; some pha- langes from the fingers of the right? hand.
T h e proximal epiphysis of the tibia is completely fused with the shaft, hence the individual is an adult. — T h e r e are no fac- tual sex indications. T h e preserved part of the tibia is rather slender, and the finger phalanges are comparativdy small. These charaderistics can be tentativdy interpreted as a 9 indication, though with reservation.
T h e following animal remains were found associated with Individual I I I ;
1) Gadus? sp. (cod) — An incomplete vertebra.
2) Halichoerus gryphus Fabr. (grey seal) — A fragment of os temporale sin.
3) Equus caballus L. (horse) — A fragment of a tooth, probably a deciduous molar.
4) Sus scrofa L. (pig or wild boar) — a) Os metacarpi I I I dx. pars prox.
b) A fragment of a phalanx 2 of a juvenile T h e Sus fragment apparently represent two different individuals, one adult and one juve- nile.
5) Cervus elaphus L. (red deer) — A fragment of epistropheus pars ant., with facies articularis lateralis sin.
Referenser
Anda, T . 1951. Recherches archéologiques sur la pratique médicale des Hongrois å 1'époque de la conquéte du pays. Acta Acad. Seien. Hung.
1. Budapest.
Dwight, T . 1904. T h e Size of the Articular Sur- faces of the Long Bones as Characteristic of Sex: An Anthropological Study. American Journal of Anatomy 4:19—31.
8 8 O v e P e r s s o n
Maltby, J. R. D. 1917—1918. Some Indices and Measurements of the Modern Femur. Journal of Anatomy 52: 363—382.
Martin, R. & Saller, K. 1957. Lehrbuch der Anthropologie in systematischer Darstellung.
1. Stuttgart.
Matthias, W. & Ullrich, H. 1968. Ein trepanier- ter Schädel aus einem schnurkeramischen Grabe von Königsaue, Kr. Aschersleben. Aus- grabungen und Funde 13. Berlin.
Nemeskéri, J. 1977. Rekonstruktionsuntersuchungen an zwei neolitischen trepanierten Schädeln aus Börnecke, Kr. Wernigerode. Nachrichten aus Niedersachsens Urgeschichte. 45. 1976. Hildes- heim.
Parsons, E. G. 1913—1914. The Character of the English Thigh Bone, Part I. Journal of Ana- tomy and Physiology 4 8 : 238—267.
— 1914—1915. Ibid. Part I I : T h e difficulty of Sexing. 4 9 : 3 3 5 — 3 6 1 .
Persson, P. O. 1978. A trepanned skull from the Gillhög passage-grave at Barsebäck in W.
Scania (Southern Sweden) Ossa. International Journ. of Skeletal Research. No 3—4: 53—67.
Stockholm.
Ubelaker, D. H. 1974. Reconstruction of Demo- graphic Profiles from Ossuary Skeletal Samp-
les. A Case Study from the Tidewater Poto- mac. Smithsonian Contribulion to Anthropo- logy 18. Washington.
Ullrich, H. 1958. Methodische Bemerkungen zur Untersuchung von drei Schädeltrepanationen aus Friihbronzezeit von Grossrembach. Aus- grabungen und Funde 3. Berlin.
— 1964. Eine ungewöhnliche Trepanation aus dem Neolitikum Mitteldeutschlands. Varia Archeologico. Wilhelm Unversagt zum 70.
Geburtstag dargebracht. Berlin.
— 1967. Entstehung und Ausbrcitung der Tre- panation in der europäischen Vorgeschichte.
Anthropos. Akten des Anthropologischen Kon- gresses Brno (Tschekoslowakei) 1965. Brno.
Ullrich, H. & Weichmann, F. 1963. Prähistorische Neurochirurgie im mitteldeutschen Raum.
Zentralblatt fiir Neurochirurgie 24. 1963.
Heft 2—3. Leipzig.
— 1965. Prähistorische Trepanationen und ihre Abgrenzung gegen andere Schädeldefekte.
Neue Untersuchungen am mitteldeutschen Fundmaterial. Anthrop. Anz. Jg 29, Festband Gieseler. Stuttgart.
Wyszomirski, B. 1979. A double grave with yellow ochre at Nymölla in Scania. Fornvännen 74.
Skelett från stenåldersgravarna i Nymölla
I u p p s a t s e n b e h a n d l a s t v å n ä s t a n f u l l s t ä n d i g a m e n s ö n d e r t r y c k t a o c h delvis s t a r k t v i t t r a d e skelett ( i n d i v i d I o c h I I ) , b å d a f r å n e n d u b b e l g r a v , s a m t ett f r a g m e n t a r i s k t skelett ( i n d i v i d I I I ) från e n n ä r l i g g a n d e g r a v . D j u r b e n t i l l h ö r a n d e d e n s e n a r e tas o c k s å u p p till b e h a n d l i n g .
I n d i v i d I . F ö r m o d l i g e n e n m a n ( c f ) • D ö d s å l d e r 1 7 — 1 8 å r . D e t finns g o d a skäl a t t a n t a a t t i n d i v i d e n h a r blivit t r e p a n e r a d , ä v e n o m m a t e r i a l e t i n t e d e f i n i t i v t b e v i s a r a t t så v a r i t fallet. I a n s l u t n i n g till s k e l e t t e t p å - t r ä f f a d e s e n t å f a l a n g a v H a l i c h o e r u s g r y p h u s F a b r . ( g r å s ä l ) , vilket g ö r d e t t r o l i g t a t t d e n d ö d e v a r i t s v e p t i e t t s ä l s k i n n .
I n d i v i d I I ä r e n k v i n n a ( 9 ) . D ö d s å l d e r 3 0 — 4 0 å r . J ä r n o c k r a p å h ö f t p a r t i o c h l å r - b e n t y d e r p å a t t d e n d ö d a delvis t ä c k t s m e d d e t t a ä m n e .
I n d i v i d I I I . F r a g m e n t e n u p p v i s a r i n g a k ö n s i n d i c i e r ( c ? ? ) . V u x e n i n d i v i d . I a n s l u t - n i n g till s k e l e t t e t p å t r ä f f a d e s e t t a n t a l f r a g - m e n t a r i s k a d j u r b e n . F ö l j a n d e a r t e r ä r r e p r e - s e n t e r a d e :
Gadus? sp. (torsk)
Halichoerus gryphus Fabr. (gråsäl) Equus caballus L. (Häst)
Sus scrofa L. (svin)
Cervus elaphus L. (kronhjort)
