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Dr. Estelle Lazer is an independent archaeologist [1] who has worked on sites in the Middle East, Italy, Cyprus, the UK, Antarctica and Australia. She teaches at the University of Sydney and the University of NSW. Her PhD thesis was based on the human skeletal remains discovered at Pompeii, [1] where she spent over 7 field seasons. [2]
Estelle Lazer, Australian archaeologist and physical anthropologist from Sydney University, has studied the human remains from Pompeii and has reached some interesting conclusions. From her study of their bones, Lazer has challenged the conventional interpretation that the people who were left behind to die in Pompeii were the very old, the very young, women and those too sick or weak to escape. She believes that the victims were a good representative sample of the population, a balance of male and female, young and old. There may have been more children among the victims than the skeletons suggest, because not all children's bones would have survived. The bones show that the people of Pompeii were well-nourished and healthy and similar in size to the people who live in Naples today, 154 cm for females and 167 cm for male. About 10 percent of the skeletons show signs of arthritis, some having a form of arthritis usually associated with old age.
Many of the skulls examined by Lazer have teeth which show considerable wear compared to teeth today. Some are worn down to the gumline, exposing the nerve, which must have been a very painful condition. The wearing down of teeth was probably caused by traces of grit and stone in the bread which came from the millstone used to grind the wheat into flour. Some teeth have cavities and others have a heavy build-up of plaque which would have caused bad breath. There are signs of gum disease and abscesses related to decayed teeth. There is no sign of dental intervention such as extractions, fillings, crowns, or false teeth.
A body cast was brought to Australia in 1994 as part of the Australian Museum's exhibition on Pompeii. With the Archaeological Superintendent of Pompeii's permission, the body was x-rayed in a Sydney clinic. The results, and the cast itself, were analysed by Estelle Lazer and the team of medical specialists. It was the first high-tech examination of a Pompeian.[ citation needed ] The study concluded that the Lady of Oplontis was aged between 30 and 40, and was in good health apart from dental work. She was 1.5 metres tall, wore clothes and a gold bracelet, and was clutching a money purse when she died. The cast shows the 'pugilist pose' characteristic of bodies exposed to extreme temperature at the time of death.
Lazer concluded from her studies of the skeletal remains that there were three main causes of death at Pompeii: [3]
| Title | Publisher | Publication Date | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pompeii and Herculaneum: Interpreting the Evidence | Ancient History Seminars | 2005 | written in conjunction with Dr Brian Brennan |
| Resurrecting Pompeii | Routledge | 2006 |
Zooarchaeology is a hybrid discipline that combines zoology and archaeology. Zooarchaeologists, also called archaeozoologists and faunal analysts, study animal remains from archaeological sites. Faunal remains are the items left behind when an animal dies. These include bones, shells, hair, chitin, scales, hides, proteins and DNA. Bones and shell are the best preserved at archaeological sites. Most of the time, faunal remains do not survive. They may decompose or break because of various circumstances. This can cause difficulties in identifying the remains and interpreting their significance.
The human skeleton is the internal framework of the human body. It is composed of around 270 bones at birth – this total decreases to around 206 bones by adulthood after some bones get fused together. The bone mass in the skeleton makes up about 14% of the total body weight and reaches maximum mass between the ages of 25 and 30. The human skeleton can be divided into the axial skeleton and the appendicular skeleton. The axial skeleton is formed by the vertebral column, the rib cage, the skull and other associated bones. The appendicular skeleton, which is attached to the axial skeleton, is formed by the shoulder girdle, the pelvic girdle and the bones of the upper and lower limbs.
Forensic anthropology is the application of the anatomical science of anthropology and its various subfields, including forensic archaeology and forensic taphonomy, in a legal setting. A forensic anthropologist can assist in the identification of deceased individuals whose remains are decomposed, burned, mutilated or otherwise unrecognizable, as might happen in a plane crash. Forensic anthropologists are also instrumental in the investigation and documentation of genocide and mass graves. Along with forensic pathologists, forensic dentists, and homicide investigators, forensic anthropologists commonly testify in court as expert witnesses. Using physical markers present on a skeleton, a forensic anthropologist can potentially determine a person's age, sex, stature, and race. In addition to identifying physical characteristics of the individual, forensic anthropologists can use skeletal abnormalities to potentially determine cause of death, past trauma such as broken bones or medical procedures, as well as diseases such as bone cancer.
Osteology is the scientific study of bones, practised by osteologists. A subdiscipline of anatomy, anthropology, and paleontology, osteology is the detailed study of the structure of bones, skeletal elements, teeth, microbone morphology, function, disease, pathology, the process of ossification, and the resistance and hardness of bones (biophysics).
Liang Bua is a limestone cave on the island of Flores, Indonesia, slightly north of the town of Ruteng in Manggarai Regency, East Nusa Tenggara. The cave demonstrated archaeological and paleontological potential in the 1950s and 1960s as described by the Dutch missionary and archaeologist Theodor L. Verhoeven.
The term bioarchaeology has been attributed to British archaeologist Grahame Clark who, in 1972, defined it as the study of animal and human bones from archaeological sites. Redefined in 1977 by Jane Buikstra, bioarchaeology in the United States now refers to the scientific study of human remains from archaeological sites, a discipline known in other countries as osteoarchaeology, osteology or palaeo-osteology. Compared to bioarchaeology, osteoarchaeology is the scientific study that solely focus on the human skeleton. The human skeleton is used to tell us about health, lifestyle, diet, mortality and physique of the past. Furthermore, palaeo-osteology is simple the study of ancient bones.
Paleopathology, also spelled palaeopathology, is the study of ancient diseases and injuries in organisms through the examination of fossils, mummified tissue, skeletal remains, and analysis of coprolites. Specific sources in the study of ancient human diseases may include early documents, illustrations from early books, painting and sculpture from the past. Looking at the individual roots of the word "Paleopathology" can give a basic definition of what it encompasses. "Paleo-" refers to "ancient, early, prehistoric, primitive, fossil." The suffix "-pathology" comes from the Latin pathologia meaning "study of disease." Through the analysis of the aforementioned things, information on the evolution of diseases as well as how past civilizations treated conditions are both valuable byproducts. Studies have historically focused on humans, but there is no evidence that humans are more prone to pathologies than any other animal.
The Windover Archeological Site is a Middle Archaic archaeological site and National Historic Landmark in Brevard County near Titusville, Florida, United States on the central east coast of the state. Windover is a muck pond where skeletal remains of 168 individuals were found buried in the peat at the bottom of the pond. The skeletons were well preserved because of the peat. In addition, remarkably well-preserved brain tissue has been recovered from 91 skulls from the site. DNA from the brain tissue has been sequenced. The collection of human skeletal remains and artifacts recovered from Windover Pond represent among the largest finds of each type from the Archaic Period. It is considered one of the most important archeological sites ever excavated.
Poulnabrone dolmen is a large dolmen located in the Burren, County Clare, Ireland. Situated on one of the most desolate and highest points of the region, it comprises three standing portal stones supporting a heavy horizontal capstone, and dates to the Neolithic period, with estimates to between 4200 BC and 2900 BC. Although not the largest, it is the best known of the approximately 172 dolmens in Ireland.
Skeletonization is the state of a dead organism after undergoing decomposition. Skeletonization refers to the final stage of decomposition, during which the last vestiges of the soft tissues of a corpse or carcass have decayed or dried to the point that the skeleton is exposed. By the end of the skeletonization process, all soft tissue will have been eliminated, leaving only disarticulated bones.
Narrabeen Man is the name given to a 4,000-year-old skeleton of a tall Aboriginal Australian man found in Narrabeen, a suburb of the Northern Beaches region of Sydney, in January 2005.
Herculaneum was an ancient Roman town, located in the modern-day comune of Ercolano, Campania, Italy. Herculaneum was buried under volcanic ash and pumice in the Eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD.
Nigersaurus is a genus of rebbachisaurid sauropod dinosaur that lived during the middle Cretaceous period, about 115 to 105 million years ago. It was discovered in the Elrhaz Formation in an area called Gadoufaoua, in Niger. Fossils of this dinosaur were first described in 1976, but it was only named Nigersaurus taqueti in 1999, after further and more complete remains were found and described. The genus name means "Niger reptile", and the specific name honours the palaeontologist Philippe Taquet, who discovered the first remains.
The Moatfield Ossuary was accidentally discovered during the expansion of a soccer field located in North York, Ontario in the summer of 1997. Upon identifying both Wyandot artifacts and human remains, a team of archaeologists was contracted by the province to conduct an archaeological investigation and recover the human remains. The Six Nations Council of Oshweken, provided consent to analyze the human remains, however the time to do so was limited as the remains were to be reburied December 12 the same year.
Stillwater Marsh is an archaeology locality in the Carson Sink in eastern Nevada discovered when heavy flooding in the 1980s unearthed many human remains. The great diversity in plant life and altitudinally-determined microenvironments that surrounded the marsh helped to make it a popular place to live, as evidenced by archaeological findings. At Stillwater Marsh, skeletal remains were the primary means used to determine how people lived in the area. As large numbers of skeletons had not previously been found at Great Basin sites, Stillwater Marsh offered a remarkable opportunity to learn about daily life, as reflected in the human remains.
Medieval Bioarchaeology is the study of human remains recovered from medieval archaeological sites. Bioarchaeology aims to understand populations through the analysis of human skeletal remains and this application of bioarchaeology specifically aims to understand medieval populations. There is an interest in the Medieval Period when it comes to bioarchaeology, because of how differently people lived back then as opposed to now, in regards to not only their everyday life, but during times of war and famine as well. The biology and behavior of those that lived in the Medieval Period can be analyzed by understanding their health and lifestyle choices.
Paleoradiology is the study of archaeological remains through the use of radiographic techniques, such as X-ray, CT and micro-CT scans. It is predominately used by archaeologists and anthropologists to examine mummified remains due to its non-invasive nature. Paleoradiologists can discover post-mortem damage to the body, or any artefacts buried with them, while still keeping the remains intact. Radiological images can also contribute evidence about the person's life, such as their age and cause of death. The first recorded use of paleoradiology was in 1896, just a year after the Rōntgen radiograph was first produced. Although this method of viewing ancient remains is advantageous due to its non-invasive manner, many radiologists lack expertise in archeology and very few radiologists can identify ancient diseases which may be present.
Near Eastern bioarchaeology covers the study of human skeletal remains from archaeological sites in Cyprus, Egypt, Levantine coast, Jordan, Turkey, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, United Arab Emirates, Oman, and Yemen.
Iaba, Banitu and Atalia were queens of the Neo-Assyrian Empire as the primary consorts of the successive kings Tiglath-Pileser III, Shalmaneser V and Sargon II, respectively. Next to nothing is known of the lives of the three queens; they were not known by name by modern historians prior to the 1989 discovery of a stone sacrophagus among the Queens' tombs at Nimrud which contained objects inscribed with the names of all three women. The stone sacrophagus, known to originally have been the tomb of Iaba since her name is on the nearby funerary inscription presents a problem of identification since it contains objects with the names of three queens, but two skeletons. The conventional interpretation is that the skeletons are those of Iaba and Atalia, but several alternate hypotheses have also been made, such as the idea that Iaba and Banitu could be the same person. Iaba and Banitu being the same person is however not supported by either historical or chronological evidence.
Isabel German aka Lady German was an English anchoress in York. In 2007 her remains were found and these and the written records of the time have enabled her life to be documented.
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