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Catacomb saints in European context and their identity
ZEMANOVÁ, Gabriela
This Master thesis deals with the phenomenon of catacomb saints, which was not in the main archaelogical research interest until recent years. This thesis attempts to specify metodology of examination of these specific relics by using interdisciplinary approach which includes archaeological and bioarchaeological study. The application of these methods is presented in case studies from Czech Republic, Europe and America. This work aims to provide understanding of the issue of identity transformation in the case of catacomb saints and it also determines the possibilities of reconstruction these identities in archeology.
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Bioarchaeology of the plague epidemics of medieval Europe of the first millennium: history and molecular-biological knowledge
Polakovičová, Nicol ; Brůžek, Jaroslav (advisor) ; Harnádková, Katarína (referee)
This paper outlines the first documented pandemic, Justinianic plague, which emerged in sixth century A. D. It contains basic overview of the disease, it's symptoms, life cycle and possible hosts and transmitters. Next, it focuses on the causative agent of the plague - bacterium Yersinia pestis, it's genome and evolution. The thesis comes to conclusion that the plague accompanies humanity from as early as late neolithic period. For full overview, the paper also contains information on first epidemics of our era - three epidemics, whose names consist of word "plague", although they are not plagues. The paper looks at the first real plague from several angles - it analyses literary sources, tries to find evidence in art, andlast but not least, it looks at recent bioarchaeological research. Outlining of the ongoing debate on severity of the first pandemic is a key part of this thesis.
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Geometric-morphometric approach to age and sex variability of the acetabulum
Cibulková, Simona ; Brůžek, Jaroslav (advisor) ; Bejdová, Šárka (referee)
6 Abstract This thesis compared age and sex differences in lunate surface morphology using a 3D geometric-morphometric approach. The acetabulum of 240 individuals was compared using landmarks and semilandmarks placed along the edge of the lunate surface. The individuals ranged in age from 20 to 90 and came from three geographic areas. This thesis was based on the study of San-Millán et al. (2017a) that used a 2D geometric-morphometric approach to investigate the shape of the acetabulum. Analyses in this thesis showed that size, sex, and age significantly affect the acetabular shape. The differences between both sexes can be observed in the size and depth of the acetabulum, the width of the acetabular notch, and the amount of bone growth at the acetabular horns and along the edges of the lunate surface. Both sexes exhibit age- related changes, which are linked to gradual deposits of bone along the edge of the lunate surface, the acetabular horns, and the acetabular fossa, which tends to lose the 3-lobed cloverleaf shape. According to the geometric-morphometric analysis conducted in this thesis, the acetabulum provides more accurate age estimates for individuals younger than 65 years of age. Keywords: Bioarchaeology, forensic anthropology, age estimation, sex estimation, acetabulum, lunate surface of hip...
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Throwing ability in human evolution
Struška, Michal ; Sládek, Vladimír (advisor) ; Hora, Martin (referee)
The aim of this thesis is to describe the origin of bone markers that characterize individuals who throw habitually and the usability of these markers in research of past populations. The thesis also summarizes knowledge of the origin and development of projectile weapons in Pleistocene. The effectiveness (accuracy and speed) of throw is probably related to differences in morphology of pectoral girdle, torso and hand. Therefore, a part of the text summarizes the morphology of pectoral girdle, torso and hand in the species H. erectus, which was probably the first group of hominins able to throw with effectiveness close to the one of anatomically modern humans. The development of projectile technology, which came after the adoption of effective throwing ability, is usually inferred from archaeological findings of spears and arrows. Various interpretations of archaeologically found weapons bring different conclusions regarding the usage of these weapons. The usage may be inferred from bone characteristics originating as consequences of moves that individual executes when manipulating weapons.
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Use of stable isotopes in hair for understanding nutrition and population migration
Tomášková, Anežka ; Brůžek, Jaroslav (advisor) ; Kovačiková, Lenka (referee)
The analysis of stable isotopes of teeth and bones shines a new light on bioarcheology, understanding of nutrition as well as mobility of mankind in past. However studying stable isotopes which can be found in animal or human hair (carbon - δ13 C, nitrogen - δ15 N, oxygen - δ18 O and probably more) provide information of the same quality. This kind of information is not enriching only to bioarcheology, but also to other fields connected to antropology such as forensic science or medicine. This paper delivers basic overview of principles of determinig the content of stable isotopes in biological material and show advantages and disadvantages of using hair. Information which are used for further understanding of nutrition, mobility and geo-origins are demonstrated on examples from bioarcheology, forensic and clinical medicine.
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Cementochronology and its importance in forensic anthropology and bioarchaeology: a comparison between individuals of different climatic zones
Pytlíčková, Kristýna ; Brůžek, Jaroslav (advisor) ; Velemínský, Petr (referee)
In the field of forensic anthropology and bioarchaeology, there is a constant search for more suitable and reliable methods that would allow the estimation of age and seasonality at the time of death of individuals. This work is devoted to the method of cementochronology. It is a method that works with continuously growing dental tissue - a cement layer, whose regular periodic growth is closely correlated with increasing age. The diploma thesis is based on 2 sets of teeth of individuals of known age and extraction season, which come from different geographically different populations - Czech and Malaysian. The group of the Czech population contains a total of 21 teeth, the group of the Malaysian population contains 11 teeth. Histological specimens were prepared from these samples and 5 sections were analyzed from each individual, in which the incremental lines of the root cement layer were counted and the nature of the last incremental line to estimate seasonality. The results of age estimation achieved by us in both groups, the Czech and Malaysian populations, were close to the chronological age of the individual. The average difference between these ages in the samples of the Czech population was 1,15 years, with the results being overestimated more often. The average difference in the sample of...
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Human Individuality in Bioarchaeology of Early Middle Ages: Conception, Methods and Interpretations
ZEMANOVÁ, Gabriela
The present work attempts to provide understanding of the issue of human individuality, identity and personhood in the Early Middle Ages on the basis of a literature review. The thesis also aims to describe the ways of study individuals in archaeology and in related fields with emphasis on bioarchaeological methods, which include determination of basic paleodemographic parameters, paleopathology, DNA analysis and stable isotope analysis. The application of these methods and the interpretation of their results in relation to human individuality are presented in three case studies from early medieval burial sites.
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Throwing ability in human evolution
Struška, Michal ; Sládek, Vladimír (advisor) ; Hora, Martin (referee)
The aim of this thesis is to describe the origin of bone markers that characterize individuals who throw habitually and the usability of these markers in research of past populations. The thesis also summarizes knowledge of the origin and development of projectile weapons in Pleistocene. The effectiveness (accuracy and speed) of throw is probably related to differences in morphology of pectoral girdle, torso and hand. Therefore, a part of the text summarizes the morphology of pectoral girdle, torso and hand in the species H. erectus, which was probably the first group of hominins able to throw with effectiveness close to the one of anatomically modern humans. The development of projectile technology, which came after the adoption of effective throwing ability, is usually inferred from archaeological findings of spears and arrows. Various interpretations of archaeologically found weapons bring different conclusions regarding the usage of these weapons. The usage may be inferred from bone characteristics originating as consequences of moves that individual executes when manipulating weapons.
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Use of stable isotopes in hair for understanding nutrition and population migration
Tomášková, Anežka ; Brůžek, Jaroslav (advisor) ; Kovačiková, Lenka (referee)
The analysis of stable isotopes of teeth and bones shines a new light on bioarcheology, understanding of nutrition as well as mobility of mankind in past. However studying stable isotopes which can be found in animal or human hair (carbon - δ13 C, nitrogen - δ15 N, oxygen - δ18 O and probably more) provide information of the same quality. This kind of information is not enriching only to bioarcheology, but also to other fields connected to antropology such as forensic science or medicine. This paper delivers basic overview of principles of determinig the content of stable isotopes in biological material and show advantages and disadvantages of using hair. Information which are used for further understanding of nutrition, mobility and geo-origins are demonstrated on examples from bioarcheology, forensic and clinical medicine.
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