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- Title
Beheading in Avar times (630--800 A.D.).
- Authors
Wiltschke-Schrotta, Karin; Stadler, Peter
- Abstract
The cause of an individual's death is a frequent question when we investigate human skeletal remains. Unfortunately, in most cases the cause of death is impossible to determine. However, while investigating an Avar period population (630-800 A.D.) with 540 burials from Mödling Goldene Stiege, Austria, three individuals with sharp cut marks at the cervical vertebrae were identified. The aim of this study was investigation of the possibility that these individuals were beheaded. Materials and methods. Description and discussion of the cut marks, archaeological findings such as tools or weapons in connection with the site, as well as an examination of the social status of the individuals within the population. Results and discussion. Two of the three individuals seem to be regularly beheaded from the back, probably with an axe and the head fixed on a block. The third individual might have been stabbed by a smaller weapon, like a knife, without complete separation of the head. One male was of high status, the two others were rather poor with grave goods. The person that was probably stabbed, with solely a knife as a grave good, had a very unusual prone burial position. Conclusion. Different cut marks on the cervical vertebrae and the social differences of these three males give the impression of beheading out of different motives. In general, decapitation does not seem to be a frequently used rite within the Avar period people of Austria.
- Subjects
AVARS; ANDIS; POPULATION; DEATH; BEHEADING
- Publication
Acta Medica Lituanica, 2005, Vol 12, Issue 1, p58
- ISSN
1392-0138
- Publication type
Article