Possible interpersonal violence in the Neolithic necropolis of Campo de Hockey (San Fernando, Cádiz, Spain)

Lydia P Sánchez-Barba Muñoz; Eduardo Vijande Vila; Ángel Rubio Salvador; Inmaculada Alemán Aguilera; Marta Díaz-Zorita Bonilla; Adolfo Moreno Márquez; Salvador Domínguez-Bella; José Ramos Muñoz; Miguel C Botella López

doi:10.1016/j.ijpp.2019.08.006

Possible interpersonal violence in the Neolithic necropolis of Campo de Hockey (San Fernando, Cádiz, Spain)

Int J Paleopathol. 2019 Dec:27:38-45. doi: 10.1016/j.ijpp.2019.08.006. Epub 2019 Sep 23.

Authors

Lydia P Sánchez-Barba Muñoz¹, Eduardo Vijande Vila², Ángel Rubio Salvador³, Inmaculada Alemán Aguilera⁴, Marta Díaz-Zorita Bonilla⁵, Adolfo Moreno Márquez⁶, Salvador Domínguez-Bella⁷, José Ramos Muñoz⁸, Miguel C Botella López⁹

Affiliations

¹ Laboratory of Anthropology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Granada, Av. de la Investigación 11, 18016 Granada, Spain. Electronic address: lydia.antropologia@hotmail.com.
² Area of Prehistory, Faculty of Letters, University of Cádiz, Av. Doctor Gómez Ulla s/n, 11001 Cádiz, Spain. Electronic address: eduardo.vijande@uca.es.
³ Laboratory of Anthropology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Granada, Av. de la Investigación 11, 18016 Granada, Spain. Electronic address: a_rubiosalvador@hotmail.com.
⁴ Laboratory of Anthropology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Granada, Av. de la Investigación 11, 18016 Granada, Spain. Electronic address: ialeman@ugr.es.
⁵ Institut für Ur- und Frühgeschichte und Archäologie des Mittelalters, University of Tübingen, Germany. Electronic address: marta.diaz-zorita-bonilla@uni-tuebingen.de.
⁶ Area of Prehistory, Faculty of Letters, University of Cádiz, Av. Doctor Gómez Ulla s/n, 11001 Cádiz, Spain. Electronic address: adolfomorenomarquez@gmail.com.
⁷ Unit of Geoarchaeology and Archaeometry Applied to the Historic-Artistic and Monumental Heritage (UGEA-PHAM), Department of Earth Science, Faculty of Sciences, University of Cádiz, Av. República Árabe Saharaui s/n, Puerto Real, 11510 Cádiz, Spain. Electronic address: salvador.dominguez@uca.es.
⁸ Area of Prehistory, Faculty of Letters, University of Cádiz, Av. Doctor Gómez Ulla s/n, 11001 Cádiz, Spain. Electronic address: jose.ramos@uca.es.
⁹ Laboratory of Anthropology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Granada, Av. de la Investigación 11, 18016 Granada, Spain. Electronic address: mbotella@ugr.es.

PMID: 31557721
DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpp.2019.08.006

Abstract

Objective: To interpret traumatic cranial lesions on two individuals buried at the Neolithic necropolis of Campo de Hockey, Spain.

Materials: Skeletal remains and grave goods associated with two individuals recovered in good condition from a single grave.

Methods: Crania were macroscopically and radiographically analysed.

Results: Of all the individuals recovered from this site, only two present perimortem skull injuries. Fractures were located on the right side of the skulls, one on the frontal bone and the other on the parietal bone.

Conclusions: The individuals present signs of interpersonal violence. In both cases, the injuries are perimortem and may have contributed to the deaths of the individuals.

Significance: The identification of interpersonal violence in the two individuals buried in the tomb, alongside the archaeological context of the burials, provides unique insight into Neolithic burial practices in the Iberian Peninsula and the role that paleopathology can play in the recognition of social complexity.

Limitations: The skeletal remains of the two individuals were fragmented, rendering the identification of perimortem lesions difficult.

Suggestions for further research: New imaging techniques, including CT-scan, will provide more detailed analyses.

Keywords: Iberian Peninsula; Lethal injuries; Perimortem trauma.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Adult
Craniocerebral Trauma / pathology*
Europe
Female
Humans
Male
Paleopathology / methods
Skull / pathology*
Skull Fractures / pathology*
Spain
Violence*
Young Adult