EAA2021: Abstract
Abstract is part of session #510:
Title & Content
Title:
Were they riders? Identification of reliable horse riding-related skeletal changes from the bioarchaeological analysis of a Hungarian Conquest period population
Content:
Although some equine skeletal changes are promising for identifying the riding practice, the existence of a direct link between specific human bone changes and this activity has not yet been unarguably demonstrated. This is notably due to various limiting factors, such as the lack of specificity of the markers and the absence of direct contextual evidence.
Archaeological and historical sources attest that armies of mounted archers conquered the Carpathian Basin at the turn of the 9th and 10th centuries. Deposits of riding equipment and horse bones are often found in association with the individuals in graves from Hungarian Conquest period cemeteries. Those populations are, thus, among the most pertinent to perform methodological investigations on horse riding-related skeletal changes.
We selected 67 individuals from the 10th-century Hungarian cemetery of Sárrétudvari-Hízóföld and analyzed them according to the presence or absence of riding deposit in their grave. They were also compared with 47 presumed non-rider individuals from the documented collection of Lisbon.
We performed a broad macromorphological and osteometric analysis and observed significant differences between the Hungarian groups, with or without deposit, and the comparison group. They concerned especially some lower limb entheseal changes, morphological adaptations of the hip region, and intervertebral disc herniations at the thoracolumbar junction. These traits can be explained by the horse riding practice and are promising indicators to evaluate, statistically, the presence of riders in a population of interest.
Besides, comparisons showed that Hungarian individuals without riding deposit in their grave were very likely riders as well. This funerary practice may, therefore, be related to symbolic or social aspects. Our research contributes to shedding light on the role of horse riding and riders in past populations.
This research was supported by the “Árpád-ház Program” of the Ministry of Human Capacities, Hungary, and the Hungarian NKFIH K125561 Grant.
Archaeological and historical sources attest that armies of mounted archers conquered the Carpathian Basin at the turn of the 9th and 10th centuries. Deposits of riding equipment and horse bones are often found in association with the individuals in graves from Hungarian Conquest period cemeteries. Those populations are, thus, among the most pertinent to perform methodological investigations on horse riding-related skeletal changes.
We selected 67 individuals from the 10th-century Hungarian cemetery of Sárrétudvari-Hízóföld and analyzed them according to the presence or absence of riding deposit in their grave. They were also compared with 47 presumed non-rider individuals from the documented collection of Lisbon.
We performed a broad macromorphological and osteometric analysis and observed significant differences between the Hungarian groups, with or without deposit, and the comparison group. They concerned especially some lower limb entheseal changes, morphological adaptations of the hip region, and intervertebral disc herniations at the thoracolumbar junction. These traits can be explained by the horse riding practice and are promising indicators to evaluate, statistically, the presence of riders in a population of interest.
Besides, comparisons showed that Hungarian individuals without riding deposit in their grave were very likely riders as well. This funerary practice may, therefore, be related to symbolic or social aspects. Our research contributes to shedding light on the role of horse riding and riders in past populations.
This research was supported by the “Árpád-ház Program” of the Ministry of Human Capacities, Hungary, and the Hungarian NKFIH K125561 Grant.
Keywords:
biological anthropology, bioarchaeology, paleopathology, equestrian, activity-related skeletal changes, Hungarian Conquest period
Downloads:
authors
Main authors:
William Berthon1,2,3
Co-author:
Balázs Tihanyi2,4
László Révész4
Hélène Coqueugniot1,3,5
Olivier Dutour1,3,6
György Pálfi2
László Révész4
Hélène Coqueugniot1,3,5
Olivier Dutour1,3,6
György Pálfi2
Affiliations:
1 Chair of Biological Anthropology Paul Broca, EPHE, PSL University, Paris, France
2 Department of Biological Anthropology, University of Szeged, Szeged, Hungary
3 UMR 5199 PACEA, CNRS/University of Bordeaux, Pessac, France
4 Department of Archaeology, University of Szeged, Szeged, Hungary
5 Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
6 Department of Anthropology, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada
2 Department of Biological Anthropology, University of Szeged, Szeged, Hungary
3 UMR 5199 PACEA, CNRS/University of Bordeaux, Pessac, France
4 Department of Archaeology, University of Szeged, Szeged, Hungary
5 Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
6 Department of Anthropology, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada