A multidisciplinary study unveils the nature of a Roman ink of the I century AD.
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ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Sibilia M
PROVIDER: S-EPMC8012642 | biostudies-literature |
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
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Project description:Iroquoian villagers living in present-day Jefferson County, New York, at the headwaters of the St. Lawrence River and the east shore of Lake Ontario, played important roles in regional interactions during the fifteenth century AD, as brokers linking populations on the north shore of Lake Ontario with populations in eastern New York. This study employs a social network analysis and least cost path analysis to assess the degree to which geographical location may have facilitated the brokerage positions of site clusters within pan-Iroquoian social networks. The results indicate that location was a significant factor in determining brokerage. In the sixteenth century AD, when Jefferson County was abandoned, measurable increases in social distance between other Iroquoian populations obtained. These results add to our understandings of the dynamic social landscape of fifteenth and sixteenth century AD northern Iroquoia, complementing recent analyses elsewhere of the roles played in regional interaction networks by populations located along geopolitical frontiers.
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Project description:Simple Summary The tradition of burying horses in Lithuania was the longest-lasting custom in Europe, which has resulted in about 2000 known horse burials. This paper publishes the osteometric data and age of horses found in Lithuanian cemeteries and castles between the 3rd and 14th C AD and discusses the dynamics of horse body size in order to test previously suggested hypotheses regarding the relationship between large horse body size and its military use, possibly non-local breed, and high social status of the owner. Size analyses have shown that, in general, the horses in Lithuania in the 3rd–11th C AD were small compared to those in Central and Western Europe or Scandinavia. More significant changes can be observed in the Middle Ages. In the 12–14th C AD, there was a much greater variety of horses and the expansion of taller (140–150 cm) individuals. However, the continued abundance of small horses in Medieval times, found buried with saddles and other equipment, allows one to renew the debate on the formation of the cavalry, the tactics of combat, and the social composition of horsemen in Lithuania. Abstract The tradition of burying horses in Lithuania lasted from the Early Roman period until the late 14th C AD. It was the longest-lasting custom in Europe, which has left about 2000 known horse burials. This paper publishes the osteometric data and age of horses found in Lithuanian cemeteries and castles of the 3rd–14th C AD, over 200 individuals in total. These are the remains of all the horses still stored in Lithuanian institutions. The paper discusses the dynamics of horse body size in order to test previously suggested hypotheses regarding the relationship between large horse body size and its military use, possibly non-local breed, and high social status of the owner. Moreover, we are publishing the AMS 14C dates of 13 horses previously assigned to the Migration period. The research results corrected the existing chronology. The abundant data also allowed an assessment of the development of the size and age of the horses in Lithuania between the 3rd and 14th C AD. Osteometric analyses have shown that Late Roman–post-Migration-period horses were unusually large compared to the Viking and medieval horses in Lithuania. Meanwhile, we suggest that the semi-slender-legged 118–125-cm-tall horse, which predominated in the Viking period, is the most consistent with the local horse type. In general, the horses in Lithuania in the 3rd–11th C AD were small compared to those in Central and Western Europe or Scandinavia. More significant changes can be observed in the Middle Ages. In the 12–14th C AD, there was a much greater variety of horses and the expansion of taller (140–150 cm) individuals. However, the continued abundance of small horses in the medieval times, found buried with saddles and other equipment, allows one to renew the debate on the formation of the cavalry, the tactics of combat, and the social composition of horsemen in Lithuania.
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