Paleopatología en los yacimientos argáricos de la provincia de Granada

Abstract

The Argaric collection of Granada is one of the largest osteological series from the Peninsular Bronze Age. It is formed by more than 15 sites in Granada province that correspond to the El Argar period, one of the best-known European cultural phenomena of recent prehistory. This culture is framed in the southeast of the Iberian Peninsula and defined as the culmination of a series of transformations already observed in the Copper Age, with evidence remaining in its material record due to the technological advance or progressive internal complexity of the group. This forms the spine of the main hypotheses of the present study, i.e., that it is possible to detect this process by paleopathological analysis and, above all, that novel data can be obtained on this crucial period. Paleopathology therefore becomes a useful instrument to obtain information on general and specific aspects of a past population, using the evidence found in bone remains as possibly the most appropriate and direct material record for characterizing human groups. One of the main objectives of this study was to evaluate the most prevalent diseases in both childhood and adulthood in order to establish a basis for addressing more complex between- and within-group issues, always with caution and extreme care. Conclusions: In summary, the data obtained suggest: - Precarious or nonexistent oral hygiene, with the consequent age-related increase in oral diseases, some of which generated more severe health problems for the individual. Their mixed diet, which may have differed between the sexes, was relatively abrasive, and additional nonmasticatory dental wear showed patterns specific to thread production, exclusively associated with women. - Difficult life conditions during the first years, as exemplified by the more unusual diseases and those that recurred in subadults, when episodes of deficiency may have been related to the type of diet or particular dietary strategies or different types of infection. Zoonotic diseases stand out among the infectious processes detected in the skeletons and were found in both subadults and adults, indicating close coexistence between animals and humans. - The early performance of intense physical activity is evidenced by lesions in the first intervals of adult age, which are more prevalent in males than in females, again indicating a difference between the sexes in occupational activities, as in the case of non-masticatory dental wear. -Accidental etiology and age would explain most of the traumas detected, although interpersonal violence cannot be ruled out in particular cases, or care of the wounded by the group. In conclusion, general results were obtained on the most frequently identified diseases and data were compiled on singular findings that contribute to the overall view. Although the latter cannot reflect group reality, they establish new data points on the incidence of diseases that were unknown in the Peninsular Bronze Age.