Marcas da morte: uma análise das manipulações intencionais em indivíduos não adultos do sítio Lajedo do Cruzeiro, Pocinhos/PB

Abstract

Marks of intentional bone manipulation on human osteological remains are a cultural expression that remains under-explored within the archaeological funerary context. These marks can be distinguished across various parts of the human skeleton and are produced as a result of distinct activities, such as funerary practices, cannibalism or anthropophagy, and even as a consequence of medical activities. Thus, it is through the identification and differential diagnosis of intentional manipulation marks that an understanding of these practices can be achieved.To develop the research presented here, a sample from the Lajedo do Cruzeiro site (Pocinhos, Paraíba, Brazil) was studied, from which 16 individuals were exhumed (3 adults and 13 non-adults). These remains exhibited perimortem manipulations on the bone surface, such as disarticulation, defleshing, and sectioning (removal) of the distal or proximal ends of the diaphyses, as well as alterations to the medullary canal. For this collective secondary burial, a dating of 1680 ± 30 BP was obtained through a bone sample. Based on the analysis, our objective was to identify the timing of these marks—whether they occurred immediately post-mortem, during the period of cadaveric decomposition, or after the skeletonization of the individual. Additionally, we sought to identify recurrences in "cut marks on the bone" and "marks of the bone" (structural cuts) that might indicate funerary patterns between adult and non-adult individuals. To address our research questions, we employed Bioarchaeology methodology to outline the biological profile of the individuals, estimating the minimum number of individuals (MNI), sex diagnosis, age at death, and pathological processes. We also utilized the methodology adapted from Botella et al. (1999) and Botella (2000) for the identification and study of the bone cut marks observed in the sample.In this way, the results discussed in light of other similar cases allowed us to characterize intentional bone manipulations, creating an overview for the Northeast region and, consequently, enabling an understanding of practices related to secondary burials, which are still poorly documented in archaeological research.