Historia biológica de las poblaciones humanas del territorio astur entre época antigua y medieval. Los individuos no-adultos del yacimiento de Marialba de la Ribera

Resumen

Seven medieval skeletons with valuable dress accessories as grave goods were recovered from the Marialba de la Ribera archaeological site (León, Spain; 3rd‐15th centuries AD). Due to the typology of the accessories, archaeologists hypothesized that these individuals could have been girls from a high social class. Starting with this premise, a study of this group of individuals was conducted using different approaches. Firstly, an attempt has been made to determine their sex through a multi‐methodological proposal that has included molecular analysis and alternative methods based on the sexual differences present in the permanent dentition. Subsequently, the linear growth of these individuals has been evaluated and then compared with non‐adults from the contemporary archaeological site of Veranes (Asturias, Spain; 1st‐14th centuries AD). It has been complemented with an extensive study of carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes to characterize the diet of these non‐adults and the population itself. Finally, the archaeological and biological information have been integrated through a virtual reconstruction of the Marialba de la Ribera site. The results have shown that the dress accessories do not correspond with sex, and it has not been possible to establish a relationship between them and higher growth or better nutrition. Therefore, proposing that these accessories must have been some type of protective amulet commonly used by non‐adults of the time has been considered. Additionally, the different studies conducted have provided other data of interest about the ancient settlers of Marialba and Veranes which improves our current understanding of the northwest Iberian Peninsula between ancient and medieval times