Bone traumas in late antique populations from Croatia

We present the results of the analyses of traumatic bone injuries in two Late Antique (3r to 5th century AD) skeletal samples from Croatia: Zadar--located on the eastern Adriatic coast, and a composite skeletal series from continental Croatia consisting of skeletons from Osijek, Vinkovci, Strbinci, and Zmajevac. The osteological series from continental Croatia are related to settlements located on, or near the Danubian military border, while Zadar--350 km to the west, is located deep in the territory of the Roman Empire. Numerous historical sources describe barbaric incursions, as well as large battles related to civil wars during the Late Antique period in continental Croatia. Conversely, there is no mention of similar events in the Zadar region. In accordance with these data our analysis tests the hypothesis that the inhabitants of continental Croatia were exposed to greater levels of violence than those living in Zadar. Analysis of bone traumas in the two series shows a similar, relatively high prevalence of long bone fractures in both samples, with a slightly higher frequency recorded in Zadar. Both series exhibit a high frequency of cranial injuries with, once again, higher frequencies recorded in the Zadar series. Additionally, two perimortem cranial fractures (one caused by a sword, the other by a blunt object) were observed in Zadar. Some of the recorded traumas in both samples resulted from accidents, but a number of injuries clearly resulted from intentional violence of lesser intensity. Further multidisciplinary research incorporating osteological, archaeological, and historical analyses is necessary to confirm the results obtained from these samples.