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Published on: September 27, 2020
The Winthir Collection: An Identified Historical Skeletal Series From Munich, Germany
Ja Young Lee1, Barbara Schratzenstaller2, Elsa Seyr1
1Bavarian State Collections of Natural History (SNSB), state Collection for Anthropology Munich (SAM), Munich, Germany.
American Journal of Biological Anthropology
|June 25, 2026
Summary
The Winthir Collection provides rare, documented skeletal data from 19th-century Munich. This bioarchaeological resource, including many non-adults, aids historical population studies.
Area of Science:
- Bioarchaeology
- Physical Anthropology
- Osteology
Background:
- Documented skeletal collections are vital for bioarchaeological research.
- Identified skeletal series from non-modern populations are scarce in Central Europe.
- The Winthir Collection addresses this gap with a late-19th-century assemblage.
Purpose of the Study:
- To present the Winthir Collection, a newly documented skeletal assemblage.
- To enable bioarchaeological interpretation within a biographical framework.
- To expand the dataset of identified non-adult skeletal remains in Central Europe.
Main Methods:
- Osteological analysis of 245 individuals.
- Integration with grave registry data and archival sources for individual attribution.
- Reconstruction of individual life-history profiles.
Main Results:
- The Winthir Collection comprises 245 identified individuals from late-19th-century Munich.
- Detailed biographical data (age, birthplace, occupation, cause of death) were reconstructed for most individuals.
- The collection includes a significant number of non-adults (n=90), enhancing regional data.
Conclusions:
- The Winthir Collection is a valuable resource for studying historically documented populations.
- It offers a unique dataset for bioarchaeological research, particularly on non-adult remains.
- The collection supports future methodological advancements in bioarchaeology.
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