Trauma to the Skull: A Historical Perspective from the Southern Levant (4300BCE–1917CE)

Background: Although the southern Levant is commonly perceived as having been a violent region throughout history, few studies have explored the pattern and intensity of skull trauma through time in the general population. The aim of this study is to follow changes in traumatic injury patterns in the southern Levant, over an extensive period of 6,000 years. Methods: 783 archaeological skulls from the Tel Aviv University osteological collection were examined for evidence of trauma. The specimens were divided into three periods: Chalcolithic‐Bronze‐Iron Age (4300–520 BCE), Hellenistic‐Roman‐Byzantine Period (332 BCE‐640 CE), and Early and Late Arab Period (640–1917 CE). The characteristics of injury on each skull were recorded. Results: A high frequency (25%) of traumatic lesions to the skull was evident among historic populations of the southern Levant, a rate that did not fluctuate significantly over 6,000 years. The most common pattern of trauma was minor circular depressed injuries. Most of the injuries were located on the parietal or frontal bones. Traumatic lesions were more frequent in males than in females, and in mature individuals than in adolescents and children, during all periods. Conclusions: The rate of trauma in the southern Levantine populations was shown to be considerably higher than in other archaeological populations worldwide. The fact that no significant differences in trauma rates were found over time implies that socio‐economical shifts (from agrarian to urban populations) had little impact on the local populations’ aggressive behavior. In contrast, changes in type of injury, from blunt force trauma to sharp force trauma and eventually projectile trauma, reflects changes in weaponry over time. The accumulated characteristics of cranial trauma pattern (type, location, side, size, sex, age) suggest that most of the individuals studied were not engaged directly in warfare. Rather, most injuries seem to be due to blows given during interpersonal violent encounters. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Taphonomy and zooarchaeology of the Upper Palaeolithic cave of Dzudzuana,Republic of Georgia

We present the results of a detailed taphonomic and zooarchaeological study of the faunal remains from the Upper Palaeolithic layers of Dzudzuana Cave, Republic of Georgia. This study presents the first carefully analysed Upper Palaeolithic faunal assemblage from the southern Caucasus and thus serves as a significant point of reference for inter‐regional studies of Upper Palaeolithic subsistence in Eurasia. A series of intra‐site taphonomic comparisons are employed to reconstruct the depositional history of the bone assemblages within the different occupational phases at the site and to investigate subsistence, meat procurement and bone‐processing strategies. Caucasian tur (Capra caucasica), aurochs (Bos primigenius) and steppe bison (Bison priscus) were the major prey species throughout the Upper Palaeolithic. Their frequencies do not change significantly over time, and nor does bone preservation vary by layer. The assemblage is characterised by significant density‐mediated biases, caused by both human bone‐processing behaviours and in situ post‐burial bone attrition. Bone marrow extraction produced large numbers of unidentified bone fragments, many exhibiting green bone fractures. The density and size of bone assemblages and the extent of fragmentation indicate that Dzudzuana Cave was repeatedly occupied by Upper Palaeolithic foragers over many years. Skeletal part representation and butchery marks from all stages of carcass processing suggest that prey occasionally underwent field butchery. Intra‐site taphonomic comparisons highlight uniform patterns of cultural and economic behaviours related to food procurement and processing strategies. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Reviews

Herrscher, Gemeinwesen, Vermittler: Ostiran und Transoxanien in vormongolischer Zeit , Jürgen Paul, Beiruter Texte und Studien, Bd. 59, Stuttgart: Franz Steiner Verlag, 1996, viii + 322 pp., bibliography, indices; German, English, and Russian summaries.

Khatireha‐ye Amir ^cAlam Khan , Amir ^cAlam Khan, Tehran: Markaz‐e Motala^cat‐e Irani, 1373/1994, 55 pp., illustrations.

Cambridge History of Iran, Vol. 7: From Nadir Shah to the Islamic Republic , ed. by Peter Avery, Gavin Hambly, and Charles Melville, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1991, xxiii+1072 pp.

Iranian Intellectuals and the West: The Tormented Triumph of Nativism , Mehrzad Boroujerdi, Syracuse: Syracuse University Press, 1996, 255 pp., index, bibliography.

Revolutionary Horizons: Regional Foreign Policy in Post‐Khomeini Iran , John Calabrese, New York: St. Martin's Press, 1994, xii + 221 pp.

Classical Persian Sufism: From its Origins to Rumi , ed. Leonard Lewisohn. London/New York: Khaniqahi Nimatullahi Publications, 1993, xl + 666 pp., bibliography, index, illustrations.

Shark Hikmat al‐Ishraq [li‐Shihab al‐Din Suhrawardi] (Commentary on the Philosophy of Illumination [by Shihab al‐Din Suhrawardi]), Shams al‐Din Shahrazuri, edited, with introduction and notes, by Hossein Ziai, Tehran: Institute for Cultural Studies and Research, 1993, xxiii pp., English + 646 pp. Arabic + 84 pp. Persian.

Symbol and Secret: Qur'án Commentary in Bahá'u'lláh's Kitáb‐i Íqán , Christopher Buck, Studies in the Babi and Baha'i Religions, volume 7, Los Angeles: Kalimat Press, 1995.

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Law of Desire: Temporary Marriage in Shi^ci Iran , Shahla Haeri, Syracuse: Syracuse University Press, 1989, 272 pp., cloth and paper.

The Persian Revayat “Ithoter”: Zoroastrian Rituals in the Eighteenth Century , Mario Vitalone, Naples: Istituto Universitario Orientale, 1996, 301 pp.

Pand‐o Sokhan: Mélanges offerts à Charles‐Henri de Fouchécour , ed. by Christophe Balay, Claire Keppler, and ?iva Vesel, Bibliothèque Iranienne, 44, Tehran: Institut Français de Recherche en Iran, 1995, 348 pp., illustrated.

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The Image of Arabs in Modern Persian Literature , Joya Blondel Saad, Lanham, Md.: University Press of America, 1996, ix + 139 pp., index, paper, ISBN 0–7618–0330–0

Recasting Persian Poetry: Scenarios of Poetic Modernity in Iran , Ahmad Karimi‐Hakkak, Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press, 1996, 326 pp., $45.00, cloth.

The Marsh [Gavkhūni] , Jafar Modarres‐Sadeqi, trans. Afkham Darbandi, intro. Dick Davis, Bibliotheca Iranica, Persian Fiction in Translation Series, no. 3, Costa Mesa: Mazda Publishers, 1996.

Bihzad, Master of Persian Painting , Ebadollah Bahari, foreword by Annemarie Schimmel, London and New York: I. B. Tauris, 1996, xiii + 272 pp., 70 color and 48 black and white illustrations, map, appendices, bibliography, index, ISBN 0–85043–966–4     

Late Middle and Early Upper Paleolithic Evidence from the East European Plain and Caucasus: A New Look at Variability,Interactions, and Transitions

This paper presents analyses of Late Middle Paleolithic (LMP) and Early Upper Paleolithic (EUP) material from the East European Plain and Caucasus. Late Middle Paleolithic industries show a highly variable pattern, although they are formally ascribed to a limited number of technocomplexes. Many of the LMP industries, especially in the Crimea, survived to the time of the transition to the Upper Paleolithic, but data suggesting a local origin of EUP are extremely rare. The transition is generally dated between 32/30,000 and 26/24,000 years, while the most crucial changes coincide with the Stillfried B interstadial. Aurignacian (two variants), Gravettian, and Transitional industries are recognized in the EUP. The presence of Middle Paleolithic traits in the Aurignacian may indicate acculturation, while the Transitional industries might reflect either acculturation or independent local development of new technologies, raising the possibility of local transformation of some Middle Paleolithic into non-Aurignacian EUP industries.