Medical-anthropological Research of Skeletal Remains from the Battle of Znojmo of 1809 (Czech Republic)
| Authors | |
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| Year of publication | 2006 |
| Type | Article in Proceedings |
| Conference | 16th European Meeting of Paleopathology Association - Abstracts. |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
| Citation | |
| Field | Archaeology, anthropology, ethnology |
| Keywords | the battle of Znojmo 1809; paleopathology; Napoleonic wars; war injuries; |
| Description | An anthropological rescue research programme undertaken in Znojmo in 2004 revealed 6 mass graves with skeletal remains of 57 individuals. Accompanying findings suggested that these belonged to soldiers killed in the Napoleonic battle of Znojmo in 1809. The anthropological research was supplemented with palaeopathological analysis of skeletal symptoms of diseases. The skeletal remains showed traces of articular diseases, inflammatory diseases as well as traumata possibly resulting from war injuries. What was surprising was the higher than average amount of pathological skeletal change in individuals of such young age. This can be explained by the strain of military redeployment, starvation, psychic stress, harsh weather, and a lack of sleep and hygiene. The results of the study will provide a new source of information for military history, medical history and regional history, historical anthropology and archaeology. |
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