Short communication, Note
https://doi.org/10.54062/jb.1.1.6
A case of bipartite patella and vastus notch from Kneževići hillfort – Malo Libinje, Croatia
Barbara Kriletić
; No institutional affiliation, Zagreb, Croatia
Morana Vuković
orcid.org/0000-0001-9029-9082
; Archaeological Museum Zadar, Croatia
Mario Carić
orcid.org/0000-0003-4263-6528
; Centre for Applied Bioanthropology, Institute for Anthropological Research, Zagreb, Croatia
Abstract
Here we present six adult patellae with superolateral concave defects observed amongst the remains of at least 28 individuals retrieved from four Late Iron Age burials from Kneževići hillfort – Malo Libinje, Croatia. The right patella of an adult individual displays a rough-edged concave defect on superolateral side of the bone called bipartite patella. Other five patellae show concave defects with smooth edges also located on superolateral side; a defect known as vastus notch. Though physically similar, the two conditions are etiologically distinct. A large amount of observed cases of vastus notch in this assemblage may indicate that these individuals frequently performed activities involving kneeling and/or squatting. This is the first documented case of joint occurrence of bipartite patella and vastus notch in a Croatian skeletal assemblage, but also the largest amount of patellae with vastus notch in an archaeological population from Croatia recorded so far.
Keywords
Concave defects; bipartite patella; vastus notch; skeletal remains; Late Iron Age; bioarchaeology
Hrčak ID:
270496
URI
Publication date:
20.12.2021.
Visits: 1.085 *