TRAUMA TO THE SKULL: AN ANALYSIS OF INJURIES IN ANCIENT SKELETONS FROM NORTH WEST LOMBARDY ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITES

Abstract

Traumatic lesions are among the most important sources of data providing information associated to interpersonal violence within ancient populations. The investigation on weapon‑related traumas on human remains allows us to reconstruct the dynamic of the violent episodes. The purposes of this study are to describe the types of skull traumas discovered in several skeletons from medieval necropolis of the North West Lombardy (8th-16th) and to examine their presence and distribution. The injuries observed in our osteoarchaeological collection were in the form of depressed and penetrated traumas. The injuries were revealed on the middle aged and older men, but also on women and subadult. Fractures of skulls were analysed with macroscopical and radiological observations. In particular, CT investigations were essential to understand the extent of the injury and to hypothesis the cause.