Kapų Trakų Švč. Mergelės Marijos apsilankymo bažnyčios šventoriuje bioarcheologinė charakteristika

LT2008 m. buvo atliekami didelio masto kasinėjimai Trakų Švč. Mergelės Marijos Apsilankymo bažnyčioje ir jos šventoriuje (vadovas – O. Fediajevas). Šio straipsnio tikslas – pristatyti bažnyčios šventoriuje rastų palaidojimų bioarcheologinę charakteristiką: nustatyti individų skaičių, apibūdinti jų demografinę struktūrą, fizinius rodiklius (ūgis kaip apibendrinantis rodiklis) bei patologijas kaip gyvenimo sąlygų atspindį. Kasinėjimų metu aptikta keliolika XV a., keliasdešimt XVI–XVII a. ir apie 200 vėlesnių, datuotinų XVIII–XIX a. I puse, kapų. Kadangi archeologinės medžiagos analizė straipsnio rašymo metu buvo dar nebaigta, pateikiama apibendrinta palaidojimų charakteristika, neskirstant jų į chronologines grupes [p. 544].

ENTrakai is one of the oldest towns in Lithuania. Its development was connected to Lithuania’s statehood and its most prominent rulers. The town experienced periods of both growth and decline that also affected the people. One of the ways to learn about this is through archaeological research where human remains are examined using bioarchaeological methods. By employing the two branches of science together, one can reconstruct past communities. The object of this study is burials from the churchyard of the Trakai church of the Visitation of the Virgin Mary. The burials excavated in 2008 date to the 15th–18th centuries. The population, its composition, and the standards of living in Trakai experienced significant changes over this long period. The goal of this study is to provide the bioarchaelogical characteristics of the Trakai population. By applying and combining various methods, the number of individuals, the demographical structure, the adult stature, and the traumas and other pathologies were determined. All of these data are considered to be indicators of the standard of living.In all, skeletons from 372 registered graves were analysed; however, by taking into consideration the material from disturbed graves, the total minimal number of interred individuals is estimated at 865. The overall average life expectancy was 29.56 years, for 20-year-old males, an additional 20.58 years, and for 20-year-old females, an additional 17.52 years. Average male stature was 168.8 cm, female – 158.0 cm. The pathological analysis revealed that Trakai was a rather typical 16th–18th-century town characterized by a population with relatively good nutrition (a low incidence of cribra orbitalia, few cases of rickets, and the presence of DISH), a high incidence of non-violent traumas and degenerative joint disease, a high frequency of periosteal lesions, a high incidence of skeletal TB, and some cases of treponemal lesions.