Memory written on bones: From 'funus' rites to the osteobiography of Valentia

Authors

  • Elisa García-Prósper Grupo Paleolab®
  • Manuel Polo-Cerdá Grupo Paleolab®

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.7203/metode.10.13595

Keywords:

funerary archaeology, palaeopathology, paleo diet, isotopes, Valentia

Abstract

The Roman necropolis in Carrer Quart in Valencia (Spain) is the city’s oldest known cemetery, dating from between the second century BC and third century AD. Based on its archaeological and bioanthropological analysis, we examine various hitherto unknown issues from an interdisciplinary perspective. By using isotopic archaeochemistry, various aspects, such as those concerning funerary practices, social stratification, paleodemography, quality of life, and the impact of disease, food, and the subsistence economy, as well as population mobility, have enriched our knowledge of the landscape of the old town. Science and memory converge in Valentia through the culture and traditions documented in the funerary ritual (funus valentiae).

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Author Biographies

Elisa García-Prósper, Grupo Paleolab®

PhD in archaeology from the University of Valencia, university expert in forensic anthropology from the Complutense University of Madrid and researcher for Grupo Paleolab®, a multidisciplinary team dedicated to the bioanthropological study of archaeological human remains, to the forensic anthropology of human rights, and to scientific dissemination (Spain).

Manuel Polo-Cerdá, Grupo Paleolab®

PhD in Medicine from the University of Alacant, university expert in Forensic Anthropology from the Complutense University of Madrid, associate researcher for Grupo Paleolab®, forensic medical doctor and anthropologist attached to the Anthropology and Forensic Dentistry Unit of the Institute of Legal Medicine and Forensic Sciences of Valencia. Tenure-track 2 Lecturer of Criminology at the Catholic University of Valencia in the Criminology Degree (Spain).

References

García-Prósper, E. (2016). Los ritos funerarios de la necrópolis romana de la calle Quart de Valencia (siglos II a. C-III d. C). Valencia: Universitat de València, Departament de Prehistòria i Arqueologia. 

García-Prósper, E., & Polo-Cerdá, M. (2016). Los primeros pobladores de Valentia. Un proyecto transversal de ritual funerario y bioantropología. Arqueología Somos Todos, 5, 18–20.

García-Prósper, E., Polo-Cerdá, M., & Guérin, P. (2003). Rituales funerarios ibéricos en la necrópolis fundacional de Valentia. Anales de Arqueología Cordobesa, 13-14, 279–310.

García-Prósper, E., Polo-Cerdá, M., Romero, A., & Iborra, P. (2010). Rituales alimentarios y economía de subsistencia en las tumbas de cámara de la necrópolis romana de la calle Quart de Valentia (ss. II a. C - III d. C). Saguntum extra, 9, 233–242. 

Macdonell, W. R. (1913). On the expectation of life in Ancient Rome, and in the provinces of Hispania and Lusitania, and Africa. Biometrika, 9(3-4), 366–380. doi: 10.2307/2331898 

Pena, M. J. (2002). Problemas históricos en torno a la fundación de Valentia. In J. L. Jiménez, & A. Ribera (Coords.), Valencia y las primeras ciudades romanas de Hispania (pp. 267–278). Valencia: Ayuntamiento de Valencia. 

Polo-Cerdá, M. (2017). Paleobiología humana de la fundación romana de Valencia. Alicante: Biblioteca Virtual Miguel de Cervantes. 

Polo-Cerdá, M., & García-Prósper, E. (2002). Ritual, violencia y enfermedad. Los enterramientos en decúbito prono de la necrópolis fundacional de Valentia. Saguntum (Papeles del Laboratorio de Arqueología de Valencia), 34, 137–148. doi: 10.7203/SAGVNTVM..1902 

Polo-Cerdá, M., García-Prósper, E., Guérin, P., & Villalaín, J. D. (2004). La fundación de Valentia y sus primeros pobladores. Primeras evidencias osteoarqueológicas de tuberculosis en Hispania. Zona Arqueológica (Miscelánea en homenaje a Emiliano Aguirre), 4(3), 292–305. 

Ribera, A. (1998). La fundació de València. La ciutat a l’època romanorepublicana (segles II-I A. de C.). Valencia: Edicions Alfons el Magnànim. 

Ribera, A. (2009). La fundación de Valentia: Un apéndice de Italia y Campania en la Hispania del siglo II a. C. Oebalus. Studi sulla Campania nell’Antichità, 4, 41–77. 

Ribera, A., & Jiménez, J. L. (2014). La imagen urbana de Valentia. In M. Olcina (Ed.), Ciudades romanas valencianas (pp. 143–165). Alicante: MARQ. 

Thillaud, P. L., & Charon P. (1994). Lésions ostéo-archéologiques. Recueil et identification. Sceaux: Kronos B. Y. éditions.

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Published

2020-01-08

How to Cite

García-Prósper, E., & Polo-Cerdá, M. (2020). Memory written on bones: From ’funus’ rites to the osteobiography of Valentia. Metode Science Studies Journal, (10), 77–89. https://doi.org/10.7203/metode.10.13595
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Issue

Shades of science (2020)

Section

The memory of bones. Science at the service of history

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