Analiza antropologică, arheozoologică și datarea radiocarbon a unor materiale osteologice din sud-vestul Transilvaniei

The present study presents the investigations of some osteological assemblages from the deposits of the Museum of Dacian and Roman Civilisation, Deva, and the National Museum of Transylvanian History. Chronologically, the materials belong to contexts from the final stage of the Early Iron Age (EIA) and, possibly, to the period of the early La Tène communities. Therefore, the approach focused on the osteological materials found at Bacea – Sărături (Fig. 10-11), Hărău (Fig. 1, 12-13), Simeria (Fig. 2-4, 14) and Șoimuș (Fig. 5-9). Taking into consideration the diversity of the osteological materials, both human and animal, anthropological and archaeozoological investigations have been undertaken, while in some cases even radiocarbon dating has been performed. The analysed lot comprised samples found in late EIA sites (Hărău, Simeria, Șoimuș) at the beginning of the 20th century or in the interwar period and, compared to the moment of discovery or registration in the museums’ collections, it was observed that they are only partially preserved. Thus, only a part of the materials belonging to the inventory of burials/necropolises from the end of the 7th-beginning/middle of the 5th centuries BC were identified in the Deva and Cluj-Napoca museums. Anthropological analyses have shown that the “food remains” from the vessel found more than 8 decades ago at Șoimuș represent in fact the cremated bones of a 5 years old child (Fig. 8-9). Another incinerated individual was buried at Hărău, the anthropological analysis revealing that the cremated remains belonged to an adult of indeterminable sex (Fig. 1). According to the museum registers, some rather diversified faunistic materials, without burning traces, seem to come from the same archaeological context (Fig. 12-13). They are represented by a ovicaprid shin (Ovis aries/Capra hircus), a ovicaprid hip, a pig maxillary (Sus domesticus) and a beaver jugal, but also by two large mammal (cow/horse/deer) fragments, highly fragmentary, respectively a diaphysis and a part of the vertebral body. A single human osteological material, discovered in 1901 in the Scythian age necropolis from Simeria, was identified in the deposit of the National Museum of Transylvanian History from Cluj-Napoca. The skullcap was associated with some of the grave goods and it belonged to 10-12 years old person, probably a woman (Fig. 2-4). In addition, the anthropological investigation revealed traces of hyperostosa porotica on the right parietal, clo