Fictive Osteobiographical Narrative - The Missing Puzzle Pieces

This chapter describes the process of building a fictive osteobiographical narrative, which is a method to address subjects which are unavailable or invisible in the current accessible research data. This method utilises various analytical results garnered from bioarchaeology, or the study of human skeletal remains, and all relevant literary sources, in conjunction with cautious interpretations on specific subjects not directly observed in the available data. Such unobservable data are for example physical pain, embodied experiences, and societal perceptions towards the different bodied, and vice versa. All this is used to construct a holistic and personal account of a particular human being via an easily accessible medium, a short, evidence based, and yet fictive story. This chapter goes through the process of piecing together the available data - the puzzle pieces, from both archaeological and historical sources, about a mature man who lived 1000 years ago, who was likely born paralysed in the left side of his body. This chapter will demonstrate, by utilizing the fictive osteobiographical narrative method, how the available data can showcase the visible, highlight the unobservable, and give voice to those who are long gone.