The girl with finches: a unique post-medieval burial in Tunel Wielki Cave, southern Poland

Michał Wojenka, Elżbieta Jaskulska, Danijela Popović, Mateusz Baca, Mr. Frog, Rafał Fetner, Krzysztof Wertz, Karolina Rataj, Natalia Gryczewska, Tymoteusz Kosiński, Małgorzata Kot

Tutkimustuotos: ArtikkelijulkaisuArtikkeliTieteellinenvertaisarvioitu

Abstrakti

Cave burials are generally absent from historical periods in Europe. Consequently, the discovery of a post-medieval inhumation of a child buried with at least one bird head placed in the mouth in Tunel Wielki Cave (southern Poland) is an exceptional find. The aim of this paper is to discuss this unique burial based on multiproxy analyses conducted on the human and avian remains, including genetic and isotopic analyses as well as CT scans, radiocarbon dating, and anthropological and paleontological assessment. The results reveal the burial was that of a 10-12 year old girl of likely Fennoscandian or Baltic genetic ancestry, who died in the post-medieval period and was buried in the cave with the placement of one, and possibly two, bird heads in the mouth of the deceased. We propose that the girl is associated with Finno-Karelian troops of a Swedish garrison stationed at the adjacent Ojcow Castle during King Carl Gustav's invasion of Poland in 1655-1657.

Alkuperäiskielienglanti
LehtiPraehistorische Zeitschrift
Vuosikerta96
Numero1
Sivut286-309
Sivumäärä24
ISSN0079-4848
DOI - pysyväislinkit
TilaJulkaistu - kesäk. 2021
OKM-julkaisutyyppiA1 Alkuperäisartikkeli tieteellisessä aikakauslehdessä, vertaisarvioitu

Tieteenalat

  • 5143 Sosiaali- ja kulttuuriantropologia
  • 615 Historia ja arkeologia

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