[Andalusi Studies] soldier retiring in later medieval Spain

[Dagmar Riedel]

Dear colleagues,

courtesy of Monica Green, the founder of the MedMed list.
The article may be of interest to some.

Sincerely,
Dagmar Riedel

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Monica Green <Monica.Green at asu.edu>
Date: Thu, Dec 1, 2016 at 11:17 AM
Subject: soldier retiring in later medieval Spain
To: MEDMED-L at asu.edu


Dear MEDMED-L Colleagues,

Here’s a very interesting bioarchaeological study suggesting the presence
of soldiers who retired to a monastery in the region of Castilla y Leon in
the 13th/14th centuries.

The PDF (open-access) can be found at this link: https://www.jstage.jst.g
o.jp/article/ase/advpub/0/advpub_161005/_pdf.

Monica Green

—


Gonzalo Huelga-Suarez, *et al.*, "The quest for the soldier’s rest:
combining anthropological and archaeochemical approaches to study social
and occupational diversity in the medieval graveyard of San Andrés de
Arroyo (Palencia, Spain),” *Anthropological Science, pre-print*
Received 2 March 2016; accepted 5 October 2016
*Abstract *
The monastery of San Andrés de Arroyo (established in 1181) is one the best
examples of Cistercian architecture in the Spanish region of Castilla y
León. In this study, strontium isotope ratios were used to study the
population of the recently excavated graveyard of this monastery.
Twenty-nine individuals (of which 13 had preserved teeth) found in burials
from the 13th and 14th centuries were subjected to analysis. Enamel 87Sr/86
Sr ratio values obtained by using a multicollector ICP-MS instrument were
used to distinguish between local and non-local individuals. Additionally,
an anthropological study based on entheseal changes and other
paleopathological conditions was carried out in all the exhumed
individuals. This combined data allowed us to define the chemical and
osteological diversity of a
medieval Spanish monastery and its surrounding village. Among the usual
profiles for a rural society, two individuals, both showing strong
indications of being foreign to the area, were found to exhibit evidence of
physical activities compatible with military training and activity. The
present study can be considered as the first experimental indication that
during the 13th and 14th centuries Spanish monasteries served as a last
refuge for soldiers, which is compatible with historical records and
previous indirect evidence.
*Key words:* Strontium isotope analysis, Entheseal changes, Bone, Teeth,
MC-ICP-M
----------------------------

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