The Accuracy of the Osteological Sexing of Cremated Human Remains: A Test Based on Grave Goods from East Lithuanian Barrows.

The accuracy of the sex determination of cremated human remains is one of the vital parameters for archaeologists and skeletal anthropologists dealing with cremations. Few studies have so far aimed at testing it. In the present paper, the accuracy of the sexing techniques was assessed by paralleling biological sex (identified morphologically) to gender (presumed on the basis of the grave goods which accompanied the deceased). A collection of cremated bones from East Lithuanian barrows (c. fourth/fifth--eleventh/twelfth centuries AD) was employed. The fragmentary nature and poor state of the bones generally represents cremains from similar archaeological contexts. The database inevitably underwent several stages of filtration. Out of 364 cremations with a minimum of 445 individuals, only 157 were sexed single adult burials, of which only 81 had "gender-related" grave goods. The relationship of artefact type to gender was defined statistically, revising the results in line with the chronological and typological differences and the probable symbolism of the grave goods. Sex and gender coincided in 56 cases (69.14%), but a considerable distance between the results for both sexes was observed. Biological females displayed a fairly high match level, i.e. 35 out of the 41 (85.37%) individuals osteologically identified as females had been given "feminine" items. The burials of biological males, on the other hand, yielded a surprisingly low match rate, i.e. only 21 out of 40 (52.50%). This disparity suggests a possible misinterpretation of grave goods as gender markers, rather than (only?) erroneous sexing. It is thus argued that for females, the mean value for the accuracy of sexing is 85.5%. In most cases, such precision is entirely satisfactory for the analysis of a poorly-preserved osteological material. For males, however, the accuracy is likely to fall somewhere in the range between 52.5 and 85.5%, with the applied methodology so far failing to contribute to higher precision.

Horses in Lithuania in the Late Roman-Medieval Period (3rd-14th C AD) Burial Sites: Updates on Size, Age and Dating.

The tradition of burying horses in Lithuania lasted from the Early Roman period until the late 14th C AD. It was the longest-lasting custom in Europe, which has left about 2000 known horse burials. This paper publishes the osteometric data and age of horses found in Lithuanian cemeteries and castles of the 3rd-14th C AD, over 200 individuals in total. These are the remains of all the horses still stored in Lithuanian institutions. The paper discusses the dynamics of horse body size in order to test previously suggested hypotheses regarding the relationship between large horse body size and its military use, possibly non-local breed, and high social status of the owner. Moreover, we are publishing the AMS 14C dates of 13 horses previously assigned to the Migration period. The research results corrected the existing chronology. The abundant data also allowed an assessment of the development of the size and age of the horses in Lithuania between the 3rd and 14th C AD. Osteometric analyses have shown that Late Roman-post-Migration-period horses were unusually large compared to the Viking and medieval horses in Lithuania. Meanwhile, we suggest that the semi-slender-legged 118-125-cm-tall horse, which predominated in the Viking period, is the most consistent with the local horse type. In general, the horses in Lithuania in the 3rd-11th C AD were small compared to those in Central and Western Europe or Scandinavia. More significant changes can be observed in the Middle Ages. In the 12-14th C AD, there was a much greater variety of horses and the expansion of taller (140-150 cm) individuals. However, the continued abundance of small horses in the medieval times, found buried with saddles and other equipment, allows one to renew the debate on the formation of the cavalry, the tactics of combat, and the social composition of horsemen in Lithuania.