Demography and disease in the early medieval site of Privlaka

aArchaeological analysis of the Avaro-Slav cemetery located in Privlaka tentatively suggests high mortality rates and dietary deficiencies. Osteological evidence from a sample of 181 individuals supports this hypothesis. Paleodemographic analysis indicates high sbadult mortality and peak adult mortality rates between the ages of 20 to 35 years. Paleodemographic analysis also indicates significant gender differences in age-specific mortality levels and in mean ages at death. Females lived shorter and exibited peak levels of mortality earlier than males. High frequencies of cribra orbitalia, linear enamel hypoplasia and ectocranial porosity without vault thickening in the analysed sample indicate frequend episodes of anemia and chronic malnutrition. Gender differences in the frequencies of these indicator of nutritional stress further suggest that differential access to limited food resources was the primary factor responsible for differential male/female mortality profiles. Differential frequencies of skeletal indicators of physical stress indicate that males, though buffered from the effects of malnutrition, were exposed to higer levels of excessive physical stress