Author(s)

Anahit Yu. Khudaverdyan

Institute of Archaeology and Еthnography National Academy of Science, Yerevan, Republic of Armenia Yerevan.

This study introduces some diseases which occur among the population of Armenia in the Iron Age. Health issues in the individuals from Shirakavan provoked not by nutritional problems, but problems of infectious nature. The skeletal traumas of the inhabitants of the Shirak plateau are connected only with military conflicts. The results of this study are those that suggest strenuous labor for at least some individuals, based on the presence of osteophytosis, osteoarthritis, enthesopathies, and Schmorl’s nodes. Grooves on the occlusal surfaces of teeth are observed in individuals and were most likely produced during the processing of fibers from plants and animals, for making items such as cordage and baskets.

Armenia; Iron Ages; Stress Markers; Trauma; Trepanation; Scalp; Degenerative Disease

Khudaverdyan, A. (2012). Bioarchaeological Analysis of Human Skeletal Remains of Iron Age from the Shirakavan Cemetery, Shirak Plateau, Armenia. Advances in Anthropology, 2, 224-233. doi: 10.4236/aa.2012.24025.