Title
Shattered lives and broken childhoods: Evidence of physical child abuse in ancient Egypt
Abbreviated Journal Title
Int. J. Paleopathol.
Keywords
Dakhleh Oasis; Skeletal trauma; Paleohistology; Radiography; Stable; carbon and nitrogen isotopic analyses; LOCALIZED ENAMEL HYPOPLASIA; ANOREXIA-NERVOSA; DECIDUOUS CANINE; RIB; FRACTURES; INFANTS; BONE; PERSPECTIVE; INFECTION; NITROGEN; DISEASE; Paleontology; Pathology
Abstract
Much can be learned about cultural attitudes of violence towards children from the analyses of their skeletal remains and mortuary patterns of the communities in which they lived and died. A bioarchaeological approach integrating biological, socio-cultural, and physical environments is used in analyzing the remains of a 2-3-year-old child from Kellis 2, a Romano-Christian period cemetery in the Dakhleh Oasis, Egypt. The skeletal remains of this individual show an unusual pattern of trauma and healing events, possibly indicating multiple episodes of non-accidental trauma. Macroscopic, radiographic, and histologic analyses show the extent of the skeletal trauma and healing, while stable carbon and nitrogen analyses of bone and hair reveal metabolic disturbances and changes in diet correlated with these traumatic events. Results from the differential diagnosis demonstrate that this individual exhibits skeletal fracture and healing patterns consistent with repeated non-accidental trauma, which may or may not have resulted in death. In addition, this individual may also represent the earliest documented case of violence against children from an archaeological context. (C) 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Journal Title
International Journal of Paleopathology
Volume
3
Issue/Number
2
Publication Date
1-1-2013
Document Type
Article
Language
English
First Page
71
Last Page
82
WOS Identifier
ISSN
1879-9817
Recommended Citation
"Shattered lives and broken childhoods: Evidence of physical child abuse in ancient Egypt" (2013). Faculty Bibliography 2010s. 2585.
https://stars.library.ucf.edu/facultybib2010/2585
Comments
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