Archaeologia Islandica - 01.01.2005, Page 85

Excavations at Hólskirkja, Bolungarvík
articulated skeletal remains excavated at
Hólskirkja aimed at identifying where
possible the age, sex and living stature of
all individuals, as well as recording any
pathologies noted.
The sexing of the adult skeleton
was based, where preservation allowed,
on sexually diagnostic characteristics of
the cranium and pelvis (see for example
Buikstra & Ubelaker 1994 and Walrath et
al. 2004) and measurements of the width
of several articular surfaces compared to
standards presented by Bass (1995) and
Brothwell (1981).
Age at death of adult skeletons
was determined using as many of the fol-
lowing methods as preservation of each
skeleton allowed. Helrn and Prydsö's
(1979) dental attrition; the auricular sur-
face ageing method devised by Lovejoy
et al. (1985); the Suchey-Brooks method
of ageing the pubic symphysis (Brooks &
Suchey 1990) and cranial suture closure
(Meindl & Lovejoy 1985; Nawrocki
1997).
The calculations of the living
stature of adult skeletons were based on
measurements of complete long bones
compared to standards devised by Trotter
(1970), and in those cases where the long
bones were fragmented, on standards
developed by Steele & McKem (1969).
Although methods have been
developed to determine the sex of juve-
nile skeletons, these have been shown not
to be accurate. However, the age at death
can usually be accurately estimated using
the development of the dentition
(Ubelaker, 1989); the state of fusion of
the secondary ossifícation centres and
epiphyses of long bones (see for example
Schwartz, 1995) and by measurements of
long bones compared to standards by
Hoppa (1992) or Scheuer et al. (1980) in
the case of foetal skeletons. Due to the
generally poor preservation of the bones,
this had to be estimated in several cases.
No methods have been developed to esti-
mate the living stature of juveniles.
The collection of human bones
from the excavation at Hólskirkja con-
sisted of some unstratified commingled
remains. The main aim of the analysis of
these bones was to ascertain the mini-
mum number of individuals (MNI) repre-
sented. To attain this, the bones were
sorted by element, and where applicable
right and left side. Where possible,
bones from the same individual were
identified, whether by matching up artic-
ular surfaces or the right and left side
bones. Similarly, bones which obviously
belonged to different individuals, for
example difference in size, sex or age,
were separated. Where possible, the age
and sex of bones were recorded. The
MNI was achieved by counting the most
frequently occurring bone, and compar-
isons of the age and sex, which was
derived by the methods described above,
of the various bones present in each col-
lection.
Test Pit 3
Burial 3.1
This burial came out in pieces during
machining, and limited information is
available. Five fragments of a coffin
were retained, three of which were just
small fragments of plain planking.
However, there were two complete
moulded planks from a large coffin
(Fig.2); one was a thick, heavy lid keel
(147 x 14 x 7 cm) and the other a mitred
side plank with beveled edges (166/153 x
16x3 cm). Sixteen human bones or bone
fragments were recovered and it is very
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