Abstract

Analysis of the remains from a Byzantine monastic complex (AD 460-614) in Jerusalem has yielded over 15,000 skeletal elements.  Among the remains are over 2,598 adult teeth.  The purpose of this research was to compare the non-metric dental variation of the children and adults from St. Stephen’s monastery to determine the degree of relatedness of the two groups.

Teeth were scored using the ASU system (Turner et al, 1991), and only dental variants with a ‘scorability index’ over 85 were included (Nichol and Turner, 1986). By comparing the distribution of discrete dental characteristics in subadults with mixed dentition to those of their adult counterparts, this study began to address whether these remains derive from the same core population.  Between group variation was assessed using modified Fisher’s exact probability (after Greene, 1967, 1972, 1984).  There was a significant difference between adults and subadults in all tooth groups, although within group comparisons showed little variation among the subadults.

Approximately one-quarter of the remains from St. Stephen’s monastery represent subadults.   There is a very rich historical record for the Byzantine occupation of this site, however, no mention of a large concentration of children has been found to date. Some have suggested that: a) these are children from the surrounding community interred at the monastery due to it’s location near the bones of a saint, b) the monastery served as an orphanage or hospital, or c) they represent young monastics in training (oblates) brought to the monastery on pilgrimage. The within group consistency of the subadult dental traits supports the idea that the remains were derived from a homogeneous, probably local, population.  Subsequent analysis of childhood morbidity/mortality indicators should help distinguish between the aforementioned options.

For the adults, the historical texts indicate St. Stephen’s was a significant site of pilgrimage, drawing members from as far away as Syria, Russia, Spain, Italy, Constantinople, Egypt, and Mongolia. The degree of adult heterogeneity indicates derivation from a variety of locales, consistent with the historical record.
 

* This research was supported by the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Albright Institute for Archaeological Research, and the University of Notre Dame's Institute for Scholarship in the Liberal Arts.

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