| Abstract [eng] |
The social roles and status of children as well as the views of childhood have been very diverse in past societies. They depend on the society’s mentality, its cultural and economic basis, demographic situation. For the archaeologist, children are of great importance not only as specific social strata, but also as an indicator of social organization. The knowledge of children in the past, though, is still scarce despite of the large volume of investigations. This paper reviews the position of children in the Iron Age Lithuanian tribe. The research is based on mortuary data. The study is built on the results of an osteological analysis of 393 burials (64 inhumations and 329 cremations) from 65 barrow cemeteries. The remains of at least 482 individuals were identified in the burials. The age at death of 475 individuals was determined more or less accurately. The individual remains were divided into 6 age groups, the first four of which fall into the subadult category. The presumable number of individuals was statistically evaluated for each group. The number of newborns and infants under 1 year buried in barrows is surprisingly low (1.9%). The death rate of infants in pre-industrial societies was no less than 20-25%. A small number of infant graves most probably indicates their low status. They could have been buried differently than adults, in different locations, in separate cemeteries or parts of them, or not buried at all. The emotional bonds with infants were probably not as strong as in the modern world. They did not provide the family any economic benefit but were more of a burden until a certain age. In the graves from the early period (4-6th c.) the infants were buried together with adults, mostly women. It is likely that newborns were buried only in the instances of simultaneous death with the mother after childbirth. The graves were fairly richly equipped and contained artefacts manufactured from rare materials (silver, glass, amber). This should reflect the higher status. The cremation infant burials of the 8-ll/12th c. were dug into previously created barrows. Only a few grave goods or their remains were found in them. No reasonable answer can be given to the question why in precisely these instances the infants were buried in barrows. A far greater number of children were buried in barrows (the presumable numbers are 8.2% for the 1-5 age group and 12.0% for the 5-12 age group). Similar child mortality has also occurred in other past populations. Children with better immunity used to survive the infancy. At this age they probably received better care. Certain dangers characteristic to infancy (specific illnesses, infanticide) no longer threatened them. From the second or third year of life children were apparently all buried in community cemeteries. This signifies the recognition of the child as a member of the society. The funeral rites of children differ from those of adults and were less time and labour consuming, though. 50.5% of the children were interred in collective graves with older individuals. Perhaps the remains of children were not always immediately buried after cremation. Collective burial was mostly practiced in the 5-7th c. During the 3-7th c. a new barrow was created in burying a child in the majority of the cases while during the 8-ll/12th c. most of the children's graves were dug into earlier mounds. Out of 46 graves of children alone the determination of the gender by the grave goods was possible in 29 cases. The burials of 7 male and 22 female children were identified. The biggest inadequacy appears in the 8-ll/12th c. cemeteries. It can be argued that in burying a boy usually no effort was made to stress his male gender. Fairly abundant and diverse grave goods were placed into children's graves. Some of them were of a rare form, imported, manufactured of gold and silver. The richest children's burials belong to the 2nd quarter - middle of the 1st millennium... |
