Violence and sharp force trauma in Nusaybin/Girnavaz Mound/Türkiye Late Roman–Early Islamic human remains

Abstract

Girnavaz Mound (Höyük), located in modern Türkiye, was studied between 1982 and 1991. The mound, inhabited from the Late Uruk Period to the Neo-Assyrian Period, was later abandoned and repurposed as a cemetery during the Late Roman–Early Islamic Period. Anthropological studies on skeletons from this cemetery analyzed 148 individuals from this period, revealing notable trauma in five individuals. This study examines the skeletal remains of four individuals with perimortem sharp force trauma and one individual with an in situ arrowhead injury. Macroscopic and CT analyses indicated that both perimortem and antemortem trauma were intentional. The skull and body bones of four individuals displayed incision trauma likely inflicted by sword-like cutting weapons, suggesting murder and decapitation, possibly as a form of execution. One individual had an arrowhead lodged in the tibia, indicating the person lived for some time with the injury and was buried with the arrowhead. This study aims to infer the period's political conflicts and cultural structures based on the trauma evidence. The findings suggest that the observed trauma may be linked to massacres and murders resulting from regional conflicts. This study offers exemplary insights into the mechanics and analysis of sharp force and perimortem trauma. Additionally, it sheds light on the social and historical context of the period.