The necropolis of Maro (Málaga, Spain): an anthropological study

Abstract

The southern Iberian Peninsula was under Islamic rule for more than 500 years. Several anthropological studies offer information on the medieval inhabitants of the Iberian Peninsula; however, most research focuses on urban necropolises, and rural necropolises are unexplored, resulting in an incomplete picture of medieval Iberia. This study fills this gap via anthropological analysis of the individuals inhabiting the village of Maro in the tenth and eleventh centuries, and documenting a large medieval rural necropolis. It aims to determine the demographic, morphological, and pathological characteristics of this population through macroscopic (morphological and metric) analyses to estimate age, sex, and stature, and to calculate different cranial and postcranial indices. Macroscopic evaluation and radiological analysis were used to determine the presence or absence of pathological conditions and developmental variants. The research involved 365 individuals: 177 (48.5%) non-adults, 171 (46.8%) adults, and 17 (4.7%) of undetermined age; 144 (39.5%) were males, 185 (50.7%) females, and 36 (9.9%) of undetermined sex. Both sexes and all age groups were thus represented, with a strong presence of non-adult individuals. The comparison with other Islamic populations of the southern Iberian Peninsula shows similarities relating to age, in the individuals who reached maturity, sex, and sexual dimorphism. Degenerative diseases were common pathological finds.