Anthropological analysis of the Late Roman/Early Medieval cemetery of Novigrad (Istria).

The paper presents results of analysis of human skeletal remains recovered from Late Roman/Early Medieval cemetery of Novigrad (Istria). The "terminus post quem" for the site was established archaeologically as 5th or 6th century A.D. The aim of this work was detailed bioarchaeological analysis of each individual. It included determination of sex, age at the time of death, reconstruction of body height, and detailed description of pathological changes on bones and joint surfaces acquired during lifetime. The analysis provides limited information on demography, health and disease of the ancient inhabitants of Novigrad due to the limited sample size. Results show unusually high proportion of subadults, a life span range of women slightly lower compared to other contemporary populations, a high level of metabolic stress in childhood and a high level of skeletal indicators of physical stress suggesting that several of the analyzed individuals were exposed to heavy physical labor during their adulthood.