Uncovering the Wedding of the Dead: Biomolecular investigations of Transylvanian children with s(Cu)rvy

The Jucu de Sus medieval settlement (1070 – 1154 calAD) in Transylvania is marked by numerous metal-smelting sites and a large biritual cemetery (cremations and inhumations). To date, excavations have recovered the skeletal remains of 39 individuals, of which, 44% are non-adults. Despite the high percentage of non-adults, age-at-death distributions lean towards a catastrophic mortality profile, potentially due to infectious disease, environmental pollution, food insecurity, or a combination of syndemic factors. Most grave goods are found in the non-adult burials (n=16) and are decorated with copper jewellery customarily associated with Slavic contexts spanning from Central Asia to Eastern Europe in the 11th – 13th centuries AD. Additionally, all non-adults with observable skeletal elements exhibit lesions consistent with scurvy. Currently, lesions associated with scurvy are attributed to dietary deficiencies, however, given the association of nearby smelting sites, the presence of copper jewellery within the graves, and the capacity for environmental pollution to incite metabolic disruptions like scurvy, it is worth investigating the potential impact of metallurgic traditions on community health. This research employs a novel syndemic approach to contextualise the decorated children’s graves and the potential origins of the Transylvanian tradition of the ‘Wedding of the Dead’ performed during children’s funerals. Trace element analyses using ICP-MS provide links to heavy metal exposure in tandem with the presentation of metabolic lesions, alongside carbon and nitrogen isotope analyses for dietary information, and amelogenin peptide analyses provide biological sex estimation to better understand these long-standing traditions.