ENTHESEAL CHANGE OF THE UPPER LIMB IN A MYCENAEAN POPULATION FROM ATHENS

Abstract

Entheseal changes are potentially useful tools through which the daily activity patterns
of individuals within a population may be interpreted through the perspective of a bi-
ocultural framework. Studying these patterns in Mycenaean Athens may assist in com-
prehending intensity of daily behavior of males and females. The upper limb bones of
thirty four individuals from the skeletal collection of the Athenian Agora were studied in
order to ascertain sex- and age-based differences in entheseal change patterns. The meth-
odological approach implemented in this study differs from most previous studies in its
analysis, as entheseal change scores were aggregated in groups that correspond to muscle
movements. The results indicate that there is little significant overall sexual dimorphism
of musculoskeletal entheseal change for this population sample when entheseal change is
observed in individual muscle attachment sites. However, when the results are aggregat-
ed into groups that correspond to upper limb movements, some differences in behavior
between males and females emerge in the youngest available age category, which indi-
cates a differentiation of roles without necessarily a significant difference in degree of ri-
gor. This is consistent with existing knowledge of Mycenaean era Greek settlements. Fur-
ther research into the utility and application of the aggregation utilized in this study is
necessary.