Syracuse University SURFACE Dissertations - ALL SURFACE June 2020 Crossroads of Conversion: Intersections of Bodies, Materials, and Histories in Early Medieval Bohemia Lauren Hosek Syracuse University Follow this and additional works at: https://surface.syr.edu/etd Part of the Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons Recommended Citation Hosek, Lauren, "Crossroads of Conversion: Intersections of Bodies, Materials, and Histories in Early Medieval Bohemia" (2020). Dissertations - ALL. 1220. https://surface.syr.edu/etd/1220 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the SURFACE at SURFACE. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations - ALL by an authorized administrator of SURFACE. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Abstract This dissertation examines the skeletal remains and mortuary practices from two cemeteries at the early medieval site of Libice nad Cidlinou in the Czech Republic. The 9th and 10th centuries in Central Europe have been characterized by political consolidation and the rise of Christian institutions. As Christianity gained influence in the region, conversion altered not only religious beliefs: political landscapes, disease ideologies, material culture, and bodies were also transformed. The skeletal remains and mortuary contexts of 260 individuals from the Akropole and Kanín cemeteries at Libice are compared to examine how social status and engagement with Christianity influenced daily life and the formation of bodies. To do so, osteological data is integrated with archaeological and textual sources. Three thematic areas further inform on how bodies are entangled with large-scale historical processes: birth and infancy, violence and warfare, and disease experiences. As a microhistorical bioarchaeology, this project is relational and multiscalar with an emphasis on individual osteobiographies that inform how historical processes are experienced and enacted through individual lives. CROSSROADS OF CONVERSION: INTERSECTIONS OF BODIES, MATERIALS, AND HISTORIES IN EARLY MEDIEVAL BOHEMIA by Lauren Hosek B.A., Washington University in St. Louis, 2009 M.A., Syracuse University, 2014 Dissertation Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Anthropology. Syracuse University June 2020 Copyright © Lauren Hosek 2020 All Rights Reserved Acknowledgments It takes a village, and I have a village-full of people to thank at the end of this journey. First and foremost, my adviser, Dr. Shannon Novak. Thank you for taking a chance on an untrained student curious about what bones can tell us, thank you for mustering your contacts to find this project, thank you for pushing me to the far reaches of the theory-verse, thank you for reading an untold number of drafts, and thank you for reaching the finish line with me. Thank you to my unparalleled committee, Dr. Lars Rodseth, Dr. Douglas Armstrong, Dr. Albrecht Diem, and Dr. John Robb. Your comments, critiques, and encouragements have pushed this dissertation to new heights. But each of you have worked with me beyond your roles as committee members. Through field work, publishing, grant writing, and seminars, you have made me the scholar that I am today. Thank you. Many other people and institutions made this work possible. This project was primarily funded by a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship under Grant No. 2012142383. Other generous sources of funding include Syracuse University Department of Anthropology, Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, Moynihan Institute Center for European Studies, and Roscoe Martin Research Grant Program. Thank you to Dr. Joan Coltrain for the isotope analysis that will form the next stage of this project. Thank you to Dr. Matthieu van der Meer for early forays into medieval historiography. Special thank you to Dora Cash and Irenka Micková for translation assistance. And thank you to Dr. Wayles Browne for introducing me to the intricacies of the Czech language. Thank you to the faculty of the Department of Anthropology at Syracuse University for fostering my intellectual development and deepening my love of this field. Special gratitude is owed to the late Dr. Bill Kelleher, Dr. Cecilia VanHollen, Dr. Chris DeCorse, and Dr. Theresa iv Singleton for giving me a foundation in social and archaeological theory. Thank you to graduate school friends and colleagues who shared thoughts, beers, lab candy, cautionary tales, and triumphs, academic and otherwise: Cullen Black, Jessica Bowes, Mafe Boza Cuadros, Tony Chamoun, Melissa Darroch, Retika Desai, Meredith Ellis, Ross Freedenburg, Melinda Gurr, Katie Hicks, Rachel Horlings, Steven Johnson, Jocelyn Killmer, Aja Lans, Karen McNamera, Fran McCormick, Lalit Narayan, Paul Noe, Ayse Ozcan, Sarah Platt, Vanessa Reeves, Sean Reid, Matt Reilly, Alanna Warner-Smith, and Cristina Watson. This project would not be possible without the generosity and support of colleagues and friends in the Czech Republic. My deepest thanks to Dr. Petr Velemínský and the Department of Anthropology at the National Museum in Prague for access to research collections, logistical support, and guidance on this project. Thank you to Dr. Jan Mařík and the Archaeological Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences for access to excavation reports, photographs, and the research library. I am incredibly thankful for the mentorship and friendship offered by Jan and his wife, Petra Maříkova Vlčková, as well as Jan’s deep knowledge of the archaeological site at Libice. Thank you to Dr. Michael Dietz, Dr. John Staeck, Dr. Jiří Macháček, and all of the fantastic archaeologists who allowed me to join them for several field seasons at Pohansko, Břeclav. Thank you to Dr. Eva Drozdová for access to research collections at Masaryk University in Brno. And thank you to Pavel Kubálek and Eva and Luke Čečil (and Nessie!) for facilitating introductions and guiding me through my first visits to Prague. And finally, to my family and friends, a million thanks. If you are a non-academic reading this, then you almost certainly one of the people to whom I owe thanks for love, support, and encouragement through this journey. Thank you to my mother, Jane, who promised to always let me dig in the sandbox, and whose strength as a woman, a teacher, and a mother is a v model for my life. Thank you to my sister, Kristen, who shares my scientific curiosity and whose adventures to the far reaches of the globe inspire me and keep me guessing what time zone she is in. Thank you to my husband, Joe, who has been by my side since the beginning and whose love and partnership has sustained me through distance, change, and challenges. The greatest thanks I can offer you is a freezer always full of breakfast burritos. Finally, thank you to Nathan, my sweet tiny monster. You are the greatest thing I have ever been a part of and thank you for patiently letting me observe your developing deciduous dentition. vi To my father, Glenn, as I think about the past… …and to my son, Nathan, as I look to the future. vii Table of Contents Acknowledgments iv Chapter 1: Introductions 1.1 Introduction 1 1.2 Bioarchaeology as microhistory 7 1.3 Social bioarchaeology 11 1.4 The (extended) life course 13 1.5 Osteobiography as microhistory 17 1.6 Body-centered mortuary archaeology 19 1.7 Libice: A microhistorical bioarchaeology 23 Chapter 2: The distinguished metropolis: Histories converge at Libice 2.1 Introduction 28 2.2 Big histories: Early medieval Europe and the Czechs 31 2.3 From tribes to dukedoms: Transformations in 10th-century Bohemia 35 2.4 Spreading the word: Emergent Christianity 42 2.5 Libice nad Cidlinou 48 2.6 The “fall” of Libice and concluding thoughts 53 Chapter 3: A tale of two cemeteries: Materials and methods 3.1 Introduction 56 3.2 Bioarchaeological methods: A brief overview 57 3.3 Archaeological research at Libice 61 3.4 Akropole cemetery unearthed 67 3.5 Kanín cemetery unearthed 73 3.6 Conclusion 80 Chapter 4: Perform[ing] over the dead: Death and mortuary contexts 4.1 Introduction 81 4.2 Places for the dead: The cemetery landscapes 84 4.3 Amulets, eggs, and pots: The mortuary artifacts 90 4.4 Embodied differences: The unusual burials 97 4.5 Conclusions 110 Chapter 5: Men and women, great and small: Life at Libice 5.1 Introduction 112 5.2 Growing up at Libice 114 5.3 Being and becoming medieval adults 123 5.4 Toils and troubles: Labor and daily life 126 5.5 Our daily bread: Dentition and diet 134 5.6 Strange bodies, strange objects: Circulating people and things 139 5.7 Conclusions 144 viii Chapter 6: [She] hung from her breasts a tender child: Birth, infancy, and infant care 6.1 Introduction 145 6.2 Quickened life and the medieval infant 147 6.3 Beginning at the end: Infant mortuary contexts 150 6.4 Beyond birth: Infant health and relationships 160 6.5 Feeding time: Weaning and dental health 167 6.6 Conclusions 174 Chapter 7: The sword should not pierce his soul: Violence at Libice 7.1 Introduction 176 7.2 The bloodied cross: Warfare in medieval Bohemia 178 7.3 Where the warriors lie: Weapon burials at Libice 181 7.4 Embodying the warrior 186 7.5 Collateral damage: Other violent encounters 191 7.6 The maidens’ war: Gendered violence 196 7.7 Conclusions 204 Chapter 8: Afflicted and crippled: Disease and ‘othered’ bodies 8.1 Introduction 205 8.2 Medieval impairment and disease 217 8.3 Afflicted bodies: Physical impairments 213 8.4 A stigmatized body: Leprosy 222 8.5 Contagious air: Tuberculosis and respiratory infections 228 8.6 Conclusions 236 Chapter