Death in utero. A palæoanthropological and palæomedical approach

Abstract

The grave from Fîrlădeni-La Văleanu (Căușeni District, Republic of Moldova), which is part of a still unexplored medieval necropolis, was discovered in 2015 and dated, according to the funeral ritual, in the 17th-18th centuries CE. The skeleton belongs to a female, with a biological age at death of approx. 17-18 years. Biomorphometric characteristics indicate Europoid and Mongoloid phenotypic features. The analysis of the dentition revealed several dental anomalies, and among the indicators of physiological stress, the linear enamel hypoplasia. Cribra cranii, cribra orbitalia, and periosteal changes/reactions on some limb bones diaphyses have been identified. Regarding the occupational indicators, we mention the septal aperture on the humeri and the squatting facets on the tibiae. On the coxae is well marked the preauricular sulcus, which is type 3 to 4. The detail that makes this discovery special is the presence of skeletal remains from another unborn individual, a foetus with an intrauterine age between 5-7 months. No pathologies or abnormalities visible to the naked eye were identified on the skeletal elements of this unborn child. For the Prut-Dniester area, the discovery from Fîrlădeni-La Văleanu is the first case of a pregnant woman discovered in an archaeological context and anthropologically documented.