Abstract:

Ağlayan Ağaç is a chapel located at Bartın-Amasra, dated to the Late Eastern Roman Era. The skeletons unearthed from the Amasra Ağlayan Ağaç Excavation were examined paleopathologically. The health structure of the society was tried to be determined by comparing the obtained data with other Anatolian societies from the same era. The incidence ratio of cribra orbitalia in the Ağlayan Ağaç society is higher in individuals under adult age than the other Anatolian societies. Porotic hyperostosis rates are similar to their contemporaries. The causes of lesions are thought to be malaria or iron deficiency anemia. Infant-child mortality rate indicates rapidly progressing infectious diseases. 88.89% of the infant buried here are newborns. This area is a sacred place and this high ratio could be the result of the belief that unbaptized individuals might be forgiven since they are buried in a sacred area (according to Christian belief). Among the intense daily activities of adults in the community, traces of heavy lifting and carrying activities that require high effort based on arm and leg strength have been observed. It is possible to say that the Ağlayan Ağaç community was in a bad situation especially for children in terms of nutrition. However the low ratio of infectious diseases (excluding malaria) indicates a higher hygenic conditions in comparation to other contemporary Anatolian populations.

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