Biologie et pratiques funéraires des populations d'époque historique: une démarche méthodologique appliquée à la nécropole gallo-romaine de Chantambre (Essonne, France)

摘要

The Gallo-Roman rural necropolis of Chantambre (Essonne) is a funeral site used continuously from the end of the first century to the beginning of the fifth century A.C. Its exhaustive excavation has uncovered almost 500 funeral structures. Rites of the cremation and the inhumation coexist during the initial utilization phase, the inhumation becoming the exclusive rite thereafter. The aim of this work is to define some aspects of the burial practices and the biology of this population from a global analysis including archaeological data and the study of skeletal remains. This work also involves a methodological consideration on the sexual diagnosis and the analysis of the age distribution. The age and sex structure of the archaeological sample is comparable to that a "natural" population and may correspond to the totality of a living population estimated between 50 and 80 people. It has been demonstrated that burial practices are linked to age, differentiating three age groups (new-borns, children and adults-adolescents). Some burial practices evolve progressively over the course of time. Metric, morphological and paleopathological analyses have brought, besides descriptive indications, elements in favor of a strong homogeneity of the population throughout the utilization of the funeral site. These results contribute appreciably to the knowledge of the functioning and the organization of funeral sites in Gallo-Roman countryside and contribute to discussion of historical order on Lower and Late Empire rural populations.