Traumatic injuries and post-traumatic pathologies in skeletons from the Frontovoye 3 cemetery

One of the sources for reconstructing the lifestyle of ancient population is the analysis of frequency and character of lifetime injuries and post-traumatic complications. Paleoanthropological materials from the Frontovoye 3 cemetery provide an opportunity to assess the level of traumatism and aggression among the barbarian population of the southwestern Crimea in Roman and Late Antiquity. Also, they make it possible to judge the military clashes the barbarians participated in, as well as the level and methods of healing. The materials include 415 male, female and children's skeletons. It is only in male skeletons (seven individuals of 162) that the traumatic injuries, such as clavicle, shoulder blade, forearm and femur fractures, were revealed. All injuries show signs of healing. No individuals with perimortem injuries were revealed, as well as those with war wounds. However, the nature of the fractures suggests that they were obtained in situations of high physical activity associated with the risk of injury. Tracing the chronology of the occurrence of injuries is impossible; injured skeletons were found in burials of the early and late stages of the cemetery functioning. It is likely that the Frontovoye 3 cemetery was formed, in particular, by individuals of high social status, some of whom were involved in active hostilities to a lesser extent due to age-related changes and the consequences of previous injuries. To study the lifestyle of the barbarian population of the southwestern Crimea in the Roman period, it is important to emphasize the significantly lower level of injuries associated with military craft in these individuals compared to the Late Sarmatian groups. It should also be noted the similarity in the frequency of occurrence and the nature of injuries with a number of provincial Roman necropolises