ENTHESEAL CHANGE OF THE UPPER LIMB IN A MYCENAEAN POPULATION FROM ATHENS

Entheseal changes are potentially useful tools through which the daily activity patterns of individuals within a population may be interpreted through the perspective of a biocultural framework. Studying these patterns in Mycenaean Athens may assist in comprehending intensity of daily behavior of males and females. The upper limb bones of thirty four individuals from the skeletal collection of the Athenian Agora were studied in order to ascertain sex- and age-based differences in entheseal change patterns. The methodological approach implemented in this study differs from most previous studies in its analysis, as entheseal change scores were aggregated in groups that correspond to muscle movements. The results indicate that there is little significant overall sexual dimorphism of musculoskeletal entheseal change for this population sample when entheseal change is observed in individual muscle attachment sites. However, when the results are aggregated into groups that correspond to upper limb movements, some differences in behavior between males and females emerge in the youngest available age category, which indicates a differentiation of roles without necessarily a significant difference in degree of rigor. This is consistent with existing knowledge of Mycenaean era Greek settlements. Further research into the utility and application of the aggregation utilized in this study is necessary.