XVIII. Virtual Poster Session

In this poster we discuss biometric data and contextualize it with data from the surrounding areas (present-day Catalonia). Sant Esteve d’Olius stands out for its evolution from a specialized nucleus in the Iron Age to an ecclesiastical settlement in the High Middle Ages. Data from this site fills a geographic gap in the zooarchaeological analysis of Northern Iberia between the coastal lands and the Occidental plain, and suggests variation between the two periods, which has previously been interpreted as reflecting changes in the socio-political structure and the food production system (Nieto-Espinet et al. 2021). Such changes in the zooarchaeological data reveals the importance of the politico-economical structure as well as environmental factors on animal husbandry, food consumption and the livelihood of ancient peoples.

Zooarchaeologists need flexible methods to interpret demographic profiles (e.g., age, sex, taxonomic identification) of faunal assemblages considering that (a) different skeletal elements will be present, and (b) remains will exhibit varying degrees of preservation, depending on the site. Faunal analyses will therefore benefit from the application of interdisciplinary quantitative methods in novel ways. Shannon’s informational entropy is a fundamental concept in information theory that measures the information content of variables within a system. This methodology has been used in ecology and zooarchaeology as a measure of biodiversity in and between ecosystems and sites. This research demonstrates the application of Shannon’s entropy to osteometric data with both micro and macrofauna. By using this measure, faunal analysts can identify which metric variables are most informative of characteristics like age and sex. Further research should result in the development of novel indices to elucidate demographic characteristics of a given population.

This study highlights traditional medicines used for treatment of various diseases by tribal communities living in Tapi district of Gujarat state, India. Extensive field survey was carried out during 2015 to 2018 in the study area. Information was collected from 16 well known traditional healers of different area through semi-structured quaternaries and personal observation during the field visit. In the present study a total 176 etho-medicinal plants belonging to 64 families and 155 genera, used against 67 diseases by various tribal communities were collected and documented. It is observed that some critical diseases like cancer, malaria, tuberculosis, diabetes and paralysis are treated by traditional healers using various parts of plants. Traditional knowledge is passed on orally from one generation to another from the ancestors of the traditional healers. This traditional knowledge is threatened due to modernization. Therefore, the documentation of traditional knowledge can be used for conservation and sustainable use of medicinal plants of study area.