Alba Regia. Annales Musei Stephani Regis. – Alba Regia. Az István Király Múzeum Évkönyve. 8.-9. 1967-1968 – Szent István Király Múzeum közleményei: C sorozat (1968)

Tanulmányok – Abhandlungen - Éry Kinga, K.: Reconstruction on the tenth Century Population of Sárbogárd on the Basis of Archaeoloogical and Anthropological Data. – A sárbogárdi X. századi közösség rekonstrukciója régészeti és embertani adatok alapján. VIII–IX, 1967–68. p. 93–147. t. XXVI–XLV.

98 G. Position of Lower Arms According to our findings in the Sárbogárd cemetery the lower arms are placed in 10 different positions. The 10 variations were subdivided into 5 main groups in order to make them suitable for study and comparison. These are as follows : I. Both lower arms extended parallel to the body. II. Lower left arm extended, the lower right arm placed on the body (on the pelvis, waist, chest, to the shoulder). III. Lower right arm extended, the lower left arm placed on the body (on the pelvis, waist, chest, to the shoulder). IV. Both lower arms are put to an identical place on the body (on the pelvis, waist, chest, to the shoulder). V. Other individual variations. For example, the lower right arm on the pelvis, the lower left arm on the chest, etc. In the Sárbogárd cemetery the most frequently encounter position is the extension of the lower arms, secondly is the bending of both lower arms, then comes the bending of the lower right arm, then the lower left arm and finally a few individual variations may also be found. In the cemetery there is an even distribution of the dead with the lower arms in different positions. If the positions of the lower arms found in the Sárbogárd cemetery are compared to the data for the rest of the cemeteries, differences may be found (Figure 6). In the cemeteries of Szentlászló and Szakáihát the bending of both lower arms (Type IV) is predominant. In the other cemeteries the extended lower arm position — among the many other variations — is the most common ; in the cemetery of Zalavár this is almost exclusively found. If we analyze the position of the lower arms in Sárbogárd according to sex we do not find any outstanding differences. Some differences may be found only in types III and IV which are twice as common among males than females. Today we do not yet possess comparative material good enough for analyzing the position of the lower arms. According to the observations made up to now there do not seem to be regularities in the frequency of this custom. H. Ritual Mutilation of Human Remains The left tibia, fibula and foot bones of the dead man lying in grave 74 were missing. There were no traces of disturbance in the grave. No signs of pathological lesions or surgical intervention can be found on the distal epiphysis of the left femur, but the possibility still occur to us that the dead lost his lower left leg while alive. It is not likely that ritual mutilation done at the time of burial is involved for in such instances the amputated parts were usually left in the grave. I. Displaced Objects of Use On four occasions we observed the placement of objects to other than where they belong according to use. Fig. 6. Frequency of lower-arm position in 10-1 lth с cemeteries