Antall József szerk.: Orvostörténeti közlemények 113-114. (Budapest, 1986)

ADATTÁR - Derums, Vilis A.: Lettország lakosainak hadi sérülései a kőkorszakban (angol nyelven)

Fig. 2. Multiple battle cranial injuries inflicted with bone arrows. Woman aged 29. The Lubana Lowland ,,Abora", sepulchre 4. Neolith. Excavations by Ilze Loze of 1970. In this paper we shall consider only the two most important cases of battle injuries with stone age people (dated 6000—6500 years in 408 skeletons in all). The cases cited hereinbelow characterize the kind of weapon used, its great striking force and the reaction of bone system to injuries. Our earlier study of 1978 deals with a case of penetrating skull wound inflicted with a spear or an arrow with marked signs of substantia compacta regeneration at the edges of defect. Another case of a dangerous battle injury with ensuing trepanation measuring 6,0—12,0 cm which ended in regeneration with marked osteophytes and closed diploe was described by us in 1978 and 1979. Special attention should be paid to the case of multiple injuries inflicted with a flint-headed spear and bone arrows in an adult fighting man from the excavations performed by Francis Zagorskis on the bank of the Burtnieku Lake. The fighting man had been evidently surrounded by his enemies. The flint head of a spear pierced the thorax, stuck in the third thoracic vertebra and broke there. A bone arrow went through the lumbar vertebra and four other arrows went into the right hipbone (Fig. I). Sudden death of the wounded man was due to fatal hemorrhage from the