Abstract
The methods of the field documentation of skeleton finds play an essential part in the reconstruction of burial rituals. The contribution shows some of the procedures in documenting the skeletons on the case study of finds from the defunct cemetery of the Church of the Holy Ghost at Všeruby (Plzeň-north) dating back to the 13th –18th century.
The investigation is organized by the staff of the Laboratory of Biological Anthropology of the KSA, FF, ZČU in Pilsen in collaboration with the rescue archaeological survey of the West- Bohemian Museum within the “Methods of Investigating Skeleton Cemeteries” project (http://www.oba.zcu.cz/laborator.htm). During the five campaigns we have developed procedures for the field documentation of adult and non-adult individuals.
The documentation is based on digital data, spatial measurements and observation. Graphic software is used later to digitize the objects and classify them into hierarchical groups.
The hierarchical arrangement makes it possible to quickly and efficiently choose the areas of interest. The application of digitized drawings was illustrated on a skeleton of an adult (VSE-K501) and, partly, on a skeleton of a non-adult individual (VSE-K500).
It is hoped that similar field documentation procedures will be of assistance in re-defining the interests when investigating burial rituals.