Abstract
In this chapter, we provide a summary of the preservation and paleodemographic assessment of skeletons from the 2nd church cemetery excavated between 2008 and 2012 at Pohansko (Břeclav, Czech Republic). The 2nd church was discovered in 2006 in a northeastern suburb of Pohansko; it represents part of the Early Medieval complex at Pohansko and is one of the most important findings from the Great Moravian occupation at this site.
The church and surrounding cemetery were dated by archaeological evidence and C14 dating to the end of the 9th and the beginning of the 10th century, covering the period of the collapse of the Great Moravian Empire and transition to a new political and administrative organization in Přemyslid Moravia. The studied sample consists of 155 skeletons excavated from 152 burials.
The skeletons show excellent preservation, with almost 80% complete preservation in adult individuals and up to 50% complete preservation in non-adult individuals. All non-adults provide sufficient skeletal indicators for age-atdeath assessment, and only 2% of adult individuals do not provide any skeletal markers for age assessment; 2% lack markers for sex assessment, 3% lack markers for stature estimation, and 7% lack markers for body mass estimation.
The estimated ages of the studied sample include all age categories. We identified 58 adult individuals and 97 non-adult individuals, with the largest percentage observed for Infans Ib (34%;1 year to 6.9 years) and middle-aged adults (19%; 35 to 50 years).
Sex was estimated for 98% of adult individuals and yielded a slightly higher proportion of males (56%) than females (44%). Stature was estimated for 96.5% of adult individuals; the mean stature was 170 cm for males and 154 cm for females.
Body mass was estimated for 93% of adult individuals, yielding an average of 70.5 kg for males and an average of 56.3 kg for females.