Skeletons of Pre-Historic Children to be Examined in Britain

Tehran, 4 May 2006 (CHN) -- In a joint project, experts of Iran’s Archaeological Research Center and the archaeo-anthropology department of University of New Castle in Britain will study in detail the skeletons of the children belonging to the pre-historic periods which have been unearthed in different archaeological sites found during the past few years.
“Discovery of a large number of skeletons of children during archaeological excavations in different sites of Iran indicates the high rate of child death during the pre-historic periods. Considering the importance of these archaeological discoveries, we decided to examine them in more detail and to study their pathology in order to determine the reasons for their early death. Therefore, Iran’s Archaeology Research Center corresponded with the University of New Castle in Britain to perform a joint study with the archaeo-anthropology department of this university on the skeletons of the children which have been discovered so far. These studies would result in discovery of the condition of their growth, nourishment, and the reasons for their death,” said Farzad Forouzanfar, head of the anthropology department of Iran’s Archaeology Research Center.
Most of these skeletons were unearthed in the pre-historic site of Burnt City in Sistan va Baluchestan province. Recent archaeological excavations revealed the skeletons of 11 children and a large number of embryos in this historical site.
According to Forouzanfar, aside from the skeletons found earlier, some skeletons of children have recently been discovered in Qoli Darvish historical site in Qom province which can be added to the list. “Discovery of a jar burial in the floor of one of the houses belonging to the third millennium BC shows that we should expect more similar methods of burials in this pre-historical site,” added Forouzanfar.