Archaeologia Baltica

Research into individual archaeological shoe finds allows us to make assumptions concerning the differentiation of shoes according to social strata during the Renaissance period. A more complex and higher-quality shoe construction is a characteristic feature of shoes worn by people of a higher social standing.

This report reviews leather footwear discovered during the latest archaeological research in Klaipėda, in investigations carried out at 3 Kurpių St in 2007 and 2008, and at 10 Žvejų St in 2006 (headed by R. Bračiulienė). Another aim is to present examples of the footwear of Klaipėda dwellers in the 16th and 17th centuries which are of interest in terms of their shape and style, and which are typical of the shoes of the West European Renaissance and of the townsfolk of the Early Modern Period. The following types of footwear are presented: primitive shoes, low-cut shoes, mules and children’s shoes. The report describes the parts of the footwear, joining methods, seams and decorative components. It discusses differences between the footwear of the 16th and the 17th centuries, and refers to morphological studies and microchemical analyses of archaeological leather and thread fibre conducted by other experts.

In the course of archaeological excavation in 2004, 2006 and 2007 at the 13th–17th century cemetery of Veselava, in Cēsis District, Latvia, 941 burials were excavated. The osteological material permitted an insight into the palaeodemography and palaeodiet of the medieval inhabitants of Veselava. Demographic research shows that the population was characterised by high mortality among juveniles, aged 15–20, and among women aged 15–35. Among males, the highest mortality was observed at age 30–40, mortality remaining high in the age range of 40–50. As a result, adult life expectancy, e020, is 5.1 years shorter for females than for males. Palaeodietary analysis, utilising inductively coupled plasma atomic mass spectrometry (IC P-MS ), was undertaken on 40 individuals, determining the concentration of seven elements in the bone. In order to assess the natural background level of these elements, 20 soil analyses were also undertaken. The elemental content of male and female bone is similar, although the mean level of Zn and Cu in bone is slightly higher for males, which might indicate higher meat consumption. On the other hand, Sr and Mn values are higher for females, indicating a high proportion of plant foods in the diet. It is thought that the 13th–17th century inhabitants of Veselava often had a meagre diet, and that plant food consumption was higher among women.

Among the barrows attributed to the local Slavic population in the area of the left bank of the Upper Oka and right bank of the Upper Desna are barrows where the burial rites differ from the local inhabitants’. Different types of burials, a man’s burial with weapon and a horse, a horse’s burial, a horse’s burial with a man’s or animal’s cremation, a man’s burial with weapons, a man’s burial with a bird’s burial, a man’s burial under a rectangular stone barrow, were typical burial customs of Baltic and Finno-Ugric inhabitants in the 11th to 13th centuries AD.