５０００年前の女性の人骨　新石器時代の暮らし解明の手掛かりに

【ベルリンＡＦＰ＝時事】ドイツ北東部ウッカーマルク地方で、風力タービンの建設作業中に発見された5000年以上前の女性の人骨から、新石器時代の暮らしを解明しようという調査が進んでいる。（写真はドイツ北東部ブランデンブルク州のビーティコウ村付近で発見された「ビーティコウの女性」と呼ばれる人骨）
　この人骨は、発見された場所の付近の村の名前にちなみ「ビーティコウの女性」と名付けられた。人骨の他、衣類の断片も残されていた。
　地元メディアによると、最古の埋葬方法の一つとして知られる、しゃがんだ姿勢で埋葬されていた。調査の結果、３０～４５歳であることが分かっている。
　人類学者のベッティーナ・ユングクラウス氏は、女性の歯はひどくすり減っており、一部は完全に失われていたと話す。「このことから私たちは、女性はおそらく非常に硬い食物繊維に富んでいたものを食べていたと結論付けた。ある種の穀物は、歯を容易に摩滅させる」
　研究チームは現在、ビーティコウの女性がウッカーマルク出身だったのか、他の場所から移住して来たのかなど、女性の暮らしのさらなる解明を試みている。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2020/11/10-12:32）

German researchers are piecing together the life of a prehistoric woman who died more than 5,000 years ago in the Neolithic period, after her skeleton was found during excavation works for wind turbines.
The Lady of Bietikow, as she has been named, was found near a village of the same name in northeastern Germany's Uckermark region.
The skeleton had been buried in a settlement in a squatting position, one of the oldest known forms of burial, according to local media.
Investigations have shown that she was between 30 and 45 years old and died more than 5,000 years ago.
That means that she lived during the same period as Oetzi the Iceman, the stunningly preserved corpse found by tourists in the Alps in the 1990s.
You can compare Oetzi and the Lady of Bietikow in terms of age, said Philipp Roskoschinski, one of the two archaeologists who made the discovery in the state of Brandenburg, which surrounds Berlin.
Oetzi was found by two hikers in 1991 in the Oetztal Alps on the border between Austria and Italy.
His body was extremely well preserved, with organs, skin and other organic material still intact -- researchers were even able to see what he had eaten hours before he died.
The discovery of Oetzi was much more spectacular due to the conditions of preservation, Roskoschinski said.
All that is left of Lady Bietikow are bones and some fragments of clothing, but researchers have still managed to piece together some details about her life.
It was during the Neolithic period that humans first introduced grains into their diet, since they could be stored more easily than meat and could also be used as a means of payment, according to anthropologist Bettina Jungklaus.
However, this led to a deterioration in people's general health.
This can be seen in the state of the Lady of Bietikow's teeth, which are severely eroded and missing completely in some places, Jungklaus said.
Normally there is enamel on the surface of the teeth. But here it is heavily worn, chewed off, she said.
This allows us to draw conclusions about her diet: it was probably very rich in fibre, very hard. There are certain grains that cause the teeth to wear out easily.
It remains unclear whether the condition of Lady Bietikow's teeth indicates an illness or even the cause of her death.
Researchers are now hoping to find out more about her life, including whether she came from the Uckermark region or had immigrated there from elsewhere.