Carme Rissech

• Dr. in Human Biology
• Lecturer at Universidad Rovira i Virgili

This study analyzes the individual UF2, from the medieval necropolis (9th-10th century) of the Antiguos Juzga-dossite in Barcelona. To complete the study, age and sex were estimated, and macroscopic and radiologicalanalysis of the observed lesions was carried out. The results indicated a 39-40-year-old man with injuries tothe skull, neck, left fore...

Aim: Bone lesions with a cystic appearance pose diagnostic challenges due to their resemblance to other bone conditions, varied presentations, unexpected locations, limitations of diagnostic tools, and overlap with normal bone features. Their similarity to conditions such as bone cysts, non-ossifying fibromas, or infectious abscesses complicates ac...

The paleopathological literature notably lacks the description and analysis of distal humeral fractures and their associated complications. The objectives of this study were (1) to evaluate a distal humerus fracture associated with cubitus valgus observed in the articulated right elbow of an adult male buried in the Santa Caterina Friary site in Ba...

Medieval Iberia witnessed the complex negotiation of religious, social, and economic identities, including the formation of religious orders that played a major role in border disputes and conflicts. While archival records provide insights into the compositions of these orders, there have been few direct dietary or osteoarchaeological studies to da...

This research presents a comprehensive analysis of traumatic lesions observed in the skeletal remains from funerary unit 221, which belongs to a guild buried at the exterior buttresses of Santa Caterina friary's church wall. The aim is to investigate whether this guild was subjected to harsher working conditions during the transition from the medie...

En el ovino, hay una relación de la masa de los músculos crurales con la mayor o menor aptitud a la marcha, a su vez quizás relacionada con las proporciones corporales, por lo que podrían darse diferencias funcionales entre razas, a tenor de aptitudes motoras diferentes. El hueso calcáneo representa la base de inserción de los músculos crurales res...

This study provides a concise overview of research focused on the burials of guild members (UF 221) during both the medieval (13th-14th century) and early modern (16th century) periods within the friary of Santa Caterina (1243-1836). The investigation encompasses both secondary and primary guild burials and employs a combination of standard macrosc...

El material estudiado fue el individuo T4.2 del yacimiento del Castillo de Zorita de los Canes. Se estimó: 1) la edad a través de la superficie auricular y el desgaste dental; 2) el sexo a través de la morfología del coxal, de la mandíbula y la de los huesos largos; y 3) la morfología del individuo a través de las medidas antropométricas estándares...

This study analyses a sample of 15 inhumations located in the convent of Santa Caterina in Barcelona between the 13th and 15th centuries. The aim of this work is to compare the human remains buried in the Gothic cloister [C] and in the apse head and the cloister gallery [A/G], with the intention of differentiating between possible members of the mo...

Using the skeletal remains as the center of gravity and combining the explanatory power of: (1) newly developed methods (isotopic and geometric morphometrics analysis); (2) different theoretical approaches (archaeozoology, taphonomy, bioanthropology, paleopathology); and (3) documentary and archaeological evidence, MonBones project delves into the...

The bioanthropological analysis of the Convent of Sant Agustí Vell skeletal remains indicated 33 individuals: 16 from the simple grave burials in the courtyard in front of the church door, 4 from the simple grave burials in the cloister and an NMI of 13 individuals estimated from of the isolated bones recovered in the sediments of the burials. Diff...

The Bioanthropological study of the skeletal remains of (UF) 221 from the convent of Santa Caterina. The results indicate a minimum number of 62 individuals: 15 male, 7 female, and 5 immature, medieval (13th-14th centuries) and 12 male, 8 female, and 15 immatures, modern (15th-16th century). Differences in robustness, height, health, and physical a...

Burial customs in the Iberian Period (Iron Age II) included cremation. Only perinatal and newborn infants were buried directly beneath floor settlement. These infants represent the very few unburned human remains recovered from Iberian sites. The interpretation of these infant burials is in debate, focusing on whether they are unnatural or natural...

The aim of this study is to analyze the porotic skeletal lesions of bone remains from the funerary unit (UF) 221 of the Santa Caterina convent site in Barcelona, which is divided into secondary burials (Medieval, 13th-14th century) and primary burials (Modern, early 16th century), in order to evaluate the health state of these individuals. A previ...

Morphological integration and modularity refer to the degree of covariation between the different components of an anatomical structure. Modularity refers to structures that have components which covary strongly, but at the same time are relatively independent. Integration refers to the coordinated variation of the components of a functional anatom...

Since investigation of the timing of the skeletal traits among the acetabula of different populations is lacking, this study aims to evaluate the relevance of geographical origin in the acetabulum aging process and in the usability of the SanMillán-Rissech aging method. The acetabula of 826 European North Americans derived from the Bass Collection...

This study aims to analyze the fractures observed in the postcranial skeleton of the individuals recovered from the funerary unit (UF) 221 of the Santa Caterina Convent site in Barcelona. The anthropological analysis indicated a minimum number of 62 individuals: 27 belonging to medieval period (15♂, 7♀ and 5 immature) and 35 belonging to modern per...

Simple Summary: This study aims to analyse variations in the morphology of the calcaneum among sheep and goats based upon two-dimensional geometric morphometrics (GM). According to our results, clear interspecific differences in the morphology of this bone were extracted. The use of GM methods has enabled us to assess small but significant amounts...

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El objetivo de este estudio es el análisis bioantropológico de los restos óseos de la Unidad Funeraria (UF) 221 del yacimiento del Convento de Santa Caterina de Barcelona. Esta UF se divide en inhumación secundaria (medieval, s. XIII-XIV) y primaria (moderna, de principios del siglo XVI). Para llevar a cabo el estudio se aplicaron los métodos antro...

El objetivo de este estudio es el análisis paleopatológico del Fémur-007 de la UE2378 perteneciente a las inhumaciones secundarias de época medieval (s. XIII al XIV) de la Unidad Funeraria (UF) 221 del yacimiento Convento de Santa Caterina de Barcelona. Esta UF corresponde a un vaso sepulcral donde se han identificado un total de 279 piezas dentale...

Análisis bioantropológico preliminar de los restos humanos encontrados en el cementerio del Castillo de Zorita de los Canes (Guadalajara, España), los cuales se atribuyen a monjes guerreros de Calatrava

The purpose of this paper is to study a bag/purse that appeared next to burials located on the upper level of a tomb atached to the outer part of the sacristy of the Seu Vella de Lleida. The tomb was excavated as part of the archaeological control works in a small quadrangular area atached to the north side apse and were carried out by Direcció Gen...

Objective: To provide prevalence data for future comparative analysis of the health status of rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) accumulated in the archaeological record. Materials: Two contrasting assemblages were analysed for pathological and sub-pathological changes: 1) an assemblage of domestic modern rabbit bones; and 2) a non-anthropogenic ac...

How important is anatomy in forensic anthropological analysis and caseworks? This basic question needs to be addressed in a monograph on forensic anthropology, especially if it is published in an anatomical journal, as is this case. Therefore, the main objective of this study is to analyse the importance of human anatomy in forensic anthropology. T...

The main purpose of this study was to evaluate the frequency with which the conus artery originates from an independent ostium in the right aor-tic sinus. Twenty-five adult hearts (3 females, 5 males and 17 unknown sex), from the body donation program of the University of Girona, were analysed. After intravascular injection of natural coloured late...

The classical age indicators of the innominate have been the pubic symphysis and auricular surface. However, recently, the acetabulum has been highlighted as an indicator of adult age, with applicability in young, middle-aged, and older adults. The Rissech acetabular method was developed in a Portuguese population and tested in European and Europea...

Recently, a renewed acetabular aging methodology was published by San-Millán et al. (Int J Leg Medicine, 47, 131: 501–525), refining the variables associated with acetabular fossa aging in different populations. Due to its novelty, this method has not yet been examined in any other population, other than it was developed and originally tested on. T...

Objective In 2006, an age estimation method was proposed utilizing Bayesian inference to interpret age‐progressive changes in the acetabulum. This was accompanied by the IDADE2 software to facilitate calculations. However, the MS‐DOS operating system on which the software was based became obsolete. The main goal of this article is to present the ne...

The objective of this study is to analyse morphological growth changes of the tibia in boys and girls. The analysis includes six hundred digital telemetries from the left tibia in anterior view obtained from the Sant Joan de Déu Hospital database. The material corresponds to 300 boys and 300 girls aged between 9 and 18 years. The tibia shape variat...

Geometric morphometrics (GM) uses Cartesian landmark coordinates to analyse the shape of the objects. In this analysis, overall size, position and orientation are separated from shape in each landmark configuration. The resulting Procrustes shape coordinates constitute the Kendall space. After approximate Kendall space to Euclidian tangent space, d...

To evaluate the influence of bone loss on the three adult age markers of the innominate, 30 males and 30 females aged between 16 and 80 years coming from the British Coventry collection were analyzed. The pubic symphysis, auricular surface, and acetabulum age variables were evaluated following the descriptions of Schmitt, Buckberry-Chamberlain, and...

Es permet la generació d'obres derivades sempre que no s'en faci un ús comercial. Tampoc es pot utilitzar l'obra original amb finalitats comercials. En qualsevol explotació de l'obra autoritzada per la llicència caldrà reconèixer l'autoria. Se permite la generación de obras derivadas siempre que no se haga un uso comercial. Tampoco se puede utiliza...

Age estimation is essential to the human identification process, both in forensic and archeological contexts. Based on the previous male-specific method of Rissech et al. (J Forensic Sci, 2006, 51:213–229), a new approach to age estimation based on the acetabulum has been described and evaluated in 611 individuals from the Lisbon Collection (Lisbon...

This study aims to explore shape variability of the acetabulum during the human adult life span, in relation to sex and age. The human acetabular shape was analysed in 682 os coxae from three different documented skeletal collections from the Iberian Peninsula. Two landmarks and thirty-two sliding semilandmarks were used for the geometric morphomet...

To investigate dietary patterns, collagen stable isotope ratios (δ 13 C and δ 15 N) were measured from fauna (n = 21) and humans (n = 23) from a rescue excavation at the Roman site (1st to 4th c. AD) of Carrer Ample 1 in Barcelona, Spain. The adult human results (δ 13 C = −18.9 ± 0.3‰; δ 15 N = 11.1 ± 0.4‰) indicate a C 3 terrestrial diet based on...

GEOMETRIC MORPHOMETRICS. TRENDS IN BIOLOGY, PALEOBIOLOGY AND ARCHAEOLOGY

El objetivo de este estudio es el análisis bioatropològico de 8 cráneos encontrados en el yacimiento arqueológico de Sant Julià de Ramis (Girona), y datados de entre inicios del siglo XVIII y principios del XX. El análisis bioantropológico consistió en la determinación de la edad y el sexo a través del grado de sinostosis de las suturas craneales y...

El objetivo de este trabajo es poner de relieve la importancia que tienen los métodos de estimación de la edad de restos esqueléticos humanos dentro de los estudios osteológicos ya sean de origen arqueológico como forense; y en concreto de los métodos de estimación de la edad de individuos subadultos. Esto se consigue poniendo de manifiesto la util...

La estimación de la edad es fundamental en cualquier estudio osteológico. Los métodos de estimación de la edad se dividen en métodos para adultos y métodos para subadultos, dependiendo del grado de maduración del individuo. La fiabilidad y precisión de estas metodologías depende de (i) los modelos en que se basen los métodos y la (ii) proximidad bi...

To describe the morphological changes of the male femur during the adolescent growth spurt and to compare the pattern obtained with that reported previously for females. Two hundred and forty males from a Spanish population aged between 9 and 16 years were analysed, based on telemetries. Size and shape variation of the femur was quantified by 22 2D...

The main objective of this study is to analyze the sexual dimorphism of the Spanish clavicle taking into account lateral asymmetry. A total of 77 adult individuals (45 males and 32 females) from the documented collection of Madrid were used. Twelve measurements were taken: four direct measurements on bone (Maximum length, mid- shaft circumference,...

In this study we describe the development of the female femur based on the analysis of high-resolution radiographic images by means of geometric morphometrics, while assessing the usefulness of this method in these kinds of studies. The material analysed consisted of digital images in DICOM format (telemetries), corresponding to 184 left femora in...

The growth and development of the human humerus is studied, focusing the research on four variables: diaphyseal length (DLH), transversal diameter of the proximal end of the shaft (TDPH), epicondylar breadth (EBH) and vertical diameter of the head (VDHH). To this purpose, 181 subadults (90 ♂ and 91 ♀, 0-25 years of age) from three documented Wester...

The aim of this study is to evaluate geometric morphometrics when applied to high definition radiographic images for the study of the femur development. The material analysed was 25 images in DICOM format, corresponding to 25 female left femurs in anterior view, aged between 13 and 16 years, originating from teleme-try from the Hospital Sant Joan d...

The aim of this paper is to provide an effective and quick reference guide based on the most useful European formulae recently published for sub-adult age estimation. All of these formulae derive from studies on postnatal growth of the scapula, innominate, femur and tibia, based on modern skeletal data (173 ♂, 173 ♀) from five documented collection...

The aim of this study is to analyze the sexual dimorphism of the clavicle taking into account its directional asymmetry and to provide useful algorithms for sexual diagnosis. This analysis was performed on 77 modern adult individuals of Spanish origin (45 men and 32 women) ranging from 20 to 92 years of age and belonging to the collection of the Un...

Forensic Anthropology and Bioarchaeology studies depend critically on the accuracy and reliability of age-estimation techniques. In this study we have evaluated two age-estimation methods for adults based on the pubic symphysis (Suchey-Brooks) and the auricular surface (Buckberry-Chamberlain) in a current sample of 139 individuals (67 women and 72...

The present study examines 25 infant and juvenile individuals from the archaeological Copper Age site, Camino del Molino (Caravaca de la Cruz, Murcia). The site consists of a collective burial of the III Millennium B.C. Growth patterns and pathological conditions of these individuals were examined in order to identify the health conditions of the w...

The aim of this study is to test sexual dimorphism on the pelvic girdle from a living Spanish sample. The material used consisted in radiographic images (CT scans) from 50 adult individuals (25 ♂ and 25 ♀) in DICOM format. The variables were the anteroposterior and transversal diameters of two anatomical planes of the birth canal, inlet and mid-pla...

The main goal of this paper is to describe and discuss pathological lesions observed in a Roman skeleton (between 2 nd and 3 rd century AD) from the north‐east region of the Iberian Peninsula (St Nicasi 18–24 site. Gavà, Barcelona), which may be compatible with treponematosis. Most of the skeleton, with the exception of the neurocranium, was recove...

The objective of the present study is to analyse the compared morphology of the scapula between human and non-human primates by geometric morphometry. This analysis was performed in 62 scapulae from adult individuals of unknown sex (22 modern humans, 1 Neanderthal and 39 nonhuman primates) from the collections of the UAB, UB universities and the Na...

The aim of this study is to analyze the sexual dimorphism of the clavicle taking into account its directional asymmetry and to provide useful algorithms for sexual diagnosis. This analysis was performed in 77 modern adult individuals of Madrid origin (45 men and 32 women) ranging from 20 to 92 years of age and belonging from the collection of the U...

Forensic Anthropology and Bioarchaeology studies depend critically on the accuracy and reliability of age-estimation techniques. In this study we have evaluated two age-estimation methods for adults based on the pubic symphysis (SucheyeBrooks) and the auricular surface (BuckberryeChamberlain) in a current sample of 139 individuals (67 women and 72...

The aim of this study is to provide an effective and quick reference guide based on the most useful European formulae recently published for subadult age estimation. All of these formulae derive from studies on postnatal growth of the scapula, innominate, femur, and tibia, based on modern skeletal data (173 ♂, 173 ♀) from five documented collection...

The goal of the present study is to examine cross-sectional information on the growth of the humerus based on the analysis of four measurements, namely, diaphyseal length, transversal diameter of the proximal (metaphyseal) end of the shaft, epicondylar breadth and vertical diameter of the head. This analysis was performed in 181 individuals (90 ♂ a...

The growth of five variables of the tibia (diaphyseal length, diaphyseal length plus distal epiphysis, condylo-malleolar length, sagittal diameter of the proximal epiphysis, maximum breadth of the distal epiphysis) were analysed using polynomial regression in order to evaluate their significance and capacity for age and sex determination during and...

Most current methods for adult skeletal age-at-death estimation are based on American samples comprising individuals of European and African ancestry. Our limited understanding of population variability hampers our efforts to apply these techniques to various skeletal populations around the world, especially in global forensic contexts. Further, do...

Identified human skeletal collections are those in which basic demographic data (sex, age and biological origin) are known and are crucial for developing and testing osteological methodologies. It is important that the identified collection be contextualised, and in this way the collection will be considered a reference collection. To contextualise...

Este estudio analiza los 24 individuos exhumados en el yacimiento Carrer Ample 1 de Barcelona. Se trata de un complejo funerario tardorromano (S. II-IV d.C) situado al sudoeste de Barcino. Los resultados paleodemográficos indican que se trata de 10 hombres, 6 mujeres y 8 subadultos con una esperanza de vida al nacer de 27 años. Los datos antropomét...

Growth of four variables of the femur (diapyseal length, diaphyseal length plus distal epiphysis, maximum length and vertical diameter of the head) was analyzed by polynomial regression for the purpose of evaluating its significance and capacity for age and sex determination throughout the entire life continuum. Materials included in analysis consi...

The degree of fusion at the anterior aspect of the sacral vertebrae has been scored in 242 male and female skeletons from the Lisbon documented collection, ranging from 16 to 59 years old in age. Statistical tests indicate a sex difference towards earlier fusion in young females compared with young males, as well as a clear association between degr...

The coup d'état of July 18th, 1936 was supposed to be the beginning of the Spanish Civil War that ended three years later. With the victory of the rebel army, a dictatorial regime was imposed. Franco's dictatorship was supported by the broad political repression of a large number of people from leftist parties, trade unions and liberal professions....

This is a summary of different methods for adult and subadult age estimation

The growth of five variables of the ischiopubic area was analyzed from bone material from birth to old age. The main purpose was to evaluate its significance and capacity for age and sex determination during and after growth. The material used consisted of 327 specimens from four documented Western European collections. Growth curves were calculate...

An understanding of the basic growth rates and patterns of development for each element of the human skeleton is important for a thorough understanding and interpretation of data in all areas of skeletal research. Yet surprisingly little is known about the detailed ontogenetic development of many bones, including the scapula. With the intention of...

Methods to estimate adult age from observations of skeletal elements are not very accurate and motivate the development of better methods. In this article, we test recently published method based on the acetabulum and Bayesian inference, developed using Coimbra collection (Portugal). In this study, to evaluate its utility in other populations, this...

Enterramiento del bronce final del Camp dels Moros de la Codina.

The acetabular region is often present and adequately preserved in adult human skeletal remains. Close morphological examination of the 242 left male os coxae from the identified collection of Coimbra (Portugal) has enabled the recognition of seven variables that can be used to estimate age at death. This paper describes these variables and argues...

The use of coxal elements for age and sex diagnosis from the skeleton is the primary and most widespread way of bringing us closer to the identity of dead individuals in archaeological and certain forensic scenarios. Diagnosis in sub-adults, especially in fetus and infant age, is not clear; and further studies are needed. This work presents the ana...

In forensic anthropological analysis, the pelvis is of particular interest as it is often a comparatively well-preserved part of the skeleton. This study in age determination uses the acetabulum, the central element of the pelvis, as a complement to the examination of the auricular surface. The test sample consisted of 30 individuals. First, the au...

The growth of four variables of the ischium was analysed by polynomial regression in order to evaluate its significance and its capacity for age and sex determination during and after growth. The material used was 327 specimens ranging from birth to 97 years of age from four documented west European collections. The growth curves were calculated fo...

The acetabular point was analysed by studying human pelvic bones from 326 individuals ranging from newborns to age 97 y. The bones were categorised into 3 groups according to the degree of fusion for the 3 elements of the pelvis: nonfused (59), semifused (5) and fused (262). The acetabular point in immature pelvic bones is clearly represented by th...