En la frontera de lo invisible. Las muertes maternas a partir de la documentación arqueológica en Navarra [On the edge of the invisible. Maternal deaths in the archaeological record in Navarre]

Abstract

Our objective has been to locate, document and analyze those burials where woman presence was associated with the remains of fetuses or perinatals. Eleven cases have been collected, 9 women that died in different stages of gestation, two more in close relation with perinatal remains, and another with less precise data due to post mortem alterations. The fetuses were aged from 22 to 42 weeks. One case has been documented to be delivery dystocia. Several fetuses exhibit bone alterations, probably related to infections or nutritional deficits. All cases belong to medieval or modern times (6th-15th centuries).