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Among the fragments of Heraclitus preserved to our times there is one saying that corpses ought to be disposed of more urgently than excrements Diels/Kranz 22 B 96. This sentence of an aphoristic nature, as frequently in the case of Heraclitus' scripts, allows many different interpretations. Even in antiquity these words led to vitriolic reactions and perplexed other writers. It is why they have been frequently quoted. Nevertheless, it has been overlooked until now that Euripides, the youngest of the three great Attic tragedians, had inserted them into one of his dramas. In his Electra it is the title figure who uses them while reporting the slaughter of Agamemnon. The quotation bears witness to Euripides' erudition as of one of the earliest men known to have possessed a private library. He must, therefore, have had access to many treatises on various subjects, among them to the work by Heraclitus. The Electra is a kind of homage to the obscure thinker from Ephesus. From this fact, and from the plot of this particular play, we may gain some insight into an ambivalent attitude of the ancient Greeks towards the corpse that certainly influenced ideas about human anatomy in particular and medical knowledge in general. A characteristic feature of the malefactors, namely Aigisthos and Clytaimestra, is the deliberate dishonouring of their victims corpse. By contrast, the noble characters Orestes and Electra never violate the corpse of their arch-enemy Aigisthos, but see to it that he is properly buried. Burial was, particularly in Athens, so essential that in the well-known Arginusai trial the failure to bury the fallen soldiers resulted in capital punishment for the accused. Nevertheless, it is likely that Euripides, following Heraclitus, did not reject the anatomical examination of corpses for scientific purposes, as he was not only in this regard a supporter of science and progress. Perhaps Plato's notion of the human body as the tomb of the soul is foreshadowed here. This notion may have helped demythologize the corpse. Anyway, it is striking to observe the beginnings of the so-called Hippocratic medicine on the coast of Asia Minor and the near islands. It is exactly this part of the world where the pre-Socratics had made their first attempts at reasoning about the nature of being and made the transition from mythos to logos a few generations earlier. That intellectual climate was certainly good for nourishing scientific ideas of paramount importance. Heraclitus was without doubt one of the deepest-thinking pre-Socratics. The acceptance of his results by many critical thinkers of the time, such as Euripides, helped them attain their due recognition.

The aim of this study is based on the analysis of diachronically social and sexual specific considerations on the life situation of the early medieval population of Schleitheim, Kanton Schaffhausen, Switzerland. Cribra orbitalia and the linear enamel hypoplasia of the teeth are considered as stressors. This study is based on the life expectancy of the 20 years old, as the life expectancy gives information on the health condition of a social group or an entire population. The considered indicators show the same tendencies in three of the four social groups (women social group A and group B/C, men of the social group A). The female and male population of the social group A show a steady decrease in the indicator from the 5th century to come to its lowest level in the 7th century. The same parameters indicate a continuous increase in stress for the female population of the group B/C. Only one of the three indicators, the Cribra orbitalia, shows a positive tendency in the male population of the social group B/C from the 6th century to the following period, while hypoplasia and the life expectancy on the other hand indicate a negative tendency. The results show equal tendencies in the three independent indicators concerning three of the four social groups. This proves the high reliability of the indicators. These results are astonishing in two ways. First of all, the tendencies show that the originally better life situation of women of the higher ranking social group decreases in the following periods, whereas the women of the lower social group show an inverse development. This female population of low life situation in the 5th century shows an increase in life qualities in the following periods. Remarkable, too, is the fact, that the female population of both social groups shows a lower level of stress than the corresponding male population. This fact is astonishing, as we would expect inverse results in a patriarchal society. This may point to a well known fact: Women show a higher vitality than the male population.

This article presents a project designed for prehistoric gender research. It focuses on the late Bronze Age to early Iron Age urnfield in Cottbus "Alvensleben-Kaserne", Brandenburg. The cremation remains were emptied from the urns layer by layer. This provided excellent conditions for a critical reconstruction of the funeral rituals related to the cremation. Detailed recording of each bone fragment in each layer made possible the discovery of the ritual deposition of burnt bones according to the anatomical order. Cremated bones, a primarily biological source, are also a substantial resource for cultural historical research, e.g., on funeral practices as well as social structures.

The distribution of 122 epigenetic traits of the cranium and the postcranial skeleton (180 skeletal individuals) of six sites of the period of the Middleelbe-Saale-Region was analyzed. Based on these frequencies and using the method of biodistance analysis (MMD after Sjøvold 1973) the relationships of these population groups were investigated which are different concerning their geographical origin. The results did not show distinct differences between these groups, but suggested a possible homogeneity of our populations.

In light of the medically relevant features of the ancient Egyptian mouth-opening ceremony, the question of the effectiveness of medical practices in Egypt thousands of years ago is examined, whereby the religious and cultural framework also plays a significant role. In the Land on the Nile myth and reality clearly generated special conditions which favoured the systematic treatment of questions of resuscitation. Numerous examples show that this had practical consequences in the area of everyday medicine. In addition, rebirth and resurrection were central elements of the cult of the dead which had exact medical equivalents. These equivalents may demonstrate the advanced state of resuscitation practices in Egypt at that time. In this context, a reconstruction of an ancient Egyptian mouth-opening instrument is presented. In the cult of the dead, this instrument played a role which can be compared to the function of a modern laryngoscope. It appears possible that at the time of the pyramids the Egyptians already had an understanding of the technology required to perform instrument-aided artificial respiration. Whether or not they actually possessed a fundamental knowledge of the principles of cardio-pulmonary resuscitation remains unclear. Nevertheless, the astonishingly functional characteristics of the reconstructed mouth-opening instrument suggest that it was developed for more than purely symbolic purposes.

Analysis of ancient DNA of material found in the Lichtensteinhöhle, a burial site of the Younger Bronze Age has been used for the first time to assign isolated skeletal elements to corresponding individuals. The method involved DNA typing through amplification of five Short Tandem Repeat loci which are also used in forensic genetics for the determination of kinship and identification. From all of the examined bone samples DNA was successfully extracted and amplification by means of Polymerase Chain Reaction could be carried out. For the skeletal elements allelic profiles which are specific for an individual were set up. These profiles made it possible to recognize bones belonging to one individual. Elements which were not from this individual could be excluded with certainty by aDNA analysis.

Soil bacteria, which are an always present component of all burial conditions, substantially contribute to the decomposition of bone collagen, i.e. even modifications of preserved bone collagen. Archaeometric data, which were derived from collagen remnants, therefore may always contain diagenetic components which disturb the biological signals and must subsequently be eliminated. To adequately assess probable diagenetic influences one should refer to our model of the biogenic steps of decomposition. The taphonomic experiments and their verifications of archaeological human bones, which were gathered from different origins and of different historical times, were done with histological, biochemical and biophysical methods. Experimentally, as well as through archaeological bone analysis, we were able to identify a "high" molecular product of decomposition, which contains (1) changes in the amino acid composition caused by specific soil conditions and (2) significant deviations of stable nitrogen and carbon isotopes. Due to decomposition procedures, isotope analysis of isolated amino acids indicate rearrangements of collagen fragments.

DNA-extracts from prehistoric roots of teeth were analyzed by PCR to investigate microsatellite-systems. At the same time the x/y-chromosome specific system Amel A/B was investigated. The samples were collected from different burial conditions of similar age. Factors leading to limited DNA-degradation are given. For the first time reproducible Quadruplex-amplification on single-copy loci of prehistoric tissue was obtained in samples from the Lichtenstein-Cave, Kr. Osterode/Harz. Positive results are explained by low temperature in the burial site. In addition the results show that desiccation allows DNA-preservation but cannot protect the DNA from damage due to microbial origin. Microorganisms can destroy DNA-structures completely.

Archaeological finds provide a helpful source of information concerning women who performed medical activities other than midwifery, folk medicine and sorcery. Greek and Latin inscriptions are not very accurate because in most cases they simply call these ladies medicae or iatrinai without further specification. Among the Roman Imperial tombs with medical tools three graves belong to female Roman physicians who practised surgery and dentistry (as well as the job of a female barber). The oldest is a tomb from Roman Spain, which shows the equipment of a female surgeon from the early Imperial age. More finds of this kind can be expected in the future.

The results of 1448 skeletons met the requirements (database) for the completed examinations. Statistical correlations between situation of the skeletons in view of compass directions, position of the skeletons, grave type and mumification traces were calculated. More than 90% of the analyzed individuals were buried in west-east direction (head-feet). In 69% of all cases the skeletons were buried with their hands on or next to the pelvis. 98% of all mummies examined were found in the position hand/hands on shoulder. Special grave architecture was given in 15.8% of the examined individuals. The average life-expectancy for the group between 20 to 29 amounted to 14.65 years. The cluster-analysis showed clear differentiation of the male group in 3 to 4 subpopulations. For the female group a mathematical probability for 3 subpopulations was given. Connecting the data of cluster and burial types a significant distinction between the four male clusters - according to the distribution of the skeleton positions - could be seen. Within the female group a clear correlation between clusters and common characteristics could be found in 7 subgroups. Differentiated distribution was revealed in the different alignments of the skeletons.

The pre- and early dynastic necropole near by Minshat Abu Omar can be dated (Carbon dates) in the time from 3300 till 2900 B.C. Till now, there were 418 graves investigated. The dead people were buried in left or right flexed position. High salt concentration in sand destroyed the bone material extraordinary, so that morphometric analysis could not be done. The determination of sex and/or age was possible for 87.08% of the individuums. The average of the life-span was about 26 years. The village consists of 20 till 50 huts with 107 till 120 inhabitants.

Two medieval coffins containing neonates were examined by CT. The advantages of using computed tomography, compared with conventional x-ray techniques, for analysing various objects within a receptacle are demonstrated.