The Winthir-Collection: An anthropological and historical pilot study

• Applicants: Dr. Michaela Harbeck; Dr. Bernd Trautmann
• Subject Area: Prehistory and World Archaeology ; Modern and Contemporary History
• Term: from 2019 to 2024
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 426344714

• Final Report Year: 2024

Final Report Abstract

The Winthir Collection, a rare, documented 19th-century skeletal collection comprises 245 individuals whose remains are now housed in the State Collection for Anthropology in Munich. In an interdisciplinary project were historical, osteological, and archaeological research combined to document each individual’s demographics, cause of death, occupation, osteological features, and more. The information is detailed in a comprehensive catalogue set for publication by Sidestone Press, which includes also essays on methodological approaches, historical context and results of first small-scale studies on osteological features and their correlation with historical data. Additionally, a large-scale study on sex determination in nonadult individuals based on the Winthir Collection highlighted the effectiveness of measuring permanent teeth over other methods and is in progress for publication. Overall, the results of the project offer crucial insights into 19th-century life in Bavaria and will serve as a valuable resource for future research, enabling the validation of osteological methods and enhancing our understanding of human variation.

Publications

• Adult age-at-death in the Winthir reference collection Munich – evaluation of current anthropological methods. 27th EAA Annual Meeting, 6.9 – 11.9 September 2021, online – Vortrag und Abstract
  Trautmann B., von Heyking K., Lee J., Schratzenstaller B., Degenhardt S., Paulus Ch. & Harbeck M.
  
• The new osteological reference collection from the Winthir cemetery (2021): A preliminary evaluation of current methods for age and sex determination of non-adult individuals. APPA-Online-Workshop „Osteoanthropology of Children“, 26.02.2021 Vortrag und Abstract
  Lee J., von Heyking K., Trautmann B., Schratzenstaller B., Degenhardt S., Paulus Ch. & Harbeck M.
  
• The Winthir Collection. A documented osteological collection from Central Europe. Sidestone Press.
  Harbeck, Michaela & Paulus, Christof