Introduction
In 2014, the cemetery of the destroyed village of Jindās (now in the fields of Moshav Ginaton) was partially excavated. The excavation was conducted on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority and led by R. Toueg, in preparation for a permit for a gas pipeline being laid there (Eshed forthcoming; Toueg et al. 2019; Toueg 2022 in this volume; Toueg forthcoming).
The village of Jindās dates to the end of the Mamluk and the beginning of the Ottoman periods, from the middle of the 13th century to the beginning of the 15th. The dating of the period of settlement in the village was based on pottery finds and numismatic finds – ancient coins. The population of the village was involved in agriculture.
The aim of the present study is to present the demographic characteristics of the Jindās population, in the Mamluk and the beginning of the Ottoman periods. These demographic characteristics were accomplished by calculating the life expectancy of the village population; analyzing the finds on the basis of age groups; examining the ratio between males and females, and the ratio between adults and children. Results were compared with the demographic characteristics of the urban Jerusalem population.
Materials and methods
The sample included 90 individuals (skeletons), buried in the graves (Fig. 1); of which 44 were adults and 46 children and young individuals. The osteological study was conducted during the archeological excavation in the cemetery. Data, such as evaluation of the sex and age of the individuals, pathological data found on the skeletons, and burial practices and manner of burial, were documented during the skeleton’s exposure. In most cases, the bones of the skeletons were found to be well preserved. However, about half of the skulls were only partially preserved.


The demographic findings of the Jindās village cemetery were compared with a demographic study on the Mamilla cemetery population, in Jerusalem, dated also to the Mamluk and the beginning of Ottoman rule. The Mamilla population represents an urban community.
The cemetery of Mamilla was excavated in part by the Israel Antiquities Authority and mainly by the Israeli Institute of Archaeology, under the auspices of the Sonia and Marco Nadler Institute of Archaeology at Tel Aviv University (Nagar, forthcoming). A large population sample was obtained from the Mamilla cemetery, comprising 1,461 individuals (Nagar forthcoming: Tables 3–7).
Assessment of the sex of individuals among adult individuals (over 15 years of age) was based on the morphology of the skull and long bones (Bass 1987:93-258 ), on the morphology of the pelvic bone (ibid.; Washburn 1948) and the level of verticality of the head of the femur (Bass 1987: 93-258).
Assessment of the age of adult individuals was based on changes in the pelvic bone joints (Brooks and Suchey 1990; Lovejoy et al. 1985), on the stages of tooth erosion (Lovejoy 1985; Hillson 1993: 176-201), on changes in the vertebrae of the spine (Nathan 1962), and on signs of closure of the lateral-anterior cranial sutures (Meindl and Lovejoy 1985).
Assessment of the age of young individuals (under 15 years of age) was based on the length of the long bones, without epiphyses (the spongy end of the long bones). The assessment was made for age groups with ranges of five years (Bass 1987: 93-258) and according to the stages of development and eruption of teeth (Ubelaker 1989), and the stages of closing of epiphyses in long bones (Johnston and Zimmer 1989). In addition, a distinction was made between individual bone pathologies, based on Ortner and Pustschar (1985). Life expectancy tables were reconstructed based on the Ubelaker method (1974). All individuals whose age was assessed at 20 years or more, within the adult age group, were divided according to the frequency of individuals of that age, as identified in the general population whose age was known. A statistical test was done to compare the results of the study between the two populations (Jindās and Mamilla), in which we used the chi-squared (χ2) test.
The number of individuals in the sample
The sample population of the village of Jindās consists of 90 individuals (Table 1), comprised of 44 adults (comprising 48.8%) and 46 children under the age of 15 (comprising 51.1%; Table 1). Among the adults, 20 males were identified (constituting 45.4% of the total adult population) and 13 females (29.5% of the adults). The sex of 11 individuals (25% of the adults) could not be determined (Table 2).
Table 1: Distribution of the frequency of individuals by age in the population of Jindās, in the Mamluk period and at the beginning of the Ottoman period
Age | 0-5 | 5-10 | 10-15 | 15-19 | 20-29 | 30-39 | 40-49 | 50+ | >15 | <15 |
N=90 | 24 | 12 | 6 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 7 | 3 | 18 | 4 |
N* | 26 | 13 | 7 | 3 | 10 | 14 | 12 | 5 | ||
Frequency of individuals (%) | 29.2 | 14.6 | 7.3 | 3.8 | 11.3 | 15.0 | 13.2 | 5.6 |
Table 2: Distribution of the age of individuals and their sex in the adult population in the village of Jindās
Age group | Female population | Male population | ||
N | % frequency | N | % frequency | |
15-19 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 8 |
20-29 | 4.3 | 33 | 5 | 25 |
30-39 | 5.9 | 45 | 8 | 42 |
40-49 | 1.4 | 11 | 2 | 8 |
50+ | 1.4 | 11 | 3 | 17 |
Total individuals | 13 | 100 | 20 | 100 |
Demographic characteristics of the Jindās population
Assuming that the Jindās population was sedentary (and not a nomadic population), life expectancy at birth for the population (e0x) was 21.5 years. That is, each newborn is expected to have an average life expectancy of 21.5 years. This character includes the numerous children who died from the time of birth until the age of five, among this population (Table 3: Population life expectancy table).
In contrast, life expectancy among adults (discounting the high incidence of child mortality in the population) was 36.4 years, including both sexes and individuals whose sex could not be determined. Similarly, the average life expectancy of males and females was 35 years, in both groups (Table 4). The male/female sex ratio in the population is 153.8 (calculation: the number of males / number of females x 100), that is, for every two females there were about three males in the population.
Table 3: Life expectancy table of the population of Jindās village
Age group | # of deceased in age group | Frequency of living in each age group | # of living in each age group in decreasing order | Mortality rate | Cumulative age for X-X+5 | Cumulative age | Life expectancy for each age group |
(X) | (Dx) | (dx) | (lx) | (qx) | (Lx) | (Tx) | (e0x) |
0 | 39 | 44 | 100 | 0 | 782 | 2103 | 21 |
10 | 10 | 11 | 56 | 0 | 509 | 1321 | 23 |
20 | 10 | 11 | 45 | 0 | 397 | 812 | 18 |
30 | 14 | 15 | 34 | 0 | 264 | 415 | 12 |
40 | 12 | 13 | 19 | 1 | 123 | 151 | 8 |
50 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 1 | 28 | 28 | 5 |
Total | 90 | 100 | 2103 |
Mortality patterns (according to age groups as shown in Fig. 2)
The adult population (over the age of 15 years)
In the adult age groups, the mortality rates were highest in ages 30-40 years and ages 40-50 years, being 15% and 13.2%, respectively. In the younger age groups, 15-20 years and 20-30 years, the mortality rates are much lower: 3.8% and 11.3%, respectively (Table 1 and Fig. 2). The rate of mortality among the oldest age group, those aged over 50, was only 5.6% (Table 1 and Fig. 2).


Mortality distribution among adults according to sex: male and female
The average age reached by the adults (males and females) was 35 (Table 2). A surprising fact is that in the youngest age group, 15-20 years, there is no mortality of females, while among males, 8% of them died at these ages (Fig. 3). 1On the frequency of female mortality at this age, see the article’s summary In contrast, in the 20-30 and 30-40 age groups, high mortality is observed among both sexes (males and females alike: 25% vs. 33% and 42% vs. 44%, respectively; Table 2, Fig. 3). In these age groups, more females died than males. In both sexes the proportion of the older age groups, 40-50 and over the age of 50, is very low compared to the other age groups, but the males lived longer than the females.


village
Infants and children age group (0–15 years)
High mortality rates are noticeable in the infant age group, hence, the ratio between adults and children is high: 0.88 (Table 4). In an early population from the Neolithic period in Israel, the ration was only 0.58 (Eshed and Galili 2011). 29.2% of infants died between the ages of 0-5 (Fig. 2). In the children age groups, between 5-10 and 10-15 years of age, mortality decreases to 14.6% and 7.3% respectively (Fig. 2). Mortality rates continue to decline until the age of 20 and in this age group they reach 3.8% of the total population (Fig. 2).
The mortality model of the population of children and young individuals is shown in Fig. 4. The graph shows a declining curve where is a significant decrease in the mortality rate from the 0–5 years age group (56% of total child mortality, Fig. 4) to the low percentage among young people in the 15-19 years age group (2.3% of total child mortality, Fig. 4).


(total 47 children).
Comparison between the mortality pattern of the population of the village of Jindās and that of the city of Jerusalem in light of the findings in the Mamilla cemetery – two populations from the Mamluk and the early Ottoman periods
The mortality pattern of the Jindās and Mamilla populations, as expressed in the different age groups, is shown in Fig. 5. Different demographic criteria of the populations are shown in Table 4. The main paleodemographic differences between the two populations are among the adults, and focus on the 20-30 years of age (Fig. 5), where the mortality rate is particularly high among the population of Jerusalem compared to the population of Jindās (24.4% compared with 11.3%, respectively: P = 0.004, df = 1, χ2 = 8.262). Another difference is noticeable in the oldest age group, over 50 years of age. The proportion of those who died in this group, among the Jerusalem population, was significantly higher than their peers from Jindās (10.7% compared with 5.6%, respectively; Fig. 5: P = 0.122, df =1, χ2 = 2.390). Child mortality in both populations is similar, and shows a pattern similar to many traditional populations in ancient times, where a high mortality rate was found among infants and children up to five years of age and mortality rates decrease from this age onwards to 15 years (Eshed et al. 2004; Friedlander 1996). However, the mortality rate of children up to the age of five years in the population of Jindās was particularly high and reached 44%, compared with findings in the Mamilla cemetery, where the proportion of children up to the age of ten years was only 23.5% (Fig. 5).


cemetery
Demographic data among the two populations:
The average life expectancy at birth is higher in the Jerusalem population compared with the Jindās population (26.6 years compared to 21 years, respectively, Table 4). However, life expectancy at age ten (about 23 years) and the average age of death (36) is the same in both populations (Table 4).
Table 4: Demographic data of the populations of Jindās and Jerusalem, based on the findings from the Mamilla cemetery
Demographic data | Life expectancy at birth | Life expectancy at age 10 | Average age at death for adults | Average age at death for males | Average age at death for females | Adults/ children ratio | Male/ female ratio |
Jindās (90 individuals) | 21.0 | 23.2 | 36.3 | 35.2 | 35.6 | 0.88 | 153.8 |
Mamilla (1461 individuals)* | 26.6 | 23.3 | 36.0 | 0.42* | 131.0 |
Summary and conclusions
Based on the sample of 90 buried individuals unearthed in the excavation, it is possible to learn about the demographic characteristics of the Jindās village population. . As is customary, the population included individuals of both sexes: male and female, as well as a high frequency of children and young people, similar to other populations, rural and urban, in ancient times. The pattern of mortality distribution in the Jindās population is similar to the “normal” distribution of other populations, in which the mortality rate of children up to the age of five is extremely high. From the age of five onwards, the infant mortality rate gradually decreases until the age of 15. The mortality rate is relatively low among young adults, aged between 15 and 19 years. The incidence of death gradually increases in the adult age-groups between 20 and 40 years. Only a few of the population lived for over 50 years.
The pattern of mortality and its gender distribution (male and female)
It is puzzling that there was no high incidence of females dying at a young age, between 15 and 19 years, although these ages coincide with the onset of fertility among women in early and agricultural populations (fertility ages between 15 and 40 years). Death among women at these ages is highly likely, due to mortality following complications during pregnancy and childbirth (Eshed et al. 2004; Friedlander 1996). Indeed, after the age of 20 years and up to the age of 40 years (the fertile period) the incidence of females that died in the village’s population is higher than the incidence of males. The highest incidence of female mortality was in the age range 20-30 years. In light of this data, it is not surprising that the prevalence of women who reached the age of 50 and over is lower than that of men. But the question remains why women’s mortality is lower than that of men as young adults (15-20 years). Although this is within the fertile age range for women, there may be several reasons: It is possible that the village population married at a later age and therefore the number of females giving birth at younger ages was low. Genetic reasons may have worked in favor of the women in this group. And the sample may not reflect the mortality of females at younger ages, since the archaeological excavation was limited to a given area.
In the male population, the risk of death was most common between the ages of 30 and 40 years. A decrease in the level of health may have been the cause. In contrast, the prevalence of mortality at younger ages (between 15 and 30 years old) among males was mostly associated with risk as a result of conflicts related to war, violence, or risks associated with the agricultural lifestyle, such as accidents while working (in the field, shepherding, woodcutting). These tasks were known to be life-threatening among men in ancient populations (Eshed et al. 2004). In addition, it should be remembered that most of the population at that time died before the age of 40, due to illness and a poor level of medicine.
Child and infant mortality pattern
Child and infant mortality were significantly higher up to the age of five years. This is reflected in the high ratio of children to adults (reaching 0.88). After the critical age of five years, child mortality gradually decreased until the age of 15. Assuming that this was a stable (sedentary) population. Children up to the age of 5 were at a high risk of death as a result of childhood diseases, since the body’s defense system (immune system) is not yet developed. To this must be added environmental factors, and existential and nutritional stress, which increase morbidity and mortality rates (Alesan et al. 1999; Eshed 2004, 2010).
Child mortality distribution graph in the village of Jindās (Fig. 4) corresponds to the Weiss and Webbs model (1973), which describes the distribution of mortality in ancient populations. According to Weiss, the mortality rate was high among infants and children. The frequency decreased from the age of five to the age of 15 years, since at older ages, the immune system had stabilized and developed. The high percentages of mortality among young children in the village of Jindās are probably also due to a relatively good level of bone preservation in the cemetery excavation. Many of the children were buried in pottery jars which protected the bones and contributed to the better preservation of the bones, in relation to the graves of children buried in pit graves in other cemeteries. This is also reflected in the findings in Mamilla, where the percentage of children among the skeletal finds is lower.
Analysis of the results comparing the populations of Jindās village and Jerusalem in light of the findings of the Mamilla cemetery
The main differences between the demographic findings in both cemeteries’ populations in Jindās and Mamilla, are manifested among the adults. In Mamilla, there is a high incidence of mortality in the young age group (20-30 years), and a high incidence, relative to that in Jindās, of death after the age of 50. The life expectancy at ten years, and the average age at death of the adult population are similar in both populations, despite the fact that each had a completely different lifestyle: one rural-agricultural and the other urban – Jerusalem was a large urban center in relation to the area. Life expectancy at the age of ten and the average age at death are less affected by mortality among infants and children, and this may affect the similarity of these data.
There is a significant difference between the two populations in the age group of adults, who lived after the age of 50: the population of Jerusalem was long-lived compared to the population of Jindās. This figure indicates the difference in lifestyle that existed between the two populations. It can be concluded that among urban populations there were more residents who enjoyed readily available and better-quality nutrition, as a result of ongoing trade between the city and the periphery, and also due to the activity of extensive markets with abundant and various foodstuffs. Medical services were more available in the city and the lifestyle was healthier. Alternatively, in Jindās there was a higher level of morbidity. The level of hygiene was relatively low, food availability was not constant, and food quality was poor, especially in difficult years when there was a drought. In addition, the work routine, which was related to the agricultural lifestyle, adversely affected life expectancy (Eshed et al. 2004).
Footnotes
- 1On the frequency of female mortality at this age, see the article’s summary
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