One study found that muscle-load marks on bones are not enough to identify an archer

The summary today

The question has a single answer in the bibliography, and it comes from anthropology, not from archers measured while shooting. In 2015 a group from the University of Szeged examined by eye the arm and shoulder bones of 81 individuals from a tenth-century Hungarian cemetery: 49 buried with a bow, arrows or quiver, that is 40 adult men and 9 non-adults, and 32 adult men buried without weapons. In the probable archers, enlargements are common at the attachments of the deltoid, pectoralis major, latissimus dorsi, brachialis and biceps, together with those of the costoclavicular ligament, trapezius, teres major, the epicondyles of the elbow and the margin between radius and ulna. In their charts the authors see differences between the two groups, but the sites of enlargement are largely the same in the men buried without weapons, and some, such as the biceps and brachialis attachments, are frequent in both: so they conclude that comparing the two groups is not enough to recognise who shot. They leave two explanations open, that there were other archers among those buried without weapons or that some marks are not specific enough, and they still regard the list of typical sites as an aid for future work. The rest of the picture is descriptive: muscular enlargements dominate while osteoarthritis is rare, the non-adults buried with a bow already show signs of work at a few sites, and among the 58 buried with weapons 7 have healed fractures of the upper limb, 5 of them at the collarbone. These are preliminary results, with the frequencies shown only in a chart and no statistical tests, on the bow of tenth-century mounted archers and on people of whom it is not known whether they actually shot: they say nothing about what today's recurve leaves on the bones. This is why the registry does not count them as archers, and the status is transferred.

Also phrased as: "archery shows in the bones"; "archer skeletons"; "muscle markers on bones"; "medieval archers"; "enlarged muscle attachments"

Evidence

• 2015
  For General population Published later

  81 skeletons from the Sárrétudvari-Hízóföld cemetery, tenth century: 49 buried with archery equipment and well enough preserved (40 adults and 9 non-adults) and 32 adult men buried without weapons. The authors see differences between the groups in their charts, but the sites of enlargement are largely the same, and some, such as the biceps and brachialis attachments, are very common in both: the authors conclude that comparing "archers" with unarmed men is not a sufficient method. No statistical test.

  Investigation of Hungarian Conquest Period (10th c. AD) archery on the basis of activity-induced stress markers on the skeleton – preliminary results · Balázs Tihanyi, Zsolt Bereczki, Erika Molnár, William Berthon, László Révész, Olivier Dutour, György Pálfi

• 2015
  Context General population Published later

  Among the probable archers the high-frequency sites are: on the collarbone the costoclavicular ligament, deltoid and trapezius; on the humerus the teres major, pectoralis major, latissimus dorsi, deltoid and the attachments of the flexors and extensors at the elbow; on the radius the biceps and the interosseous margin; on the ulna the brachialis. The frequencies of individual marks appear only in a chart, with no values written out.

  Investigation of Hungarian Conquest Period (10th c. AD) archery on the basis of activity-induced stress markers on the skeleton – preliminary results · Balázs Tihanyi, Zsolt Bereczki, Erika Molnár, William Berthon, László Révész, Olivier Dutour, György Pálfi

• 2015
  Context General population Published later

  In those buried with archery equipment, muscular enlargements dominate, while degenerative joint changes appear only in isolated cases, such as osteoarthritis of both elbows in a single grave.

  Investigation of Hungarian Conquest Period (10th c. AD) archery on the basis of activity-induced stress markers on the skeleton – preliminary results · Balázs Tihanyi, Zsolt Bereczki, Erika Molnár, William Berthon, László Révész, Olivier Dutour, György Pálfi

• 2015
  Context General population Published later

  9 non-adults buried with a bow and arrows also show signs of muscular work, but at only a few sites. The authors warn that the sample is small, the surfaces eroded, and that in the graves of the youngest the weapons may have had only symbolic value.

  Investigation of Hungarian Conquest Period (10th c. AD) archery on the basis of activity-induced stress markers on the skeleton – preliminary results · Balázs Tihanyi, Zsolt Bereczki, Erika Molnár, William Berthon, László Révész, Olivier Dutour, György Pálfi

• 2015
  Context General population Published later

  Among the 58 burials with archery equipment, 7 individuals have healed fractures of the upper limb: 5 at the collarbone, 1 at both wrists and 1 at the right radius and ulna, plus one deformed and shortened right shoulder.

  Investigation of Hungarian Conquest Period (10th c. AD) archery on the basis of activity-induced stress markers on the skeleton – preliminary results · Balázs Tihanyi, Zsolt Bereczki, Erika Molnár, William Berthon, László Révész, Olivier Dutour, György Pálfi

Status history

1. 1990 Not studied The registry's bibliography holds no study that has looked for traces of archery on the bones. That years of shooting leave recognisable marks on the skeleton is an idea in circulation, but nobody has tested it by comparing archers with non-archers: not studied.
2. 2015 Transferred A single study, of 81 tenth-century Hungarian skeletons: in the men buried with a bow and arrows, enlargements are very common at the attachments of the deltoid, pectoralis major, latissimus dorsi, brachialis and biceps, and alongside them those of the costoclavicular ligament, trapezius, teres major, the epicondyles and the margin between radius and ulna. The sites, however, are largely the same in men buried without weapons, and the authors, while seeing differences in their charts, conclude that comparing the two groups is not enough to recognise who shot. Muscular enlargements dominate while osteoarthritis is rare, the non-adults buried with a bow already show signs of work at a few sites, and 7 of the 58 buried with weapons have healed fractures of the upper limb, 5 at the collarbone. One sample of skeletal remains, with no statistical tests, of people buried with a bow of whom it is not known whether they actually shot: for the registry they are not archers who were measured, and the claim rests on another population, so transferred.

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