












































Bioarchaeology International
Volume 9, Number 2: 106–122
DOI: 10.5744/bi.2025.0006

© 2025 University of Florida Press

Social Determinants of Head Trauma?
Skull Fractures in Nineteenth- Century Male 
Prisoners in Graz, Austria- Hungary
Jonny Gebera*  and Niels Hammerb

aSchool of History, Classics and Archaeology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
bDivision of Macroscopic and Clinical Anatomy, Medical University of Graz, Austria
*Correspondence to Jonny Geber, School of History, Classics and Archaeology, University of Edinburgh, 
William Robertson Wing, Old Medical School, Teviot Place, Edinburgh EH8 9AG, United Kingdom

E-mail: jonny . geber@ed . ac . uk

ABSTRACT This study investigates whether social factors influence patterns of head trauma in a bio archae ol o gi cal population 
sample of known identity. By examining the relationship between individual- level social variables and head 
trauma, it is hypothesized that social determinants shape behaviors leading to injury. Skulls and crania of 135 
males who died in Karlau Prison, Graz, Austria- Hungary, between 1858 and 1908 were analyzed. Head trauma was 
quantified statistically by region (cranial base, vault, and face) and type. Social variables were defined from histor-
ical records and included age, legitimacy status at birth, language, and occupation. Head trauma was present in 
23.0% of all individuals, with 2.2% to cranial bases, 20.5% to vaults, and 5.9% to faces. The social variables consid-
ered have a limited impact on the occurrence and patterns of head injuries in this group. The only significant pat-
terns observed related to legitimacy status in individuals older than 40 years. Individuals born to married parents 
displayed a higher trauma rate, as well as Slovenian speakers classified as unskilled laborers. A logistic regression 
analysis revealed that social variables poorly predicted trauma outcomes, despite the well- contextualized sample. 
The random pattern of head trauma could possibly be linked to the social dynamics within the prison system, 
rather than life outside the institution that the variables considered in this study reflect. This study highlights how 
social complexity, which is evident from the historical records pertaining to these individuals, does not necessarily 
manifest as patterns of health and injury in bio archae ol o gi cal population samples.

Keywords: anatomical collection; criminology; Habsburg; SDoH; violence

 Die vorliegende Studie untersucht anhand in einer bioarchäologischen Stichprobe bekannter Identität, ob so-
ziale Faktoren das Auftreten von Schädeltraumata beeinflussen. Nach Betrachtung der Beziehung individueller 
sozialer Variablen mit Schädeltraumata wurde die Hypothese aufgestellt, dass soziale Determinanten Verh-
altensweisen beinflussen können, die zu letztlich Verletzungen führten. Analysiert wurden Schädel von 135 
Männern, die zwischen 1858 und 1908 im Karlau Strafhaus, Graz, Österreich- Ungarn, verstorben waren. 
Schädeltraumata wurden statistisch nach Region (Schädelbasis, Kalotte und Gesicht) und Art quantifiziert. 
Soziale Variablen wurden auf Grundlage historischer Aufzeichnungen definiert, beinhalteten Alter, Legitim-
itätsstatus bei Geburt, Sprache und Beruf. Nachweisbare Schädeltraumata existierten bei 23,0% aller Indivi-
duen; 2,2% an der Schädelbasis, 20,5% Kalotten- nah und 5,9% am Viszerocranium. Die vorliegenden sozialen 
Variablen hatten begrenzten Einfluss auf das Auftreten und die Muster von Kopfverletzungen dieser Gruppe. 
Ein signifikantes Muster waren der Legitimitätsstatus bei Individuen älter als 40 Jahre. Nachkommen verheira-
teter Eltern wiesen höhere Traumata- Raten, ebenso ungelernte, slowenischsprachige Arbeiter. Logistische Re-
gressionsanalysen ergaben, dass sich trotz der gut kontextualisierten Stichprobe aus sozialen Variablen 
Schädeltraumata kaum vorhersagen lassen. Das eher zufällige Muster von Schädeltraumata könnte daher eher 
mit sozialen Dynamiken innerhalb des Gefängnissystems in Verbindung gebracht stehen; weniger mit dem 

Received 26 February 2025
Revised 22 April 2025
Accepted 14 June 2025



Geber and Hammer 107

Introduction

The intersection of social history and bioarchaeology 
provides a potent framework for investigating the in-
fluence of societal structures on health and injury in 
past populations (Geber 2015; Klaus et al. 2017; Mays 
2023; Murphy and Klaus 2017). Consequently, the re-
lationship between social complexity and head trauma 
rates has been explored in various studies, often 
linked to community interactions (Baustian 2018) and 
broader dimensions such as population dynamics, en-
vironmental stability, subsistence strategies, social hi-
erarchies, and cultural norms (de la Cova 2010; Fibiger 
et  al. 2023; Geber and O’Donnabhain 2020; Scaffidi 
and Tung 2020; Walker 1989). However, these investi-
gations are generally relying on broad inferences 
about social living conditions and environments de-
rived from burial contexts, which may not accurately 
represent the individual’s true experiences.

While studies of individuals with known identities 
and detailed biographies offer a more nuanced ap-
proach, these are often limited to those of high social 
status (e.g., Kacki et  al. 2018; Karsten and Manhag 
2017). Named or identified individuals in historical 
anatomical collections, primarily composed of indi-
viduals from lower social strata, provide a notable ex-
ception. The significance of these collections— and 
the ethics pertaining to them— has often been argued 
from a scientific point of view (Campanacho and 
Cardoso 2018; Marinho et  al. 2018), which reflects 
how they were collected in the first place. In more re-
cent years, however, the importance of these collec-
tions for gaining a better understanding of how social 
and cultural environments shape and impact human 
health and development have gained momentum 
(Zuckerman 2018), as well as insights into attitudes 
and “othering” in social power relations in the past 
(Robbins Schug et al. 2025; Zuckerman et al. 2021).

This research explores patterns of head trauma on 
the skulls of male prisoners who died in Karlau Prison 
(Provinzialstrafanstalt Graz- Karlau) in the city of 
Graz in Styria, Austria- Hungary, between Novem-
ber 1858 and December 1908. During this period, the 
bodies of unclaimed deceased prisoners were anato-
mized at the Institute of Anatomy of Karl- Franzens- 
University, and some skeletal remains were included 
in its anatomical collection. As the identities of these 

individuals are known, it has been possible to obtain 
detailed biographical information through church re-
cords, dissection protocols, collection catalogues, 
newspaper articles, published literature, and more. 
These sources give an unprecedented insight into the 
social environment during the lives of these individu-
als, and this information enables a critical assessment 
of the biocultural linkages between social factors and 
head trauma patterns (cf. Mant et  al. 2020; Martin 
and Harrod 2015; Perry and Gowland 2022).

Building upon findings from studies of contempo-
rary prison populations (Davies et al. 2012; McMillan 
et al. 2021; McMillan et al. 2022; Williams et al. 2010), 
it is hypothesized that social circumstances, as well 
as the behaviors associated with these, influence the 
risk of head injuries. The aim of the study is to inves-
tigate whether specific social factors may explain pat-
terns of head trauma within Karlau Prison during 
the latter half of the nineteenth century. The research 
question is underpinned by the Social Determinants 
of Health (SDoH) framework, which highlights the 
impact of sociopolitical context (e.g., labor market 
access and education), structural factors (e.g., socio-
economic status and class), and intermediate deter-
minants (e.g., work/living conditions, and lifestyle 
factors) on health outcomes (Braveman 2023:5– 15; 
Solar and Irwin 2010). While biocultural in its appli-
cation to bioarchaeology, the SDoH approach specifi-
cally aims to elucidate the sociocultural determinants 
of health outcomes. This represents a more precise 
focus compared to the traditionally broader, holistic, 
and contextual examination of the interplay between 
biology, society, and culture in bioarchaeology but 
generally requires well- contextualized and detailed 
life history accounts or data that are not always read-
ily available (see Cherverko 2021:67 ff.).

Karlau Prison, Anatomization of Prisoners’ 
Bodies at Karl- Franzens- University, and 
Rehumanizing the Anatomical Collection

Karlau Prison (Fig. 1) is located west of the river Mur, 
on what in the nineteenth century was the south-
western outskirts of the city of Graz, and was first 
established as a provincial prison in 1809. The build-
ing itself was originally a late sixteenth- century 

Leben außerhalb dieser Institutionen, das die in dieser Studie berücksichtigten Variablen widerspiegelten. 
Diese Studie verdeutlicht, dass sich soziale Komplexität, wie sie in den historischen Aufzeichnungen über diese 
Individuen erkennbar ist, nicht zwangsläufig in Mustern von Gesundheit und Verletzungen in bioarchäolo-
gischen Stichproben widerspiegelt.

Stickwörter: Anatomische Sammlung; Gewalt; Kriminologie; Habsburg; SDoH (Soziale Determinanten der 
Gesundheit)



Social Patterns of Head Trauma108

royal hunting lodge/castle (Hammer- Luza 2017). 
During a few months in 1859, it was used as a penal 
institution for political prisoners from the Crown-
land Kingdom of Lombardy- Venetia. From Septem-
ber 1859, Karlau Prison functioned as a forced labor 
institution for prisoners from Lower Austria, until it 
was officially reverted to its function as a provincial 
male prison in 1863 (Hammer- Luza 2019:71– 74). Be-
tween 1869 and 1872, the prison underwent signifi-
cant reconstruction to facilitate the solitary 
confinement of prisoners in accordance with the so- 
called Pennsylvania system prison reform, which ar-
gued that separating prisoners from each other 
within the institution would prevent them from fur-
ther “moral corruption” (see Vaux 1884). By 1888, the 
institution, which, other than the prison and associ-
ated buildings, included a garden and farmlands, 
covered over five hectares enclosed within 
3.2- meter- high walls. In December that year, the 
Karlau Prison held 745 prisoners, of whom 24 were 
sentenced to life and 85 served sentences of between 
10 and 20 years (Leitmaier 1890:340– 350).

The prison was one of several public institutions 
(such as hospitals and asylums) in Graz that supplied 
postmortem human bodies for anatomical study  
at the Anatomical Institute at Karl- Franzens- 
University. The Anatomical Institute, first estab-
lished when the (new) university was founded in 
1848, was located in a purpose- built and state- of- 
the- art facility on Harrachgasse 21 in the center of 
Graz. It housed its own anatomical collection and 
museum, which was considered an essential compo-
nent of any anatomical institution at the time. In 
Austria, there was a seemingly tolerant attitude to-
ward human dissection, at least among those who 

partook in the public debate. This perspective likely 
reflected both the Roman Catholic (the dominant re-
ligion of the Habsburg Monarchy) theological focus 
on the immortality of the soul relative to the mortal-
ity of the body, and the broader context of political 
liberalism, modernity, and the societal benefits 
gained through the advance of anatomical knowl-
edge overall during the nineteenth century (Buklijas 
2008, 2018).

In Graz, mirroring the practice in Vienna, the Ana-
tomical Institute interred dissected bodies in coffins 
within a designated cemetery plot. This practice sug-
gests that the deceased were not merely treated as “ca-
davers” but afforded a degree of dignity, being buried 
in consecrated ground in accordance with societal 
norms (Buklijas 2008). This respect is further evi-
denced by the recording and maintenance of the indi-
viduals’ names in institutional records and the 
anatomical collection. Integrating these documentary 
sources with osteobiographies of human remains, 
through osteological and palaeopathological analysis, 
allows for efforts toward rehumanizing the collection 
(Zuckerman et al. 2024). This rehumanization is cru-
cial not only to avoid further “othering” of the re-
mains but also to potentially illuminate subaltern 
voices from the past, often silenced in historical re-
cords and whose stories have largely been forgotten. 
Or as Franz Rabl (No. 651, b. 5 January 1856), whose 
convictions included four murders, five robberies, 
eight arsons, and 12 counts of theft and fraud, uttered 
shortly before his execution on 11 November  1890 
(Grazer Volksblatt 1890):

Forgive me, and remember me. . . .  [Verzeiht 
mir, und seid meiner eingedenk. . . .  ]

Figure 1. A postcard photograph of Karlau Prison from 1911, by Anton Schlauer (Graz, Verlag). 
Source: University of Graz (https:// gams . uni - graz . at / o:gm . 6237). CC BY- SA 3.0 AT.

https://gams.uni-graz.at/o:gm.6237


Geber and Hammer 109

Material and Methods

The sample comprised 135 identified individuals: 127 
skulls (seven missing the calotte), two crania (one 
missing the calotte), and six complete skeletons. Two 
of these individuals did not die in Karlau Prison but 
were included in the study on the basis of context as 
they had been imprisoned in life: one individual, who 
was convicted of murder, died from stroke (Gehirn-
lähmung) in the city’s Lunatic Asylum (Feldhof Ir-
renanstalt) in 1873, and another convicted murderer 
(Franz Rabl, see above) died by public execution in 
the courtyard of the State Courthouse (Landes- 
Gerichtsgebäude) at the old jail (Kriminalgebäude/In-
quisitions-  und Arresthaus) (see Hammer- Luza 2008) 
in the city. The main cause of death in the total popu-
lation sample, however, was respiratory disease 
(65.9%; 89/135), most commonly due to tuberculosis. 
All individuals were male, which was confirmed 
through macroscopic analysis following a standard 
osteological protocol (Buikstra and Ubelaker 1994; 
Sjøvold 1988). Most of the human remains included 
in this study (78.5%; 106/135) were anatomized during 
the tenure of Professor Emil Zuckerkandl (1849– 
1910), who joined Graz in 1882 (Höflechner 2006:357– 
387). The expansion of the collection that occurred 
during this time appears to be part of an intent to es-
tablish a research theme on anatomical variation and 
morphology, as well as bring the anatomical collec-
tions to equal standing with other institutions, such 
as Vienna, where Zuckerkandl had come from (Hyrtl 
1869).

The remains are curated by the Division of Macro-
scopic and Clinical Anatomy at the Medical Univer-
sity of Graz, which is the successor institution to the 
former Anatomical Institute. The remains are excep-
tionally well- preserved, with the exception of the den-
titions, which are very fragile and frequently damaged. 
This might be attributable to the maceration process 
(described in detail in an article published in the Ar-
chiv für Anatomie und Entwickelungsgeschichte), 
which involved soaking in warm water (up to 50°C) 
and degreasing in a gasoline solution, followed by 
cleaning with soap and water and sun- bleaching 
(Planer 1877). The skulls are marked with a number 
(typically a paper label affixed to the glabella) that 
corresponds to the register of the inventory of the for-
mer anatomical museum (when located at Harrach-
gasse 21). In some instances, the catalogue number (in 
addition to the paper label) was written in pencil on 
the skulls, primarily on an occipital condyle or on one 
of the mandibular ramii. Originally, the names of the 
individuals, their age at death, provenance (location 
of birth and death), and crime conviction were writ-
ten in ink on the squama of the temporal bones, 

mostly on the left bone or on both. This writing was, 
for various undisclosed reasons, deliberately erased in 
the early 2000s from most of the skulls but could be 
partly or completely discerned in this study with the 
aid of an ultraviolet LED light torch (LUXNOVAC, 30 
W at 365 nm). Through this method, it was possible to 
read partial or complete writings on 103 skulls.

Given that the sample comprised named individu-
als, the study first sought to validate or refute the re-
corded identities by cross- referencing all the available 
sources in conjunction with the results of the osteo-
logical analysis. These written sources included, in 
addition to the inventory catalogues, primarily dis-
section registers and church records. All these sources 
give, to varying degrees, the same information relat-
ing to name, sex, age and date of death, place of birth, 
“ethnicity” (see below), profession, and criminal con-
victions. Occasionally, notes about observed anatomi-
cal anomalies and variations are also included in the 
museum catalogue descriptions, which could be used 
to confirm that the register entry is linked to the cor-
rect skull. Of the total sample, mismatched identities 
were noted in only two cases. In these, the number 
label attached to the glabella did not match the de-
scription of the skull in the catalogue inventory, but 
the correct numbers could be discerned from vague 
pencil or ink writings on the bones.

Age at Death

The age at death was calculated from birth and death 
dates recorded in the relevant church records, as only 
stated known ages at death are valid if they can be 
confirmed from primary sources. While it was possi-
ble to locate the death dates for all individuals, birth 
records could not be found for 13 individuals. There 
was, however, a strong correlation between recorded 
(x  = 38.9, SD = 14.8) and actual (x  = 38.5 years, SD = 
14.8) age at death (rs = .996, p < 0.001, N = 122). To en-
sure consistency in the data, however, only actual ages 
at death were used for analysis. Recorded ages at death 
were, however, used for missing cases when assigning 
individuals to age groups. The age group classifica-
tions used are those employed in nineteenth- century 
Austrian crime statistics (K. K. Justiz- Ministerium 
1852): 14– 20  years, 20– 30  years, 30– 40  years, and  
40+ years.

Recording, Classification, and Quantification  
of Head Trauma

Head trauma (involving the whole skull) was re-
corded by location and type (Dedouit et al. 2024) and 



Social Patterns of Head Trauma110

included both antemortem and perimortem injuries. 
Healed bony calluses on skulls in general tend to be 
small and are often difficult to discern, in contrast to 
postcranial elements (Cunha and Pinheiro 2009), 
and can easily be misdiagnosed from normal ana-
tomical variation and potential alternative causes 
like dermoid cysts and infectious lesions (e.g., tuber-
culosis, treponemal disease). To avoid overdiagnosis, 
Botham (2019) proposed a more strict and standard-
ized descriptive diagnostic protocol considering le-
sion margins, shape, size, location, and endocranial 
table involvement. Bone remodeling in well- healed 
lesions, however, often obscures these features, mak-
ing descriptions difficult. In the current study, clear 
cases of depression fractures were only evident in le-
sions measuring more than 3 × 3 mm in size. As vir-
tually all lesions were healed (see below), diagnosing 
and describing trauma was aided through computed 
tomography scans (Siemens Somatom Definition 
AS+, axial slice orientation, slice thickness 0.6 mm, 
no slice increment), which were processed and ana-
lyzed using Amira 3D (Thermo Fisher Scientific, v. 
2024.1).

Definition of Social Variables

This study defines a social variable as an attribute or 
characteristic that influences interactions and behav-
iors in individuals, as well as within and between 
groups. In archaeology, social dimensions are gener-
ally only informed and contextualized by mortuary 
contexts. While this approach is appropriate (Baker 
and Agarwal 2017), it is fundamentally imperfect in 
the sense that it is built on general understandings of 
how past communities and societies were structured 
(i.e., gender roles, how social stratifications were 
manifested, etc.) that do not necessarily always apply 
on an individual level. In contrast, identified human 
remains, for which individual social circumstances 
can be determined, offer significant advantages for 
understanding how social complexities manifest in 
human skeletal biology and, consequently, how this 
biology responds and adapts to social environments. 
The details of biographical information pertaining to 
named individuals can vary greatly, however (see 
Cardoso 2018), and the choice of social variables to 
include in the study is limited by the information 
available in archival sources. The evident bias in these 
archival sources leans toward demographic data 
(birth and death records), social conditions (such as 
societal position, family structure, and committed 
crimes), and health variables (specifically the cause of 
death), reflecting what was deemed important to 
wider society.

(Social) Age: Social dimensions in relation to age 
are multifaceted and theoretically complex. For ex-
ample, Johfre and Saperstein (2023) discuss social age 
within a multilevel system where age can determine 
behavioral expectations in new interactions, such as 
dominance, submission, violence, or respect. Thus, 
age in this sample may be considered a social factor 
influencing behavior and trauma outcomes, even 
though it is not possible to determine at what age ep-
isodes of head trauma occurred. Bio archae ol o gi cal 
assessments of social age generally rely on biologi-
cally estimated chronological age, informed by stages 
of dental development and mineralization, as well as 
bone degeneration (Mays 2021:55– 97). Despite the 
aim of these osteological techniques to approximate 
chronological age at death within a certain range, 
their inherent methodological limitations prevent the 
determination of specific ages. The present study 
overcomes this limitation by utilizing the known 
chronological age at death of the individuals, thus 
permitting a more direct examination of age as a so-
cial variable.

Legitimacy Status at Birth: Church records gener-
ally record the legitimacy status of newborn children, 
thereby providing potential insight into early child-
hood social conditions. For most of the nineteenth 
century, legal restrictions, so- called Politischer Ehek-
onsens (“Political Marriage Consent”), were in place 
in Austria and across the Habsburg Monarchy that 
restricted the ability of those with lesser or no re-
sources to marry (Kytir and Münz 1986), meaning 
that illegitimacy came to be linked with poverty and 
social position. When a child’s legitimacy is not ex-
plicitly stated in church records, it can be inferred in-
directly. If no father is listed, illegitimacy is assumed. 
Similarly, if the individual’s surname in adulthood 
matches the mother’s maiden name, an illegitimate 
status at birth can be assumed.

Language: In the multiethnic Austrian- Hungarian 
state, ethnocultural affiliations were complex and offi-
cially defined through linguistic classification (see 
Stergar and Scheer 2018). From 1880 onward, the cen-
sus in the Austrian half of the Double Monarchy spec-
ified the mandatory recording of one of nine languages 
(Umgangssprache, the “every- day language” used): 
German, Bohemian- Moravian- Slovak, Polish, Ruthe-
nian, Slovenian, Serbian- Croatian, Italian- Ladino, 
Romanian, and Hungarian. The archival records for 
individuals in this study largely adhere to these cate-
gories, with the exception of two individuals identi-
fied as French and seven others with unclear or 
unknown classifications. Due to ethnopolitical com-
plexities embedded within the Habsburg Monarchy, 
where ethnocultural affiliations were linked to not 
only tradition and identity but also societal influence, 



Geber and Hammer 111

tensions became increasingly marked throughout the 
nineteenth century (Hubbard 1970; Wingfield 2004). 
These tensions frequently found expression in stereo-
types contrasting “civilized” peoples with Natur-
mensch; for example, German speakers were viewed 
as economic, industrious, and diligent, Hungarians as 
vain and hot- tempered, and Romanians and Croats as 
hardened, lazy, wild, and drunken (see Vári 2004). It 
is reasonable to assume that these stereotypes and at-
titudes also affected the lives of the individuals con-
sidered in this study.

Social Class (by Occupation): Social mobility in 
Graz during most of the nineteenth century was gen-
erally stagnant, and with increasing industrialization 
during the latter half of the nineteenth century, soci-
ety became more and more characterized by socio-
economic stratifications linked to professions, even 
among the working classes (e.g., skilled versus un-
skilled laborers) (Hubbard 1984). These social catego-
rizations, based on occupation, are also evident in the 
census and reflected in the archives pertaining to the 
individuals considered in this study. These occupa-
tions, which can be viewed as an indicator of the so-
cial position held in later life, were categorized as 
self- employed/independent (e.g., master tradesmen, 
merchants, and privatiers), skilled laborers (craft 
workers, including apprentices), unskilled laborers 
(including servants and day laborers), and unem-
ployed (including beggars and vagrants) (Hubbard 
1984; Kořalka 2010). For five younger individuals (less 
than 30  years), the recorded occupation of their fa-
thers was used.

Classification of Criminal Offenses

Following the definitions used at the time (Oberster 
Gerichts-  und Cassationshof 1884:49– 51), the indi-
viduals studied were convicted of 13 different catego-
ries of crimes (including attempts), which were 
classified into the three broad categories used by the 
Habsburg judicial system (K. K. Justiz- Ministerium 
1852:Section XX): violent offenses (Gewaltthätige 
Handlungsweisse, e.g., murder, manslaughter, sexual 
crimes, arson), property/economic offenses (Gewinn-
sucht, e.g., theft, robbery, and fraud), and political 
crimes (Verbrechen politischer Natur, e.g., lèse- 
majesté, counterfeiting, and forgery). It was possible 
to assign a criminal offense category to 133 individu-
als in the present study. The convictions only refer to 
the last judicial sentence given to the individuals, 
however. From notes in the archival sources, it is evi-
dent that some prisoners were repeat offenders, but it 
has not been possible to trace the full criminal re-
cords for all individuals.

Statistical Analysis

Data analyses were conducted using SPSS (IBM, Ver-
sion 29.0.1.0). A Spearman’s Rho correlation test was 
employed when investigating the relationship be-
tween ranked variables and chi- square tests for cate-
gorical variables. A Fisher’s exact test was used in 
sparse data sets (five or fewer cell counts). A logistic 
regression model was applied to investigate the prob-
ability of head trauma (dependent variable) when 
linked to age, legitimacy status at birth, language, 
and social class (independent variables).

Results

Age at death averaged at 38.5  years, ranging from 
15.9  years to 73.1  years (SD = 14.8, N = 122), which 
gives a good reflection of the mortality pattern of the 
prison at the time but not the age structure of the liv-
ing prison population. The majority of the individu-
als were German speakers from the Styria region 
(including Lower Styria, now part of Slovenia). In 
December 1888, the prison population (N = 745) con-
sisted of 66.8% German speakers, 30.2% Slovenian 
speakers, 0.1% Hungarian speakers, and 2.8% other 
language groups (Leitmaier 1890:349). In the study 
sample (N = 128), 60.9% spoke German as their ev-
eryday language, 31.3% Slovenian, 0.8% Hungarian, 
and 7.0% other languages, which suggests that the 
collection is a close representation of the ethnocul-
tural composition of the prison inmates at the time. 
Most individuals (51.1%; 69/135) were unskilled labor-
ers belonging to lower social classes (Table 1).

Fracture Frequencies

The overall prevalence of head trauma in the Karlau 
Prison population sample was 23.0% (31/135), affect-
ing the posterior cranial base in three individuals, 
the cranial vault in 26 individuals, and the face in 
eight individuals (Table 2). A Wilcoxon signed- rank 
test indicated no apparent side dominance to where 
fractures most commonly occurred on the skulls (T = 
25.50, z = − 1.112, p = 0.266). Weak correlations were 
observed between facial fractures and injuries to the 
cranial base (rs = 0.18, p = 0.042, N = 135) and cranial 
vault (rs = 0.27, p = 0.002, N = 127), suggesting that 
trauma affecting different regions of the head in an 
individual had generally occurred on separate occa-
sions. Of those affected (N = 31), the number of diag-
nosed fractures ranged from 1 to 5 (x  = 1.7, SD = 1.1).

Cranial base fractures are typically classified by  
region: anterior (frontobasal) fractures often result 



Social Patterns of Head Trauma112

from direct frontal impact, central skull base frac-
tures commonly extend from frontobasal fractures, 
and posterior skull base fractures usually occur due 
to direct occipital impact and may extend into the 
petrous part of the temporal bone (Baugnon and 
Hudgins 2014). Only posterior skull base fractures, 
affecting three individuals, were observed in the 

Karlau Prison population sample. One of these cases 
comprised two perimortem fractures in an individ-
ual (No.  137) who died by judicial hanging. These 
fractures included a unilateral (right) occipitomas-
toid diastasis and a hole fracture (approximately 8 × 6 
mm in size) posterior to the right occipital condyle 
and extending to the lateral margin of the foramen 
magnum (Fig. 2). The fractures are likely directly re-
lated to the cause of death rather than damage caused 

Table 1. Baseline characteristics of the prevalence of head trauma by social variable categories in the Karlau Prison population sample.

Variable Statistic Total

Head Trauma

χ2 (df) p- valuePresent Not present

Age at death [years] Nobs (Nmiss) 122 (13) 30 (1) 92 (12) 110.3 (105) 0.342
x  (SD) 38.5 (14.8) 38.7 (15.7) 38.5 (14.6)
Range 15.9– 73.1 15.9– 73.1 17.4– 70.7

Age group [years] Nobs (Nmiss) 135 (0) 31 (0) 104 (0) 1.5 (3) 0.702
14– 20 N (%) 6 (4.4) 1 (3.2) 5 (4.8)
20– 30 N (%) 43 (31.9) 9 (29.0) 34 (32.7)
30– 40 N (%) 25 (18.5) 8 (25.8) 17 (16.3)
40+ N (%) 61 (45.2) 13 (41.9) 48 (46.2)

Legitimacy status at birth Nobs (Nmiss) 119 (16) 28 (3) 91 (13) 0.4 (1) 0.545
Legitimate N (%) 75 (63.0) 19 (67.9) 56 (61.5)
Illegitimate N (%) 44 (37.0) 9 (32.1) 35 (38.5)

Language Nobs (Nmiss) 128 (7) 29 (2) 99 (5) 3.6 (6) 0.742
German N (%) 78 (60.9) 17 (58.6) 61 (61.6)
Bohemian- Moravian- Slovak N (%) 2 (1.6) 1 (3.4) 1 (1.0)
Slovenian N (%) 40 (31.3) 10 (34.5) 30 (30.3)
Serbian- Croatian N (%) 1 (0.8) 0 (0.0) 1 (1.0)
Italian- Ladino N (%) 4 (3.1) 0 (0.0) 4 (4.0)
Hungarian N (%) 1 (0.8) 0 (0.0) 1 (1.0)
Other (foreign) N (%) 2 (1.6) 1 (3.2) 1 (1.0)

Social category (by profession) Nobs (Nmiss) 135 (0) 31 (0) 104 (0) 2.3 (3) 0.516
Self- employed/independent N (%) 7 (5.2) 1 (3.2) 6 (5.8)
Skilled laborer N (%) 47 (34.8) 13 (41.9) 34 (32.7)
Unskilled laborer N (%) 69 (51.1) 16 (51.6) 53 (51.0)
Unemployed/destitute N (%) 12 (8.9) 1 (3.2) 11 (10.6)

Table 2. Quantification of skull fractures, by region and fracture type.

Region/Fracture Type
N (%) [individuals  

affected]

Side [number  
of fractures]

Left Right

Cranial base (posterior) 
(N = 135)

3 (2.2) 3 2

Linear 2 (1.5) 2 0
Diastatic 2 (1.5) 1 1
Hole 1 (0.7) 0 1

Cranial vault (N = 127) 26 (20.5) 21 15
Depression 13 (10.2) 12 6
Linear 10 (7.9) 4 6
Multiple Linear 3 (2.4) 2 1
Diastatic 1 (0.8) 1 0
?Gutter 1 (0.8) 1 0
Stellate 1 (0.8) 0 1
Hole 2 (1.6) 1 1

Facial (N = 135) 8 (5.9) 7 5
Frontal sinus 2 (1.5) 1 1
Infraorbital rim 1 (0.7) 0 1
Mandible 1 (0.7) 1 0
Nasoorbitoethmoid 1 (0.7) 1 0
Nose 5 (3.7) 3 3
Zygomaticomaxillary 
complex

1 (0.7) 1 0

Figure 2. Perimortem fractures observed in the posterior cranial base 
of a 26.4- year- old (No. 137), who died by judicial hanging. A hole 
fracture is noted immediately posterior to the right occipital condyle, 
as well as an occipitomastoid diastasis on the right side of the skull 
base. Photo: Jonny Geber.



Geber and Hammer 113

during the anatomical dissection. Occipitomastoid 
diastatic fractures have been reported in other cases 
of judicial hanging- related skeletal trauma (Cam-
panacho and Garcia 2021; Waldron 1996; Wood- Jones 
1913).

The additional two individuals with injuries to the 
cranial base displayed antemortem fractures (Fig. 3). 
These included a linear fracture in the process of 
healing on the left aspect of the occipital bone of a 
44.0- year- old individual (No.  78), where a fracture 
line extended onto the temporoparietal suture where 
it is diastatic. The second skull belonged to a 
57.0- year- old individual (No. 124), which displayed a 
healed linear fracture running diagonally across the 
left aspect from the jugular junction to the external 
protuberance. Linear fractures affecting the neuro-
cranium generally originate distant from the in- 
bending impact area of the bone and radiate both 
toward and away from where the impact occurred 
(Galloway 1999). The linear fractures in these indi-
viduals were both confined to the occipital bone, and 
both on the same side, likely as a consequence of be-
ing struck from the front or left while moving the 
face away from an aggressor.

Overall, the majority (72.2%; 13/18) of cranial vault 
lesions affected the frontal bone, with the remaining 
fractures present on parietal bones (27.8%; 5/18). Most 
of the cranial vault injuries were depression fractures 
(Fig.  4a), with approximate surface areas (length × 
width) ranging from 0.1 to 14.8 cm2, with a median of 
0.6 cm2 (SD = 3.6 cm2, N = 18). The morphology of 
cranial vault depressions depends on the size and 
shape of the object that causes the injuries, and is 
generally the result of objects that are of “moderate” 

size not exceeding the cranial vault dimensions at the 
site of impact (Galloway 1999). Linear fractures 
(Fig.  4b) on skulls tend to occur when the head is 
struck by larger surface objects, and these fracture 
types were present in 12 individuals. In addition, 
there was also a case of a stellate fracture (Fig. 4c) ob-
served on the right parietal bone of a 15.9- year- old 
(No.  1414), who was also the youngest individual in 
the population sample. Stellate fractures originate at 
the point of impact and sometimes result in a depres-
sion at the point of impact (Galloway 1999), which 
was also observed in this case.

Less common cranial vault injuries in the popula-
tion sample included hole fractures and a potential 
gutter fracture that may be indicative of healed gun-
shot trauma (Fig. 5) in three individuals. These males 
had been convicted of violent (public violence and 
rape) and property (robbery) crimes. The hole frac-
tures, similar in size and shape, exhibit smooth mar-
gins with pitted reactive bone on the ectocranial 
surface and smaller healed fragments on the endo-
cranial surface. It was not possible to identify any  
radiating fracture lines originating from the perfora-
tions, which, however, may have become indiscern-
ible through the healing process (Cunha and Pinheiro 
2009). The potential gutter fracture (Fig. 5c), located 
on the left parietal bone of a prisoner convicted of 
robbery, is less definitive due to the bone remodeling 
process of the margins. It presents as a shallow de-
pression with two parallel linear leveled bases on the 
ectocranial surface, possibly indicative of a grazing 
bullet wound (Berryman 2019).

Facial fractures predominately affected the nose 
and mid- face in the population sample. Healed 

Figure 3. Fractures of the posterior cranial base in two individuals, affecting the skulls of a 44.0- year- old (No. 78), where a diastatic and linear 
fracture (in the process of healing) are present on the left aspect (a), and a 57.0- year- old (No. 124) with a healed linear fracture on the posterior- left 
part of the head (b). Images generated from CT scans through Amira 3D (Thermo Fisher Scientific, v. 2024.2), by Jonny Geber.



Social Patterns of Head Trauma114

complex fracture patterns, which are the result of 
high- force trauma, were present in three individuals. 
These exhibited fractures involving the nasoorbi-
toethmoid (Fig.  6a) and zygomaticomaxillary com-
plex (see Fig. 6c) on the left side of the face. In one of 
these cases, a skull (No. 178) belonging to a convicted 
assassin also involved a fracture of the left coronoid 
process of the mandible (see Figure 6d), which is re-
portedly rare in the clinical literature and today most 
commonly the result of falls and road traffic acci-
dents (Diab et al. 2022; Galloway 1999). Other facial 
fractures observed involved the infraorbital rim and 
the frontal sinus (Fig. 6a) in two individuals. Nasal 
fractures (Fig. 6b) were the most commonly observed 
facial trauma in the group. These are, as with cranial 
vault trauma, most commonly attributed to interper-
sonal violence (Magalhães et al. 2020).

Associations between Criminal Offense  
and Head Trauma

Within the group, there was a relatively even distri-
bution of individuals convicted of violent (51.9%; 
69/133) and property/economic crimes (43.6%; 
58/133), while political crimes were the least common 
conviction at only 4.5% (6/133). There was only a weak 
correlation between crime offense convictions and 
age (rs = − 0.208, p = 0.022, N = 121), which indicates 
that these social variables did not influence the crim-
inal offense data within this sample. No statistically 
significant associations between criminal offense cat-
egory and head trauma were observed in the sample 
on an overall level (χ2(2) = 0.171, p = 1.000), but when 
investigating the association by age group, a chi- 
square test identified a difference in fracture rates of 

Figure 4. Examples of healed cranial vault fractures, which include a depression fracture (a) on the frontal bone (No. 145) of a 31.3- year- old, a linear 
fracture (b) running from the right mid- coronal suture to the mid- squama of the temporal bone in the skull (No. 180) of a 30.9- year- old, and a 
stellate fracture (c) on the superior portion of the right parietal bone in a skull belonging to a 15.9- year- old (No. 1414). Photo: Jonny Geber.



Geber and Hammer 115

cranial vaults in the 20-  to 30- year age group (χ2(2) = 
7.151, p = 0.035), where prisoners who had committed 
property/economic crimes were more than twice as 
likely to display fractures compared to prisoners with 
violent and political crime convictions (Fig. 7).

Relationship between Social Variables  
and Head Trauma Patterns

While the age of injury cannot be established for 
these individuals, age may serve as a useful interpre-
tive variable under the hypothesis that the risk of cer-
tain trauma types was linked to age, potentially 
evident as cumulative rates or an increased number 
of fractures in older versus younger individuals. The 
data, however, show no association between the prev-
alence of head trauma (rs = − .004, p = 0.915, N = 122) 
and the number of fractures (rs = 0.062, p = 0.062, N = 
122) with age at death, which suggests that there is no 
relationship between age as a social variable and head 
trauma patterns in this population sample. The only 
pattern relating to age noted appears to be random. 
When the data were analyzed by age group, it was 
found that among 40+- year- olds, there was a 

significantly higher rate of cranial vault trauma in 
those born as legitimate children: 27.3% (9/33) were 
affected, compared to none (0.0%; 0/15) among those 
born illegitimate (χ²(1) = 5.035, p = 0.041, N = 48). An-
other observation is that there was a statistically sig-
nificantly higher rate of cranial vault trauma in 
individuals aged 20– 30  years convicted of property 
offenses within the German- speaking group (χ²(2) = 
8.404, p = 0.010, N = 35).

Legitimacy status at birth also stands out as the 
only variable associated with facial trauma in the 
overall sample, where it was observed only in indi-
viduals (8.0%; 6/69) born to parents who were mar-
ried (χ²(2) = 3.707, p = 0.054, N = 119). If it is accepted 
that legitimacy status can be used as a proxy for so-
cial status in early childhood, then this would suggest 
that poverty or a lower family social position at the 
beginning of life had no influence on later life out-
comes in terms of exposure to trauma. Austrian 
crime statistics from the late nineteenth century re-
corded the legitimacy status of offenders (e.g., K. K. 
Statistischen Central- Commission 1896), and it is 
noteworthy that from these data, the prevailing per-
ception linking illegitimate birth to increased adult 
criminality was increasingly being questioned, albeit 

Figure 5. Healed hole fracture fractures on right aspect of the frontal bone (a) of a 30.8- year- old (No. 106) and on the right parietal bone (b), 
adjacent to the coronal suture, belonging to a 73.1- year- old (No. 215), and a potential gutter fracture (c) on the superolateral aspect of the left parietal 
bone of a 42.3- year- old (No. 166). Photo: Jonny Geber.



Social Patterns of Head Trauma116

Figure 6. Examples of healed facial fractures, affecting the frontal sinus and nasoorbitoethmoid complex (a) on the right side of the face of a 
57.0- year- old (No. 124), the left side of the nose (b) in a 64.2- year- old (No. 216), and the zygomaticomaxillary complex (c) and coronoid process of 
the mandible (d) on the left side of the face of a 22.7- year- old (No. 178). Photo: Jonny Geber.

Figure 7. Bar chart displaying prevalence of head trauma by age group, region of head (CB = cranial base, CV 
= cranial vault, FA = face), and criminal offence category.



Geber and Hammer 117

with some reluctance (see Morrison 1897:121ff.). By 
the early twentieth century, reports indicated that 
13.8% of male prisoners in Austria were born illegiti-
mate, only marginally higher than the 13.7% recorded 
for the general population (von Borosini 1913).

No direct associations between language, as a 
proxy for ethnocultural identity, and head trauma 
patterns were observed in the population sample. As 
German speakers dominate the overall sample, how-
ever, any potentially cultural patterns of trauma (see 
Brickley and Smith 2006; de la Cova 2010; Geber and 
O’Donnabhain 2020) may be obscured in the data. 
When considering social groups by profession, it was 
noted, however, that a higher rate of facial fractures 
was present among unskilled laborers (χ²(2) = 14.139, 
p = 0.015, N = 65) who spoke Slovenian. As with the 
observation noted among German- speaking prop-
erty offenders (see above), this difference appears to 
be random. On the overall level, no relationship be-
tween head trauma frequencies (χ²(3) = 2.338, p = 
0.505, N = 135) and social group was observed in the 
sample.

Logistic Regression Analysis

When considering all the data together, a logistic re-
gression analysis revealed that the tested social vari-
ables were not significant predictors of head trauma 
(χ²(11) = 8.018, p = 0.712). The model explained a rela-
tively small proportion of the variance (Cox & Snell 
R² = 7.0%; Nagelkerke R² = 10.4%), with 76.8% cor-
rectly predicted. These findings suggest that social 
factors, as measured and analyzed in this study, have 
a limited impact on the occurrence of skull fractures 
in the Karlau Prison population sample.

Discussion

The Austro- Hungarian Monarchy was a geopoliti-
cally complex state characterized by underlying eth-
nic, political, and cultural tensions— a Europe en 
miniature (Weinmann 1867:97)— that would influ-
ence the industrial, scientific, and social development 
that characterized much of the nineteenth century 
(Beller 2018; Middleton 2020). Throughout the life-
time of many of the individuals included in this 
study, much of Habsburg society was locked in polit-
ical and social turmoil (Sperber 2005). These conflicts 
led to the formation of the Austro- Hungarian com-
promise in 1867 and eventually collapse through the 
catastrophe of World War I from 1914 to 1918 (Beller 
2018). In terms of the SDoH framework, these politi-
cal tensions form the backdrop of the social 

conditions the individuals from Karlau Prison lived 
in prior to and during imprisonment. This includes 
their socioeconomic positions within society, which 
in this study can be partly denoted by the recorded 
professions they held in life.

While the professions are a valid reflection of so-
cial structure and position within society (Hubbard 
1984), it should be noted that social stratification is 
not always expressed equally within the same cohort. 
For instance, sociologist Max Weber included power 
as a determining factor in hierarchical relations, 
meaning that the “standing” of individuals could 
very much have depended on specific contexts (Hurst 
2016:213– 221). This is exemplified by one of the indi-
viduals in the present study, a man called Leopold 
Kendler (b. 19 October  1833). According to the re-
cords, he was a road sweeper from Sankt Leonard am 
Forst in Lower Austria. He died in Karlau Prison on 
the morning of 7 November 1882 due to pulmonary 
tuberculosis. His skull (No. 225) showed no evidence 
of trauma. While his occupation would indicate that 
he held a low social position, the archives noted that 
he was the leader of a band of thieves, which would 
have ranked him high within his own social context, 
from which he would have benefited in terms of ac-
cess to resources and other means.

Leopold was born as an illegitimate child to Kath-
arina Kendler, an unmarried maid. While legitimacy 
status reflects an intersection between both the reli-
gious (in the Christian faith, a family founding sacra-
ment) and the secular (as a legal contract) domains, it 
was grounded in morals within the community. Ille-
gitimacy was much more common in Austria than in 
many other European countries, varied by region, 
but did not necessarily have exclusively negative con-
notations (Shorter et  al. 1971; Sumnall 2009, 2020). 
The Politischer Ehekonsens system, intended to pre-
vent pauperism within the population, was disbanded 
in the late 1860s mostly for administrative reasons 
(Lanzinger 2003). What followed was a drastic de-
cline in illegitimate births across Austria, which sug-
gests that common law practices had been solidly in 
place and that the status of illegitimacy probably had 
few social consequences on a broader scale (Shorter 
et al. 1971; von Borosini 1913). Only five individuals in 
this study were born in the years after Politischer Ehe-
konsens was disbanded, and four of them were illegit-
imate at birth. It is therefore not possible to estimate 
whether the reform had any impact on social patterns 
related to head trauma.

The third element of the SDoH framework dis-
cusses intermediary determinants through which 
structural determinants, such as social status and 
class, operate (Solar and Irwin 2010:36– 43). This re-
lates to both working and living conditions, as well as 



Social Patterns of Head Trauma118

lifestyle choices, which in this context can be denoted 
by the crimes committed by the individuals consid-
ered in this study. As previously stated, no correla-
tion or association between crime convictions and 
head trauma patterns was observed in this study. It 
should be noted, however, that the classification of 
crimes into broad categories may hide nuances in the 
type and severity of the crimes committed.

Head Trauma Related to Imprisonment?

In comparison with other nineteenth- century popu-
lations, the prevalence rate of head trauma in the 
Karlau Prison group is high (Table 3) and statistically 
significant (χ²(5) = 25.291, p < 0.001, N = 1,402). How-
ever, rates of head fractures in bio archae ol o gi cal 
samples vary significantly due to how trauma rates 
are quantified and reported, and they may also be 
population- specific. For instance, in de la Cova’s 
study of the Terry, Hamann- Todd, and Cobb Ana-
tomical Collections, nasal fracture rates were excep-
tionally high (de la Cova 2008:253– 264) and hence 
skew the overall prevalence of head trauma if not dif-
ferentiated from other regions of the skull in that 
study.

The seemingly random pattern of head trauma ob-
served in Karlau prisoners may be better explained 
by considering the unique social dynamics within 
the prison environment. The prison system likely fos-
tered distinct social hierarchies and relationships, 
both between prisoners and guards and among the 
prisoners themselves. These dynamics may have dif-
fered significantly from the social structures experi-
enced by these individuals outside of the prison, 
potentially contributing to the observed (nonevident) 
patterns of head trauma. The aforementioned case of 
a male that displayed a cranial base fracture in the 
process of healing (Fig. 3a), might, for instance, be a 
reflection of trauma that occurred in the prison. This 

skull (No.  78) belonged to Ferdinand Wick (b. 11 
April  1845), a day laborer from Upper Austria who 
was convicted of theft and died in Karlau Prison on 
27 April  1889 due to pulmonary tuberculosis. He is 
listed as a wanted criminal, for having stolen clothes, 
in the Central Police Gazette (Central- Polizei- Blatt) 
from 21 September  1887 (K. K. Polizei- Direction zu 
Wien 1888:200). This is likely the specific offense he 
was convicted of, and he must therefore have been 
imprisoned for up to one and a half years prior to his 
death.

As mentioned previously, between 1869 and 1872, 
the Karlau prison was rebuilt in order to adhere to 
the Pennsylvania system (Leitmaier 1890:340– 350). 
This prison reform, which was the first of its kind in 
Austria, advocated for solitary confinement as a 
means for prisoners’ moral and social reform, and 
part of their rehabilitation (Sellin 1970). It is, how-
ever, unclear to what extent solitary confinement was 
upheld within the institution in practice. A report 
published in the Laibacher Tagblatt in February 1872 
described the newly rebuilt prison with narrow corri-
dors and 260 bright cells closed off with thick wooden 
doors through which prisoners were fed via a hatch. 
Large- barred windows could be opened with a bar to 
provide ventilation, and the cells were furnished with 
a single bed, a table, a stool, and a rake and a rack to 
keep the space clean (Laibacher Tagblatt 1872). Ten 
years later, it was reported that the prison in Karlau 
(and Ljubljana) was overcrowded by 480 prisoners 
(Haus der Abgeordneten des österreichischen Re-
ichsrathes 1882:XIII. Ministerium der Justiz), which 
may mean that some cells were used for more than 
one prisoner.

While solitary confinement was argued to be ben-
eficial to prisoners, by means of protecting them 
from bad influence by other incarcerated criminals, 
more recent debates on prison reform would suggest 
that it is likely to have had a drastic effect on both 
mental and physical health and well- being instead. 

Table 3. Frequencies of head trauma in nineteenth- century population samples (males only).

Population Social Strata

Head Trauma

Source% No./Total

Karlau Prison, Graz, Austria, 1858– 1908 Lower/middle 19.7 25/127 This study
Kilkenny Union Workhouse, Ireland, 1847– 1851 Lower 6.3 12/190 Geber and O’Donnabhain (2020)
Terry/Hamann- Todd/Cobb, United States, 1812– 1870 Lower 9.4 57/605 de la Cova (2008)
Freedman’s Cemetery, Texas, United States, c. 1869– 1907 Lower 5.6 13/231 Davidson et al. (2002)
St Marylebone, London, England, c. 1700– 1859 Middle/upper 4.7 5/106 Miles et al. (2008)
St Mary and St Michael, London, England, 1843– 1854 Lower 9.1 13/143 Henderson et al. (2013)

Due to differences in how rates of head trauma have been defined and quantified in various studies, the highest rate by region was selected from studies that 
differentiated between trauma to different regions of the skull. For de la Cova’s study of the Terry, Hamann- Todd, and Cobb Anatomical Collections (de la 
Cova 2008), however, only cranial vault rates were considered, as the exceptionally high rate of nasal fractures in these samples (43.5%; 263/605) distorted the 
data.



Geber and Hammer 119

This, in turn, could have aggravated violence within 
the prison population, including self- harm (see Kaba 
et  al. 2014). This is exemplified by the case of Mat-
thäus Ulbl (b. 4 February 1825), whose story was pub-
lished in the Swedish newspaper Westernorrlands 
Allehanda in January 1876. Matthäus had worked as a 
painter’s assistant but followed a criminal career path 
from a young age. In 1868, after 20 years in prison, he 
was pardoned, but upon his release, he took out im-
mediate vengeance on the person who had reported 
him to the police. He was convicted of murder to life 
in prison (for a second time) and made an attempt on 
his own life by hitting his head violently against a 
wall (Westernorrlands Allehanda 1876). No skeletal 
evidence of head trauma was noted on his skull 
(No.  662), which is consistent with biomechanical 
studies of “head- butting” injuries, which have noted 
that the risk of bone fractures is relatively low 
(Adamec et  al. 2013). In December  1875, Ulbl man-
aged to escape but was quickly caught and returned 
to Karlau prison. He would live for an additional six 
years until he died of a stroke (apoplexia cerebri) on 
11 December 1881.

Conclusions

The study of remains of individuals of known iden-
tity is a rare occurrence in bio archae ol o gi cal studies. 
They often derive from nineteenth- century anatomi-
cal collections, which have been a valuable resource 
for developing and refining methods such as sex and 
age- at- death estimations (e.g., Marinho et  al. 2018). 
This study has shown that integrating osteological 
analysis with historical and archival records with 
skeletal remains from these collections also signifi-
cantly helps to improve the theoretical and analytical 
approach to understanding social complexities in 
bio archae ol o gi cal research. It is evident, from the 
historical records, that the life experiences of the 
males incarcerated within Karlau Prison were di-
verse. These differences in life experiences are not re-
flected in the skeletal trauma record, which, however, 
may relate to the prison environment, which may 
have resulted in additional head trauma or injuries 
that obscure any patterns that may have been evident 
prior to incarceration.

The lack of evident direct links between the social 
variables selected and skeletal morphology (in this 
case, the evidence of trauma) on an individual level 
shows that the biocultural approach may not always 
capture social complexities when interpreting patho-
logical changes in human skeletal remains, especially 
when historical biographical information is not avail-
able. Yet, this lack of social patterns within the prison 

population— but high rates of head fractures com-
pared to non- prison population groups— is telling in 
its own right. It may suggest that an assigned “other-
ing” of people as criminals had more influence on the 
risk of exposure to head trauma than social condi-
tions relating to age, ethnocultural identity, poverty, 
and socioeconomic status.

Acknowledgments

The authors thank the reviewers and the editor for 
their helpful comments and suggestions; Alfred Stelzl 
and Ao.Prof. Reinhold Reimann, Division of Macro-
scopic and Clinical Anatomy, Medical University of 
Graz, for providing contextual information about the 
anatomical collection; and Priv.- Doz. Mag. Dr.  Elke 
Hammer- Luza, Styrian Provincial Archives, for help 
when accessing archives and recommendations of ad-
ditional sources. Finally, a big thanks to the team at 
the Medical University of Graz for helping to facilitate 
this research. This research was funded by the Lever-
hulme Trust (RF- 2023- 114\2), awarded to Jonny Geber.

Ethics Statement

The authors recognize the multilayered and culturally 
complex ethical circumstances relating to human re-
mains, both historically and in the present time. Re-
search ethics was assessed and approved by the School 
of History, Classics, and Archaeology Research Ethics 
Board (13 April 2021) and the Medical University of 
Graz Ethics Commission (36- 241 ex 23/24).

Author Contributions

J. G. designed research, analyzed the data, and wrote 
the paper with input from the coauthor; N. H. pro-
vided analytical support and provided material re-
sources and acquisition of data.

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