ojoa_335 399..424 REBECCA C. REDFERN DOES CRANIAL TRAUMA PROVIDE EVIDENCE FOR PROJECTILE WEAPONRY IN LATE IRON AGE DORSET? Summary. Human remains form an independent dataset with which to examine martial activity in past societies, particularly how to understand the types of weaponry used and who was subject to lethal violence. In the Late Iron Age of Dorset (first century BC to first century AD), these data are useful in understanding such activity in light of the small range of extant evidence.This bioarchaeological study examined the crania of 80 inhumed and articulated sexed adults, using forensic, bioarchaeological and clinical criteria to determine whether osteological evidence for sharp and blunt projectiles could be observed. The sample showed evidence for peri- and ante-mortem traumas, with the majority of injuries sustained at the time of death; most affected males and were caused by blunt projectiles. Healed injuries were observed in both sexes but only females had evidence for remodelled blunt projectile injuries. The age-groups affected were predominantly young and middle-aged adults, suggesting that weapon training began early in life. introduction The nature of violence and martial activity in the British Iron Age receives limited attention, with research often focusing on warrior burials or the deposition of weaponry rather than the practicalities of combat (e.g. Collis 1972; Dent 1983). Recent work has addressed the interpretation of hillforts, examining how these may have been used in warfare and, crucially, how evidence for martial activities and violence is discussed within the literature (Armit 2007; Hill 1996; 2007; James 2007; Sharples 1991a). The majority of publications stress a cautious approach to the interpretation of martial activities because we lack a representative sample of weaponry throughout the period, and many of the arms recovered appear to have had a ceremonial or ritual purpose (James 2007; Ritchie and Ritchie 1997; Stead 1991). In broad terms, Late Iron Age material culture indicates that communities during the first century BC to first century AD contained a warrior class, which engaged in episodes of warfare, manufactured weapons, and whose ideological frameworks contained aspects of violence, such as human sacrifice (Aldhouse Green 2001; Cunliffe 2004; Haselgrove 1994; James 2007; Kristiansen 1999; Steuer 2006). The presence of large multipurpose hillforts in southern Britain is also perceived as being suggestive of warfare throughout the period (Armit 2007; Cunliffe 2004; Hamilton and Manley 2001; James 2007; see also Bowden 2006; Hill 1995; 1996). OXFORD JOURNAL OF ARCHAEOLOGY 28(4) 399–424 2009 © 2009 Blackwell Publishing Ltd. Journal compilation © 2009 Blackwell Publishing Ltd., 9600 Garsington Road, Oxford OX4 2DQ, UK and 350 Main Street Malden, MA 02148, USA. 399