On sacred ground: social identity and churchyard burial in Lincolnshire and Yorkshire, C. 700-1100 AD

Ye

Missing, Presumed Buried? Bone Diagenesis and the Under-Representation of Anglo-Saxon Children

YesSam Lucy (1994: 26) has stated that a `recognised feature of pre-Christian early medieval cemeteries in eastern England is the smaller number of younger burials recovered¿. Although taphonomic factors such as the increased rate of decay of the remains of children and shallow depth of burial have been suggested as possible explanations for this phenomenon, these have been disregarded in favour of cultural influences, with younger children thought to have been disposed of in a different way from adult remains (Lucy, 1994; Härke, 1997; Crawford, 1999). This paper will review the evidence concerning the treatment of the remains of children during the Anglo-Saxon period. It will then review the factors affecting bone preservation, with special reference to the bones of children, and attempt to assess to what extent the under-representation of children in Anglo-Saxon cemeteries can be attributed to bone preservation and soil type. It will show that hypotheses should not be formulated without full consideration of the taphonomy that may affect the completeness of the archaeological record

Radiography in Palaeopathology: Where Next?

YesRadiography has frequently been used during palaeopathological research, and plays an important role in the differential diagnosis of many diseases, including Paget¿s disease and carcinomas. Traditionally, radiographs were taken in hospitals with clinical equipment. However industrial radiography techniques have gradually become more commonly used, as their superior image quality and improved potential for diagnoses become recognised. The introduction of radiographic scanners has facilitated the digitisation of these images for dissemination and publication. However this is not all that radiographic digitisation can offer the researcher. Digital image processing (DIP) allows the researcher to focus on an area of interest and to adjust the brightness and contrast of the captured image. This allows the investigation of areas of high radio-opacity and radio-lucency, providing detailed images of the internal structures of bone and pathological lesions undetectable by the naked eye. In addition 3D effects, edge enhancement and sharpening algorithms, available through commonly used image processing software, can be very effective in enhancing the visibility of specific features. This paper will reveal how radiographic digitisation and manipulation can enhance radiographic images of palaeopathological lesions and potentially further our understanding of the bony manifestations of disease

Death embodied. Archaeological approaches to the treatment of the corpse edited by Zoë L Devlin and Emma-Jayne Graham [Book review]

Ye

The (mis)use of adult age estimates in osteology.

yesContext: Adult age-at-death is presented in a number of different ways by anthropologists. Ordinal categories predominate in osteoarchaeology, but do not reflect individual variation in ageing, with too many adults being classified as ‘middle adults’. In addition, mean ages (derived from reference samples) are overly-relied upon when developing and testing methods. In both cases, ‘age mimicry’ is not adequately accounted for. Objectives: To highlight the many inherent biases created when developing, testing and applying age-estimation methods without fully considering the impact of ‘age mimicry’ and individual variation. Methods: The paper draws on previously published research (Web of Science, Pub Med, Google Scholar) on age estimation methods and their use in anthropology. Results and Conclusions: There is a lack of consistency in the methods used to estimate age, and for the mode of combining them. Ordinal categories are frequently used in osteoarchaeology, whereas forensic anthropologists are more likely to produce case-specific age ranges. Mean ages reflect the age structure of reference samples, and should not be used to estimate age for individuals from populations with a different age-at-death structure. Individual-specific age ranges and/or probability densities should be used to report individual age. Further research should be undertaken on how to create unbiased, combined method age estimates

Death and the Body: Using Osteological Methods to Investigate the Later Prehistoric Funerary Archaeology of Slovenia and Croatia

Ye

Techniques for identifying the age and sex of children at death

YesThe skeletal remains of infants and children are a poignant reminder of the perilous nature of childhood in the past, yet they offer valuable insight into the life histories of individuals and into the health of populations. Many osteoarchaeological and bioarchaeological analyses are dependent on two vital pieces of information: the age-at-death and sex of the individual(s) under study. This chapter will outline how age-at-death and sex can be estimated from the skeletal remains and dental development of non-adults, and how these are easier or more difficult to determine than for adults, and will discuss the complexities and controversies surrounding different methods

The relationship between Vitamin D deficiency and leprosy in two English medieval populations

YesIn palaeopathology, a well-established approach to malnutrition and ill-health is the study of metabolic conditions. Leprosy is a mycobacterial disease that is manifested on the bones, and is commonly studied in archaeological contexts. Vitamin D is essential for maintaining a normal immune system, and thus a metabolic insufficiency could have a major effect in the resistance of an individual to invading pathogens. It has been indicated by clinical studies that there is an increase in the risk of contracting tuberculosis for individuals with Vitamin D deficiency, and like TB, leprosy is a disease of the poor, and it is more severe in individuals with low resistance to the pathogen. The project investigated the immunological aspect of leprosy by investigating the comorbidity of Vitamin D deficiency and the disease. During the study, the prevalence rates of Vitamin D deficiency (residual rickets and osteomalacia) were compared for adults in two medieval populations: adults with skeletal evidence of lepromatous leprosy from the leprosarium of St James and Mary Magdalene in Chichester (n=62) and adults from the non-leprous population found in Box Lane, Pontefract (n=52), both in England. Macroscopic analysis identified only one probable case of residual rickets and two possible cases of osteomalacia, providing no statistical significance in the relationship between the conditions. The present article focuses on these results, aiming to underline the reasons behind negative results in research, caused either by failed methodology or the insufficient collection of samples

Back to the beginning: identifying lesions of diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis before vertebral ankylosis

YesObjective: To better understand the pathogenesis of DISH, identifying early or pre-DISH lesions in the spine and investigating the relationship between spinal and extra-spinal manifestations of DISH. Material: 44 skeletonized individuals with DISH from the WM Bass Donated Skeletal Collection. Methods: For each vertebra, location, extension, point of origin and appearance of vertebral outgrowths were recorded. The size of the enthesophytes at the olecranon process, patella and calcaneal tuberosity was measured with digital callipers. Results: At either end of the DISH-ankylosed segment, isolated vertical outgrowths arising from the central third of the anterior aspect of the vertebral body can usually be observed. These bone outgrowths show a well-organized external cortical layer, an internal structure of trabecular bone and usually are unaccompanied by or show minimal associated endplate degeneration. Analysis of the relationship between spinal and extra-spinal manifestations (ESM) suggests great inter-individual variability. No correlation between any ESM and the stage of spinal DISH was found. Conclusions: Small isolated outgrowths represent the earliest stages of the spinal manifestations of DISH. The use of ESM as an indicator of DISH should be undertaken with great caution until the relationship between these two features is understood. Significance: Improved accuracy of paleopathological diagnostic criteria of DISH. Limitations: Small sample comprised of only individuals with DISH. Future research: micro-CT analysis to investigate the internal structure of the spinal lesions. Analysis of extra-spinal enthesophytes in individuals with and without DISH to understand their pathogenesis and association with the spinal lesions in individuals with DISH.Institute of Life Sciences Research Studentship awarded by the University of Bradford, Bradford, UK

Quantitative analysis of the morphological changes of the pubic symphyseal face and the auricular surface and implications for age at death estimation

YesAge estimation methods are often based on the age-related morphological changes of the auricular surface and the pubic bone. In this study, a mathematical approach to quantify these changes has been tested analyzing the curvature variation on 3D models from CT and laser scans. The sample consisted of the 24 Suchey–Brooks (SB) pubic bone casts, 19 auricular surfaces from the Buckberry and Chamberlain (BC) “recording kit” and 98 pelvic bones from the Terry Collection (Smithsonian Institution). Strong and moderate correlations between phases and curvature were found in SB casts (ρ 0.60–0.93) and BC “recording kit” (ρ 0.47–0.75), moderate and weak correlations in the Terry Collection bones (pubic bones: ρ 0.29–0.51, auricular surfaces: ρ 0.33–0.50) but associated with large individual variability and overlap of curvature values between adjacent decades. The new procedure, requiring no expert judgment from the operator, achieved similar correlations that can be found in the classic methods