Medieval Bioarchaeology

People lived so differently centuries ago that it is difficult to know exactly what life was like in the pre-Industrial Era. Some scholars, like Barbara Hanawalt (mentioned here) have deduced evidence of daily life by looking at coroner's reports.

Some look at corpses.

A few years ago, DNA evidence drawn from an ancient skeleton found that a descendant of the decedent was living just a few miles from where the progenitor was buried!

Medieval skeletons yield other finds about lifestyles centuries before the Modern Era without even doing DNA analysis. Yesterday I mentioned how information about aging and disease can be drawn from analysis of certain bones and teeth.

Skeletons can also yield indicators of malnutrition or disease in childhood, based on the appearance of something called Harris lines. Harris lines are "growth arrest lines" that are formed when malnutrition or disease or stress cause the bone to pause in the lengthening process, which causes developing bone instead to increase in density.

Also, because physical stress causes bones to thicken/strengthen, one can deduce that the person with, for instance, larger bones in the hand dealt regularly with moving/c carrying heavy items. Perhaps he was a stone mason, or a potter.

If an exhumation is lucky enough to reveal preserved hair, it is possible to look at levels of Nitrogen-carbon isotopes that reveal stress due to physical events or dietary changes. Increased cortisol in hair samples suggest a person undergoing stress before death, such as a long illness or advanced aging. Decreased cortisol can indicate a sudden death.

Another piece of a body that survives over time is teeth. Yesterday's post mentioned some of the features that c a tell us about life back then for the owner of the teeth. That leads me to wonder what was medieval dentistry like? Let me do some research and get back to you next time. See you soon.