When the body endures physiological stress during childhood it will react by disrupting the growth of skeletal elements. By doing so, the body will be able to utilize nutrients for survival rather...Show moreWhen the body endures physiological stress during childhood it will react by disrupting the growth of skeletal elements. By doing so, the body will be able to utilize nutrients for survival rather than putting energy towards growth. When a physiological disruption leaves a permanent mark on the skeleton or dentition it is called a non-specific indicator of stress. A small vertebral neural canal is one such non-specific indicator of stress. The vertebral neural canal is the hole in each vertebra through which the spinal cord passes. A small vertebral neural canal is an indicator of physiological stress during childhood. This thesis examines the relationship between physiological stress and urbanization by studying the vertebral neural canal size. Adults from St Mary Graces, a medieval skeletal collection with a mixed socioeconomic status, and St Bride’s Lower, a post-medieval collection with a low to middle class socioeconomic status, were analyzed for this study. Both archaeological sites are located in London, England, which was already an urban settlement during medieval times, but became even more urbanized during the post-medieval period. Measurements of the inner and outer diameter of the vertebral neural canal were taken. Statistical analysis was used to determine whether there were any differences in vertebral neural canal size between the two archaeological sites. The data was also used to establish whether there were any differences in vertebral neural canal size between sexes and age groups. Results show that the physiological stress did not increase with increased urbanization in the St Bride’s Lower sample and that males benefited more from the further urbanization of London than the females. The study also showed that only the inner diameter, and not the outer diameter, provided information on physiological stress. Overall, this study has further defined the possibilities and limitations of using the vertebral neural canal diameter as an indicator of stress and increased our understanding of the impact of urbanization on physiological stress.Show less
