As individuals living in a society, our activities, diet, and health are influenced by our socioeconomic position in said society. This amongst others means that our socioeconomic standings play a...Show moreAs individuals living in a society, our activities, diet, and health are influenced by our socioeconomic position in said society. This amongst others means that our socioeconomic standings play a large part in our social and bodily experience, therefore also in the level and kind of labour we are involved in. Labour is often highly routinised, as certain actions and movements are performed day in day out. Therefore, labour is an important aspect of ones ‘lived experience’. Osteoarthritis, a condition causing the degeneration of synovial joints and surrounding soft tissue, is the most prevalent disease in past and current societies. It is also the most frequently used marker for establishing and examining activity patterns within archaeological populations. The aim of this study is to figure out how differences in socioeconomic status and strenuous labour are embodied in a post medieval Dutch city. In order to answer this, this study analyses the severity and prevalence of osteoarthritis in two skeletal population samples of different socioeconomic status from the same city, Eindhoven. The individuals of high status were buried inside of the St. Catharinakerk, while the low status individuals were buried in the cemetery outside of this church. The high status sample consists of 13 adult individuals and the low status sample consists of 52 adult individuals. In total 40 skeletal elements have been analysed per studied individual, 20 on the left side and 20 on the right side, by using the method proposed by Buikstra and Ubelaker (1994). Following this, the scores resulting from the study of the skeletal remains were statistically analysed using ANCOVA (Analysis of Covariance). This allows to control the sample population for a covariant, in this research age-at-death was controlled for. The statistical analysis showed that the low socioeconomic status individuals were significantly more affected by osteoarthritis in the acromial end of the left clavicle and right humeral head, while the high socioeconomic status individuals were significantly more affected in the distal radii and both left and right scaphoid. The most likely explanation for this is that the low and high socioeconomic status populations engaged in different types of activities. The low socioeconomic status individuals would have likely been subjected to repetitive and strenuous activities involving the shoulder such as lifting, pulling, holding, and carrying heavy objects. Yet, while the high socioeconomic status individuals of Eindhoven probably did not engage in the same repetitive and strenuous activities as the low socioeconomic status individuals, the prevalence and severity of osteoarthritis in the wrist does indicate that they too did experience strain on joints. This would have most likely been caused by the amount of writing the high socioeconomic status individuals had to withstand. Hence, this study concludes that osteoarthritis and thus strenuous labour is embodied differently among the high and low socioeconomic status populations of post-medieval Eindhoven.Show less
Paleopathology is the study of pathological changes in ancient remains. It is not often employed in the investigation of archaeozoological remains. Palaeopathological publications of horses are...Show morePaleopathology is the study of pathological changes in ancient remains. It is not often employed in the investigation of archaeozoological remains. Palaeopathological publications of horses are even rarer and almost unknown from the Netherlands. In this research paleopathology is applied to horse remains from a Dutch medieval site, De Hoge Hof, Tiel, in order to understand which forms of pathology occur in medieval horses from the Netherlands and what information can be gained from paleopathology on horses regarding their use, role and relation to humans. Furthermore the advantages, disadvantages and difficulties of applying paleopathology to medieval horse remains are explored based on this investigation. A general overview of animal pathology is presented based on the works of Baker and Brothwell and further supplemented with an overview of results of pathological studies on archaeozoological horse remains. The materials used for this investigation are from an excavation of the site De Hoge Hof near Tiel in the riverine area of the Netherlands. This is a site that showed human presence from the Roman period up to the Modern Age, with the strongest human presence in the High and Late Middle Ages. The site boasted a large amount of horse remains in its assemblage, particularly during the Early and Late Middle Ages. Further find categories indicate that the site was an agricultural site with a presence of both smaller hand mills and larger mills, possibly animal powered. The vast majority of horse remains are associated with the Early to Late Middle Ages in which an unusual number of pathological changes were detected by the preliminary study. These pathological changes have all been described, presented and interpreted in order to have a first approach to horse pathology in the Netherlands, in general, and their relation to human activities during the Middle Ages, in particular. In order to achieve this, a typological categorization of horse pathologies is attempted and the relation between pathologies and anthropic activities are discussed.Show less
Deciduous dentition can provide valuable insight into the life of an individual during early childhood; information that is usually lost as deciduous teeth are replaced by the permanent dentition....Show moreDeciduous dentition can provide valuable insight into the life of an individual during early childhood; information that is usually lost as deciduous teeth are replaced by the permanent dentition. The purpose of this thesis is the application of micro-computed tomography (micro-CT) to assess the enamel thickness and density distribution of a sample of deciduous canines and first molars from the Middenbeemster site, an 18th – 19th century, non-industrial, rural society in the Netherlands. The main objectives are to assess trends and correlations between enamel properties (thickness and density) and dental disease and wear, as well as investigating sexual dimorphism in a known-sex subsample. The sample consists of 38 individuals who are macroscopically evaluated to determine the presence of dental disease and extent of dental wear. The latter was conducted using a modified method for dental wear scoring, involving an average score for the entire dentition. A strong correlation (R2 = 0.6715) between age and dental wear score was identified, building upon previous studies showing a positive correlation between age and dental wear, and provides initial insights into the benefits of developing a novel method for subadult age-estimation. Of the 38 individuals in the sample, 35, represented by 33 deciduous canines and 30 deciduous first molars, were scanned and analysed using fixed-point measurements and threshold-based 3D evaluation with an integrated micro-CT software. The enamel thickness within the sample ranged between 0.38 mm and 0.66 mm, while the enamel density ranged between 1914 and 2173 mgHA/ccm. No significant differences (p > 0.05) were found to indicate that enamel thickness and density play a significant role in the progression of dental wear or the presence and/or rate of dental disease. Enamel hypomineralisation and hypoplasia were identified; however, the impact of these on the overall enamel thickness and density distribution was seemingly limited. Archival data provided known-sex for 20 individuals (13 females, 7 males). This study investigated this small subsample of known-sex individuals focusing on the two key variables, enamel thickness and density. No significant differences were found in the statistical comparison of means, and the applied logit model failed to show sufficient discriminatory ability. The results of the analysis were considered in conjunction with confounding factors involving the use of skeletal samples to make population inferences, and the current limitations of micro-CT technology. Overall, this study represents an exploratory investigation into various enamel properties of an archaeological population, adding to the still under-represented data acquired from deciduous dentition, and emphasises the benefits and contributions of micro-CT to human osteoarchaeology research.Show less
Congenital syphilis is a disease which still affects thousands of people throughout the world in a modern society. If untreated, congenital syphilis can be extremely debilitating and can even cause...Show moreCongenital syphilis is a disease which still affects thousands of people throughout the world in a modern society. If untreated, congenital syphilis can be extremely debilitating and can even cause death. Although the cure for congenital syphilis is relatively simple with modern medicine, this was not always the case. Congenital syphilis was responsible for thousands of deaths in the past, yet this is not visible in the archaeological record. There are several reasons why the true prevalence rate of congenital syphilis is not visible in the archaeological record such as, the common underrepresentation of juvenile skeletal remains. it is however possible that some potential cases of congenital syphilis are being misdiagnosed in the archaeological record because of the confusion surrounding the diagnostic criteria. By improving the diagnostic criteria of congenital syphilis, new archaeological cases may become evident.Show less
Since the 1950 and 60’s, when the link between porotic hyperostosis and ‘anemia’ was established both clinically and archaeologically, the term ‘anemia’ has become somewhat of a default diagnosis;...Show moreSince the 1950 and 60’s, when the link between porotic hyperostosis and ‘anemia’ was established both clinically and archaeologically, the term ‘anemia’ has become somewhat of a default diagnosis; an umbrella under which a multitude of aetiologically and pathophysiologically distinct hemoglobinopathic and red blood cell disorders are meant to reside. This is problematic since bioarchaeologists endeavor not only to diagnose disease, but to link them to the socio-cultural and environmental framework within which they are inherently and inseparably entrenched. A method for more accurately diagnosing, and possibly even differentiating between, ‘anemias’ is therefore a crucial step towards more accurately understanding the relationship between individuals, their bodies, and their world. The purpose of this thesis was to determine if, and how, the pathophysiology of homozygotic and heterozygotic sickle cell and/or thalassemia affects the assimilation, diffusion and/or metabolization of stable carbon (δ13C), oxygen (δ18O) and nitrogen (δ15N) isotopes, using bone collagen and enamel apatite as indicators. To the best of the author’s knowledge, this research represents the first extensive isotopic study of sickle cell and/or thalassemia in the archaeological record, as well as the first to amalgamate and critically assess the relevant biomedical research surrounding the pathophysiological fractionation of stable isotopes in ‘anemics’. Results, obtained from 45 individuals from el Plaza de Espana (8th-12th centuries A.D.) in Écija, Spain, suggests that bone collagen δ15N values are significantly different between Anemic and Control groups, however, breastfeeding could not be conclusively ruled out as the cause of the trophic level shift. No significant differences in bone collagen or enamel apatite δ13C values were noted between cohorts or tooth types, however, sample size is considered to be a contributing factor to the lack of significance. There were no significant differences in enamel apatite δ18O between tooth types, however, significant differences were noted between cohorts. Overall, while disease should be considered an underlying cause of local and systemic isotopic fractionation, more research is required prior to the adoption of stable isotope analysis as a palaeopathological diagnostic method.Show less
