This thesis studies the, by the Museum of London Archaeological Services (MoLAS) analyzed and shared, open source osteological database of the Chelsea Old Church cemetery site OCUoo. Based on this...Show moreThis thesis studies the, by the Museum of London Archaeological Services (MoLAS) analyzed and shared, open source osteological database of the Chelsea Old Church cemetery site OCUoo. Based on this data set, the study aims to research whether there is a correlation between obesity associated diseases, such as: osteoarthritis, gout, and diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis (DISH), and body mass. In addition, it attempts to research whether there's a sex-based difference that may influence such a correlation. It does so by creating three subsidiary question that are meant to lead to answering the main question. Subsequently, a sample selection according to the criteria required for this study (adult, sex determined, availability of femoral head breadth metric data). This sample selection will be further tailored by implementing the revised Ruff et al. (2012) body mass estimation equation, before it will undergo statistical data analysis with the use of the SPSS statistics program. The result depicts a data set that's relatively balanced and has a normal distribution. It may be noted that the mean of the body mass (kg) of those with pathological diagnoses lies higher than for those without. As well as that the pathologies follow suit as expected in regard of their prevalence in a certain sex. Osteoarthritis is more common among female individuals while gout and DISH are more common among male individuals. These notions could indicate that there may be a correlation; however, the statistical analyses resulted in the acceptance of the null hypothesis as there's no statistical significance. Therefore, against expectations and contemporary studies, it can be assumed that there's no correlation between obesity-associated diseases and body mass.Show less
Osteoarthritis (OA), is the most commonly occurring joint disease, it affects the synovial joints and is characterized by degenerative changes in the joint structure. Furthermore, it is one of the...Show moreOsteoarthritis (OA), is the most commonly occurring joint disease, it affects the synovial joints and is characterized by degenerative changes in the joint structure. Furthermore, it is one of the diseases used in examining activity patterns within populations. This research makes use of two population samples, one with low-status individuals from Arnhem, buried in a cemetery outside the St. Eusebius’ Church, and one with high-status individuals from Zwolle, buried within the Broerenkerk. The aim of the research is to see if there are any remarkable differences between the prevalence of OA in the low-status population and the high-status population. To answer this question, 37 individuals from Arnhem and 55 individuals from Zwolle were analyzed. Males, females and indeterminate sexes were included in the sample as well as individuals from the early young adult age group to the old adult age group. 34 joints of all individuals (seventeen left and seventeen right) were scored plus the vertebral column and ribs. The scores were given on the basis of specific scoring systems for each joint and were put in a table ending up with a final score for all individuals. From these scores, it is evident that the females in Zwolle have a higher prevalence of OA than the females in Arnhem, the males of both samples are equally distributed. Considering the age groups, the two youngest age groups have a higher prevalence in the sample of Arnhem and the two oldest age groups have a higher prevalence in the sample of Zwolle. Status-difference might be the cause for these differences. However, the professions during the post-medieval period were similar in both cities. Regarding the most affected joints in both samples, the low-status population has the highest prevalence of OA in the arms, while the high-status population has the highest prevalence of OA in the legs. This difference could be explained by considering activity induced OA versus weight induced OA. Concluding from this study, there are some differences between the two samples regarding sexes and age groups. However, the total prevalence of OA in the Arnhem sample is slightly lower (5%) than the prevalence of OA in the Zwolle sample. Therefore, it seems unlikely that there is a difference between the prevalence of OA in low-status and high-status populations. This is confirmed by statistical analyses.Show less
This study will answer the question: can we discover social differentiation in cemeteries using joint diseases such as osteoarthritis (OA) after correlating social status with burial positioning?...Show moreThis study will answer the question: can we discover social differentiation in cemeteries using joint diseases such as osteoarthritis (OA) after correlating social status with burial positioning? In order to successfully carry out this research, the relationship between status and burial positioning had to be confirmed. Individuals of different statuses often differ in their burial treatment. To discover if joint diseases could be used as a proxy for finding social differentiation, OA is linked to status. Lower classes could have had more mechanical stress in their joints because of hard physical labour, resulting in a higher OA prevalence within this group. This theory could now be tested on a cemetery, for which St Peter’s Church Cemetery in Barton-upon-Humber is used. A big cemetery with almost a thousand years of occupation, from 950 AD to 1855 AD, which makes it a perfect case study for a study like this. Five different cemetery phases (grouped A to E) are analysed individually. This study looked at sex and age distribution, and correlated this to burial positioning. Two main methods are used. First the burials inside the church are compared with burials outside the church. Secondly, different fields outside the church are compared to each other. The comparisons are also statistically tested and furthermore each grave is marked on a burial plan. This resulted in excellent overviews of the OA prevalence in the cemetery. Some patterning is discovered, suggesting that the burial locations of different social classes are not distributed at random. In using these methods, the main question of the thesis could be answered. Osteoarthritis can be used to discover social differentiation on St Peter’s Church Cemetery. Therefore, the theory of using joint diseases to discover social differentiation in cemeteries after correlating social status with burial positioning, turned out to be reliable. However, it must be used in combination with other disciplines and resources to strengthen its reliability.Show less
