Includes bibliographical references (p. 249-270). / Two unwalled 18th and 19th century colonial burial sites, Cobern Street and Marina Residence, were assessed osteologically and dentally to reconstruct the life histories and activity patterns of the poorer people living at the Cape. This was done to add to the history and knowledge of the descendants of these people, as little other information exists on them. Questions pertaining to diet, stress, activity patterns and trauma were investigated. Visual (standard and novel macroscopic methods e.g. distal humeri method), metric (femoral neck method) and histological (proximal anterior femur) techniques were tested and employed to estimate age and sex, as the skeletal material was fragmentary and incomplete. Only adults were assessed and analysed (n = 86 and n = 75 for Cobern Street and Marina Residence respectively) as the infant, juvenile and sub-adult skeletal material was too badly preserved and fragmentary to attempt reconstruction. Mortality profiles reveal that the two study sites were different in community dynamics. They led hard active lives as seen from their muscle marking and degenerative joint disease patterns. Osteoarthritis was not only very frequent within the groups but was found in much of the younger adult skeletal material. Stress and trauma were relatively low within the two populations. Dental disease was relatively high within the two study groups. This was as a result of a carbohydrate rich diet and poor oral hygiene. Thus the food they were consuming as well as the activities they were involved in had a huge impact on their lives. The first possible cases of syphilis, tuberculosis and Paget's disease at the Cape were found within these two study groups.

No

This research examines the health of those living within the lowland, east coast region of Scotland from 500-1500 AD utilizing historical, archaeological, and skeletal material. Although the study area was a central part of medieval Scotland, it has not been the focus of any larger scale research into health, including any previous statistical analyses. This study presents the osteological analysis of skeletal remains of four medieval populations (385 individuals) from eastern, lowland Scotland: Ballumbie (N=197 individuals), Isle of May (N=58), St Andrews Library (N=72), and Whitefriars (N=58). Additionally, this research provides a contextualized discussion of the similarities and differences in health of these four lowland populations, focusing on the broad themes of location (rural/urban) and status (high/low). The four study populations are compared statistically through prevalence rates of disease. A compilation of disease prevalence rates for twenty-three other medieval Scottish populations was created to provide further contextualized comparisons of health. The discussion of health from the perspectives of location is framed within the context of access to health care, population density/pathogen load, diet, and sub-adult mortality. Discussions of status focus on differences in housing and diet between the upper and lower status individuals living in medieval society. The role of pilgrimage is explored for the Isle of May with respect to health, illness, and the treatment of the sick. The analysis of four medieval populations in the lowland, east coast region of Scotland illustrate that although they were close geographically, each population had unique aspects to their skeletal health due to differences in their location and status.

Yes / THIS PAPER INVESTIGATES physical impairment and disability in the c 5th to 6th centuries ad in England through a combination of osteological and funerary analyses. A total of 1,261 individuals, 33 of whom had osteologically identifiable physical impairment, from nine early medieval cemeteries were included. The funerary data for all individuals in each cemetery was collected, and the individuals with physical impairment were analysed palaeopathologically. The burial treatment of individuals with and without physical impairment was compared both quantitatively and qualitatively, and patterns within and between cemeteries were explored to investigate contemporary perceptions and understandings of impairment and disability. The results suggest that some people with physical impairment and potential disability were buried with treatment that was arguably positive, while others were buried with treatment that was either normative or potentially negative. This suggests that, in the same way as the rest of the community, individuals with physical impairment and potential disability had a variety of identities (that may or may not have been influenced by their impairment or disability) and could occupy different social spaces/statuses.

A região do Deserto de Atacama, norte do Chile, possui condições propícias para a conservação arqueológica. Uma grande quantidade de esqueletos ali bem preservados vem permitindo um intercâmbio rico entre estudos bioantropológicos e arqueológicos. Dentro desse contexto, o presente estudo concentra-se nos esqueletos humanos subadultos de San Pedro de Atacama. O universo amostral é de 90 esqueletos subadultos (menores de vinte anos) de três cemitérios diferentes: Solcor-3, Coyo-3 e Quitor-6; a datação desses cemitérios varia de 250 até 1240 A.D. A inferencia da qualidade de vida biológica foi feita através de oito marcadores osteólogicos. Duas abordagens foram realizadas neste estudo: a comparação do estilo e da qualidade de vida biológica entre períodos da pré-história atacamenha e a análise mundial. A primeira delas comparou quatro períodos distintos da pré-história atacamenha: anterior à influência do Império Tiwanaku, auge da influência Tiwanaku, fase final da influência Tiwanaku e posterior à influência Tiwanaku. A hipótese central a ser testada nesta abordagem é a de que houve uma melhoria significativa na qualidade de vida biológica na região de San Pedro de Atacama durante o auge da influência Tiwanaku. A segunda abordagem consistiu na junção dos quatro períodos em uma amostra única. Estes dados caracterizaram a qualidade de vida biológica dos subadultos atacamenhos, e foram comparados com populações do restante do mundo. Objetivou-se testar se a qualidade de vida biológica em San Pedro enquadrava-se na estratégia de subsistência agricultora. Os resultados da comparação entre os períodos corroboraram a hipótese inicial apenas para o marcador cáries, uma vez que os demais marcadores apresentaram um padrão bastante variado. Os resultados da análise mundial, por sua vez, mostraram que San Pedro de Atacama se encontra dentro da amplitude de variação da categoria \"agricultores\". No entanto, foi constatado que, com exceção de cáries, os marcadores osteológicos apresentaram alta variação nas diferentes populações mundiais de uma mesma estratégia de subsistência. Os marcadores cáries, abcessos e hipoplasias em San Pedro ficaram acima da média agricultora enquanto hiperostose porótica, infecções e traumas ficaram abaixo. Em suma, encontrou-se um padrão complexo, no qual cada marcador osteológico é sensível a um conjunto de condições culturais e naturais próprias da história da população atacamenha / Desert of Atacama region, northern Chile, shows excellent conditions to preserve archaeological remains. A high number of skeletons exumated allows a rich interchange between archaeology and biological anthropology. This study analyzed subadult skeletons from San Pedro de Atacama. The sample is composed by 90 subadult skeletons (less than twenty years) from three burial sites: Solcor-3, Coyo-3 e Quitor-6; they are dated from between 250 to 1240 A.D. Style and biological quality of life were infered throught eight osteological markers. Two approaches were carried out in this study: comparison of style and biological quality of life between Atacameneans prehistoric periods and world-wide groups. The first compared four prehistoric periods of San Pedro: before the influence of Tiwanaku Empire, peak of Tiwanaku influence, final period of Tiwanaku influence and after Tiwanaku influence. The main hypothesis tested in this approach is the significative improvement of biological quality of life in San Pedro de Atacama during the peak of Tiwanaku influence. The second approach joined the skeletons from the four periods in a single sample. These data caracterized the biological quality of life of Atacameneans subadults. The aim was testing if the biological quality of life in San Pedro de Atacama would be within the variation found in agricultural subsistence strategy. The results of the periods\' comparison show that only caries frequencies corroborated the main hypothesis, while the other markers presented a variable pattern. Results of the world-wide analysis showed that San Pedro is within the range of agriculture category. However, it was found out that, except for caries, the osteological markers showed high variation in different world-wide populations within the same subsistence strategy. Caries, abscess and hypoplasias in San Pedro de Atacama were above the world-wide agricultural mean, while porotic hyperostosis, infections and traumas were below. In brief, it was found a complex pattern, in which each osteological marker responds to a particular group of natural and cultural characteristics of the prehistory of Atacamenean population.

Στην παρούσα εργασία μελετήθηκε η επίδραση των διατροφικών επιπέδων βιταμίνης Α στην ανάπτυξη των σκελετικών δυσπλασιών και των μεριστικών χαρακτήρων του λαβρακιού. Εφαρμόσθηκαν 7 διαφορετικά διατροφικά επίπεδα ρετινόλης (0, 5, 10, 15, 25, 35 και 70 mg ρετινόλης ανά Kg ξηράς τροφής) σε 21 νυμφικούς πληθυσμούς λαβρακιού (3 επαναλήψεις ανά διατροφική ομάδα). Η εφαρμογή των διαφορετικών συνθηκών έλαβε χώρα στο διάστημα των πρώτων 45 ημερών ανάπτυξης. Συνολικά μελετήθηκαν 1098 νύμφες και 1053 ιχθύδια. Τα αποτελέσματα έδειξαν πως οι διαφορετικές συγκεντρώσεις της βιταμίνης Α επιδρούν σημαντικά στην ανάπτυξη σκελετικών παραμορφώσεων στις νύμφες και τα ιχθύδια του λαβρακιού, καθώς επίσης και στους μεριστικούς χαρακτήρες. Οι διάφορες σκελετικές δομές δεν παρουσίασαν την ίδια ευαισθησία στη βιταμίνη Α. Σημαντικά επηρεάστηκαν δομές του κρανίου όπως οι βραγχιοστεγείς ακτίνες, το υοειδές τόξο και οι γνάθοι, καθώς και τα σκελετικά στοιχεία των πτερυγίων. Τα βέλτιστα επίπεδα των εξεταζόμενων συγκεντρώσεων βιταμίνης Α στα οποία παρατηρούνται οι μικρότερες συχνότητες εμφάνισης δυσπλασιών διαφοροποιήθηκαν σημαντικά, ανάλογα με την εξεταζόμενη ανατομική περιοχή. Εντούτοις, η συγκέντρωση 5-10 mg Kg-1 παρατηρήθηκε σε πολλές περιπτώσεις να αντιστοιχεί στο βέλτιστο. Στο εύρος αυτό της συγκέντρωσης ρετινόλης παρατηρήθηκε και η μεγιστοποίηση του ρυθμού σωματικής αύξησης των ατόμων, όπως αυτή εκτιμήθηκε από το ολικός μήκος σώματος στην ηλικία των 45 ημερών μετά την εκκόλαψη. Όσον αφορά στους μεριστικούς χαρακτήρες, αυξανομένης της συγκέντρωσης της ρετινόλης οι προ-αιματικοί σπόνδυλοι τείνουν να αυξηθούν ενώ ο αριθμός των ραχιαίων στοιχείων όπως και των δερματοτρίχιων φαίνεται να μειώνεται. Τα αποτελέσματα συζητούνται ως προς τα αποτελέσματα παρόμοιων εργασιών για άλλα είδη ψαριών, ως προς τους πιθανούς μηχανισμούς δράσης της ρετινόλης, καθώς και ως προς την υπόθεση της αλλαγής των διατροφικών προτιμήσεων του λαβρακιού κατά τη διάρκεια της οντογένεσης. / The goal of the current MSc Thesis was to examine the effect of Vitamin A both on the development of skeletal deformities and of the meristic characters in European sea bass. The experimental design involved 7 different dietary levels of retinol (0, 5, 10, 15, 25, 35, 70 mg retinol kg-1 of dry food) and included 3 repetitions. Due to the fact that both the meristic characters and the skeletal deformities develop during early developmental stages, the application of the experimental dietary levels took place during the first 45 days post hatching. In total 1098 larvae and 1053 juveniles were examined. Results demonstrated that the different dietary levels of Vitamin A significantly affected the development of skeletal deformities in both the larval and juvenile stage, as well the meristic characters. The different anatomical areas exhibited different sensitivity in Vitamin A. There was a significant effect on cephalic structures such as the branchiostegal rays, hyoid arch and the jaws and on the internal skeletal elements of the fins. The optimum levels of dietary Vitamin A where the lowest frequencies of skeletal deformities were observed differed between the different anatomical areas. However, the dietary level of 5-10 mg Kg-1 was identified as the common optimum. In this range of dietary retinol the growth rate was maximized, as it was estimated by the body fork length at the age of 45 days post hatching. As far as the meristic characters are concerned, the number of pre-haemal vertebra tended to increase whereas the number of dorsal elements and caudal dermatotrichia to decrease at elevated retinol levels. The results are discussed in respect to similar studies for other fish species, the presumable molecular mechanisms of retinol action, as well as the hypothesis of switching dietary preferences of sea bass during ontogeny.

The osteological paradox addresses how well interpretations of past population health generated from human skeletal remains reflect the health of the living population from which they were drawn. Selective mortality and hidden heterogeneity in frailty are particularly relevant when assessing childhood health in the past, as subadults are the most vulnerable group in a population and are therefore less likely to fully represent the health of those who survived. The ability of subadults to represent the health of those who survived is tested here by directly comparing interpretations of childhood stress based on non-survivors (subadults aged 6-20,14 females and 9 males) to those based on retrospective analyses of survivors (adults aged 21-46, 26 females and 27 males). Non-survivors and survivors were directly matched by birth year, using the Coimbra Identified Skeletal Collection; therefore interpretations of childhood stress reflect a shared childhood. Long bone and vertebral canal growth, linear enamel hypoplasia, cribra orbitalia, porotic hyperostosis, scurvy indicators and periosteal bone reactions were assessed for both groups. Overall, long bone growth generates the same interpretation of health for both non-survivors and survivors, and both groups exhibit the same range of stress (mild to severe), but the pattern of stress experienced in childhood differs between the two groups. Female survivors reveal different timing of stress episodes and a higher degree of stress than female non-survivors. Male survivors exhibit less stress than male non-survivors. These different patterns suggest that interpretations based solely on non-survivors would under-represent the stress experienced by female survivors and over-represent the stress experienced by male survivors, further demonstrating the importance of addressing issues of selective mortality. In addition, these different patterns suggest that hidden heterogeneity of frailty may be sex specific where males are more vulnerable to stress and females more able to develop resistance to stress and survive.

The osteological paradox addresses how well interpretations of past population health generated from human skeletal remains reflect the health of the living population from which they were drawn. Selective mortality and hidden heterogeneity in frailty are particularly relevant when assessing childhood health in the past, as subadults are the most vulnerable group in a population and are therefore less likely to fully represent the health of those who survived. The ability of subadults to represent the health of those who survived is tested here by directly comparing interpretations of childhood stress based on non-survivors (subadults aged 6-20,14 females and 9 males) to those based on retrospective analyses of survivors (adults aged 21-46, 26 females and 27 males). Non-survivors and survivors were directly matched by birth year, using the Coimbra Identified Skeletal Collection; therefore interpretations of childhood stress reflect a shared childhood. Long bone and vertebral canal growth, linear enamel hypoplasia, cribra orbitalia, porotic hyperostosis, scurvy indicators and periosteal bone reactions were assessed for both groups. Overall, long bone growth generates the same interpretation of health for both non-survivors and survivors, and both groups exhibit the same range of stress (mild to severe), but the pattern of stress experienced in childhood differs between the two groups. Female survivors reveal different timing of stress episodes and a higher degree of stress than female non-survivors. Male survivors exhibit less stress than male non-survivors. These different patterns suggest that interpretations based solely on non-survivors would under-represent the stress experienced by female survivors and over-represent the stress experienced by male survivors, further demonstrating the importance of addressing issues of selective mortality. In addition, these different patterns suggest that hidden heterogeneity of frailty may be sex specific where males are more vulnerable to stress and females more able to develop resistance to stress and survive.

A região do Deserto de Atacama, norte do Chile, possui condições propícias para a conservação arqueológica. Uma grande quantidade de esqueletos ali bem preservados vem permitindo um intercâmbio rico entre estudos bioantropológicos e arqueológicos. Dentro desse contexto, o presente estudo concentra-se nos esqueletos humanos subadultos de San Pedro de Atacama. O universo amostral é de 90 esqueletos subadultos (menores de vinte anos) de três cemitérios diferentes: Solcor-3, Coyo-3 e Quitor-6; a datação desses cemitérios varia de 250 até 1240 A.D. A inferencia da qualidade de vida biológica foi feita através de oito marcadores osteólogicos. Duas abordagens foram realizadas neste estudo: a comparação do estilo e da qualidade de vida biológica entre períodos da pré-história atacamenha e a análise mundial. A primeira delas comparou quatro períodos distintos da pré-história atacamenha: anterior à influência do Império Tiwanaku, auge da influência Tiwanaku, fase final da influência Tiwanaku e posterior à influência Tiwanaku. A hipótese central a ser testada nesta abordagem é a de que houve uma melhoria significativa na qualidade de vida biológica na região de San Pedro de Atacama durante o auge da influência Tiwanaku. A segunda abordagem consistiu na junção dos quatro períodos em uma amostra única. Estes dados caracterizaram a qualidade de vida biológica dos subadultos atacamenhos, e foram comparados com populações do restante do mundo. Objetivou-se testar se a qualidade de vida biológica em San Pedro enquadrava-se na estratégia de subsistência agricultora. Os resultados da comparação entre os períodos corroboraram a hipótese inicial apenas para o marcador cáries, uma vez que os demais marcadores apresentaram um padrão bastante variado. Os resultados da análise mundial, por sua vez, mostraram que San Pedro de Atacama se encontra dentro da amplitude de variação da categoria \"agricultores\". No entanto, foi constatado que, com exceção de cáries, os marcadores osteológicos apresentaram alta variação nas diferentes populações mundiais de uma mesma estratégia de subsistência. Os marcadores cáries, abcessos e hipoplasias em San Pedro ficaram acima da média agricultora enquanto hiperostose porótica, infecções e traumas ficaram abaixo. Em suma, encontrou-se um padrão complexo, no qual cada marcador osteológico é sensível a um conjunto de condições culturais e naturais próprias da história da população atacamenha / Desert of Atacama region, northern Chile, shows excellent conditions to preserve archaeological remains. A high number of skeletons exumated allows a rich interchange between archaeology and biological anthropology. This study analyzed subadult skeletons from San Pedro de Atacama. The sample is composed by 90 subadult skeletons (less than twenty years) from three burial sites: Solcor-3, Coyo-3 e Quitor-6; they are dated from between 250 to 1240 A.D. Style and biological quality of life were infered throught eight osteological markers. Two approaches were carried out in this study: comparison of style and biological quality of life between Atacameneans prehistoric periods and world-wide groups. The first compared four prehistoric periods of San Pedro: before the influence of Tiwanaku Empire, peak of Tiwanaku influence, final period of Tiwanaku influence and after Tiwanaku influence. The main hypothesis tested in this approach is the significative improvement of biological quality of life in San Pedro de Atacama during the peak of Tiwanaku influence. The second approach joined the skeletons from the four periods in a single sample. These data caracterized the biological quality of life of Atacameneans subadults. The aim was testing if the biological quality of life in San Pedro de Atacama would be within the variation found in agricultural subsistence strategy. The results of the periods\' comparison show that only caries frequencies corroborated the main hypothesis, while the other markers presented a variable pattern. Results of the world-wide analysis showed that San Pedro is within the range of agriculture category. However, it was found out that, except for caries, the osteological markers showed high variation in different world-wide populations within the same subsistence strategy. Caries, abscess and hypoplasias in San Pedro de Atacama were above the world-wide agricultural mean, while porotic hyperostosis, infections and traumas were below. In brief, it was found a complex pattern, in which each osteological marker responds to a particular group of natural and cultural characteristics of the prehistory of Atacamenean population.

Endometriosis is a common chronic disease that effects approximately 10–15% of the women in today’s society. However, there is a lack of research that examines if endometriosis produces pathological changes in the skeleton. This thesis addresses the association between the osteological discipline and endometriosis.The primary purpose of this thesis is to test a hypothesis which was created during a previous paper. In order to test the hypothesis, it’s fundamental to analyze female pelvises and to see if endometriosis is detectable in the skeleton and leaves pathological changes in the shape of discoloration. The source material includes 39 female pelvic bones that are available at the medical history museum in Uppsala, Sweden. The collection includes 22 pelvic bones from individuals of Swedish descent and 17 pelvic bones from individuals of diverse foreign descent. This thesis also focuses on mental illness in association with endometriosis among historical women.                                                                                      The analysis of pelvic bones showed that 8 of them had pathological changes in the shape of discoloration. The analysis also demonstrated how women, in today’s- and historical society, was affected mentally and socially. The discussion includes how the skeleton is affected by endometriosis and how osteologist can trace the disease if it isn’t visible in the skeleton. The discussion also includes how historical women was mentally affected by the disease and if we can reach the mental illness through modern women. The study also demonstrates how women was affected economically.Currently, there is not enough research in order to prove the hypothesis about pathological changes in the shape of discoloration. We need more research to further investigate the hypothesis. To continue further investigation of the hypothesis, we need to examine modern patients diagnosed with endometriosis.