Humans, like all animal species, are subject to Bergmann's (1847) and
Allen's (1877) environmental rules which summarize physical adaptations to the
natural environment. However, humans are in addition cultural animals and other
bio-cultural factors such as social, economic and political status, general health,
and nutrition, have a noticeable influence on stature and body proportions.
Importantly, socio-economic status has a powerful influence on stature, which has
been used to elucidate status differences in past societies (Bogin and Loucky,
1997; Floud et al., 1990; Schutkowski, 2000a). Furthermore, bio-cultural factors
influence all dimensions of the human body, including weight, relative limb
length, and relative length of the different limb segments. Given minimal
migration and shared natural environments, all populations in this study, coming
as they do from the last 2000 years of English history, should demonstrate similar
morphology (c. f Ruff, 1994) if climatic variables were the only influence on
stature and body proportions.
In order to assess such bio-cultural factors in individuals from
archaeological populations, skeletal populations from sites such as known
leprosaria and medieval hospitals, rural and urban parish cemeteries, victims from
the battle of Towton in A. D. 1461, and individuals from monastic cemeteries were
analysed. The osteometric data from these populations were assessedfo r within
and between population variability and indicate effects of bio-cultural factors on
attained body proportions and stature. The results indicate a strong relationship
between bio-cultural factors and body proportions, body mass index, prevalence
of pathologies, sexual dimorphism, secular trend, and general stature from Roman
times to the post-medieval period. The usefulness of stature, weight, and physical
indices as markers of the bio-cultural environment is demonstrated. The main
findings include: a greater sensitivity to external stressors in the males rather than
the females of the analysed populations, rendering male statures more susceptible
to varying bio-cultural conditions; a potential for very tall stature has existed in the analysed populations but was only realised. in very high status individuals in
medieval times, and from the beginning 20'h century with better socio-economic
conditions for the population at large; a less stratified socio-political environment,
as in the late Anglo-Saxon period resulted in taller average male statures that a
more stratified one, such as the medieval Nation-States; and medieval monastic
institutions could have high status, e.g., the Gilbertines, or lower status, such as
the mendicant orders, while leprosaria had the lowest status of all. / Ministere de la Culture, de l'Enseignement Superieur et de la Recherche, Luxembourg; Department of Archaeological Sciences, University of Bradford; Andy Jagger Fund; Francis Raymond Hudson Memorial Fund
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:BRADFORD/oai:bradscholars.brad.ac.uk:10454/4356 |
| Date | January 2005 |
| Creators | Schweich, Marianne |
| Contributors | Knüsel, Christopher J. |
| Publisher | University of Bradford, Department of Archaeological Sciences |
| Source Sets | Bradford Scholars |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis, doctoral, PhD |
| Rights | <a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/"><img alt="Creative Commons License" style="border-width:0" src="http://i.creativecommons.org/l/by-nc-nd/3.0/88x31.png" /></a><br />The University of Bradford theses are licenced under a <a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/">Creative Commons Licence</a>. |
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