A Bayesian Approach to Ageing Perinatal Skeletal Material from Archaeological Sites: Implications for the Evidence for Infanticide in Roman-Britain

The skeletal remains of substantial numbers of perinatal human infants have been excavated from within a variety of archaeological contexts dating to the Romano-British period. It has been argued that the distribution of ages at death of these infants, which appears to exhibit a pronounced neonatal peak, provides evidence for infanticide. This study re-evaluates the osteological evidence for infanticide in Roman Britain by first identifying biases in traditional techniques for estimating the age of perinatal skeletons and then using a Bayesian procedure to reassess the ages at deaths of almost 400 infants from a number of Roman sites throughout England. We conclude that the apparent peak in neonatal mortality shown by earlier investigations is an artefact of regression-based age estimation. The distribution of ages at death in Romano-British infants is similar to a natural mortality profile.     

Comment on ‘A Bayesian approach to ageing perinatal skeletal material from archaeological sites: implications for the evidence for infanticide in Roman Britain’ by R.L. Gowland and A.T. Chamberlain

In 1993, I published a paper noting that the age distribution of perinatal infants for some Romano-British sites did not conform to a natural mortality pattern but rather showed a pronounced peak at a gestational age corresponding approximately to a full term infant. I interpreted this as suggestive of infanticide, given that the deed is generally carried out immediately after birth. Gowland and Chamberlain have recently published in this journal (J. Archaeol. Sci. 29 (2002) 677) a reconsideration of the problem of Roman infanticide in which they suggest that the peak I observed in the Romano-British perinatal age at death distribution may have been an artefact of the particular ageing technique I used, and they hence call into question the evidence for Roman infanticide. In this comment I argue that their work is seriously flawed and, using a re-analysis of my 1993 data, I demonstrate that the perinatal peak I observed in the Romano-British age distribution is a robust result that supports an interpretation of infanticide.     

Handedness and directional asymmetry in the long bones of the human upper limb

The long bones of the human upper limb usually show lateral asymmetries of length. This pattern can be attributed either to the mechanical consequences of handedness bias or to genetic or hormonal factors acting directly on longitudinal bone growth. Length data was obtained from the long bones of the upper limbs of a large skeletal assemblage from Wharram Percy, Yorkshire (England), predominantly deriving from the 11th-16th centuries A.D. The Wharram Percy adult skeletons had a population distribution of lateral asymmetries of length in the humerus and in the humerus-plus-radius (a proxy arm length index) which closely parallels the pattern of behavioural handedness found in modern populations. This pattern was developing in the skeletons from the infant and juvenile age ranges, but was absent in the neonates (of whom 12 out of 14 had longer left humeri). We argue that this supports the environmental hypothesis that the ontogeny of long bone length asymmetry is consequent to the earlier development of lateral bias in mechanical loading of the upper limbs.     

Directional asymmetry in the human clavicle

The human right clavicle tends to be shorter than the left. A range of possible explanations can be advanced to account for this asymmetry. In the present work, clavicular morphology was studied in a medieval skeletal assemblage from Wharram Percy, England, with the aim of evaluating these competing explanations. At Wharram Percy, as anticipated, the right clavicle tended to be shorter. Patterns of asymmetry in curvature, robusticity, vascularization, and in the morphology of ligament and muscle attachment sites were also studied. The patterning in these data at Wharram Percy is consistent with inhibition of longitudinal growth of the clavicle on the dominant side due to lateral bias in mechanical loading, particularly in axial compression. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

An Infant Femur Bearing Cut Marks from Roman Hambleden,England

A perinatal infant skeleton from the first–fourth century AD Roman villa site at Hambleden, England, shows what appear to be cut marks on the proximal part of the right femur. Gross, microscopic and micro‐computed tomography evaluations suggest that they occurred perimortem and were probably caused by a non‐serrated blade. The reason for the cuts is uncertain, but their location is consistent with the practice of embryotomy, as described in classical sources for obstructed labour due to a dead or dying foetus in a breech or leg presentation. If this interpretation is correct, this case represents a rare example of embryotomy in the palaeopathological record. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The use of dental criteria for estimating postnatal survival in skeletal remains of infants

Separate cemeteries and/or burial loci for infants have been variously interpreted as reflecting segregation by age, infanticide or even child sacrifice. Attempts to distinguish between these factors rely primarily on the age distribution found. Currently long bone length is the most commonly used method for fetuses and infants in the perinatal period, but its accuracy is affected by the inherent variation in size for age. We show here how to distinguish between death in the perinatal period and that occurring later in infancy through identification of the neonatal line in ground sections of deciduous teeth. The methodology is reviewed and applied to validate estimations of postnatal survival for infant remains recovered from two archaeological sites in Israel.     

Roman Period fetal skeletons from the East Cemetery (Kellis 2) of Kellis,Egypt

Much can be learned about the religious ideology and mortuary patterns as well as the demographic and health profiles of a population from archaeological human fetal skeletons. Fetal skeletons are rare, however, largely due to poor preservation and recovery, misidentification, or non‐inclusion in general burial populations. We present an analysis of 82 fetal/perinatal skeletons recovered from Kellis 2, a Roman Period cemetery dated to the third and fourth centuries AD, located in the Dakhleh Oasis, Egypt. Most of the fetal remains were individually wrapped in linen and all were buried among the general cemetery population in a supine, east–west orientation with the head facing to the west. Gestational age estimates are calculated from diaphysis lengths using published regression and Bayesian methods. The overall similarity between the fetal age distributions calculated from the regression and Bayesian methods suggests that the correlation between diaphysis length and gestational age is typically strong enough to avoid the ‘regression’ problem of having the age structure of reference samples adversely affecting the age distribution of target samples. The inherent bias of the regression methods, however, is primarily reflected in the gestational age categories between 36 and 42 weeks corresponding with the expected increase in growth variation during the late third trimester. The results suggest that the fetal age distribution at Kellis 2 does not differ from the natural expected mortality distribution. Therefore, practices such as infanticide can be ruled out as having a significant effect on the observed mortality distribution. Moreover, the Kellis 2 sample is well represented in each gestational age category, suggesting that all premature stillbirths and neonatal deaths received similar burial rites. The age distribution of the Kellis 2 fetal remains suggests that emerging Christian concepts, such as the ‘soul’ and the ‘afterlife’, were being applied to everyone including fetuses of all gestational ages. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Spondylolysis in non‐adult skeletons excavated from a medieval rural archaeological site in England

Spondylolysis is studied in a large series of non‐adult skeletons, ranging in age at death from 28 weeks gestation to 18 years old, from the deserted medieval village of Wharram Percy. The aim is to shed light on the age of occurrence of the lesion. Among those with complete lumbar spines, the prevalence of spondylolysis is 0.7%. The prevalence in adults from this group is 12% with no age patterning. Age of occurrence of spondylolysis in this population is inferred generally to be during late adolescent or early adult life. This contrasts with a published study of a modern reference group, unselected for activity patterns or medical complaints, which reported that in most cases spondylolytic defects had already formed by 6 years of age. The Wharram Percy group appeared to resemble rather more the pattern seen today in those involved in strenuous activities, such as competitive sports, both in the relatively late age of occurrence of defects and in the eventual high prevalence. This may be consistent with the observation that, during adolescence, individuals in medieval rural communities were beginning to take on adult tasks which would have been physically strenuous. However, it is unclear why individuals from Wharram Percy did not also form defects in early childhood as modern children appear to. A late age of occurrence appears consistent with published data which suggest a paucity of cases in non‐adults in British archaeological populations. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A possible case of renal osteodystrophy in a skeleton from medieval Wharram Percy,England

The skeletal remains of a child aged 13–15 years, recovered from Wharram Percy, England, and dating from AD 960–1700, were examined using gross observation, radiography and scanning electron microscopy. Lesions suggestive of renal osteodystrophy were found. Palaeopathological recognition of renal disease has hitherto relied upon the identification of soft tissue lesions or the presence of urinary calculi. This appears to be the first palaeopathological identification of renal insufficiency on the basis of skeletal changes alone. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Sex Identification in Some Putative Infanticide Victims from Roman Britain Using Ancient DNA

Previous study of infant burials has suggested that infanticide was routinely practised during the Roman period in Britain. This, together with the observation that there is an adult sex imbalance in favour of males at many Romano-British cemetery sites, has raised the question of female infanticide. We attempted to investigate this possibility by identifying sex in some infant skeletons from Romano-British contexts using ancient DNA (aDNA) techniques. Of 31 individuals sampled, sex identification was successful in 13, of which nine were males and four females. These results are discussed in the light of previous work on DNA-based seeking of infant burials.     

Age-dependent bone loss in the femur in a medieval population

Age-dependent bone loss in femurs in a medieval skeletal assemblage from Wharram Percy, England was studied. Dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) was used to measure bone mineral density (BMD) in the proximal femur; radiogrammetry was used to measure cortical index (FEMCI) at the femur mid-shaft. Age-related loss of BMD was found in the proximal femur in both sexes. Females but not males showed loss of FEMCI. Patterning in bone loss with respect to age, sex and site in the skeleton resembled that seen in recent subjects. In this respect the results are similar to those of a previous study of metacarpal cortical bone in the same archaeological assemblage. Given the large difference in lifestyles, and that lifestyle factors are widely held to influence the severity of bone loss in osteoporosis, the similarities between the medieval and modern populations in the patterns of bone loss are surprising. These findings support those from an earlier study of these skeletons in calling into question the role of lifestyle factors in influencing the severity of bone loss in osteoporosis. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A possible case of hyperparathyroidism in a burial of 15–17th century AD date from Wharram Percy,England

The subject of this paper is the partial skeleton of an adult female, dating to ad 1420–1640, excavated from the church at the deserted village of Wharram Percy, North Yorkshire, UK. Lesions are described which are probably indicative of hyperparathyroidism. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Dry-bone manifestations of rickets in infancy and early childhood

Rickets and osteomalacia are the subadult and adult expressions of a disease in which the underlying problem is a failure to mineralize bone protein (osteoid). The most common cause of this disease is a physiological deficiency in vitamin D. The associated problems include deformed bones and this condition is well known in pre-modern medical texts and documents as a fairly common cause of morbidity. Given these facts, it is surprising that the literature on palaeopathology provides very little evidence of this disease in archaeological human skeletal samples. The medieval sample (N=687) of human remains from Wharram Percy, North Yorkshire, England contains a remarkable subsample of eight burials in which a spectrum of pathological features is expressed. The subsample includes infants ranging in age from 3 to 18 months at the time of death. Ten abnormal bone features were identified in the subsample, including: (i) cranial vault porosity; (ii) orbital roof porosity; (iii) deformation of the mandibular ramus; (iv) deformation of arm bones; (v) deformation of leg bones; (vi) flared costo-chondral ends of ribs; (vii) irregular and porous cortex of the costo-chondral ends of the ribs; (viii) abnormality of the growth plates of long bones; (ix) irregular and porous surfaces of the metaphyseal cortex; (x) thickening of the long bones, particularly in the metaphyseal areas. Not all of these features were found in all of the cases. Nevertheless, the overall pattern of skeletal abnormality fits well with the anatomical and radiological conditions associated with rickets. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Stable carbon and nitrogen isotope variations in tooth dentine serial sections from Wharram Percy

Here we report δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N measurements of serial sections of human deciduous and permanent tooth dentine from archaeological samples taken from the medieval village site of Wharram Percy, Yorkshire, UK. We found a pattern of enrichment, for both δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N, where the tooth crown was greater than the cervical part of the root, which in turn was greater than the apical portion of the root and the associated rib collagen values. This pattern reflects a decrease in the consumption of isotopically enriched breast milk and the introduction of less enriched weaning foods in the diet. The (mean±SD) difference between the deciduous second molar crowns and corresponding rib samples from the same individuals after 2 years of age was 1.2±0.4‰ for δ¹³C and 3.2±0.8‰ for δ¹⁵N. The δ¹⁵N values are as predicted, but as there were no C₄plants at Wharram Percy, this 1.2‰ enrichment in δ¹³C represents clear evidence of a carbon trophic level effect in collagen from breastfeeding infants. Carbon and nitrogen results also show that the infant diet among those who died in infancy did not differ from those who survived into childhood. This study demonstrates the promise of using dentine serial sections to study the temporal relationships of breastfeeding, weaning, and dietary patterns of single individuals.     

A Hellenistic/Early Roman Shipwreck Assemblage off Ashkelon, Israel

Underwater surveys at Ashkelon during 1998 exposed a Hellenistic/Roman shipwreck. The ship, c .15–25 m long, sank in the 1st or 2nd century BC, and its remains include iron anchors, lead sheathing, copper nails, assorted metal artefacts, and shipwright's unused nails. Bronze vessels found—oil-lamp, shovel and ladles—could have functioned in cult rites. Weights and balance-scale parts demonstrate commercial activity. Fishing-net sinkers indicate involvement in fishing. This paper raises important points regarding the risk to shipwrecks on the Israeli coast from environmental and human interference, and suggests that Ashkelon never had a built-up port.
© 2009 The Authors     

Osteological and Biomolecular Study of Two Possible Cases of Hypertrophic Osteoarthropathy from Mediaeval England

Two skeletons from Mediaeval Wharram Percy, England, show osteological lesions consistent with hypertrophic osteoarthropathy. The primary cause of hypertrophic osteoarthropathy is generally chronic pulmonary disease, usually either cancer or infection; in the pre-antibiotic era it was predominantly the latter. Biomolecular analyses indicate the presence of Mycobacterium tuberculosis DNA in one of the specimens, strongly indicating that pulmonary tuberculosis was the eliciting factor in this case. This is the first time that a primary cause for hypertrophic osteoarthropathy has been firmly identified in an ancient skeleton and illustrates the potential of a dual approach using both osteological and biomolecular techniques for enhancing our understanding of early disease. The other specimen proved negative for M. tuberculosis complex DNA, however the presence of infectious rib lesions allowed us to suggest that some non-tuberculous pulmonary infection was likely the primary cause of hypertrophic osteoarthropathy in this case.     

Infant mortality in Ottawa, Canada, 1901: assessing cultural, economic and environmental factors

Infant mortality is widely recognized as an indicator of poor living conditions. Scholars have identified economic, housing, environmental, and more recently, cultural determinants of infant mortality. Using individual-level data and record linkage this paper documents and explains the geography of infant mortality in Ottawa in 1901. Infant death in Ottawa mirrored the geography of poor living conditions in the city. The poorest and most densely settled community in Ottawa was Lowertown, a mostly French-Canadian part of the city with a disproportionate share of the city's infant deaths. In addition to environmental factors, infant mortality was linked to economic standing. Poorer families in Lowertown were more likely to have one of their infants die than better off families. After controlling for economic standing, however, cultural factors were stronger predictors of infant deaths. French-Canadian families in Lowertown had a greater risk of infant deaths than did families of other backgrounds irrespective of material circumstances. Supporting conclusions drawn elsewhere, this paper suggests that the interaction of particular cultural practices, such as shorter periods of breast-feeding among French-Canadians and a poor sanitary environment, resulted in high infant mortality rates in Ottawa.     

Religion,Community and The Infanticidal Mother: Evidence From 1840s Rural Wiltshire

Abstract

The existing literature on the history of infanticide has typically considered the crime as a reaction to a specifi c set of diffi cult individual circumstances, but has not attempted to place the infanticidal mother within a longer personal timeframe. Nor has the role of her religious belief been much examined. This article investigates three key elements in the case of Rebecca Smith (1807–1849), the last woman executed in England for the murder of her own infant: her bad marriage; her poverty; and her Baptist religion. These factors provide context for her socio-economic and psychological development, and thus for her status as England's best documented serial infant killer. The article suggests that, as a married woman, Smith's choices were infl uenced by conditions both wider and deeper than the more immediate issues which have tended to be associated with infanticide by unmarried women.     

A Study of the Potential of Deciduous Incisor Wear as an Indicator of Weaning Using a Human Skeletal Population

The aim of this work is to investigate the potential of wear on the earliest erupting teeth, the deciduous central incisors, for studying weaning in human skeletal populations. The study group is from mediaeval Wharram Percy, where existing δ¹⁵N data indicate cessation of breastfeeding occurred by about 24 months post‐partum. The hypothesis tested is that there should be an increase in dental wear as breast milk is replaced with solid foods during weaning. Incisor wear is monitored using crown heights, measured from photographs using image analysis. Results provide little evidence for alteration in incisor wear rates with the attenuation of breastfeeding, perhaps because abrasive foods were used as supplements well before breastfeeding declined. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.