A medieval example of a sagittal cleft or ‘butterfly’ vertebra

A mature adult medieval male with a rare congenital anomaly, a sagittal‐cleft or butterfly vertebra, is presented. Clinical cases are frequently associated with axial as well as soft‐tissue defects. The present case, based only on skeletal evidence, appears to be an isolated finding. The aetiology of the clefting is outlined and palaeopathological evidence for the condition is included. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A case of Os odontoideum in the palaeopathological record

Os odontoideum is an uncommon abnormality of the second cervical vertebra, the aetiology of which is contentious. Whether congenital or acquired, the condition often results in atlantoaxial instability and subsequent compression of cervical cord or vertebrobasilar vessels. The bioarchaeological study of a medieval sample from the Christian necropolis of Cacela Velha (Algarve, southern Portugal) provided the opportunity to describe one of the first cases of this rare anomaly ever reported in the palaeopathological record. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Did Children in Medieval and Post‐medieval Poland Suffer from Scurvy? Examination of the Skeletal Evidence

Late‐medieval and post‐medieval writings report that scurvy was a widespread condition in medieval and early historical Poland. Archaeological and historical data indicate that the diet of children was based on foods poor in vitamin C and contained small amounts of raw plant products. Also, historians emphasise that in medieval and post‐medieval Poland, there were seasonal fluctuations in food availability, frequently accompanied by poor harvests. Both resulted in long periods of poor nutrition, which affected children most severely. The aim of this study was to investigate skeletal manifestations of scurvy in subadult remains from medieval and post‐medieval Poland. Following standards described by Ortner and colleagues, anatomical sites pathognomonic of scurvy in subadults (<17 years) were assessed for abnormal porosity and hypertrophic bone among skeletons excavated from three sites: Ostrów Lednicki (dated to the 11th–14th centuries AD), Cedynia (10th–14th centuries AD) and Słaboszewo (14th–17th centuries AD). In total, 3.6% of all examined children were found to bear traces of vitamin C deficiency. The prevalence of scorbutic lesions was 4.5% for Cedynia, 2.6% for Ostrów Lednicki and 3.6% for Słaboszewo. The majority of affected children were less than 7 years of age. Scurvy was likely more widespread in the living populations than it appears from the calculation of skeletal markers, because some individuals might have recovered or died before obvious traces became apparent. Also, in some children, scurvy might not have reached an advanced stage, identifiable in the skeletal material. The prevalence of scurvy reflects not only dietary patterns but also food storage and preparation techniques adopted in the Polish territories during the Middle Ages, which contributed to low intakes of vitamin C. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Bone mineral densities in the prehistoric,Viking‐Age and medieval populations of Norway

Osteoporosis is a prevalent condition in Norway, as evidenced by the fact that this country has the highest reported incidences of hip and distal forearm fractures. Because recent studies suggest a higher bone density in rural populations compared with urban ones, increased physical activity is believed to be an important factor in reducing fracture incidence. In the present investigation, 185 femoral necks from the Schreiner Collection in Oslo were measured by means of a bone‐mass scanner. The bones, anthropological specimens ranging from the Stone Age to the Middle Ages, were separated into three groups: prehistoric (n = 36), Viking Age (n = 38) and medieval (n = 111). The medieval group was further separated into urban, rural and monastic populations. The examination showed that: (a) there was no significant difference at a 5% level in average bone mineral density (BMD) between the male and female material; (b) there was no significant difference in average BMD among the prehistoric, Viking Age, and medieval periods (P = 0.151); (c) there was no significant difference in average BMD between the rural and urban medieval material; (d) there was a significant difference in average BMD only between the monastic and the rural medieval material; (e) only the medieval material showed a significantly higher average BMD than that of today (P = 0.001). These findings may indicate that factors in addition to physical activity are important for normal BMD maintenance. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Some remarks on ethnicity in medieval archaeology

Recent critiques of the culture‐historical approach to ethnicity have denounced the idea that archaeological cultures are ‘actors’ on the historical stage, playing the role that known individuals or groups have in documentary history. But the critique has gone as far as to claim that, because archaeologists supposedly have no access to the meaning of cultural traditions, medieval ethnicity cannot be studied by archeological means. Ethnicity should be banned from all discussions, if medieval archaeology is to make any progress in the future. The paper examines the theoretical malaise at the root of this scepticism verging on nihilism. The understanding of the archaeological record not as an imprint, but as a text allows for much learning about meaning in the past. Symbols, style and power are the key concepts that currently guide anthropological research on ethnicity as a ‘social construction of primordiality’. As several archaeological examples show, medieval ethnicity was a form of social mobilization used in order to reach certain political goals. Ethnic identity was built upon some pre‐existing cultural identity, in a prototypic manner.     

Prevalence rates of spondylolysis in British skeletal populations

As an activity‐related pathological lesion, spondylolysis and its prevalence rates are indicative of relative diachronic activity levels in different populations. In this paper we document the prevalence of spondylolytic defects in a series of time‐successive populations with special reference to the recording methods employed, and compare the findings with modern clinical studies. We identify epidemiological trends in expression of the condition through 1500 years in a series of skeletonised human remains from England. This includes a 5th–6th‐century settlement, a 15th‐century mass grave, a 14th to 17th‐century rural parish, a medieval Dominican friary, a medieval leper hospital and an 18th to 19th‐century crypt collection. These skeletal populations sample human groups experiencing considerable social change from an agrarian, non‐centralised early medieval period through the development of the medieval state to the earliest phases of industrialisation in England. A detailed study of all lumbar vertebrae in one of the assemblages highlights discrepancies between clinical prevalence rates for spondylolysis established through radiography, and those resulting from direct osteological analysis of the lumbar region of the vertebral column. Current prevalence rates cited in the osteological as well as the clinical literature are greatly dependent upon the recording methods employed, and the effects of several methods for osteological remains are considered in this treatment. For the populations reported on here, prevalence rates vary from considerably less than 1% to as much as 12%, depending on the method selected. A standardised recording method for spondylolytic lesions is suggested to facilitate accurate prevalence reporting and comparison of activity levels between different populations. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

New regression equations for stature estimation for medieval Scandinavians

Estimating stature from skeletal remains in an archaeological context requires appropriate methods that take into account possible temporal and spatial changes in body proportions. New regression equations—both least squares (LSQ) and reduced major axis (RMA) equations—were thus developed for estimating living stature from the long bone lengths of medieval inhabitants (N = 60) of Westerhus, Sweden. The living stature of these skeletal specimens was determined by using the anatomical method. Findings in this study reveal that LSQ regression equations systematically overestimate statures of short individuals and underestimate those of tall individuals, whereas the RMA equations—both combined sexes and sex‐specific equation—provide more accurate stature estimations for individuals of very different statures. The combined sexes RMA‐equations should be used for cases in which the sex is unknown because they provide more accurate stature estimations than sex‐specific equation with a wrong sex determination. These new equations are more appropriate than generally used regression equations for estimating statures of the medieval period Scandinavians. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Incisor labial surface wear striations in modern humans and their implications for handedness in Middle and Late Pleistocene hominids

Over the past four decades several workers have argued that the orientations of striations on the labial surfaces of the front teeth of Middle and Late Pleistocene fossils attributed to Neanderthals and antecedent archaic hominids can tell us something about handedness. These researchers have suggested that such scratches result from stone tools scraping across the incisors during ‘stuff‐and‐cut’ behaviours, and that they reflect directions of hand movements and handedness. In this study, we examine comparable wear features on the incisors of anatomically modern humans to determine whether striation angle may reflect handedness. The teeth from 66 individuals representing four groups with known differences in subsistence practices (Aleut, Arikara, Illinois Bluff, and Puye) were examined. Photomicrographs were made of the maxillary central incisor labial surfaces of all individuals at 56× magnification. These photomicrographs were scanned to image files, and orientations of all visible wear striations were measured using a semi‐automated image analysis procedure. Approximately three‐quarters of all labial surfaces showed a preferred striation orientation. Of those, most had preferred apico‐cervical or vertical striation orientations, independent of cultural affiliation. Few showed the tendency toward diagonally‐oriented scratches expected if handedness is related to scratch orientation. We found no evidence for ‘stuff‐and‐cut’ striations, despite the fact that at least one of the groups studied—the Aleut—are documented to have used this behaviour. In sum, there is evidently no relationship between striation orientation and handedness in the groups studied. It is, therefore, unlikely that labial scratch orientation in Middle and Late Pleistocene hominids reflects handedness if they used their front teeth in a manner comparable to that of any of the anatomically modern groups considered here. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Report of three fused primary human teeth in an archaeological material

Fusion of deciduous teeth can appear in several ways, usually involving two teeth but occasionally three. The frequency of this anomaly is reported to be low and few cases have been described in the scientific literature. Fused teeth in the archaeological record are rare because of the destructive taphonomic processes to which bones and teeth are subjected. Previous research in this field has only dealt with cases of two fused deciduous teeth. To our knowledge, there have been no reports of three fused teeth in the anthropological literature. The present paper presents a case of three fused primary teeth and a succedaneous supernumerary permanent tooth in a 5‐year‐old child discovered in a late medieval cemetery in northern Italy. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Tooth Ablation in Prehistoric Southeast Asia

A sample of skeletons excavated from an undisturbed prehistoric (4000–3500 years BP) burial site in Thailand included a high proportion of individuals with anterior teeth missing in distinctive, mostly symmetrical, patterns. The patterns, types and numbers of teeth missing have been compared between males and females, with age at death, with depth of burial and among spatially distinct groups within the cemetery. The patterns of missing teeth changed over time. In early burials, lateral maxillary incisors were most commonly missing. Two-thirds of the adults had missing teeth. There were no significant differences between the sexes or with age. In later burials, central maxillary incisors and mandibular incisors were most commonly missing. All adults and some children as young as 11 years had missing teeth. There were no significant changes with age but females had more missing teeth than males. Loss as a result of extreme wear inflicted through the use of teeth as tools, congenital absence and ritual ablation are discussed as explanations for the absence of the teeth. The evidence suggests that ritual ablation is the most likely explanation, although the loss of mandibular incisors in some early burials may be as a result of industrial use of the teeth. The ablation of maxillary lateral incisors, found in the early burials, has been recorded at another prehistoric site in the west of Thailand and at sites in southern China.     

A recently excavated odontome from medieval Canterbury,Kent

During archaeological excavation of St George's church, Canterbury, 269 skeletons ranging from early medieval to late nineteenth century were recovered. A medieval female aged ca. 23–28 years displayed an unusual dental anomaly, an odontome. Odontomes are infrequent in clinical dentistry. A search of the literature suggests that very few archaeological examples have been published and our specimen is the first excavated case reported from Britain. Archaeological material, if subject to radiographic examination, provides a unique source of information for the prevalence of odontomes from prehistoric to modern times.     

Metaphyseal fibrous defects in juveniles from medieval Norwich

Two juvenile skeletons excavated from medieval Norwich each have a well‐defined cystic cavitation. One involves the distal femur and the other the proximal tibia. The dry bone and radiographic appearance, as well as the location and age of the individuals, support a diagnosis of metaphyseal cortical defects. Although well‐known in clinical practice, especially in children, this appears to be the first published evidence for the condition in British archaeological material. No other anomalies were detected on the two skeletons. However, the occurrence of two cases in the same cemetery raises the possibility of a genetic influence in the condition. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Analysis of Medieval and Post‐Medieval Glass Fragments from the Dubrovnik Region (Croatia)

Dubrovnik was an important trade city throughout the medieval and post‐medieval time period, maintaining its own glass production from the 14th to the 16th century. Unfortunately, Dubrovnik glass discoveries have not been well investigated up until now, except via archival data in large data analyses. In the following work, we will shed new light on the glass material found in this region, which has diverse origins, chronology, typology and style. Medieval and post‐medieval glass finds (10th/12th–18th centuries) discovered during archaeological excavations in Dubrovnik and the Dubrovnik region were analysed using particle‐induced X‐ray emission (PIXE) and particle‐induced gamma‐ray emission (PIGE), which revealed three main compositional groups: natron glass, plant‐ash glass and potash glass. This demonstrates the important commercial links present between Dubrovnik and other major glass‐making centres.     

Early medieval landscapes in north‐west Spain: local powers and communities,fifth–tenth centuries

There has been in the last few years a rapid expansion in the archaeology of early medieval societies in the north‐west of the Iberian Peninsula. A large part of this evidence remains unpublished or has been published incompletely. This article considers the historical landscapes of the north‐western Iberian Peninsula in the early medieval period as social constructions, starting with the identification of the systemic relationships between different archaeological entities. The dynamics and articulation of early medieval societies in the Cantabrian area and in the Duero and Tagus basins will be outlined by means of deconstructing their landscapes. To achieve this, a set of variables will be analysed in comparative terms from three regions selected as case studies: Madrid, the Duero basin and the Basque Country. With the aim of explaining these systems diachronically a division between the fifth–eighth and eighth–tenth centuries will be taken into consideration.     

MEDIEVALISMS AND MEDIEVAL TIMES: CONFRONTING CHRONOPOLITICS WITH MEDIEVAL TEXTURES OF TIME

This review essay examines Nadia R. Altschul's discussion of medievalism in nineteenth- and twentieth-century South America in Politics of Temporalization: Medievalism and Orientalism in Nineteenth-Century South America. She explores a chronopolitics whereby the notion that late medieval Iberia lagged developmentally behind the rest of Europe sustained the claim that parts of South America were still medieval, even while capitalist modernity was established elsewhere. Her exploration of the instrumentalization of this trope for neocolonial and neoliberal purposes provokes my own exploration here of medieval ideas about time. Medieval people actually had very sophisticated ideas about time, and this complexity troubles the idea of a simplistic and dully repetitive medieval temporality on which the linear hierarchies of time analyzed and critiqued by Altschul rely. More than this, though, I suggest that medieval ideas of time provide us with alternative chronotopes in the sense of thinking through the relationships between time and space in very different ways; in turn, this might permit a different kind of chronopolitics. First, I explore the ways in which medieval people experienced and articulated multiple interwoven layers of time, de-essentializing hierarchies of temporalities and puncturing the illusion that certain spaces should be associated with certain times. Second, I look at the ways in which time was not straightforwardly conceived of as linear in the Middle Ages and consider the ways in which this troubles ideas of periodization; a short discussion of nostalgia in different periods sustains this point. Third, I explore the ways in which ideas about time could be contested in the Middle Ages, challenging the idea that chronopolitics need just be a study of hegemonic attitudes.     

Changes in the distribution of osteoarthritis over historical time

A total of 2635 skeletons recovered from different sites in England was examined for the presence of osteoarthritis (OA); 206 were from pre-medieval sites, 1453 from medieval sites and 976 from post-medieval sites. Where OA was considered to be present in a joint, the site was noted and for each time period the total number of anatomical sites with the condition was determined and the number of major sites with OA (10 in number) was expressed as a proportion of this total. There were no differences in the distribution of osteoarthritis between the pre-medieval and medieval periods but there were between the medieval and post-medieval periods. In the post-medieval period the proportion of osteoarthritis of the knee increased whereas that of the hip decreased; the proportion of osteoarthritis of the hands also increased whereas that of the wrist decreased. Other data presented indicate that patellofemoral disease is about twice as common as tibio-femoral disease in both medieval and post-medieval periods and that lateral compartment disease is almost as common as medial compartment disease.     

Linear Enamel Hypoplasia and Age‐at‐Death at Medieval (11th–16th Centuries) St. Gregory's Priory and Cemetery,Canterbury, UK

Linear enamel hypoplasia (LEH) is a macroscopically detectable band‐like dental defect, which represents localized decrease in enamel thickness caused by some form of disruption to a child's health. Such dental deformations are utilized in osteoarchaeological research as permanent markers of childhood physiological stress and have been extensively studied in numerous ancient human populations. However, currently there is no such data for medieval populations from Canterbury, UK. Here, LEH is examined in the context of age‐at‐death in human burials from the medieval St. Gregory's Priory and adjacent cemetery (11^th–16^th centuries), Canterbury, UK. The cemetery and Priory burials represented lower (n = 30) and higher status (n = 19) social groups, respectively. Linear enamel hypoplastic defects were counted on mandibular and maxillary anterior permanent teeth (n = 374). The age and sex of each skeleton were estimated using standard methods. Differences in LEH counts, age‐at‐death, and LEH formation ages were sought between the two social groups. Results indicate significantly greater frequencies of LEH in the Cemetery (mean = 17.6) compared to the Priory (mean = 7.9; t = −3.03, df = 46, p = 0.002). Adult age‐at‐death was also significantly lower in the Cemetery (mean = 39.8 years) compared to the Priory burials (mean = 44.1 years; t = 2.275, df = 47, p = 0.013). Hypoplasia formation ages differed significantly between the Priory (mean = 2.49 years) and Cemetery (mean = 3.22 years; t = 2.076; df = 47; p = 0.034) individuals. Results indicate that childhood stress may reflect adult mortality in this sample, and that the wellbeing of individuals from diverse social backgrounds can be successfully assessed using LEH analyses. Results are discussed in terms of the multifactorial etiology of LEH, as well as weaning‐related LEH formation. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Indirect Evidence of Falconry in Medieval Poland as Inferred from Published Zooarchaeological Studies

Although written sources indicate that falconry or hawking was very popular already in early medieval Poland, there is no hard zooarchaeological evidence that would support it. So far, only two studies based on animal remains suggested hawking in medieval Poland. The purpose of this study was to examine all published zooarchaeological reports from all archaeological sites in Poland and check for possible clues of hawking. Altogether, 281 remains of 12 species of diurnal birds of prey were recorded from 38 sites (49 time‐site units) in Poland beginning from the Middle Ages onward. The most frequently found was the goshawk Accipiter gentilis followed by the white‐tailed eagle Haliaeetus albicilla and the sparrowhawk Accipiter nisus. Clues of possible hawking include high status of sites, occurrence of species used in falconry outside their natural ranges, preponderance of females, the presence of sub‐adult specimens and others. It is suggested that surface damage observed on prey bones done by the hawks' beaks and claws may be an extra evidence of hawking. The present study strongly supports the notion that hawking was a very popular activity in medieval Poland. In the future, medieval bone assemblages should always be checked for clues of hawking. The present study may also be used as a source of raw data for other analyses because it includes detailed information on birds of prey from all zooarchaeological reports published so far in Poland. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Dental chipping: Contrasting patterns of microtrauma in inuit and European populations

While the study of dental wear has enjoyed wide popularity for over 100 years, dental chipping, or microfractures of the tooth crown, has received little attention. Observations on dental chipping in populations from the Arctic (St. Lawrence Island, Alaska) and Europe (medieval Norway and Spain) reveal patterns of microtrauma that provide insights into the dietary and tooth‐tool use behaviour of earlier populations. St. Lawrence Island Inuit, with an emphasis on consuming tough and frozen foods, in combination with extensive tooth‐tool use, exhibit a pattern of chipping that is characterised as ‘molar dominant’. The two European samples exhibit an ‘incisor‐dominant’ pattern but contrast markedly in frequencies, with medieval Norwegians showing significantly more chipping than medieval and post‐medieval Spanish. The systematic study of chipping promises to provide a new perspective on how populations used and/or abused their dentitions in earlier times. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A bipartite patella in a juvenile from a medieval context

One hundred and thirty six well‐preserved medieval skeletons were excavated in advance of re‐development in Norwich. The right patella of a 13–15 year old skeleton (SK 65) displays a ‘fracture line’ running through the supero‐lateral pole. This represents the fusion of a secondary ossification centre, a condition known as bipartite patella. It should not be confused with other anatomical variants or with pathological processes. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.