Dedicated Followers of Fashion? Bioarchaeological Perspectives on Socio-Economic Status, Inequality, and Health in Urban Children from the Industrial Revolution (18th-19th C), England.

The 18th and 19th centuries in England were characterised by a period of increasing industrialisation of its urban centres. It was also one of widening social and health inequalities between the rich and the poor. Childhood is well-documented as being a stage in the life course during which the body is particularly sensitive to adverse socio-economic environments. This study therefore aims to examine the relationship between health and wealth through a comprehensive skeletal analysis of a sample of 403 children (0-17 years), of varying socio-economic status, from four cemetery sites in London (c.1712-1854). Measurements of long bone diaphyseal length, cortical thickness, vertebral neural canal size, and the prevalence of a range of pathological indicators of health stress were recorded from the Chelsea Old Church (high status), St Benet Sherehog (middle status), Bow Baptist (middle status), and Cross Bones (low status) skeletal collections. Children from the low status Cross Bones site demonstrated deficient growth values, as expected. However, those from the high status site of Chelsea Old Church also demonstrated poor growth values during infancy. Fashionable child-care practices (e.g. the use of artificial infant feeds and keeping children indoors) may have contributed to poor infant health amongst high status groups. However, differing health risks in the lower status group revealed the existence of substantial health inequality in London at this time.

A comparison of surface features on submerged and non-submerged bone using scanning electron microscopy.

Skeletal remains are excellent sources of information regarding the deceased individual and the taphonomic history of their body. However, the accuracy of this information is governed by our ability to interpret features on the surface of a bone. Little research in this respect has been carried out on remains found in aquatic environments. This study compares damage features created on the surface of modern and archaeological bone found in a seawater environment, to surface features present on unmodified bone, archaeological bone, pathological bone and burned bone. Results show that no similarities with regard to surface pores were identified between submerged modern bone and archaeological, pathological and burned bone. Similarities were seen between submerged and dry archaeological bones. Thus it is argued that the misinterpretation of the taphonomic history of isolated bones recovered from bodies of water should be avoidable in the forensic context.

Morbidity in the marshes: using spatial epidemiology to investigate skeletal evidence for Malaria in Anglo-Saxon England (AD 410-1050).

Concerns over climate change and its potential impact on infectious disease prevalence have contributed to a resurging interest in malaria in the past. A wealth of historical evidence indicates that malaria, specifically Plasmodium vivax, was endemic in the wetlands of England from the 16th century onwards. While it is thought that malaria was introduced to Britain during the Roman occupation (AD first to fifth centuries), the lack of written mortality records prior to the post-medieval period makes it difficult to evaluate either the presence or impact of the disease. The analysis of human skeletal remains from archaeological contexts is the only potential means of examining P. vivax in the past. Malaria does not result in unequivocal pathological lesions in the human skeleton; however, it results in hemolytic anemia, which can contribute to the skeletal condition cribra orbitalia. Using geographical information systems (GIS), we conducted a spatial analysis of the prevalence of cribra orbitalia from 46 sites (5,802 individuals) in relation to geographical variables, historically recorded distribution patterns of indigenous malaria and the habitat of its mosquito vector Anopheles atroparvus. Overall, those individuals living in low-lying and Fenland regions exhibited higher levels of cribra orbitalia than those in nonmarshy locales. No corresponding relationship existed with enamel hypoplasia. We conclude that P. vivax malaria, in conjunction with other comorbidities, is likely to be responsible for the pattern observed. Studies of climate and infectious disease in the past are important for modeling future health in relation to climate change predictions.