The ice age with little effect? Exploring stress in the Danish Black Friars cemetery before and after the turn of the 14th century.

The Little Ice Age, beginning in Europe in the 14th century, saw a period of climatic cooling and increased precipitation where food sources dwindled and famine became rampant, particularly in urban city centers. This study focuses on the Black Friars population (13th-17th centuries) to explore changes in stress in Denmark at the onset of the Little Ice Age. This study specifically explores the periods before and after the turn of the 14th century. Forty-five adult individuals were analyzed for cribra orbitalia, porotic hyperostosis, and enamel hypoplastic lesions. Results showed no statistically significant differences between the prevalence of these stress indicators between either time period; however, reduced age at death and increased lesion frequency was more prevalent post-1300. It was expected that increased stress would be evident in those buried after the turn of the 14th century due to the many challenges associated with wide spread climatic cooling; however, the reliance on nutrient rich marine resources and alms provisions may have helped lessen the burden of these stressors during this period of climatic hardship. Additionally, while famine characterized the beginning of the 14th century, agricultural rebound shortly after this period may have also influenced the stress levels observed.

The biochemical signatures of stress: A preliminary analysis of osteocalcin concentrations and macroscopic skeletal changes associated with stress in the 13th - 17th centuries black friars population.

OBJECTIVE: As a chemical precursor to the hard tissue changes well-studied in bioarchaeological research, osteocalcin provides a unique opportunity to assess stress via fluctuations in bone metabolism. The main objectives of this research were 1) to successfully extract osteocalcin from the Black Friars skeletal population; 2) to assess the diagenetic change between individual bone samples; and 3) to compare osteocalcin concentrations across sex, age, time period and macroscopic indicators of stress. METHODS: Twenty adult individuals were selected from the 13th-17th centuries Black Friars skeletal population with bone samples taken from the clavicle and femur. Total protein was assessed through a MicroBCA analysis with osteocalcin quantified using a Human Quantikine ELISA kit. Diagenetic change was assessed using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and the attenuated total reflectance method. RESULTS: Osteocalcin concentrations showed no significant differences between sex or age groups; however, between time period the post-medieval individuals showed a significant reduction of osteocalcin in both the clavicle and the femur. There were no significant differences in osteocalcin concentrations between those with and without past stress indicators and only one significant difference among the chronic indicators. The diagenetic results demonstrated a similar degree of crystallinity between all samples. CONCLUSIONS: While preliminary in nature, this study was successful in demonstrating the potential use of osteocalcin in future health-related research and how the study of osteocalcin may contribute to a better understanding of how and when stress begins to affect the skeletal tissues.

Population variation in osteological aging criteria: an example from the pubic symphysis.

A fundamental assumption made by skeletal biologists is that both the pattern and rate of age-related morphological changes observed in modern reference populations are not significantly different than in past populations. In this brief exploration, the composition of a single reference and two independent, known-age, target samples are evaluated for the pubic symphysis. Differences in the timing of age-progressive changes between the reference and target samples are observed, and in particular, females demonstrated a pattern that was fundamentally different from the reference sample. These results serve as a cautionary note for the use of osteological aging criteria and issues of representativeness for modern standards.

Secular changes in the growth of Toronto children during the last century.

A comparison of measurements of height is made from the late 19th century to early and mid-20th century in Toronto School children. Changes in total attained stature for age is compared for girls and boys to assess secular trends in height of urban children from Southern Ontario. The data clearly show a positive trend toward increased attained height for age from the earliest to most recent data. Comparison of the Toronto growth profiles to other published 18th and 19th century growth data demonstrates that the secular trend in the Canadian children is a reflection of the continued global trend towards increased height. The implications of this changing pattern over time are discussed in the context of changing urban health and nutrition in the greater Toronto area.

Changing patterns of mortality seasonality among the western James Bay Cree.

Anglican Church of Canada burial records from 1851-1964 for the Moose Factory First Nation are analysed for mortality seasonality. The 113-year study period is subdivided into three death cohorts (1851-1906, 1914-1945 and 1946-1964) that broadly reflect the late 19th century, early 20th century, and the post-WWII periods, respectively. The data are partitioned into three age groups: infants (< 1), children (1-14), and adults (15+) to determine whether the hazards of death by season varied by age. The results show a clear and statistically significant pattern of seasonal mortality in the 19th century cohort for all three age groups, with a marked peak in mortality in the summer and a smaller peak in winter deaths (chi 2 = 84.82, df = 11, p < 0.001). By the early 20th century, the seasonal pattern disappears and the risks of death are consistent throughout the annual cycle (chi 2 = 16.5, df = 11, p = 0.124). It is argued that changes in the social and economic fabric of life, associated with the decline of the fur-trade, stimulated an epidemiologic transition among the Moose Factory Cree by the early 20th century, well in advance of WWII, the event normally used to mark both the onset of the phenomenon and improved health care delivery to the region.

Estimating diaphyseal length from fragmentary subadult skeletal remains: implications for palaeodemographic reconstructions of a southern Ontario ossuary.

Fragmentary skeletal remains are a significant problem for osteologists attempting to reconstruct individuals or populations. This problem is further aggravated by sites yielding commingled remains, such as are recovered from the large protohistoric and historic ossuaries from southern Ontario, for which individual methods of age estimation and sex determination cannot be used concurrently. While some attention has been given to the estimation of long bone length from fragmentary, adult remains, little attention has been given to the equally important problem of fragmentary long bones in subadult assemblages. Analysis of data on diaphyseal length is a crucial aspect of reconstructing subadult palaeodemographic profiles, particularly for ossuary collections where dental remains are not associated with individuals and are often less represented than long bones. Such analysis also aids in the assessment of conditions of past population health. This study reports the results of several regression techniques used to estimate diaphyseal length from shaft-end breadths. Data collected from two southern Ontario ossuary samples were compiled to calculate the regression equations. Reliability of these equations and implications for palaeodemographic profiles are discussed.