The collected works

More than 20 years ago, Wood et al. (Curr Anthropol 33:343–370, 1992) published “The Osteological Paradox: Problems of Inferring Prehistoric Health from Skeletal Samples,” in which they challenged bioarchaeologists to consider the effects of heterogeneous frailty and selective mortality on health inferences in past populations. Here, we review the paper’s impact on bioarchaeology and paleopathology, focusing on recent advancements in studies of ancient health. We find the paper is often cited but infrequently engaged in a meaningful way. Despite an initial decade of limited progress, numerous researchers are now addressing components of the Paradox in more informed ways. We identify four areas of fruitful research: (1) intrasite, contextual perspectives, (2) subadults, (3) associating stress markers with demographic phenomena, and (4) skeletal lesion-formation processes. Although often seen as a problematic assumption, understanding the sources of heterogeneous frailty within human populations is a worthy research question in and of itself, and one that clearly links past and present health research within a global framework.

The Osteological Paradox 20 Years Later: Past Perspectives, Future Directions

Objectives: Studies of the carbon and nitrogen stable isotope ratios (δ13C and δ15N) of modern tissues with a fast turnover, such as hair and fingernails, have established the relationship between these values in mothers and their infants during breastfeeding and weaning. Using collagen from high-resolution dentine sections of teeth, which form in the perinatal period we investigate the relationship between diet and physiology in this pivotal stage of life. Materials and Methods: Childhood dentine collagen δ13C and δ15N profiles were produced from horizontal sections of permanent and deciduous teeth following the direction of development. These were from two 19th-century sites (n = 24) and a small number (n = 5) of prehistoric samples from Great Britain and Ireland. Results: These high-resolution data exhibit marked differences between those who survived childhood and those who did not, the former varying little and the latter fluctuating widely. Discussion: Breastfeeding and weaning behavior have a significant impact on the morbidity and mortality of infants and the adults they become. In the absence of documentary evidence, archaeological studies of bone collagen of adults and juveniles have been used to infer the prevalence and duration of breastfeeding. These interpretations rely on certain assumptions about the relationship between isotope ratios in the bone collagen of the adult females and the infants who have died. The data from this study suggest a more complex situation than previously proposed and the potential for a new approach to the study of maternal and infant health in past populations.

/pdf/infant-mortality-and-isotopic-complexity-new-approaches-to-286mfmyalm.pdf

Infant mortality and isotopic complexity: New approaches to stress, maternal health, and weaning

The human remains

Biogeochemical methods using stable isotopes and trace elements have been increasingly developed and applied to reconstruct modern and ancient breastfeeding and weaning practices of mammals, including humans, because they offer direct proxies for the dietary intake of subadults. Carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen isotopes have been used to evaluate breast milk lipid, protein, and water intake, respectively. Carbon and sulfur isotopes have been used to estimate the content of weaning foods. The elemental concentrations of Sr and Ba in subadult tissues differ because of the dietary change during the weaning process. For analyses, various tissues have been used, such as hair, nail, blood, and feces for modern mammals and bone and teeth for ancient ones. Of these, trace element analysis of tooth enamel offers a good opportunity for the reconstruction of breastfeeding and weaning practices of the more distant past at finer resolution, although further understanding of the metabolism of trace elements is necessary. There are various tissue- and element-specific advantages and disadvantages, and a combination of different proxies can illuminate practices from various viewpoints. Finally, applying the geochemical reconstruction of breastfeeding and weaning practices to human ecology, primatology, and paleoanthropology is important; basic studies of the underlying physiological mechanisms and technical improvements in the analyses will further highlight avenues for future research.

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/ajpa.22657

Reconstruction of breastfeeding and weaning practices using stable isotope and trace element analyses: A review.

Scurvy has increasingly been recognized in archaeological populations since the 1980s but this study represents the first examination of the paleopathological findings of scurvy in a known famine population The Great Famine (1845-1852) was a watershed in Irish history and resulted in the death of one million people and the mass emigration of just as many It was initiated by a blight which completely wiped out the potato-virtually the only source of food for the poor of Ireland This led to mass starvation and a widespread occurrence of infectious and metabolic diseases A recent discovery of 970 human skeletons from mass burials dating to the height of the famine in Kilkenny City (1847-1851) provided an opportunity to study the skeletal manifestations of scurvy-a disease that became widespread at this time due to the sudden lack of Vitamin C which had previously almost exclusively been provided by the potato A three-scale diagnostic reliance approach has been employed as a statistical aid for diagnosing the disease in the population A biocultural approach was adopted to enable the findings to be contextualized and the etiology and impact of the disease explored The results indicate that scurvy indirectly influenced famine-induced mortality A sex and stature bias is evident among adults in which males and taller individuals displayed statistically significantly higher levels of scorbutic lesions The findings have also suggested that new bone formation at the foramen rotundum is a diagnostic criterion for the paleopathological identification of scurvy, particularly among juveniles

Scurvy in the Great Irish Famine: Evidence of vitamin C deficiency from a mid‐19th century skeletal population

Historical evidence documents mass migration from Ireland to London during the period of the Great Irish Famine of 1845-52. The rural Irish were reliant on a restricted diet based on potatoes but maize, a C(4) plant, was imported from the United States of America in 1846-47 to mitigate against Famine. In London, Irish migrants joined a population with a more varied diet. To investigate and characterize their diet, carbon and nitrogen isotope ratios were obtained from bone collagen of 119 and hair keratin of six individuals from Lukin Street cemetery, Tower Hamlets (1843-54), and bone collagen of 20 individuals from the cemetery at Kilkenny Union Workhouse in Ireland (1847-51). A comparison of the results with other contemporaneous English populations suggests that Londoners may have elevated δ(15) N compared with their contemporaries in other cities. In comparison, the Irish group have lower δ(15) N. Hair analysis combined with bone collagen allows the reconstruction of perimortem dietary changes. Three children aged 5-15 years from Kilkenny have bone collagen δ(13) C values that indicate consumption of maize (C(4)). As maize was only imported into Ireland in quantity from late 1846 and 1847, these results demonstrate relatively rapid bone collagen turnover in children and highlight the importance of age-related bone turnover rates, and the impact the age of the individual can have on studies of short-term dietary change or recent migration. Stable light isotope data in this study are consistent with the epigraphic and documentary evidence for the presence of migrants within the London cemetery.

Victims and survivors: Stable isotopes used to identify migrants from the Great Irish Famine to 19th century London

The Great Irish Famine of 1845-1852 is among the worst food crises in human history. While numerous aspects of this period have been studied by generations of scholars, relatively little attention has so far been given to the physiological impact it is likely to have had on the people who suffered and succumbed to it. This study examines the prevalence of enamel hypoplasia, Harris lines, and growth retardation in the nonadult proportion of a skeletal population comprising victims of the Famine who died in the workhouse in the city of Kilkenny between 1847 and 1851. The frequency of enamel hypoplasia in these children does not appear to have increased as a consequence of famine, although this fact is likely to be a reflection of the osteological paradox. Harris lines and growth retardation; however, were very prevalent, and the manifestation and age-specific distribution of these may be indicators of the Famine experience. While there was no clear correlation in the occurrence of the assessed markers, the presence of cribra orbitalia displayed a significant relationship to enamel hypoplasia in 1- to 5-year-old children. While starvation, metabolic disorders and infectious diseases are likely to have greatly contributed to the manifestation of the markers, the psychosocial stress relating to institutionalization in the workhouse should not be underestimated as a substantial causative factor for skeletal stress in this population.

Skeletal manifestations of stress in child victims of the Great Irish Famine (1845–1852): Prevalence of enamel hypoplasia, Harris lines, and growth retardation

Jonny Geber

Papers

Scurvy in the Great Irish Famine: Evidence of vitamin C deficiency from a mid‐19th century skeletal population

Victims and survivors: Stable isotopes used to identify migrants from the Great Irish Famine to 19th century London

Skeletal manifestations of stress in child victims of the Great Irish Famine (1845–1852): Prevalence of enamel hypoplasia, Harris lines, and growth retardation

EDTA decalcification of dental calculus as an alternate means of microparticle extraction from archaeological samples

Victims of Ireland's Great Famine: The Bioarchaeology of Mass Burials at Kilkenny Union Workhouse