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Yaussy SL. The intersectional effects of sex and socioeconomic status on risk of mortality in industrializing England. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2024; 185:e25022. [PMID: 39245867 DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.25022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/22/2024] [Revised: 07/31/2024] [Accepted: 08/14/2024] [Indexed: 09/10/2024]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Intersectionality posits that multiple levels of marginalization interact to produce patterns of frailty and mortality, both today and in the past. To investigate how mortality during industrialization was selective with respect to sex and socioeconomic status (SES), this study analyzes data from four burial grounds dated to the 18th-19th centuries in England: St. Bride's Fleet Street, Coach Lane, St. Peter's Collegiate Church, and New Bunhill Fields. MATERIALS AND METHODS St. Bride's was considered the high SES group, and Coach Lane, St. Peter's, and New Bunhill Fields were separately and collectively analyzed as the low SES groups. Sex (in individuals aged 18+ years) was modeled as a covariate affecting the Gompertz model of mortality, and SES (in individuals for whom age could be estimated) was modeled as a covariate affecting the Siler and Gompertz models of mortality. RESULTS The results indicate that sex influenced risk of mortality among adults in the high SES group. High SES males faced lower risks of death compared to high SES females. The results also suggest that SES influenced risk of mortality across all ages. High SES individuals were at reduced risks of death compared to low SES individuals. CONCLUSIONS Increased mortality risks among individuals of low SES was likely due to the low standards of living common in the impoverished areas of cities in industrializing England. However, in accordance with intersectionality, the benefits of high status were unequally distributed among adults in the high SES group, suggesting that men were the primary beneficiaries of the protective aspects of high SES.
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Affiliation(s)
- Samantha L Yaussy
- Department of Sociology and Anthropology, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, Virginia, USA
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Wyatt B, O'Donnell L. How Does Social Inequality Alter Relationships Between Porous Cranial Lesions and Mortality? Examining the Relationship Between Skeletal Indicators of Stress, Socioeconomic Status, and Survivorship in a Pediatric Autopsy Sample. Am J Hum Biol 2024:e24164. [PMID: 39400470 DOI: 10.1002/ajhb.24164] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/26/2024] [Revised: 09/02/2024] [Accepted: 09/18/2024] [Indexed: 10/15/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND In prior exploration of modern and archeological populations, lower SES has been associated with an increased risk of mortality. However, SES is often difficult to ascertain in archeological populations. Thus, explorations of skeletal lesions and their association with mortality may be subject to confounding factors that alter the strength and/or direction of this association. METHODS The present study uses data from a modern, documented coronial pediatric dataset to examine the association between porous cranial lesions (PCLs) (cribra orbitalia [CO] and porotic hyperostosis [PH]) and age at death while controlling for SES, as inferred through housing type, with manufactured or apartment housing identified as reflecting individuals from lower SES backgrounds in this context. We include 887 (535 males, 352 females) individuals aged 0.5-20.9 years from New Mexico who died between 2011 and 2022. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis was used to assess survivorship as related to PCLs and SES. RESULTS Low SES is associated with lower survivorship. CO does not have a significant association with age at death when not controlling for SES; PH alone is associated with older age at death. Disadvantaged individuals with PCLs have significantly reduced survivorship than those with higher SES. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS The findings of this study demonstrate that low SES results in reduced survivorship, and those with low SES and PCLs have worse survivorship than less disadvantaged individuals with PCLs. Thus, the strong contribution of SES to mortality necessitates the consideration of the sociocultural context as a confounding factor when examining associations between variables of interest (such as lesions) and mortality in both past and present populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bronwyn Wyatt
- School of Anthropology and Archaeology, The Australian National University, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia
| | - Lexi O'Donnell
- College of Population Health, University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center, Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA
- Department of Pathology, University of New Mexico Medical School, Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA
- Department of Anthropology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA
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Welsh H, Brickley MB. Investigating femoral growth disruption in subadults from the 10th-13th century St. Étienne cemetery of Toulouse, France. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2024; 185:e24984. [PMID: 38899835 DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.24984] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/25/2023] [Revised: 05/27/2024] [Accepted: 06/02/2024] [Indexed: 06/21/2024]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES The skeleton embodies an individual's environment and lived experiences. Studying childhood growth disruption can, therefore, aid in understanding the experiences of children in the past. This study evaluates growth disruption in a medieval Toulousian subadult sample to explore factors that may have influenced childhood growth and mortality at this site and to assess the utility of Harris line (HL) interpretations in bioarchaeology. MATERIALS AND METHODS Femoral growth disruption was assessed in n = 71 subadults (0.125-12.42 years) from the 10th-13th century St. Étienne cemetery of Toulouse, France, using femoral length, total area, cortical area, and relative cortical area. Femoral radiographs were assessed for HLs. To determine the prevalence of growth disruption, z-scores were calculated using data from the Denver growth study. RESULTS The majority of subadults in this sample suffered from femoral growth disruption. Young children (1.0-3.99 years) were the most affected, with >65% experiencing reduced appositional growth and linear growth stunting at time-of-death. Additionally, while many individuals presented with observable HLs, linear and appositional growth did not significantly differ between individuals with and without HLs. DISCUSSION Maternal malnutrition and inadequate complementary feeding practices likely contributed to the high prevalence of growth disruption among the youngest individuals in the study. The older children and adolescents buried at St. Étienne experienced an amelioration in growth deficits, indicating an improvement in nutrition and/or disease load. The results of this study suggest that more consideration is required when interpreting the presence/absence of HLs, and that studies assessing HLs may benefit from using a more individualistic approach.
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Affiliation(s)
- H Welsh
- Department of Anthropology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - M B Brickley
- Department of Anthropology, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
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Wyatt B, McFadden C, Ward S, Wilson LAB. Assessing the association of skeletal indicators of stress with mean age-at-death in sub-adults. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2023; 182:440-451. [PMID: 37610235 DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.24833] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/23/2023] [Revised: 07/14/2023] [Accepted: 08/01/2023] [Indexed: 08/24/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES The present study investigated the association of skeletal indicator of stress presence with mean age-at-death as a means of understanding whether commonly studied indicators are indeed indicative of increased frailty. MATERIALS AND METHODS Using a medieval Gaelic population from Ballyhanna (Co. Donegal), the present study assessed the association between skeletal indicators of stress and mean age-at-death using the Kaplan-Meier survival function with log rank test to determine whether these indicators were associated with younger age-at-death, and therefore increased frailty, in sub-adults only (0 to 18 years, N = 139) and through comparison to an all-ages cohort (N = 318). RESULTS Only linear enamel hypoplasia was found to be associated with significantly decreased survivorship across the all-ages cohort but, conversely, was associated with increased survivorship when analysis was restricted to sub-adults. All other indicators assessed were associated with increased age-at-death for both all-age cohorts and sub-adult cohorts (cribra orbitalia), increased age-at-death when assessing all ages only (porotic hyperostosis and healed periosteal lesions); or were sufficiently rare in adults to prevent comparative analysis (stunting and micronutrient deficiency). Increased survivorship in individuals with higher numbers of co-morbid skeletal indicators was observed for both sub-adults alone and all age cohort. DISCUSSION These findings suggest that these commonly recorded skeletal indicators may be more accurately viewed simply as records of stressor exposure and subsequent survival only, rather than providing evidence that these sub-adults are frailer than their similarly aged-at-death peers. Thus, the demographic and sociocultural context is essential to the interpretation of observed skeletal indicators of stress.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bronwyn Wyatt
- School of Anthropology and Archaeology, The Australian National University, Acton, Australian Capital Territory, Australia
| | - Clare McFadden
- School of Anthropology and Archaeology, The Australian National University, Acton, Australian Capital Territory, Australia
| | - Stacey Ward
- School of Anthropology and Archaeology, The Australian National University, Acton, Australian Capital Territory, Australia
| | - Laura A B Wilson
- School of Anthropology and Archaeology, The Australian National University, Acton, Australian Capital Territory, Australia
- School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, UNSW, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
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Cowgill L, Harrington L, MacKinnon M, Kurki HK. Gains in relative cortical area during growth and their relationship to nutrition, body size, and physical activity. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2023; 182:177-193. [PMID: 37377180 DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.24805] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/11/2022] [Revised: 03/17/2023] [Accepted: 05/27/2023] [Indexed: 06/29/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES In studies of growth in the past, low percentage of cortical area (%CA) is commonly attributed to poor general health, due to factors including poor nutrition, low socioeconomic status, or other physiological stressors. What constitutes low relative cortical dimensions has not been established across a diverse range of human skeletal samples. This study examines %CA in a large immature skeletal sample to establish typical variation in humans with consideration of both body mass and subsistence strategy. MATERIALS AND METHODS Percentage of cortical area was calculated at the midshaft of the humerus, femur, and tibia in seven skeletal samples. Age at death was estimated from dental development, and body mass from bone dimensions. Patterns of %CA with age and log-transformed body mass were examined in the pooled sample and compared among samples using LOESS regression, Welch's ANOVA, and Kruskal-Wallis tests. RESULTS Across all samples, %CA displays a generally non-linear pattern, but variation in %CA with age was high, particularly in samples with lower levels of %CA. There was no relationship between %CA and age-adjusted body mass. DISCUSSION The lack of a relationship between %CA and body mass suggests that %CA should not be used as an indicator of mechanical loading. The variation present across samples implies that appositional bone growth is affected by physiological stress in varying ways. Without a deeper understanding of what is "typical" for long bone development, it is impossible to draw conclusions about individual or population level health.
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Affiliation(s)
- Libby Cowgill
- Department of Anthropology, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri, USA
| | - Lesley Harrington
- Department of Anthropology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
| | - Marla MacKinnon
- Department of Anthropology, University of Victoria, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Helen K Kurki
- Department of Anthropology, University of Victoria, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
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Pietrobelli A, Marchi D, Belcastro MG. The relationship between bipedalism and growth: A metric assessment in a documented modern skeletal collection (Certosa Collection, Bologna, Italy). AMERICAN JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2022; 177:669-689. [PMID: 36787708 PMCID: PMC9299160 DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.24440] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/27/2021] [Revised: 09/23/2021] [Accepted: 10/18/2021] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Long bone variations during growth are susceptible to the combined action of nutritional, hormonal, and genetic factors that may modulate the mechanical forces acting upon growing individuals as they progressively acquire a mature gait. In this work, we explore diaphyseal length and breadth variations of tibia and fibula during ontogeny (a) to test the presence of changes in relation to early toddling, and (b) to further our understanding of developmental patterns in relation to sex. MATERIALS AND METHODS Lengths, breadths, and indices were analyzed on right and left leg bones of 68 subadult individuals (Human Identified Skeletal Collection of the University of Bologna, Italy). Analyses included intersex and age classes (1, 0-1 year; 2, 1.1-3 years; 3, 3.1-6 years) comparisons, linear regressions with age and assessment of correlation among tibial and fibular measurements, as well as principal component analysis. RESULTS A significant difference emerged among age class 1 and the others. Age class 1 and 3 differ between them, while age class 2 overlaps with the others. No sex dimorphism was detected. All measurements were strongly correlated with age. Tibial and fibular measurements correlated with each other. CONCLUSIONS Our results relate the progressive emergence of toddling attempts in growing individuals at the end of the first year of age. No significant sex differences were found, suggesting that tibial and fibula growth might diverge between sexes in later childhood. We provide quantitative data regarding tibial and fibular linear growth and its timing in a modern documented osteological sample from Italy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Annalisa Pietrobelli
- Department of Biological, Geological and Environmental SciencesAlma Mater Studiorum‐University of BolognaBolognaItaly
| | - Damiano Marchi
- Department of BiologyUniversity of PisaPisaItaly
- Evolutionary Studies Institute and Centre for Excellence in PalaeoSciencesUniversity of the WitwatersrandJohannesburgSouth Africa
- Natural History Museum of the University of PisaCalciItaly
| | - Maria Giovanna Belcastro
- Department of Biological, Geological and Environmental SciencesAlma Mater Studiorum‐University of BolognaBolognaItaly
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VARGAS TIMISAYM, URIBE CECILIAL, BEDOYA SANTIAGOV, ZAPATA MARYLUZQ, CARDONA-GALLO SANTIAGOA. Cemetery Relocations in Hidroituango: An Interdisciplinary Study. AN ACAD BRAS CIENC 2022; 94:e20201098. [DOI: 10.1590/0001-3765202220201098] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2020] [Accepted: 08/18/2020] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
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Wolfe CA, Herrmann NP. Interpreting error in the estimation of skeletal growth profiles from past populations: An example demonstrating skeletal growth in historic African American communities. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2022; 177:83-99. [PMID: 36787783 DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.24415] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2020] [Revised: 07/27/2021] [Accepted: 09/13/2021] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES The study of growth in the past is a critical component of bioarcheological analyses. However, our understanding of growth in the past is subject to a number of methodological challenges. This study aims to model the skeletal growth of past populations by considering the challenges associated with the data collection process and the challenges associated with the age estimation procedures. MATERIALS AND METHODS We use skeletal remains from two historic African American cemeteries in the American South to model femoral diaphyseal length-for-age. We estimate the age of each individual using dental development techniques and present growth curves as both a product of the maximum likelihood (MLE) age estimate and the estimated posterior age distribution. Growth was compared against a reference sample from the University of Colorado Child Research Council Study. RESULTS The results of our analyses showed that femoral diaphyseal length in two historic African American communities is small-for-estimated age as compared to a modern reference sample. However, the magnitude and characterization of this difference is variable when taking into account the broader posterior age distribution. DISCUSSION Both samples may be small-for-age due to physiological stress associated with racism, inequality, and the compounding effects of early urbanization. However, the interpretation of growth in the past is muddled when considering the relationship between the study sample and the reference sample, when accounting for uncertainty in the age estimation procedure, and the error-inducing steps taken during the data collection process. Future interpretation of skeletal growth in the past must include a full account of the possible sources of error in order to present an accurate representation of growth.
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Gharibeh N, Razaghi M, Vanstone CA, Wei S, McNally D, Rauch F, Jones G, Kaufmann M, Weiler HA. Maternal Vitamin D Status and Gestational Weight Gain as Correlates of Neonatal Bone Mass in Healthy Term Breastfed Young Infants from Montreal, Canada. Nutrients 2021; 13:nu13124189. [PMID: 34959742 PMCID: PMC8708298 DOI: 10.3390/nu13124189] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/22/2021] [Revised: 11/17/2021] [Accepted: 11/18/2021] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
The implications of maternal gestational weight gain (GWG) and vitamin D status to neonatal bone health are unclear. We tested whether maternal 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) and GWG relate to neonatal bone mineral content (BMC) and bone mineral density (BMD). Healthy term appropriate for gestational age breastfed neonates (n = 142) and their mothers were recruited 24–36 h after delivery and followed at 1.0 ± 0.5 month. At birth, obstetric data were collected and newborn serum 25(OH)D was measured. At 1 month, neonatal whole-body (WB) BMC, WB BMC relative to body weight (WB BMC/kg), lumbar spine BMC and BMD, maternal and neonatal 25(OH)D concentrations, and anthropometry were measured. Infant BMC and BMD between maternal 25(OH)D (<50, ≥50 nmol/L) and GWG (insufficient, adequate, and excessive) categories were compared. Maternal 25(OH)D was not related to infant whole-body BMC, BMC/kg, lumbar spine BMC, and BMD. Infants in the excessive maternal GWG category had greater (p = 0.0003) whole-body BMC and BMC/kg and lumbar spine BMC and BMD than inadequate GWG, and greater (p = 0.0063) whole-body BMC/kg and lumbar spine BMC and BMD than adequate GWG. These results suggest that maternal GWG, but not vitamin D status, modestly relates to bone mass in neonates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nathalie Gharibeh
- School of Human Nutrition, McGill University, Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue, QC H9X 3V9, Canada; (N.G.); (M.R.); (C.A.V.)
| | - Maryam Razaghi
- School of Human Nutrition, McGill University, Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue, QC H9X 3V9, Canada; (N.G.); (M.R.); (C.A.V.)
| | - Catherine A. Vanstone
- School of Human Nutrition, McGill University, Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue, QC H9X 3V9, Canada; (N.G.); (M.R.); (C.A.V.)
| | - ShuQin Wei
- Institut National de santé Publique du Québec, Montréal, QC G1V 5B3, Canada;
| | - Dayre McNally
- Department of Pediatrics, Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON K1H 8L1, Canada;
| | - Frank Rauch
- Shriners Hospital for Children, Montréal, QC H4A 0A9, Canada;
| | - Glenville Jones
- Department of Biomedical and Molecular Sciences, Queen’s University, Kingston, ON K7L 3N6, Canada; (G.J.); (M.K.)
| | - Martin Kaufmann
- Department of Biomedical and Molecular Sciences, Queen’s University, Kingston, ON K7L 3N6, Canada; (G.J.); (M.K.)
| | - Hope A. Weiler
- School of Human Nutrition, McGill University, Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue, QC H9X 3V9, Canada; (N.G.); (M.R.); (C.A.V.)
- Nutrition Research Division, Bureau of Nutritional Sciences, Health Products and Food Branch, Health Canada, Ottawa, ON K1A 0K9, Canada
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +1-613-297-6158
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Coqueugniot H, Colombo A, Dutour O. Are the identified collections of immature skeletons dating from the Industrial Revolution good references for paleoauxological studies? Cases studies from England & France. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PALEOPATHOLOGY 2021; 34:142-146. [PMID: 34265668 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpp.2021.07.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/14/2020] [Revised: 03/20/2021] [Accepted: 07/07/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Skeletal collections of immature individuals identified by age and sex serve as reference material for studying development in past populations. Several of these collections were established during the Industrial Revolution (IR), a period known for its difficult living conditions in industrial cities. We question if these collections represent useful comparisons from which to explore the natural history of human growth. MATERIALS Immature individuals from two skeletal collections contemporaneous to the IR period were studied: 71 children from the Spitalfields (UK) and 108 from the Strasbourg (F) collections. Among them we selected mandibles of individuals aged from 0 to 30 months, representing 32 and 52 individuals, respectively. METHODS We scored the dental development of first and second left deciduous molars according to (Moorrees et al., 1963) stages, from X-rays (Spitalfields) or CT-scans (Strasbourg) data and compared it with the modern reference pattern from the Lewis Growth Records by covariance analysis (ANCOVA). RESULTS Statistical differences exist in the dental development timeline between the 3 samples. This mainly concerns a delay in the root formation in IR samples that related to post-natal living conditions. CONCLUSIONS The delay in dental development timeline suggests that growth processes were impacted during IR in England and France, probably due to stressful living conditions. SIGNIFICANCE keletal collections dating from the IR period in Europe might be not the most appropriate referencesl for studying the natural history of human growth. LIMITATIONS This study focus on dental development only. SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH Exploring the skeletal growth pattern in other skeletal collections, pre or post-dating the IR, is advised.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hélène Coqueugniot
- UMR 5199 PACEA, CNRS/University of Bordeaux/Ministry of Culture, Pessac, France; Chaire d'Anthropologie biologique Paul Broca, EPHE-PSL University, Paris, France; Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany.
| | - Antony Colombo
- UMR 5199 PACEA, CNRS/University of Bordeaux/Ministry of Culture, Pessac, France; Chaire d'Anthropologie biologique Paul Broca, EPHE-PSL University, Paris, France
| | - Olivier Dutour
- UMR 5199 PACEA, CNRS/University of Bordeaux/Ministry of Culture, Pessac, France; Chaire d'Anthropologie biologique Paul Broca, EPHE-PSL University, Paris, France; Department of Anthropology, Canada Social Science Centre, Western University, London, ON, Canada
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Davenport RJ. Mortality, migration and epidemiological change in English cities, 1600-1870. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PALEOPATHOLOGY 2021; 34:37-49. [PMID: 34146819 PMCID: PMC7611108 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpp.2021.05.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/05/2021] [Revised: 05/13/2021] [Accepted: 05/24/2021] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE This study tests the argument that industrialisation was accompanied by a dramatic worsening of urban health in England. MATERIALS Family reconstitutions derived from baptism, marriage and burial records for the period before 1837, and from civil registration of deaths and census populations between 1837 and 1900. METHODS Age-specific mortality rates are used as indicators of population health. RESULTS The available evidence indicates a decline in urban mortality in the period c.1750-1820, especially amongst infants and (probably) rural-urban migrants. Mortality at ages 1-4 years demonstrated a more complex pattern, falling between 1750 and 1830 before rising abruptly in the mid-nineteenth century. CONCLUSIONS These patterns are better explained by changes in breastfeeding practices and the prevalence or virulence of particular pathogens than by changes in sanitary conditions or poverty. Mortality patterns amongst young adult migrants were affected by a shift from acute to chronic infectious diseases over the period. SIGNIFICANCE Pathogen evolution, infant care and migration exerted major influences on mortality trends and should be given greater attention in studies of the health impacts of British industrialisation. LIMITATIONS Evidence of urban mortality rates is very limited before 1837 and may not be fully representative of industrialising populations. Mortality also provides only a partial picture of the health of urban populations and may be distorted by migration patterns. FURTHER RESEARCH There is enormous scope for collaboration between archaeologists and historians to investigate the health of industrial populations, through the triangulation and contextualisation of diverse sources of evidence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Romola J Davenport
- Cambridge Group for the History of Population and Social Structure, Department of Geography, University of Cambridge, CB2 3EN, Cambridge, UK.
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Betsinger TK, DeWitte SN. Toward a bioarchaeology of urbanization: Demography, health, and behavior in cities in the past. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2021; 175 Suppl 72:79-118. [PMID: 33619721 DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.24249] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/07/2020] [Revised: 11/25/2020] [Accepted: 01/22/2021] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Abstract
Urbanization is one of the most important settlement shifts in human history and has been the focus of research within bioarchaeology for decades. However, there have been limited attempts to synthesize the results of these studies in order to gain a broader perspective on whether or how urbanization affects the biology, demography, and behavior of humans, and how these potential effects are embodied in the human skeleton. This paper outlines how bioarchaeology is well-suited to examine urbanization in the past, and we provide an overview and examples of three main ways in which urbanization is studied in bioarchaeological research: comparison of (often contemporaneous) urban and rural sites, synchronic studies of the variation that exists within and between urban sites, and investigations of changes that occur within urban sites over time. Studies of urbanization, both within bioarchaeology and in other fields of study, face a number of limitations, including a lack of a consensus regarding what urban and urbanization mean, the assumed dichotomous nature of urban versus rural settlements, the supposition that urbanization is universally bad for people, and the assumption (at least in practice) of homogeneity within urban and rural populations. Bioarchaeologists can address these limitations by utilizing a wide array of data and methods, and the studies described here collectively demonstrate the complex, nuanced, and highly variable effects of urbanization.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Sharon N DeWitte
- Department of Anthropology, University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina, USA
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Lamer M, Spake L, Cardoso HFV. Testing the cross-applicability of juvenile sex estimation from diaphyseal dimensions. Forensic Sci Int 2021; 321:110739. [PMID: 33662898 DOI: 10.1016/j.forsciint.2021.110739] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/09/2020] [Revised: 02/10/2021] [Accepted: 02/17/2021] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
Abstract
Sex estimation is a crucial component of the biological profile. Stull et al. (2017) have proposed a promising juvenile sex estimation method using long bone measurements taken from a South African sample, providing relatively high classification accuracies and made easy to use via the KidStats web-based app. In this study, we test the models developed by Stull et al. (2017) on an external historic population from Lisbon, Portugal, in order to determine whether the models can be reliably applied to archeological and forensic populations outside of the original population sample. The study sample consisted of 102 individuals (45 females and 57 males) aged under 13 years at death from the Lisbon identified skeletal collection. Measurements from these individuals were used to test the flexible discriminant analysis (FDA) models given by Stull et al. (2017). Allocation accuracies were calculated for boys and girls and children over and under 2 years separately and combined. Our findings show that the models developed by Stull et al. (2017) yield poor accuracy when applied to our external population and thus can potentially be misapplied on archeological skeletal remains or forensic remains of unknown origin. A number of statistical issues may explain why models fail to be transportable or even generalizable, namely multicollinearity, model overfitting and overly optimist bootstrapped cross-validation rates. It is also likely that population differences in size and sexual size dimorphism also affected the applicability of the models. We emphasize the importance of externally validating prediction models, particularly if they are intended to be applied across populations. Our study addresses Stull and co-worker's request for further validation of the method on populations outside of South Africa, as the models cannot be confidently applied in the field until it has been externally validated.
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Affiliation(s)
- Madeleine Lamer
- Department of Anthropology, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
| | - Laure Spake
- Religion Programme and Centre for Research on Evolution, Belief, and Behaviour, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand
| | - Hugo F V Cardoso
- Department of Archaeology, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada.
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14
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Buckley HR, Roberts P, Kinaston R, Petchey P, King C, Domett K, Snoddy AM, Matisoo-Smith E. Living and dying on the edge of the Empire: a bioarchaeological examination of Otago's early European settlers. J R Soc N Z 2020; 52:68-94. [PMID: 39440011 PMCID: PMC11407515 DOI: 10.1080/03036758.2020.1837189] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/27/2020] [Accepted: 10/12/2020] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
Abstract
During the nineteenth century, New Zealand was promoted as a land of plenty, promising a 'better life', to encourage families to settle and develop the growing colony. This paper characterises the life-course of early settlers to New Zealand through historical epidemiological and osteological analyses of the St John's burial ground in Milton, Otago. These people represent some of the first European colonists to Aotearoa, and their children. The analyses provided glimpses into the past of strenuous manual labour, repeated risk of injury, and oral and skeletal infections. Mortality of infants was very high in the skeletal sample and the death certificates outlined the varied risks of infection and accidents they faced. Osteobiographies of seven well-preserved adults demonstrated the detailed narratives that can be gleaned from careful consideration of individuals. The skeletal record indicates childhood stress affecting growth and risk of injury prior to migration. However, the historical record suggests that occupational risks of death to the working class were similar in the new colony as at home. The snapshot of this Victorian-era population provided by these data suggests that the colonial society transported their biosocial landscape upon immigration and little changed for these initial colonists.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hallie Ruth Buckley
- Department of Anatomy, School of Biomedical Sciences, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand
| | - Phillip Roberts
- School of Culture, History and Language, College of Asia & the Pacific, The Australian National University, Canberra, Australia
| | - Rebecca Kinaston
- Department of Anatomy, School of Biomedical Sciences, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand
| | | | - Charlotte King
- Department of Anatomy, School of Biomedical Sciences, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand
| | - Kate Domett
- College of Medicine and Dentistry, James Cook University, Townsville, Australia
| | - Anne Marie Snoddy
- Department of Anatomy, School of Biomedical Sciences, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand
| | - Elizabeth Matisoo-Smith
- Department of Anatomy, School of Biomedical Sciences, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand
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15
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Gooderham E, Marinho L, Spake L, Fisk S, Prates C, Sousa S, Oliveira C, Santos AL, Cardoso HFV. Severe skeletal lesions, osteopenia and growth deficit in a child with pulmonary tuberculosis (mid-20th century, Portugal). INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PALEOPATHOLOGY 2020; 30:47-56. [PMID: 32464525 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpp.2020.03.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/12/2019] [Revised: 03/25/2020] [Accepted: 03/27/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE This case-study provides a summary of skeletal lesions seen in a case of diagnosed juvenile pulmonary tuberculosis with extensive multifocal bony lesions. MATERIALS Skeleton of a 9-year-old girl who died in the 1940s in Lisbon, Portugal. The remains of this individual are part of the Lisbon skeletal reference collection curated at the National Museum of Natural History and Science. METHODS Lesions and paleopathological conditions were identified and documented through macroscopic, radiographic, computed tomographic, and mammographic analysis. RESULTS The skeleton shows a variety of lytic lesions on the ribs and thoracic vertebrae including complete destruction of the bodies and fusion of the vertebral arches of four vertebrae, kyphosis, and scoliosis. Further pathological conditions were identified, including bone erosion, premature fusion of the left femoral head and greater trochanter, and abnormal size and shape changes to the lower limbs including loss of bone mass and stunting of the long bones. CONCLUSIONS Skeletal lesions are indicative of spondylitis, Pott's disease, and prolonged bedrest. SIGNIFICANCE This case is one of the few examples of confirmed juvenile pulmonary tuberculosis with skeletal lesions prior to the antibiotic era. As such, it provides a reference for the skeletal abnormalities which may be observed in archaeological tuberculosis cases. LIMITATIONS Pulmonary tuberculosis was recorded as cause of death, however there is no documentation to know the length of illness period or the existence of any comorbidities. SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH Consideration of multi-focal lesions is recommended when analyzing individuals with suspected tuberculosis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ellie Gooderham
- Department of Archaeology, Simon Fraser University, 8888 University Drive, Burnaby, Canada
| | - Luísa Marinho
- Department of Archaeology, Simon Fraser University, 8888 University Drive, Burnaby, Canada
| | - Laure Spake
- Department of Archaeology, Simon Fraser University, 8888 University Drive, Burnaby, Canada
| | - Shera Fisk
- Department of Archaeology, Simon Fraser University, 8888 University Drive, Burnaby, Canada
| | - Carlos Prates
- IMI-art / Affidea PT, Av Da República 99 B, 1050-190 Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Sandra Sousa
- IMI-art / Affidea PT, Av Da República 99 B, 1050-190 Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Carlos Oliveira
- IMI-art / Affidea PT, Av Da República 99 B, 1050-190 Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Ana Luisa Santos
- Centro de Investigação em Antropologia e Saúde (CIAS), Department of Life Sciences, University of Coimbra, Calçada Martim De Freitas, 3000-456 Coimbra, Portugal
| | - Hugo F V Cardoso
- Department of Archaeology, Simon Fraser University, 8888 University Drive, Burnaby, Canada; Centro de Investigação em Antropologia e Saúde (CIAS), Department of Life Sciences, University of Coimbra, Calçada Martim De Freitas, 3000-456 Coimbra, Portugal.
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16
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Osipov B, Alaica AK, Pickard C, Garcia‐Donas JG, Márquez‐Grant N, Kranioti EF. The effect of diet and sociopolitical change on physiological stress and behavior in late
Roman‐Early
Byzantine (300–700
AD
) and Islamic (902–1,235
AD
) populations from Ibiza, Spain. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2020; 172:189-213. [DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.24062] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/06/2019] [Revised: 02/24/2020] [Accepted: 04/04/2020] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Benjamin Osipov
- Lawrence J. Ellison Musculoskeletal Research Center, Department of Orthopaedic SurgeryUniversity of California Davis Medical Center Sacramento California USA
| | - Aleksa K Alaica
- Department of AnthropologyUniversity of Toronto Toronto Ontario Canada
- School of History, Classics and ArchaeologyUniversity of Edinburgh Edinburgh UK
| | - Catriona Pickard
- School of History, Classics and ArchaeologyUniversity of Edinburgh Edinburgh UK
| | - Julieta G Garcia‐Donas
- School of Science and Engineering, Center for Anatomy and Human IdentificationUniversity of Dundee Dundee UK
| | - Nicholas Márquez‐Grant
- Cranfield Forensic InstituteCranfield University, Defence Academy of the United Kingdom UK
| | - Elena F. Kranioti
- School of History, Classics and ArchaeologyUniversity of Edinburgh Edinburgh UK
- Department of Forensic Sciences, Faculty of MedicineUniversity of Crete Crete Greece
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17
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Wallace IJ, Marsh D, Otárola-Castillo E, Billings BK, Mngomezulu V, Grine FE. Secular decline in limb bone strength among South African Africans during the 19th and 20th centuries. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2020; 172:492-499. [PMID: 32003457 DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.24014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/24/2019] [Revised: 12/19/2019] [Accepted: 01/14/2020] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES South African Africans have been reported to have experienced negative or null secular trends in stature and other measures of skeletal structure across the 19th and 20th centuries, presumably due to poor living conditions during a time of intensifying racial discrimination. Here, we investigate whether any secular trend is apparent in limb bone strength during the same period. MATERIALS AND METHODS Cadaver-derived skeletons (n = 221) were analyzed from female and male South African Africans who were born between 1839 and 1970, lived in and around Johannesburg, and died between 1925 and 1991 when they were 17-90 years of age. For each skeleton, a humerus and femur were scanned using computed tomography, and mid-diaphyseal cross-sectional geometric properties were calculated and scaled according to body size. RESULTS In general linear mixed models accounting for sex, age at death, and skeletal element, year of birth was a significant (p < .05) negative predictor of size-standardized mid-diaphyseal cortical area (a proxy for resistance to axial loading) and polar moment of area (a proxy for resistance to bending and torsion), indicating a temporal trend toward diminishing limb bone strength. No significant interactions were detected between year of birth and age at death, suggesting that the decline in limb bone strength was mainly due to changes in skeletal maturation rather than severity of age-related bone loss. DISCUSSION Limb bone strength is thus potentially another feature of the skeletal biology of South African Africans that was compromised by poor living conditions during the 19th and 20th centuries.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ian J Wallace
- Department of Anthropology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico
| | - D'Arcy Marsh
- Renaissance School of Medicine, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New York
| | | | - Brendon K Billings
- School of Anatomical Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
| | - Victor Mngomezulu
- Department of Diagnostic Radiology, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
| | - Frederick E Grine
- Department of Anthropology, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New York
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18
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Wilson LAB, De Groote I, Humphrey LT. Sex differences in the patterning of age-related bone loss in the human hallucal metatarsal in rural and urban populations. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2020; 171:628-644. [PMID: 31925961 DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.24002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/05/2019] [Revised: 11/18/2019] [Accepted: 12/17/2019] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Age-degenerative features of the metatarsals are poorly known despite the importance of metatarsal bone properties for investigating mobility patterns. We assessed the role of habitual activity in shaping the patterning and magnitude of sexual dimorphism in age-related bone loss in the hallucal metatarsal. MATERIALS AND METHODS Cross-sections were extracted at midshaft from micro-computed tomography scan models of individuals from medieval rural (Abingdon Vineyard) and early industrial urban (Spitalfields) settings (n = 71). A suite of cross-sectional geometry dimensions and biomechanical properties were compared between populations. RESULTS The rural group display generally stronger and larger metatarsals that show a greater capacity to resist torsion and that have comparatively greater bending strength along the medio-lateral plane. Men in both groups show greater values of cortical area than women, but only in the urban group do men show lower magnitudes of age-related decline compared to females. Women in rural and urban populations show different patterns of age-related decline in bone mass, particularly old women in the urban group show a marked decline in cortical area that is absent for women in the rural group. DISCUSSION Lifetime exposure to hard, physical activity in an agricultural setting has contributed to the attainment of greater bone mass and stronger bones in young adults. Furthermore, over the life-course, less of this greater amount of bone is lost, such that sustained activity levels may have acted to buffer against age-related decline, and this is most pronounced for women, who are expected to experience greater bone loss later in life than men.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura A B Wilson
- School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Isabelle De Groote
- School of Natural Sciences and Psychology, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, UK
- Department of Archaeology, Section Prehistory of western Europe, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Louise T Humphrey
- Department of Earth Sciences, The Natural History Museum London, London, UK
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19
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Exploring Patterns of Appositional Growth Amongst Urban Children. BIOARCHAEOLOGY AND SOCIAL THEORY 2020. [DOI: 10.1007/978-3-030-53417-2_13] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/03/2022]
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20
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Newman SL, Gowland RL, Caffell AC. North and south: A comprehensive analysis of non‐adult growth and health in the industrial revolution (AD 18th–19th C), England. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2019; 169:104-121. [DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.23817] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/17/2018] [Revised: 02/19/2019] [Accepted: 02/21/2019] [Indexed: 01/20/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Sophie L. Newman
- Department of ArchaeologyDurham University Durham United Kingdom
- Department of ArchaeologyUniversity of Sheffield Sheffield United Kingdom
| | | | - Anwen C. Caffell
- Department of ArchaeologyDurham University Durham United Kingdom
- York Osteoarchaeology Ltd York United Kingdom
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21
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A novel method for analyzing long bone diaphyseal cross-sectional geometry. A GNU Octave CSG Toolkit. Forensic Sci Int 2019; 297:65-71. [PMID: 30776779 DOI: 10.1016/j.forsciint.2019.01.041] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/14/2018] [Revised: 01/16/2019] [Accepted: 01/29/2019] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
The diaphyseal cross-sectional geometric properties of the humerus, femur and tibia have been extensively used for studying their adaptation to mechanical loading. To date common practices for such studies involve either computed tomography or the latex cast method in conjunction with image analysis for calculating such properties. With the advent of modern laser scanning and photogrammetry technologies in biological anthropology, the computation of the cross-sectional geometric properties directly from 3D models is a viable and sensible alternative. Nevertheless, such method has not been properly implemented as yet. A dedicated toolkit, named long-bone-diaphyseal-CSG-Toolkit, comprising a set of functions for the GNU Octave programming language, is presented here. Offering a robust analytical implementation and an easy to follow application either for a single bone or in batch-processing mode, the toolkit requires minimum user intervention and also provides functionality for graphical representation of the calculated periosteal contours and their respective cross-sectional geometric properties. Finally, the long-bone-diaphyseal-CSG-Toolkit utilizes advanced optimization algorithms, which eliminate intra- and inter-observer error by reliably orienting the cross-sectional contours to a well-defined orientation and close to the bone's true anatomical position, which provides a significant advantage over the latex cast method.
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22
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Medialdea L, Bazaco C, D'Angelo del Campo MD, Sierra-Martínez C, González-José R, Vargas A, Marrodán MD. Describing the children's body shape by means of Geometric Morphometric techniques. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2019; 168:651-664. [DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.23779] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/09/2018] [Revised: 12/18/2018] [Accepted: 12/28/2018] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Laura Medialdea
- Technical Department; Action Against Hunger Foundation (AAH); Madrid Spain
- Laboratorio de Poblaciones del Pasado (LAPP), Departamento de Biología; Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (UAM); Madrid Spain
| | - Cayetana Bazaco
- Technical Department; Action Against Hunger Foundation (AAH); Madrid Spain
| | - Manuel Domingo D'Angelo del Campo
- Laboratorio de Poblaciones del Pasado (LAPP), Departamento de Biología; Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (UAM); Madrid Spain
- Núcleo de Estudios Interdisciplinarios sobre Poblaciones Humanas de Patagonia Austral (NEIPHPA), Laboratorio de Ecología Evolutiva Humana (LEEH); Facultad de Ciencias Sociales (FACSO), Universidad Nacional del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires (UNCPBA); Tandil Buenos Aires Argentina
| | | | - Rolando González-José
- Instituto Patagónico de Ciencias Sociales y Humanas, Centro Nacional Patagónico (CENPAT-CONICET); Puerto Madryn Chubut Argentina
| | - Antonio Vargas
- Technical Department; Action Against Hunger Foundation (AAH); Madrid Spain
| | - María Dolores Marrodán
- Grupo de investigación EPINUT, Facultad de Medicina, Departamento de Biodiversidad; Ecología y Evolución, Universidad Complutense de Madrid (UCM); Madrid Spain
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23
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Mansukoski L, Sparacello VS. Smaller long bone cross-sectional size in people who died of tuberculosis: Insights on frailty factors from a 19th and early 20th century Finnish population. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PALEOPATHOLOGY 2018; 20:38-44. [PMID: 29496214 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpp.2017.12.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/16/2017] [Revised: 12/26/2017] [Accepted: 12/26/2017] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
There is little research on how individuals suffering from tuberculosis may differ from those not infected in terms of overall skeletal morphology. Tuberculosis was endemic in 19th and early 20th century Finland making documented skeletal collections of Finns ideal to study effects of the disease on bone. The present study compares long bone cross-sectional total area between individuals who died of tuberculosis and those with another recorded cause of death in a Finnish sample. Adult male individuals (N = 105) were selected for analysis. Complete humeri (N = 56), femora (N = 66) and tibiae (N = 64) were 3D scanned using a laser scanner and total cross-sectional areas calculated with AsciiSection software. Individuals who died of tuberculosis (N = 24, 15 humeri, 14 femora, 13 tibiae) had, when standardized for body size, significantly smaller total cross-sectional femoral and humeral, but not tibial, areas. The mechanisms behind the observed relationship may reflect a combination of biological 'frailty' in terms of susceptibility to infection, reduced childhood activity and/or vitamin D deficiency, which possibly influenced both subperiosteal development during adolescence and, later, susceptibility to contracting and dying of TB. Due to the relatively small sample future studies are needed to further investigate the relationship between TB and bone cross-sectional size.
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Affiliation(s)
- Liina Mansukoski
- Department of Anthropology, Durham University, Dawson Building South Road, Durham, DH1 3LE, United Kingdom; School of Sport, Exercise and Health Sciences, Loughborough University, Ashby Road, Loughborough, Leicestershire, LE11 3TU, United Kingdom.
| | - Vitale Stefano Sparacello
- UMR5199 PACEA, Univ. Bordeaux, Batiment B8, Avenue Geoffroy Saint Hilaire, CS 50023, 33615 Pessac Cedex, France
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24
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Wilson L, Humphrey L. Voyaging into the third dimension: A perspective on virtual methods and their application to studies of juvenile sex estimation and the ontogeny of sexual dimorphism. Forensic Sci Int 2017; 278:32-46. [DOI: 10.1016/j.forsciint.2017.06.016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/27/2017] [Revised: 06/16/2017] [Accepted: 06/16/2017] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
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25
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Hagihara Y, Nara T. The characteristic mid-shaft cross-sectional shape of the ulna in Jomon hunter-gatherers. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2017; 164:598-608. [PMID: 28832931 DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.23300] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/15/2017] [Revised: 07/26/2017] [Accepted: 08/05/2017] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES The Jomon people were hunter-gatherers who inhabited the Japanese archipelago between 10,000 BC and 300 BC. Here, we focus on the mid-shaft cross-sectional shape of the ulna in the Jomon population and compare it with modern Japanese people. MATERIALS AND METHODS Jomon specimens, including 32 males and 22 females, were excavated from shell mound sites in the Pacific and Seto inland coastal area of Honshu island in the Japanese archipelago dated to the Late-to-Final Jomon phase (between 2,000 BC and 300 BC). Mid-shaft ulna cross-sectional shapes were compared with modern Japanese specimens (25 males, 21 females) using standard linear measurements and elliptic Fourier analysis (EFA). Differences from both sides of this element were compared using predicted handedness. RESULTS Linear measurements and EFA results show that ulna shape of both sexes within the Jomon population are relatively larger in the antero-posterior direction and have more developed posterior borders than modern Japanese males and females. No significant differences were observed between Jomon sexes based on the predicted dominant side, but differences were evident in the predicted nondominant side. At the same time, bilateral differences were recognized in Jomon females, because of a lower level of posterior border development in the predicted nondominant side compared to the dominant side. DISCUSSION Shape differences between Jomon people and modern Japanese can be explained by variation in the habitual loading of the ulna. Sexual dimorphism in ulna shape within the Jomon population suggests division of labor differences.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yasuo Hagihara
- Department of Medical Technology, Niigata University of Health and Welfare, Kita-ku, Niigata City, Niigata, Japan
| | - Takashi Nara
- Department of Medical Technology, Niigata University of Health and Welfare, Kita-ku, Niigata City, Niigata, Japan
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26
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Newman SL, Gowland RL. Dedicated Followers of Fashion? Bioarchaeological Perspectives on Socio-Economic Status, Inequality, and Health in Urban Children from the Industrial Revolution (18th-19th C), England. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF OSTEOARCHAEOLOGY 2017; 27:217-229. [PMID: 28553062 PMCID: PMC5428467 DOI: 10.1002/oa.2531] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/23/2015] [Revised: 04/11/2016] [Accepted: 04/14/2016] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
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.
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Affiliation(s)
- S. L. Newman
- Department of ArchaeologyDurham UniversityDurhamUK
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27
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Eleazer CD, Jankauskas R. Mechanical and metabolic interactions in cortical bone development. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2016; 160:317-33. [PMID: 26919438 DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.22967] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/19/2015] [Revised: 01/05/2016] [Accepted: 02/02/2016] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Anthropological studies of cortical bone often aim to reconstruct either habitual activities or health of past populations. During development, mechanical loading and metabolism simultaneously shape cortical bone structure; yet, few studies have investigated how these factors interact. Understanding their relative morphological effects is essential for assessing human behavior from skeletal samples, as previous studies have suggested that interaction effects may influence the interpretation from cortical structure of physical activity or metabolic status. MATERIAL AND METHODS This study assesses cross-sectional geometric and histomorphometric features in bones under different loading regimes (femur, humerus, rib) and compares these properties among individuals under different degrees of metabolic stress. The study sample consists of immature humans from a late medieval Lithuanian cemetery (Alytus, 14th-18th centuries AD). Analyses are based on the hypothesis that metabolic bone loss is distributed within the skeleton in a way that optimizes mechanical competency. RESULTS Results suggest mechanical compensation for metabolic bone loss in the cross-sectional properties of all three bones (especially ribs), suggesting a mechanism for conserving adequate bone strength for different loads across the skeleton. Microscopic bone loss is restricted to stronger bones under high loads, which may mitigate fracture risk in areas of the skeleton that are more resistive to loading, although alternative explanations are examined. DISCUSSION Distributions of metabolic bone loss and subsequent structural adjustments appear to preserve strength. Nevertheless, both mechanics and metabolism have a detectable influence on morphology, and potential implications for behavioral interpretations in bioculturally stressed samples due to this interaction are explored. Am J Phys Anthropol 160:317-333, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
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Affiliation(s)
- Courtney D Eleazer
- Department of Biological Sciences, Florida International University, 11200 SW 8th Street, Miami, FL, 33199
| | - Rimantas Jankauskas
- Faculty of Medicine, Vilnius University, 21/27 M. K. Čiurlionio, Vilnius, LT-03101, Lithuania
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28
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Newman SL, Gowland RL. The use of non-adult vertebral dimensions as indicators of growth disruption and non-specific health stress in skeletal populations. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2015; 158:155-64. [PMID: 26118898 PMCID: PMC4755145 DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.22770] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/26/2015] [Revised: 05/11/2015] [Accepted: 05/14/2015] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Traditional methods of detecting growth disruption have focused on deficiencies in the diaphyseal length of the long bones. This study proposes the implementation of vertebral measurements (body height and transverse diameter of the neural canal) from non-adults (0-17 years) as a new methodology for the identification of growth disruption. METHODS Measurements of vertebral body height and transverse diameter were taken from 96 non-adult skeletons and 40 adult skeletons from two post-medieval sites in England (Bow Baptist, London and Coronation Street, South Shields). Non-adult measurements were plotted against dental age to construct vertebral growth profiles through which inter-population comparisons could be made. RESULTS Results demonstrated that both sites experienced some growth retardation in infancy, evident as deficiencies in transverse diameter. However, analysis of vertebral body height revealed different chronologies of growth disruption between the sites, with a later age of attainment of skeletal maturity recorded in the Bow Baptist sample. DISCUSSION These vertebral dimensions undergo cessation of growth at different ages, with transverse diameter being "locked-in" by ∼1-2 years of age, while vertebral body height may continue to grow into early adulthood. These measurements can therefore provide complementary information regarding the timing of growth disruption within archaeological populations. Non-adult vertebral measurements can increase our osteobiographical understanding of the timings of episodes of health stress, and allow for the analysis of growth when other skeletal elements are fragmentary.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sophie L Newman
- Department of Archaeology, Durham University, Durham, DH1 3LE, UK
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Hughes-Morey G. Interpreting adult stature in industrial London. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2015; 159:126-34. [DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.22840] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/10/2015] [Revised: 07/04/2015] [Accepted: 08/09/2015] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
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DeWitte SN, Hughes-Morey G, Bekvalac J, Karsten J. Wealth, health and frailty in industrial-era London. Ann Hum Biol 2015; 43:241-54. [DOI: 10.3109/03014460.2015.1020873] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Sharon N. DeWitte
- Department of Anthropology, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, USA,
| | - Gail Hughes-Morey
- Health Sciences Program, School of Health Sciences, The Sage Colleges, Troy, NY, USA,
| | - Jelena Bekvalac
- Museum of London Centre for Human Bioarchaeology, London, UK, and
| | - Jordan Karsten
- Department of Religious Studies and Anthropology, University of Wisconsin Oshkosh, Oshkosh, WI, USA
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Wilson LA, Ives R, Cardoso HF, Humphrey LT. Shape, size, and maturity trajectories of the human ilium. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2014; 156:19-34. [DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.22625] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/19/2014] [Revised: 09/11/2014] [Accepted: 09/12/2014] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Laura A.B. Wilson
- School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences; University of New South Wales; Kensington NSW 2052 Australia
| | - Rachel Ives
- AOC Archaeology Group; St Margaret's Business Centre; Twickenham TW1 1JS UK
| | - Hugo F.V. Cardoso
- Department of Archaeology and Centre for Forensic Research; Simon Fraser University; Burnaby British Columbia V5A 1S6 Canada
| | - Louise T. Humphrey
- Department of Earth Sciences; The Natural History Museum; London SW7 5BD UK
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Kaupová S, Herrscher E, Velemínský P, Cabut S, Poláček L, Brůžek J. Urban and rural infant-feeding practices and health in early medieval Central Europe (9th-10th Century, Czech Republic). AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2014; 155:635-51. [DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.22620] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/06/2013] [Accepted: 09/09/2014] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Sylva Kaupová
- Aix-Marseille Université, CNRS, Ministère de la culture et de la communication; LAMPEA UMR 7269 13094 Aix-en-Provence France
- Department of Anthropology; National Museum; Václavské náměstí 68 11579 Praha 1 Czech Republic
- Department of Anthropology and Human Genetics, Faculty of Science; Charles University in Prague; Viničná 7 12844 Praha 2 Czech Republic
| | - Estelle Herrscher
- Aix-Marseille Université, CNRS, Ministère de la culture et de la communication; LAMPEA UMR 7269 13094 Aix-en-Provence France
| | - Petr Velemínský
- Department of Anthropology; National Museum; Václavské náměstí 68 11579 Praha 1 Czech Republic
| | - Sandrine Cabut
- Aix-Marseille Université, CNRS, Ministère de la culture et de la communication; LAMPEA UMR 7269 13094 Aix-en-Provence France
| | - Lumír Poláček
- Institute of Archaeology of the Czech Academy of Science; Královopolská 147 61200 Brno Czech Republic
| | - Jaroslav Brůžek
- PACEA-A3P, UMR 5199, CNRS; Université Bordeaux 1 33405 Talence France
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Mays S. A Discussion of Some Recent Methodological Developments in the Osteoarchaeology of Childhood. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2013. [DOI: 10.1179/1758571613z.0000000002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/31/2022]
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Temple DH, Bazaliiskii VI, Goriunova OI, Weber AW. Skeletal growth in early and late Neolithic foragers from the Cis-Baikal region of Eastern Siberia. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2013; 153:377-86. [DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.22436] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/16/2013] [Accepted: 11/08/2013] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Daniel H. Temple
- Department of Anthropology; University of North Carolina Wilmington; Wilmington NC 28403-5907
| | | | - Olga I. Goriunova
- Department of Geoarchaeology; Irkutsk State University; Irkutsk 664003 Russia
| | - Andrzej W. Weber
- Department of Anthropology; University of Alberta; Edmonton AB T6G 2H4 Canada
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35
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Ruff CB, Garofalo E, Holmes MA. Interpreting skeletal growth in the past from a functional and physiological perspective. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2013; 150:29-37. [PMID: 23283662 DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.22120] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/28/2012] [Accepted: 06/21/2012] [Indexed: 01/29/2023]
Abstract
The study of juvenile skeletal remains can yield important insights into the health, behavior, and biological relationships of past populations. However, most studies of past skeletal growth have been limited to relatively simple metrics. Considering additional skeletal parameters and taking a broader physiological perspective can provide a more complete assessment of growth patterns and environmental and genetic effects on those patterns. We review here some alternative approaches to ontogenetic studies of archaeological and paleontological skeletal material, including analyses of body size (stature and body mass) and cortical bone structure of long bone diaphyses and the mandibular corpus. Together such analyses can shed new light on both systemic and localized influences on bone growth, and the metabolic and mechanical factors underlying variation in growth.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christopher B Ruff
- Center for Functional Anatomy and Evolution, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA.
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Macintosh AA, Davies TG, Ryan TM, Shaw CN, Stock JT. Periosteal versus true cross-sectional geometry: a comparison along humeral, femoral, and tibial diaphyses. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2013; 150:442-52. [PMID: 23359138 DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.22218] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2012] [Accepted: 12/04/2012] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
Cross-sectional geometric (CSG) properties of human long bone diaphyses are typically calculated from both periosteal and endosteal contours. Though quantification of both is desirable, periosteal contours alone have provided accurate predictions of CSG properties at the midshaft in previous studies. The relationship between CSG properties calculated from external contours and "true" (endosteal and periosteal) CSG properties, however, has yet to be examined along the whole diaphysis. Cross-sectional computed tomography scans were taken from 21 locations along humeral, femoral, and tibial diaphyses in 20 adults from a late prehistoric central Illinois Valley cemetery. Mechanical properties calculated from images with (a) artificially filled medullary cavities ("solid") and (b) true unaltered cross-sections were compared at each section location using least squares regression. Results indicate that, in this sample, polar second moments of area (J), polar section moduli (Z(p) ), and cross-sectional shape (I(max) /I(min) ) calculated from periosteal contours correspond strongly with those calculated from cross-sections that include the medullary cavity. Correlations are high throughout most of the humeral diaphysis and throughout large portions of femoral and tibial diaphyses (R(2) = 0.855-0.998, all P < 0.001, %SEE ≤ 8.0, %PE ≤ 5.0), the major exception being the proximal quarter of the tibial diaphysis for J and Z(p). The main source of error was identified as variation in %CA. Results reveal that CSG properties quantified from periosteal contours provide comparable results to (and are likely to detect the same differences among individuals as) true CSG properties along large portions of long bone diaphyses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alison A Macintosh
- PAVE Research Group, Department of Archaeology & Anthropology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 3DZ, UK.
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37
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Milella M, Giovanna Belcastro M, Zollikofer CPE, Mariotti V. The effect of age, sex, and physical activity on entheseal morphology in a contemporary Italian skeletal collection. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2012; 148:379-88. [PMID: 22460619 DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.22060] [Citation(s) in RCA: 63] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/12/2011] [Accepted: 02/23/2012] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
Entheseal changes are traditionally included in a large array of skeletal features commonly referred to as "skeletal markers of activity." However, medical studies and recent anthropological analyses of identified skeletal series suggest a complex combination of physiological and biomechanical factors underlying the variability of such "markers." The aim of this study is to examine the relationship between age, sex, physical activity, and entheseal variability. To this end, 23 postcranial entheses are examined in a large (N = 484) Italian contemporary skeletal series using standardized scoring methods. The sample comprises subjects of known age, sex and, mostly, occupation. Results show a strong relationship between age and entheseal changes. Differences between sexes are also highlighted, while the effects of physical activity appear moderate. Altogether, our study indicates that entheseal morphology primarily reflects the age of an individual, while correlation with lifetime activity remains ambiguous.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marco Milella
- Anthropological Institute and Museum, University of Zurich-Irchel, Switzerland.
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38
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Holmes MA, Ruff CB. Dietary effects on development of the human mandibular corpus. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2011; 145:615-28. [DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.21554] [Citation(s) in RCA: 48] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2010] [Accepted: 04/18/2011] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
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39
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Temple DH, Okazaki K, Cowgill LW. Ontogeny of limb proportions in late through final Jomon period foragers. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2011; 145:415-25. [DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.21515] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2010] [Accepted: 01/27/2011] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
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40
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Alfonso-Durruty MP. Experimental assessment of nutrition and bone growth's velocity effects on Harris lines formation. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2011; 145:169-80. [PMID: 21469071 DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.21480] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/19/2010] [Accepted: 11/30/2010] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
Abstract
Harris lines (HL) are radio-opaque transverse lines traditionally associated with stressors that halt or decelerate growth in humans. Harris lines' status as a stress marker is, however, questionable because their association to illness and deficient growth is low and they commonly form in the absence of stress during periods of accelerated growth. To assess Harris line's reliability as a stress marker, this study examined their association with nutritional status and bone growth velocity through an experimental study in rabbits. Forty-five New Zealand White rabbits were divided into: Control (normal laboratory conditions), Experimental-1 (moderately undernourished), and Experimental-2 (periodically fasted) groups during their growth. Variables analyzed included weight, forelimb length, humeral diaphyseal length, diaphyseal growth velocity, and number of Harris lines. Fewer lines were observed by the end of the study among Experimental-1 animals. More Harris lines formed during periods of rapid growth in the absence of nutritional stress. Accordingly, Harris lines are a poor marker of stress. Intrinsic limitations to paleopathological studies can be overcome, but even the most careful attentiveness to multiple stress markers and cultural context will go amiss if the markers used are unreliable.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marta P Alfonso-Durruty
- Department of Anthropology, State University of New York, Binghamton, Binghamton, NY 13902-6000, USA.
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41
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Sparacello VS, Pearson OM. The importance of accounting for the area of the medullary cavity in cross-sectional geometry: A test based on the femoral midshaft. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2011; 143:612-24. [PMID: 20623682 DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.21361] [Citation(s) in RCA: 47] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Abstract
In cross-sectional geometric (CSG) studies, both the subperiosteal and endosteal contours are considered important factors in determining bone bending rigidity. Recently, regression equations predicting CSG properties from a section's external dimensions were developed in a world-wide sample of human long bones. The results showed high correlations between some subperiosteally derived and actual CSG parameters. We present a theoretical model that further explores the influence of endosteal dimensions on CSG properties. We compare two hypothetical femoral midshaft samples with the same total subperiosteal area but with percentages of cortical bone at the opposite ends of published human variation for population sample means. Even in this relatively uncommon scenario, the difference between the samples in the resultant means for predicted femoral polar second moment of area (J) appears to be modest: power analysis indicates that a minimum sample size of 61 is needed to detect the difference 90% of the time via a t-test. Moreover, endosteal area can be predicted--although with substantial error--from periosteal area. Despite this error, including this relationship in subperiosteally derived estimates of J produces sample mean estimates close to true mean values. Power analyses reveal that when similar samples are used to develop prediction equations, a minimum sample of hundreds or more may be needed to distinguish a predicted mean J from the true mean J. These results further justify the use of regression equations estimating J from periosteal contours when analyzing behaviorally induced changes in bone rigidity in ancient populations, when it is not possible to measure endosteal dimensions. However, in other situations involving comparisons of individual values, growth trends, and senescence, where relative cortical thickness may vary greatly, inclusion of endosteal dimensions is still important.
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Affiliation(s)
- V S Sparacello
- Department of Anthropology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131-0001, USA.
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