Ortner's Identification of Pathological Conditions in Human Skeletal Remains, 2019
Abstract The identification and diagnosis of pathological conditions in human skeletal remains is... more Abstract The identification and diagnosis of pathological conditions in human skeletal remains is a key component of paleopathology. However, a number of themes emanate from interpretations of pathological lesions, which extend beyond diagnosis. These themes are rooted in social and identity theory, including feminist and gender theory and the intersectionality of sex, gender, and age, and theories regarding structural violence and human impairment, disability, and care. Each has become critical in the interpretation of pathological lesions in skeletal and mummified remains. Similarly, evaluating and interpreting pathological conditions on the individual level, as well as at the population level, plays an important role in our understanding of the scope and impact of health and disease in the past.
Medieval England has been characterized as a particularly violent time and place in human history... more Medieval England has been characterized as a particularly violent time and place in human history. Exploring the recently translated and digitized Calendar of the Patent Rolls (CPR), alongside data collected from human skeletal remains, provides novel and interdisciplinary means to evaluate this assertion. This study posed three questions: Could reliable quantitative measures of violence be developed using the CPR and skeletal evidence; could actions based on sex and gender be evaluated; and could engendered aspects of medieval violence be recognized and assessed? Our investigation found women recorded in the CPR having committed violent acts, but far less frequently than men. The analysis of human skeletal remains found that close to 13 percent of skeletons recovered from medieval archaeological sites displayed bone fracture, with males exhibiting almost twice the number of fractures as women. Interpreting these disparities is difficult. However, meshing history and bioarchaeology ...
, webmaster and system designer extraordinaire-thanks for all you do. Finally, a very special tha... more , webmaster and system designer extraordinaire-thanks for all you do. Finally, a very special thanks to E.A. Quinn and the local arrangements committee in St. Louis for their attention to details and all their hard work.
The field of paleopathology, quite simply, entails the study of ancient disease. However, nothing... more The field of paleopathology, quite simply, entails the study of ancient disease. However, nothing is "quite simple" within this scientific discipline. As noted by Buikstra (2010), defining the term "ancient" can be as complex as defining the term "disease." In part, this is due to our preconceived notions about these terms. "Ancient," for instance, conjures thoughts of prehistoric or early historic life, dating hundreds to thousands of years ago. The term "disease" is often used to imply harmful changes caused by invading pathogens. Within paleopathology, however, the terms "ancient" and "disease" hold more nuanced, and even contested meaning. For instance, determining what material will be paleopathologically examined often relies upon the origin of the sample and/or the question being posed, rather than the date the individual(s) died. In many states throughout the U.S., human remains are considered "old" and are recovered archaeologically, rather than forensically (or under the auspices of funeral directors), when they are deemed to be over 100 years old. Hence, large numbers of human remains from as recently as the late 19th and early 20th centuries have been studied by paleopathologists. These are hardly "ancient" by most definitions. Yet, the information gained from these skeletal remains about human disease in the past is enormous. The term "disease" is similarly complex. The colloquial use of the word, which often alludes to "infection," ignores the complex processes and body changes that a wider definition of "disease" would encompass. If discrete pathogens (such as viruses or bacteria) are viewed as the sole cause of disease, then paleopathological investigation would be limited to exploring remnants of the body's immunological response. Indeed, understanding what triggered an immune response in the past, how the
An assessment of the presence and patterns of porotic hyperostosis and periosteal reactions in th... more An assessment of the presence and patterns of porotic hyperostosis and periosteal reactions in the skeletal population (n = 1,014) from St. Helen-on-the-Walls, York, are used to examine health and disease in urban medieval England. The analyses of these two lesions indicate that 58% of the population display evidence of porotic hyperostosis and that 21.5% of the population display periosteal reactions. Through differential diagnosis it is asserted that porotic hyperostosis is associated with iron-deficiency anemia, and that periosteal reactions may be the result of endemic treponematosis andfor non-specific infection, including parasitic infestation. An association between the presence of remodeled lesions and adulthood is noticeable for both porotic hyperostosis and periosteal reactions, as is a pattern of increased average age at death for those displaying both conditions.
Ortner's Identification of Pathological Conditions in Human Skeletal Remains, 2019
Abstract The identification and diagnosis of pathological conditions in human skeletal remains is... more Abstract The identification and diagnosis of pathological conditions in human skeletal remains is a key component of paleopathology. However, a number of themes emanate from interpretations of pathological lesions, which extend beyond diagnosis. These themes are rooted in social and identity theory, including feminist and gender theory and the intersectionality of sex, gender, and age, and theories regarding structural violence and human impairment, disability, and care. Each has become critical in the interpretation of pathological lesions in skeletal and mummified remains. Similarly, evaluating and interpreting pathological conditions on the individual level, as well as at the population level, plays an important role in our understanding of the scope and impact of health and disease in the past.
Medieval England has been characterized as a particularly violent time and place in human history... more Medieval England has been characterized as a particularly violent time and place in human history. Exploring the recently translated and digitized Calendar of the Patent Rolls (CPR), alongside data collected from human skeletal remains, provides novel and interdisciplinary means to evaluate this assertion. This study posed three questions: Could reliable quantitative measures of violence be developed using the CPR and skeletal evidence; could actions based on sex and gender be evaluated; and could engendered aspects of medieval violence be recognized and assessed? Our investigation found women recorded in the CPR having committed violent acts, but far less frequently than men. The analysis of human skeletal remains found that close to 13 percent of skeletons recovered from medieval archaeological sites displayed bone fracture, with males exhibiting almost twice the number of fractures as women. Interpreting these disparities is difficult. However, meshing history and bioarchaeology ...
, webmaster and system designer extraordinaire-thanks for all you do. Finally, a very special tha... more , webmaster and system designer extraordinaire-thanks for all you do. Finally, a very special thanks to E.A. Quinn and the local arrangements committee in St. Louis for their attention to details and all their hard work.
The field of paleopathology, quite simply, entails the study of ancient disease. However, nothing... more The field of paleopathology, quite simply, entails the study of ancient disease. However, nothing is "quite simple" within this scientific discipline. As noted by Buikstra (2010), defining the term "ancient" can be as complex as defining the term "disease." In part, this is due to our preconceived notions about these terms. "Ancient," for instance, conjures thoughts of prehistoric or early historic life, dating hundreds to thousands of years ago. The term "disease" is often used to imply harmful changes caused by invading pathogens. Within paleopathology, however, the terms "ancient" and "disease" hold more nuanced, and even contested meaning. For instance, determining what material will be paleopathologically examined often relies upon the origin of the sample and/or the question being posed, rather than the date the individual(s) died. In many states throughout the U.S., human remains are considered "old" and are recovered archaeologically, rather than forensically (or under the auspices of funeral directors), when they are deemed to be over 100 years old. Hence, large numbers of human remains from as recently as the late 19th and early 20th centuries have been studied by paleopathologists. These are hardly "ancient" by most definitions. Yet, the information gained from these skeletal remains about human disease in the past is enormous. The term "disease" is similarly complex. The colloquial use of the word, which often alludes to "infection," ignores the complex processes and body changes that a wider definition of "disease" would encompass. If discrete pathogens (such as viruses or bacteria) are viewed as the sole cause of disease, then paleopathological investigation would be limited to exploring remnants of the body's immunological response. Indeed, understanding what triggered an immune response in the past, how the
An assessment of the presence and patterns of porotic hyperostosis and periosteal reactions in th... more An assessment of the presence and patterns of porotic hyperostosis and periosteal reactions in the skeletal population (n = 1,014) from St. Helen-on-the-Walls, York, are used to examine health and disease in urban medieval England. The analyses of these two lesions indicate that 58% of the population display evidence of porotic hyperostosis and that 21.5% of the population display periosteal reactions. Through differential diagnosis it is asserted that porotic hyperostosis is associated with iron-deficiency anemia, and that periosteal reactions may be the result of endemic treponematosis andfor non-specific infection, including parasitic infestation. An association between the presence of remodeled lesions and adulthood is noticeable for both porotic hyperostosis and periosteal reactions, as is a pattern of increased average age at death for those displaying both conditions.
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