Original scientific paper
Subadult Stress in the Medieval and Early Modern Populations of Continental Croatia
Mario Novak
; Department of Archaeology, Croatian Academy of Science and Art, Zagreb, Croatia
Mario Šlaus
; Department of Archaeology, Croatian Academy of Science and Art, Zagreb, Croatia
Maja Pasarić
; Institute of Ethnology and Folklore Research, Zagreb, Croatia
Abstract
The purpose of this paper is to analyze the frequency and distribution of two indicators of subadult stress (cribra orbitalia and enamel hypoplasia), their correlation and their relationship with an indicator of non-specific infectious diseases – periostitis. The paper contains an analysis of 415 skeletons from continental Croatia, from the sites of Crkvari, Ivanec, Mala Črešnjevica, Prozorje, Nova Rača, Suhopolje, Tomaš and Torčec, dated to the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period (12th-18th cent.). Males in the analyzed sample lived significantly longer than females (37.2 vs. 33.6 years). The frequency of cribra orbitalia in the total sample is 37.2%. The frequency of cribra orbitalia in subadults is significantly higher than in adults, and females are affected somewhat more frequently than males. Adults that exhibited cribra orbitalia lived 6.5 years shorter on the average than the individuals without this disorder. The frequency of dental enamel hypoplasia in the analyzed sample is 44.6%, with a somewhat higher frequency registered in females on all analyzed teeth. The frequency of non-specific periostitis is 48.4%, with a somewhat higher frequency in females than in males. A significant positive correlation between cribra orbitalia and non-specific periostitis is present at the level of the entire sample. A significantly shorter life span, a higher frequency of cribra orbitalia, enamel hypoplasia and periostitis in females suggests that females were more prone to the episodes of biological stress, which may have been a consequence of diminished stocks of iron in females as a result of their reproductive function or poorer treatment of young girls, particularly during earliest childhood (during breastfeeding). The skeletal sample analyzed in this paper is characterized by poor living conditions and low health standard, which was most likely a consequence of a synergic action of iron deficiency anemia, infectious diseases, inadequate diet and parasitical infections.
Keywords
subadult stress; Middle Ages; Early Modern period; continental Croatia; cribra orbitalia; iron deficiency anemia; enamel hypoplasia; non-specific periostitis
Hrčak ID:
50504
URI
Publication date:
7.4.2010.
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