Assessing pubertal stage in adolescent remains: an investigation of the San Nicolás Maqbara burial site (Murcia, Spain)

Doe, Danielle M.; Pérez, Josefina Rascón; Cambra‐Moo, Óscar; Martín, Manuel Campo; Martín, Armando González

doi:10.1007/s12520-017-0543-0

Cited by 10 publications

(29 citation statements)

References 50 publications

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“…Sex-dependent differences have also been found in many previous osteoarchaeological studies (Arthur et al, 2016;Doe et al, 2019;Henderson & Padez, 2017;Shapland & Lewis, 2013). Girls preceding boys in their development is congruent with historical and modern biological knowledge.…”

Section: Sex-dependent Differencessupporting

confidence: 73%

“…The fact that this "prolonged" adolescence was found in the majority of the previous studies (e.g., Arthur et al, 2016;Doe et al, 2019;Henderson & Padez, 2017;Lewis et al, 2016b), whereas it is not as common, or as extreme, in modern societies (Abreu & Kaiser, 2016), does imply that physiological stress in the past may have influenced development. For example, modern clinical literature suggests that pubertal initiation to completion (sexual maturity) takes 3-4 years on average (Abreu & Kaiser, 2016).…”

Section: Pubertal Developmentmentioning

confidence: 77%

“…The timing of PHV has shown quite some variation in previous studies, ranging from 14 to 15 years on average (Arthur et al, 2016;Doe et al, 2019;Henderson & Padez, 2017), to between 12 and 18 years (Lewis et al, 2016a(Lewis et al, , 2016b. This stage is represented by four individuals in Middenbeemster, aged 12, 15, 19 and 20 years, reflecting a similarly wide range of ages as found in other collections (Arthur et al, 2016;Doe et al, 2019). Moreover, Lewis et al (2016b) showed that the pathology-affected group lagged behind in PHV The latter three pubertal stages all occur at a relatively late age compared to the "expected norm," although a prolonged duration of completion was also found in a large English cohort (see Table 5 and Britain (Arthur et al, 2016), 20th-century Portugal (Henderson & Padez, 2017) and early medieval Spain (Doe et al, 2019).…”

Section: Pubertal Developmentmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…The post-menarchael age reconstructed for Middenbeemster (20.45 years on average, range: 16-26 years) suggests menarche occurred much later than would be expected from historic and bioarchaeological data. Previous studies report menarche at 15-18 years (Arthur et al, 2016;Doe et al, 2019;Henderson & Padez, 2017;Lewis et al, 2016b). Middenbeemster's late menarcheal age more closely resembles that which is reported for professional athletes, of up to 19-20 years (Frisch, 1983;Frisch, 1985;Frisch, Wyshak, & Vincent, 1980;Maline, 1983).…”

Section: Pubertal Developmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These focus on Roman and medieval England (Arthur, Gowland, & Redfern, 2016;Lewis et al, 2016aLewis et al, , 2016bShapland, Lewis, & Watts, 2015), early modern Portugal (Henderson & Padez, 2017) and a Muslim osteological sample from Spain (Doe, Pérez, Cambra-Moo, Martín, & González Martín, 2019). Most of these communities lived in urban settlements and showed frequent pubertal delay compared to historic ranges and F I G U R E 1 Location of the Middenbeemster excavation (red churchyard symbol) on a crop of the ESRI world street map of the Netherlands modern standards (Arthur et al, 2016;Doe et al, 2019;Henderson & Padez, 2017;Lewis et al, 2016aLewis et al, , 2016bShapland et al, 2015). Factors explaining such a delay in urban environments include pollution, strenuous physical work, and population density aiding the spread of chronic disease (tuberculosis and other lung diseases specifically; Lewis et al, 2016aLewis et al, , 2016bShapland & Lewis, 2013;Shapland et al, 2015).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Coming of age in the Netherlands: An osteological assessment of puberty in a rural Dutchpost‐medievalcommunity

Blom

Schats

Hoogland

et al. 2020

American J Phys Anthropol

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Objectives: The objective of this study is to apply pubertal stage estimation methods to a sample from a rural community: the post-medieval Dutch skeletal collection from Middenbeemster. Puberty is a key developmental period involving transition to physical adulthood with broad societal relevance through its impact on fertility, morbidity, and mortality. Materials and methods: Individuals (n = 55), including 27 of known sex and age-atdeath, between the ages of 8 and 25 years were assessed for six skeletal markers indicative of pubertal growth spurt. Recent novel osteoarchaeological methods from Shapland and Lewis are used to reconstruct the timing and duration of pubertal stages. Results: Pubertal acceleration occurred earlier in females (10.38 years, n = 8) than males (13.30 years, n = 6), whereas maturation occurred later in males (21.36 years, n = 11) than females (19.30 years, n = 5). Onset appears earlier and completion later compared to other archaeological skeletal samples with osteoarchaeological evidence of puberty. Age shortly after menarche was reconstructed at 20.45 years, substantially later than historic records and bioarchaeological research reports suggest. Conclusion: This early onset and late completion caused a "stretch" of the overall duration of puberty compared to other collections, especially of the last three stages. This prolonged development is reflected in historically known social expectations for the Netherlands, for example, that marriage and children should not occur before about 22-23 years of age. Increasing the range of past peoples with puberty stage reconstruction will permit more insightful interpretations of the biological and cultural patterns of this important life stage.

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Section: Sex-dependent Differencessupporting

confidence: 73%

Section: Pubertal Developmentmentioning

confidence: 77%

Section: Pubertal Developmentmentioning

confidence: 98%

Section: Pubertal Developmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Coming of age in the Netherlands: An osteological assessment of puberty in a rural Dutchpost‐medievalcommunity

Blom

Schats

Hoogland

et al. 2020

American J Phys Anthropol

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Medieval menarche: Changes in pubertal timing before and after the Black Death

DeWitte

Lewis

2020

American J Hum Biol

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Objectives Bioarcheological evidence suggests stature increased in males but decreased in females after the Black Death (1348‐1350 CE). Because tradeoffs between growth and reproduction can result in earlier ages at menarche and lower limb length, we assess menarcheal age between 1120 and 1540 CE to better understand the health of medieval adolescent females before and after the plague. Materials and Methods Our sample comprises 74 adolescent females from St. Mary Spital, London (1120‐1540 CE) within the age range during which menarche occurs (10‐25 years). They were assessed as being pre‐ or post‐menarcheal and divided into three groups: Early Pre‐Black Death (n = 13), Late Pre‐Black Death (n = 38), and Post‐Black Death (n = 23). Changes in the ages of pre‐ and post‐menarcheal females were assessed using Mann‐Whitney tests. Results The average age of post‐menarcheal females increased from the Early‐ to Late Pre‐Black Death periods and declined after the Black Death. Conclusions Short stature can reflect unfavorable growth environments, while younger menarcheal age indicates improved living conditions. The paradoxical pattern of female, but not male, stature reduction after the Black Death might reflect the association of early menarche with lower limb length and signal that adolescent females experienced improved health conditions after the epidemic. Our focus on pre‐ and post‐menarche within a limited age span provides a novel approach for inferring average ages of menarche over time. Pathways to skeletal development and reproductive investment are part of an integrated system, providing a bridge between life history research in bioarchaeology and human biology.

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Exploring adolescence as a key life history stage in bioarchaeology

Lewis

2022

American Journal of Biological Anthropology

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Adolescence is a unique period in the life history of an individual. It is characterized by a myriad of changes that bioarchaeologists are only just coming to appreciate, related to sexual maturation, linear growth, immunological transformation, and emotional and cognitive development. New methods allow us to measure this age of transition through the stages of the adolescent growth, as a proxy for the physical development associated with sexual maturation (puberty). This review outlines ways bioarchaeologists may draw on research developments from the fields of human biology, evolutionary theory and neurobiology to advance a more holistic approach to the study of adolescence in the past. It considers current theoretical and analytical approaches to highlight the research potential of this critical stage of life history. This synthesis integrates the most recent research in the medical sciences concerned with body and brain development, and outlines the biological processes involved with sexual and physical maturation of the adolescent. The goal of this review is to help inform potentially rewarding areas of research that bioarchaeologists can contribute to and draw from, as well as the challenges and limitations, theoretical and methodological questions, and ways in which we can develop the study of adolescence in the discipline going forward.

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Assessing pubertal stage in adolescent remains: an investigation of the San Nicolás Maqbara burial site (Murcia, Spain)

Cited by 10 publications

References 50 publications

Coming of age in the Netherlands: An osteological assessment of puberty in a rural Dutchpost‐medievalcommunity

Coming of age in the Netherlands: An osteological assessment of puberty in a rural Dutchpost‐medievalcommunity

Medieval menarche: Changes in pubertal timing before and after the Black Death

Exploring adolescence as a key life history stage in bioarchaeology

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