Bioarchaeological Research on Daily Life in the Emerging Colonial Society of Mexico City

Wesp, Julie K.

doi:10.1002/9781119160939.ch14

Cited by 2 publications

(1 citation statement)

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“…An analysis of entheseal changes for both the upper and lower limb of individuals in the HSJN collection found mostly changes in robusticity and few examples of stress lesions, suggesting that they did not experience high levels of manual labor, as might be expected for an urban population (Wesp, 2014). Old adults did have higher scores for entheseal changes and differences were statistically significant between the age groups, which may suggest that individuals continued to be active well into old adulthood (Wesp, 2021). Similarly, cross‐sectional geometry analysis of individuals in the HSJN collection found that old adult individuals had a greater subperiosteal total area than young adults and middle adults, though the cortical bone area was significantly less in old adulthood (Wesp, 2014).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cortical bone maintenance and loss in Colonial Mexico City: Analysis of sex‐ and age‐related differences

Wesp

López

2022

Intl J of Osteoarchaeology

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Previous research has demonstrated significant age‐ and sex‐related differences in bone loss in European populations. This study utilizes metacarpal radiogrammetry to analyze cortical bone thickness and bone loss for a sample of indigenous individuals (n = 120) from the Hospital Real San José de los Naturales (HSJN) skeletal collection in Colonial Mexico City. The results indicate statistically significant differences between males and females in total length, total width, and cortical thickness, but no difference in the standardized cortical index measure. There are significant differences in age groups for all measures except total length and the population follows a similar pattern of decreased cortical index over the life course. When age and sex are considered together, females begin this bone loss from young to middle adulthood with continued loss in old adulthood; however, males do not see a decrease in cortical index until old adulthood. While these results are consistent with previously reported patterns of bone loss, the HSJN population has higher levels of peak cortical bone in young adulthood than any archeological European populations. We suggest that this increased peak bone mass may reflect differences in diet that include higher levels of calcium and magnesium as a result of the traditional practice of softening corn by boiling it in limewater (nixtamalization). Similarly, a small sample of African descendant individuals (n = 5) from the HSJN population was compared with the averages for indigenous individuals in the collection and indicated a variation in bone size, though predominantly higher levels of cortical index that may also suggest important population differences that should be further explored. This research provides important comparative data on bone maintenance and loss that supports previous hypotheses that a higher nutrient diet in modern populations may be the key factor in increased peak bone mass compared with archeological populations.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%