Harris lines of the tibia across centuries: a comparison of two populations, medieval and contemporary in Central Europe

Abstract

Objective: To determine the incidence of Harris lines in two medieval populations which inhabited the Canton of Berne, in Central Switzerland, and to compare the results with those of a contemporary population living in the same geographical area. A simplified method is described for measuring the age of the individual at the time of formation of Harris lines, with possible future applications. Design and patients: Radiographs of 112 wellpreserved tibiae of skeletons of two medieval populations from the eighth to fifteenth centuries were reviewed for the incidence of Harris lines. The results were compared with those of 138 current patients living in the same geographic location in Central Switzerland. Age and gender of the medieval individual were determined using known anthropological methods. Age of bone at the time of formation of Harris lines was estimated according to the method of Maat. Results: Harris lines were found in 88 of 112 (80%) of the examined medieval skeletons and in 28 of 138 (20%) of the living individuals. Higher incidences of Harris lines were found at the age of 2 years and at ages between 8 and 12 years in both populations. No gender difference was found regarding the incidence of Harris lines. In both populations the occurrence of Harris lines was associated with certain diseases such as degenerative bone disease, trauma, osteoporosis, rheumatoid arthritis, peripheral vascular diseases, rickets and bony deformities. Conclusion: A high incidence of Harris lines was found in the medieval population, perhaps reflecting difficult living and hygienic conditions, but also the poor care and neglect of the children population. Measuring the age of the individual at the time of formation of Harris lines is simple and may have future clinical applications in the paediatric population for medico-legal purposes. The application of Harris lines as a marker in follow-up of osteoporosis may need further evaluation.

Harris lines revisited: Prevalence, comorbidities, and possible etiologies

“…An analysis of archaeological and anthropological characteristics (Papageorgopoulou, 2008) has shown no evidence of socioeconomic differences in terms of gravegoods, place of interment, and type of burial among the individuals with and without HLs. Comparable results regarding the frequency of HLs in skeletal material of similar geographical and chronological settings were found in skeletal material from Switzerland (13th214th c. AD) (Ameen et al, 2005), from medieval (10th-14th c AD) Poland (Gronkiewicz et al, 2001;Nowak and Piontek, 2002;Piontek et al, 2001) from medieval and early modern (5th-19th c. AD) Southern Germany (Haidle, 1997) and from North The relationship between age (in years) and tibia length (in mm) at Tomils (11th-15th c.AD) [F1 after Martin (1928)]. The symbols indicate the relative frequency of HLs per year: 2 few HLs (< 0.27), * normal frequency of HLs (IQR: 0.27-1.00), 1 many HLs (>1.00).…”

Brief communication: Two and three‐dimensional analysis of bone mass and microstructure in a bog body from the Iron Age

“…Harris lines are radiodense lines perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of long bones (Jopp et al, 2006). They can be found in 20% of the bones of the contemporary population, but are much more common (80-100%) in the bones of archaeological remains (Hughes et al, 1996;Ameen et al, 2005). They result from temporary slowing or cessation of longitudinal growth in periods of childhood stress, infection, trauma or dietary restriction and subsequent recovery (Park and Richter, 1953).…”

“English Disease”: Historical Notes on Rickets, the Bone–Lung Link and Child Neglect Issues

“…Rickets due to child abuse and child neglect is unfortunately also present in our societies [6,7,16,160,161,162,163,164,165,166]. Child neglect rarely receives attention, usually only when traces of physical ill-treatment can be observed [162,164].…”

“…Large population surveys, such as the Nutrition Examination Survey and National Health, have suggested that many children and pregnant women may be affected by Vitamin D deficiency at some point during their lifetime [8,9,10,11,12,13]. Change of habits, such as less sunlight exposure, indoor living, dietary choices, and increasing rates of dietary allergy, are likely playing a significant role in the increase of this rate in some segments of the worldwide population according to the most recent evaluation of public health indicators [11,14,15,16,17,18,19,20,21,22]. …”