Living cheek by jowl: The pathoecology of medieval York

Abstract

Medieval York was one of the largest and most important cities in England. The close confines of the city, the household and industrial waste, alongside the air and water pollution made this a city known for its pervasive smells, which at the time were considered to be a leading cause of disease.This paper aims to present the environmental context for disease combined with the human osteological record to reconstruct the pathoecology of medieval York. Combining archaeological and historical data, we gain insight into the interplay between medieval culture, disease, health, and the urban environment. It is clear that local authorities were concerned about urban pollution, and historical evidence demonstrates that legal measures were taken to remove or regulate some of the perceived causes of pollution. There is a demonstrable trend towards improving environmental conditions in York between the 11 th and mid-16 th century. However, it is likely that the extant socioenvironmental conditions continued to contribute to morbidity, as evidenced by the prevalence of infection.

Accounting for multiple effects and the problem of small sample sizes in osteology: a case study focussing on entheseal changes

“…This further demonstrates the importance of using models which can take into account multiple effects. Nevertheless, it is important to present odds ratios to enable comparisons with other samples for meta-analyses (Henderson 2013a) and where assumptions are violated or sample sizes are too small. For this study, the effect of boneforming was not analysed using GLM for these reasons.…”

“…However, sample sizes from archaeological sites are normally under 50 individuals often with significantly fewer elements with observable entheses (Henderson 2013a). A meta-analysis (ibid.)…”

The New ‘Coimbra Method’: A Biologically Appropriate Method for Recording Specific Features of Fibrocartilaginous Entheseal Changes

“…The recording of entheseal changes (EC) remains a widely used method for inferring activity patterns in past populations (Couoh, 2013;Havelková et al, 2013;Henderson, 2013;Lieverse et al, 2013;Palmer et al, 2014;Takigawa, 2014;Thomas, 2014). For this reason, developing a standard recording method encompassing both the biology and the variation in EC was deemed necessary at the 2009 Workshop on Musculoskeletal Stress Markers (MSM) held in Coimbra, Portugal (Santos et al, 2011).…”

Taming the Waterways: The Europeanization of Southern Québec's Riverside Landscapes During the 16th–18thCenturies

“…The study of palaeoecological materials, therefore, has huge potential to stand as evidence of past human activities (Huchet and Greenberg 2010;Kenward 1999;King 2012King , 2013King , 2014aKing , 2016Ponel et al 2000;Sadler 1991), living conditions (Bain 1997(Bain , 1998(Bain , 2004Buckland et al 1996;Kenward and Hall 1996;King and Hall 2008;King and Henderson 2014;McGovern 1991), diet (Bain 1998(Bain , 2001Buckland 1982;Kenward and Hall 1996;King 2010aKing , 2014b, and climate and ecology (Ashworth et al 1997;Bain and Prévost 2010;Coope 1973Coope , 1977Elias 1994;Hall et al 2007;King 2010a). Thus, environmental remains may play a crucial yet neglected role in archaeology-in our investigations of the human, and wider ecological and climatic, past.…”