The use of non‐adult vertebral dimensions as indicators of growth disruption and non‐specific health stress in skeletal populations

Newman, Sophie; Gowland, Rebecca

doi:10.1002/ajpa.22770

Cited by 29 publications

(50 citation statements)

References 46 publications

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“…The mid‐thoracic region of the vertebral column demonstrates the least inherent variation for transverse diameter (Newman & Gowland, ). Measurements of vertebral body height and vertebral neural canal size (VNC) were taken using sliding calipers from vertebrae T6‐8 (see Newman & Gowland, for methodology). Measurements were taken to the nearest 0.01 mm.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

North and south: A comprehensive analysis of non‐adult growth and health in the industrial revolution (AD 18th–19th C), England

Newman

Gowland

Caffell

2019

American J Phys Anthropol

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Objective: Stark health inequalities exist in the present day between the North and South of England, with people in the South, overall, experiencing better health across a range of parameters (e.g., life expectancy and number of years spent in good health). Bioarchaeological studies of skeletal remains from cemeteries across this geographical divide have the ability to provide a temporal perspective on the etiology, longevity, and nature of this disparity. Methods: In total 574 non-adults (0-17 years) from six urban sites (c. AD 1711-1856) were analyzed from the North and South of England. Measurements of long bone length, cortical thickness, and vertebral dimensions were analyzed alongside both skeletal and dental palaeopathological data to assess patterns of disease and growth disruption between skeletal samples. Results: There were few significant differences in growth parameters between the six sites in relation to geographical location. However, the northern-based sample Coach Lane (North Shields) demonstrated some of the highest rates of pathology, with metabolic disease being particularly prevalent. Discussion: Northern and southern populations suffered alike from the detrimental environmental conditions associated with urban centers of the 18th-19th centuries. However, the elevated prevalence of vitamin D deficiency seen within the Coach Lane sample is indicative of a regionally specific risk that may be related to latitude, and/or the influence of particular industries operating in the North-East. K E Y W O R D S palaeopathology, post-medieval, stature, vertebral growth, vitamin D deficiency

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

North and south: A comprehensive analysis of non‐adult growth and health in the industrial revolution (AD 18th–19th C), England

Newman

Gowland

Caffell

2019

American J Phys Anthropol

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“…Vertebral body height and neural canal dimensions are also potential indicators of early life stress. Vertebral body height increases between birth and 5 years of age, then remains dormant until the adolescent growth spurt between 10 and 13 years of age . Fusion of the spinous process occurs around 1–2 years of age, while the neural arch fuses to the vertebral body at 5 years .…”

Section: Bioarchaeological Approachesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Vertebral body height increases between birth and 5 years of age, then remains dormant until the adolescent growth spurt between 10 and 13 years of age . Fusion of the spinous process occurs around 1–2 years of age, while the neural arch fuses to the vertebral body at 5 years . Measurements of the transverse and anteroposterior diameter of the neural canal provide evidence for disruptions to this process .…”

Section: Bioarchaeological Approachesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…79 Fusion of the spinous process occurs around 1-2 years of age, while the neural arch fuses to the vertebral body at 5 years. 79 Measurements of the transverse and anteroposterior diameter of the neural canal provide evidence for disruptions to this process. 80 Taken as a whole, the human skeleton and dentition preserve evidence of stress events experienced early in life, although the production of these defects may be seen as a deeper physiological strategy associated with survival as the event was preserved in the tissues of an individual that continued to live.…”

Section: Exploring Human Life History and Dohad In Bioarchaeologicalmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Bioarchaeological evidence for adaptive plasticity and constraint: Exploring life‐history trade‐offs in the human past

Temple

2018

Evolutionary Anthropology

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The Developmental Origins of Health and Disease paradigm evaluates the consequences of early life stress on health at later stages of life. Interacting with this paradigm represents a profound opportunity to leverage the lifespan and contextual approaches to human skeletal remains adopted by bioarchaeological research. Teeth and bone provide evidence for stressors experienced early in life. These events represent evidence for adaptive plasticity as Individuals survive the events through reallocation of energy to essential physiological functions, which inhibits enamel and skeletal growth. Age‐at‐death, adult body size, chronic infection, or childhood mortality may be used as covariates to better understand the physiological constraints operating on individual bodies following survival of early life stress. Contextual evidence from cemeteries provides clues to the ecological and cultural contingencies that exacerbate or mitigate the expression of these trade‐offs. Future studies should incorporate newly derived methods that provide reproducible and precise ways to evaluate early life stress, while incorporating populations that are often neglected.

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“…Gowland 2001Gowland , 2006Sofaer 2006;Halcrow and Tayles 2008;Newman and Gowland 2015;Agarwal 2016). The profound impact of cultural practices on the health and well-being of children is important to consider, but this must be integrated within an understanding of social age transitions and the interplay between age and other aspects of social identity (Gowland 2006).…”

Section: The Social Bioarchaeology Of the Childmentioning

confidence: 99%

Child Bioarchaeology: Perspectives on the Past 10 Years

Mays

Gowland

Halcrow

et al. 2017

Childhood in the Past

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The full-text may be used and/or reproduced, and given to third parties in any format or medium, without prior permission or charge, for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-prot purposes provided that:• a full bibliographic reference is made to the original source • a link is made to the metadata record in DRO • the full-text is not changed in any way The full-text must not be sold in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders.Please consult the full DRO policy for further details. This article aims to provide an overview of some of the more important developments in the bioarchaeology of childhood over the past decade. Analysis of publication trends in the major osteoarchaeology and physical anthropology journals demonstrated a rise in research papers dealing with skeletal remains of children, with dietary and palaeopathological studies especially predominant. Innovations in these areas are discussed in more detail, together with some important developments in theoretical frameworks for using skeletal evidence to situate children in past societies. Among these latter is the life course approach, in which childhood is considered within the context of the trajectory of the entire life course. The integration of studies of child skeletal remains with those of adults helps to provide a more complete picture of communities in the past.

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The use of non‐adult vertebral dimensions as indicators of growth disruption and non‐specific health stress in skeletal populations

Cited by 29 publications

References 46 publications

North and south: A comprehensive analysis of non‐adult growth and health in the industrial revolution (AD 18th–19th C), England

North and south: A comprehensive analysis of non‐adult growth and health in the industrial revolution (AD 18th–19th C), England

Bioarchaeological evidence for adaptive plasticity and constraint: Exploring life‐history trade‐offs in the human past

Child Bioarchaeology: Perspectives on the Past 10 Years

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