Work

Hidden in plain text: Uncovering hidden heterogeneity and social stratification in Ireland AD 1150–1800

Year: 2024

Type: article

Abstract: OBJECTIVES: Between the Irish late medieval (AD 1150-c.1550) (LMP) and post-medieval (AD c.1550-1800) (PMP) periods, colonial practices changed land ownership. Contextualizing these periods within a biocultural political economy framework supports increasing social inequality in the PMP, which we expect to be reflected in different skeletal markers of longevity and stress. Therefore, we hypothesized that widespread exposure to stressors and resource deprivation contributed to lower longevity in the PMP compared to the LMP, and that there would be greater variation between sites in the frequency of linear enamel hypoplasias (LEH) in the PMP. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We estimated age and counted matched pairs of LEH on 526 adult skeletons from the Irish counties of Dublin, Kildare, Louth, and Meath. Age-at-death was compared through Kaplan-Meier survival functions and non-parametric tests. Linear enamel hypoplasias prevalences were analyzed with Mann-Whitney U tests and Generalized Linear Models. RESULTS: Age-at-death distribution changed between the LMP and PMP for males, with males experiencing an increase in median-age-at-death. The same was untrue for females, who show no changes in median age-at-death. Analysis of LEH frequency per individual showed that variation between sites was significant in the post-medieval period but not in the late medieval period. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that social organization contributed to embodied health experiences that varied across time periods. Specifically, populations from the PMP appear to have embodied greater social inequality in their more varied susceptibility to stress. Our work demonstrates the strength of pairing historical texts with the analysis of skeletal remains to evaluate the impact of social structures on biological frailty.

Source: American Journal of Biological Anthropology

DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.25034

Authors: Melissa A. Clark, Debra Guatelli‐Steinberg, Mark Hubbe, Ciarán McDonnell

Institutions: Cleveland State University, The Ohio State University

Language: English

Topic: Forensic Anthropology and Bioarchaeology Studies

Subfield: Archeology

Field: Arts and Humanities

Domain: Social Sciences

SDG: Reduced inequalities

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $4,840