Prevalence and Patterns of Disease in Early Medieval Populations

Description

This study analyses evidence for pathological changes seen on the skeletal remains of early medieval populations from Britain and Germany. A total of 928 individual skeletons dated between the mid-fifth and early eighth centuries AD were studied using macroscopic techniques. Two non-pathological indicators of health and disease – demographic structure and stature – were investigated in conjunction with six disease categories comprising dental disease, joint disease, traumatic injuries, non-specific infections, congenital and developmental anomalies, and metabolic disorders. To provide comparisons between the obtained results, Chi-squared tests were performed and the diseases in the study populations were discussed using a bioarchaeological approach. Despite many similarities in disease prevalence, striking differences between the two study populations were also found, some explainable by differences in environmental factors. However, most noticeable was the relatively high percentage of cranial injuries found in German individuals, especially in males, attesting to a higher level of inter-personal violence in the period.