engleski

Bone growth, limb proportions and non-specific stress in archaeological populations from Croatia

The effect of environmental factors, and in particular non-specific stress, on the growth patterns of limbs and other body dimensions of children from past populations, is not well understood. This study assesses whether growth of medieval and post-medieval children aged between 0-11.5 years from Adriatic (coastal) and continental Croatia varies by region, and by the prevalence and type of non-specific stress. Dental ages were estimated using the Moorrees, Fanning and Hunt (MFH) scoring method. Growth of long bone diaphyses (femur, tibia, humerus, radius, and ulna) was assessed by using a composite Z-score statistic (CZS). Clavicular length was measured as a proxy for upper trunk width, distal metaphyseal width of the femur was measured as a proxy for body mass, and upper and lower intralimb indices were calculated. Differences between subsets sampled by (a) region and (b) active vs. healed non specific stress indicators, and (c) intralimb indices, were tested by Mann- Whitney U-tests and Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA). Adriatic children attained larger dimensions-per-age than continental children. Children with healed stress lesions had larger dimensions-per-age than those with active lesions. No inter-regional difference was found in intralimb indices. These findings highlight the complexity of growth patterns in past populations and indicate that variation in environmental conditions, such as diet, and differences in the nature of non–specific stress lesions, both exert a significant effect on long bone growth.

children; growth patterns; long bones; medieval

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