Subadult Stress

The paper presents the preliminary results of the bioanthropological analysis of the human osteological material from the medieval necropolis of Vinča – Belo Brdo, preliminarily dated into the period from the late 12th to the early 14th century. The bioanthropological analysis was carried out at the Laboratory for Anthropology, Faculty of Medicine. A total of 117 individuals from 68 graves were observed, of which 27 were female, 22 male, while 36 were subadults. In total, the sex of 32 individuals could not be determined due to poor or incomplete preservation of skeletal remains. The analysis of paleopathological conditions of observed individuals showed that most of them suffered from degenerative changes of the skeletal joint system. Skull and long bone traumas were also noted, as well as signs of porosity, indicating nutritional deficit and possibility of phases of anaemic stress.

Aims and objectives: The transition to an agricultural economy is often presumed to involve an increase in female fertility related to changes in weaning practice. In particular, the availability of staple crops as complementary foods is hypothesized to allow earlier weaning in agricultural populations. In this study, our primary aim is to explore whether this model fits the agricultural transition in the Atacama Desert using incremental isotopic analysis. A secondary aim of this study is to identify isotopic patterns relating to weaning, and assess how these may be differentiated from those relating to early life stress.

Materials and methods: We use incremental isotopic analysis of dentine to examine changes in d15N and d13C values from infancy and childhood in sites of the Arica region (n530). We compare individuals from pre-agricultural and agricultural phases to establish isotopic patterns and relate these patterns to maternal diet, weaning trajectory and physiological stress.

Results: We find that there is no evidence for systematic temporal or geographic variation in incremental isotopic results. Instead, results from all time periods are highly variable, with weaning completed between 1.5 and 3.5 years. Characteristics of the incremental profiles indicate that
both in utero and postnatal stress were a common part of the infant experience in the Atacama.

Discussion: In the Atacama Desert it appears that the arrival of agricultural crops did not result in uniform shifts in weaning behavior. Instead, infant and child diet seems to have been dictated by the broad-spectrum diets of the mothers, perhaps as a way of mitigating the stresses of the harsh desert environment.

KEYWORDS
carbon, incremental isotopic analysis, nitrogen, South America, weaning

This study examines the overall health of a subadult population (N=274) from the ancient Moche culture of the Moche river valley on the north coast of Peru.  The sites of Cerro Oreja and Huaca de la Luna span from the Cupisnique Phase (1800 – 400 BC) through the rise and fall of the Moche state (200 – 750 AD) to the Chimu Empire (900 – 1450 AD).  These two burial sites offer a unique opportunity to observe a major social transition across time periods, and through the lens of the often overlooked area of subadult health, in one of the earliest and longest running state-level societies in the New World.  Four growth indicators (dental eruption, neurocentral vertebral fusion, femoral length, humeral length, and tibial length) are used in concert to assess overall development.  Additionally, indicators of pathology (cribra orbitalia, porotic hyperostosis, linear enamel hypoplasia, endocranial inflammation and periostitis) are observed to supplement the developmental data and to evaluate the overall health of subadults during the shift to statehood.  Linear regression is used to assess the relationships between the observed growth markers.  Pathological prevalence by time period is calculated using Chi-Square analysis and Fisher’s Exact Test.  Fisher’s Exact Test is also used to analyze pathological co-occurrence in the sample. 

Developmentally, the only significant difference was seen in shorter humerii lengths during the Intermediate period (Gallinazo phase).  Neurocentral vertebral fusion remained consistent throughout time periods and shared a highly significant relationship with dental eruption, highlighting its potential future use as a reliable age indicator for young subadults.  Of the observed pathologies, cribra orbitalia showed increased prevalence during the Intermediate period, and linear enamel hypoplasia showed increased prevalence during the Pre-State period (Cupisnique and Salinar phases).  Concerning co-occurrence of pathologies, only periostitis and linear enamel hypoplasia, and porotic hyperostosis and linear enamel hypoplasia showed weak relationships.  All other co-occurrences were significant.  Multiple factors and circumstances would have affected the health of the Moche subadults during these periods, including the rise of social stratification and differential access to resources, conflict, diet transition, increase population and disease prevalence.  The results of these data show that the Intermediate period may have been the most stressful for the Moche valley residents.  However, sampling size and preservation issues may have confounded the results concerning overall health.  Further research in the adult pathologies of Cerro Oreja, the separate dynamics of the Intermediate period, and general studies involving the inclusion of neurocentral fusion as an age indicator will help illuminate many of the issues and potential conclusions found in this study.

The paper presents the preliminary results of the bioanthropological analysis of the human osteological material from the medieval necropolis of Vinča – Belo Brdo, preliminary dated into the period from the late 12th to the early 14th century. The bioanthropological analysis was carried out at the Laboratory for Anthropology, Faculty of Medicine.
A total of 117 individuals from 68 graves were observed, of which 27 were female, 22 male, while 36 were subadults. In total, the sex of 32 individuals could not be determined due to poor or incomplete preservation of skeletal remains. The analysis of paleopathological conditions of observed individuals showed that most of them suffered from degenerative changes of the skeletal joint system. Skull and long bone traumas were also noted, as well as signs of porosity, indicating nutritional deficit and possibility of phases of anaemic stress.

Demographic analysis of enamel hypoplasias and cribra orbitalia in a Medieval population from ancient Nubia revealed a strong association between both condi tions and probability of dying among subadults. Analysis of lesion frequencies among individuals, however, demonstrated an inverse relationship. Individuals with cribra orbitalia had significantly fewer hypoplasias than those without the disorder. This apparent paradox is resolved however when the different age structures of the den tal and cranial samples are considered. Taken together, the present data support the contention that the conditions underlying both cribra orbitalia and enamel hypoplasia contributed to subadult mortality in ancient Nubia. Introduction.

Rapid turnover of bone collagen δ13C and δ15N values in subadults can reveal dietary and physiological changes experienced by illuminating chronic stress not apparent as skeletal, pathological lesions. To assess subadult morbidity and mortality in Medieval Alytus, Lithuania, an osteobiographical examination was undertaken of individuals who presented humeral isotopic values ± 2σ from sample and cohort means (-20.02 ± 0.43‰; 11.08 ± 1.22‰). Two infants (0.1-2.9 years) and four juveniles (5-11.9 years) were found to exhibit isotopic values outside of the expected sample mean. Two individuals, 1.5 year-old (-18.8‰, 14.28‰) and 11.5 year-old (-19.46‰, 13.26‰), were ± 2σ from their respective δ13C and δ15N cohort averages. Skeletal analyses do not indicate specific disease processes but all infants exhibit at least two non-specific skeletal markers of chronic, metabolic stress (e.g. periostitis, porotic hyperostosis), likely caused by prolonged weaning resulting in malnourishment. Three of the four juveniles did not present skeletal stressors, indicative of death from an acute disease process during a growth spurt and potentially the onset of puberty. This study contributes to growing literature on metabolic variation in isotopic values and paleopathology of Lithuania.