Analysis of the Vertebral Pathologies among Individuals from Fourteenth- to Eighteenth-Century Polish Cemeteries: Comparison between the Village and Town Inhabitants in Greater Poland

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Life and Death in Medieval Poland" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Vertebral degenerative changes are one of the most common pathologies found among historical human skeletal remains. They occur naturally with age and/or as a result of activity-related stress or illness. This study examines human remains discovered during the archaeological excavation of cemeteries from the town Dzwonowo (fourteenth–eighteenth centuries) and the village Gać (fourteenth–sixteenth centuries).These projects are focused on discovering lost settlements within the Zielonka Forest in Poland. Macroscopic observation analysis included frequency of Schmorl’s nodes (SN), osteophytosis of the vertebral bodies (VO), osteoarthritis of the articular facets (OA), ossification ligamentum flavum (OLF), osteochondrosis of the vertebral bodies (intervertebral osteochondrosis [IO]), and frontal rim of the body (vertebral epiphysitis [VE]). The prevalence of each pathology was calculated and compared between populations in the context of age and sex of the individuals. Results are presented by individuals (crude prevalence rate), and by skeletal element (true prevalence rate).The aim of the study is to indicate the differences in physical work, resulting from the discrepancies in the work performed between the inhabitants of the village and the town. This is accomplished by comparing the prevalence of the vertebral pathologies between populations from similar periods and environments. The presentation will include images of human remains.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Life and Death in Medieval Poland   •
• Society for American Archaeology 88th Annual Meeting, Portland, OR (2023)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 36627.0