The Black Death, or Bubonic Plague, was one of the most devastating pandemics to sweep through Europe. In only four years, this single disease wiped out half the population and set back the progress of the nations of Western Europe. Its rapid spread was attributed to fleas, who traveled throughout the countrysides and cities on … Continue reading »
In modern societies, perfect health and being in-shape are often associated with wealth. Those who have more money have better access to healthier food, ability to hire nutritionists, access to the best gyms and health related centers, and overall tend to be in better health than their poorer counterparts. In the past few years, studies have … Continue reading »
As discussed in an earlier post explaining the various types of this cranial modification, trephination occurs all around the world in a variety of time periods. Trephination is the removal of pieces of cranial bones from a living individual without penetrating into the soft tissue. Throughout history it has been done using a variety of tools, … Continue reading »
In May 1845, Sir John Franklin of the Royal Navy, set out with two ships, the HMS Erebus and HMS Terror, from England. Sir John was a naval officer with experience in failed polar expeditions. In 1818 he began a voyage to reach the North Pole, which failed. In 1819 and 1823, he made overland … Continue reading »
Paleopathology is the study of ancient diseases in human or animal remains. Usually this means analysis of the skeleton. Paleopathology is not a straightforward science. Many diseases do not even appear on bone, and when they do they can present very similar manifestations. For example, periostitis is a non-specific infection of the bone that causes … Continue reading »
The 14th century was a tumultuous time in Great Britain: there were severely erratic weather patterns including an usually warm period, which led to a famine from 1315-1322, the Scottish were fighting for their independence in 1298-1328 and again from 1332-1357, and the Hundred Year war was being waged against France from 1337-1453. All of … Continue reading »
Understanding trends of violence in the past is important for interpretations of the character of past cultures, origins of warfare and relationships between (or within) groups. By looking at the total deceased population of a site during the same time period we can see patterns of violence associated with specific age, sex or social groups. Only … Continue reading »
Leprosy was an epidemic disease that not only infected millions of people over a span of thousands of years, but it still remains a threat in Third World countries. Due to its destructive effects on the flesh of those infected, leprosy created a history of fear and segregation caused by misconceptions and rumor. In the … Continue reading »
It’s odd to say that you can identify survivors when the population you are studying is made up of skeletal remains; but this is exactly what Beaumont et al. (2013) do in their analysis. Usually, the goal of bioarchaeological studies is to understand why the specific population died. However, during periods when you have mass … Continue reading »
One of the great strengths of archaeology is that it can act as independent evidence to history. History is often based on the text and interpretations of the victors. This has led to numerous biases and problems. History can be skewed to favor a specific perspective or to support a cause, and often it is … Continue reading »
