The Backbone of Europe: Health, Diet, Work and Violence over Two Millennia: 80 (Cambridge Studies in Biological and Evolutionary Anthropology, Series Number 80)

Cambridge University Press, 11/15/2018
EAN 9781108421959, ISBN10: 1108421954

Hardcover, 476 pages, 25.1 x 17.8 x 2.5 cm
Language: English

Using human skeletal remains, this volume traces health, workload and violence in the European population over the past 2,000 years. Health was surprisingly good for people who lived during the early Medieval Period. The Plague of Justinian of the sixth century was ultimately beneficial for health because the smaller population had relatively more resources that contributed to better living conditions. Increasing population density and inequality in the following centuries imposed an unhealthy diet - poor in protein - on the European population. With the onset of the Little Ice Age in the late Middle Ages, a further health decline ensued, which was not reversed until the nineteenth century. While some aspects of health declined, other attributes improved. During the early modern period, interpersonal violence (outside of warfare) declined possibly because stronger states and institutions were able to enforce compromise and cooperation. European health over the past two millennia was hence multifaceted in nature.

1. The European History of Health project
introduction to goals, materials, and methods Richard H. Steckel, Clark Spencer Larsen, Charlotte A. Roberts and Joerg Baten
2. Contextual dimensions of health and lifestyle
isotopes, diet, migration, and the archaeological and historical records Rimantas Jankauskas and Gisela Grupe
3. Measuring community health using skeletal remains
a health index for Europe Richard H. Steckel and Anna Kjellström
4. The history of European oral health
evidence from dental caries and antemortem tooth loss Ursula Witwer-Backofen and Felix Engel
5. Proliferative periosteal reactions
assessment of trends in Europe over the past two millennia Carina Marques, Vitor Matos and Nicholas J. Meinzer
6. Growth disruption in children
linear enamel hypoplasias Zsolt Bereczki, Maria Teschler-Nicola, Antonia Marcsik, Nicholas Meinzer and Joerg Baten
7. History of anemia and related nutritional deficiencies
evidence from cranial porosities Anastasia Papathanasiou, Nicholas J. Meinzer, Kimberly D. Williams and Clark Spencer Larsen
8. Agricultural specialization, urbanization, workload and stature Nicholas Meinzer, Richard H. Steckel and Joerg Baten
9. History of degenerative joint disease in people across Europe – bioarchaeological inferences about lifestyle and activity from osteoarthritis and vertebral osteophytosis Kimberly D. Williams, Nicholas J. Meinzer and Clark Spencer Larsen
10. The history of violence in Europe
evidence from cranial and postcranial bone trauma Joerg Baten and Richard H. Steckel
11. The developmental origins of health and disease
early life experiences and adult age at death in Europe
evidence from skeletal remains Charlotte A. Roberts and Richard H. Steckel
12. Climate and health
Europe from the pre-Middle Ages to the nineteenth century Richard H. Steckel and Felix Engel
13. Multidimensional patterns of European health, work, and violence over the past two millennia Joerg Baten, Richard H. Steckel, Clark Spencer Larsen and Charlotte A. Roberts
14. Data collection codebook Richard H. Steckel, Clark Spencer Larsen, Paul W. Sciulli and Phillip L. Walker
15. Database creation, management, and analysis Charlotte A. Roberts, Richard H. Steckel and Clark Spencer Larsen.