Inequality in Medieval Cambridge was 'Recorded on the Bones' of its Residents
MrPlow writes:
Submitted via IRC for requerdanos
Social inequality was "recorded on the bones" of Cambridge's medieval residents, according to a new study of hundreds of human remains excavated from three very different burial sites within the historic city centre.
University of Cambridge researchers examined the remains of 314 individuals dating from the 10th to the 14th century and collected evidence of "skeletal trauma" - a barometer for levels of hardship endured in life.
Bones were recovered from across the social spectrum: a parish graveyard for ordinary working people, a charitable "hospital" where the infirm and destitute were interred, and an Augustinian friary that buried wealthy donors alongside clergy.
[...] "By comparing the skeletal trauma of remains buried in various locations within a town like Cambridge, we can gauge the hazards of daily life experienced by different spheres of medieval society," said Dr Jenna Dittmar, study lead author from the After the Plague project at the University's Department of Archaeology.
[...] "We can see this inequality recorded on the bones of medieval Cambridge residents. However, severe trauma was prevalent across the social spectrum. Life was toughest at the bottom - but life was tough all over."
Source: https://www.cam.ac.uk/stories/medievalinequality
Journal Reference:
Jenna M. Dittmar, Piers D. Mitchell, Craig Cessford, et al. Medieval injuries: Skeletal trauma as an indicator of past living conditions and hazard risk in Cambridge, England [open], American Journal of Physical Anthropology (DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.24225)
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