Theme:
4. People of the Present – Peopling the Past
Session format:
Regular session
Title:
Living and Dying in the Middle Ages: Bioarcheological Approaches to Health, Disease, and Disability
Content:
The Middle Ages (5th -16th centuries CE) in Europe were characterised by both extreme and often far-reaching political, economic, social and climactic changes. The development of new methods and techniques within the fields of osteoachaeology and bioarchaeology has facilitated exciting and innovative avenues of research into the health, lifestyles, origins, movements, and the experiences of those that lived (and died) during this turbulent period in history. By drawing together multi- and interdisciplinary papers, this session aims to explore and contextualise the lived experiences of individuals and communities throughout the medieval world.
We welcome contributions that explore topics including, but not necessarily restricted to: (1) experiences of physical impairment (including the inferred or clear provision of treatment and/or care) whether driven by disease experience, congenital dysplasia(s) or trauma; (2) evidence for and the implications of physiological stress in the context of disease, dietary insufficiencies, socio-economic disparities, social and technological transitions (e.g., changes in the nature and structure of medieval urban and rural settings) or other major socially, environmentally, and climatically mediated events; (3) palaeodemographically mediated and/or visible impacts in health and disease, such as rates of natural population increase, fluctuating fertility, and maternal mortality; (4) mobility broadly construed (assayed by way of traditional osteological investigations, stable isotopic analyses, and/or aDNA approaches) and including migration patterns, relatedness, kinship, and post-marital relocation customs to name a few. Papers that explore aspects of medieval life using a multi- or interdisciplinary approach are particularly welcome.
Keywords:
Bioarchaeology, Palaeodemography, Palaeopathology, Isotopes, DNA, Medieval
Session associated with MERC:
yes
Session associated with CIfA:
no
Session associated with SAfA:
no
Session associated with CAA:
no
Session associated with DGUF:
no
Session associated with other:
Main organiser:
Jenna Dittmar (United Kingdom) 1
Co-organisers:
Marc Oxenham (Australia) 2
Rebecca Crozier (United Kingdom) 3
Affiliations:
1. Department of Archaeology, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, UK
2. School of Archaeology & Anthropology, The Australian National University
3. Department of Archaeology, University of Aberdeen
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