Childhood is Biocultural: Refining Our Approaches to the Study of Children in Biological Anthropology

• Author / Creator

  Nelson, Jennifer S

• Understanding the ontogenetic effects of biocultural factors present in an individual’s environment during childhood is essential to the accurate interpretation of lived experiences in past populations. This period of life is critically important for physical and social development, and is characterized by heightened sensitivity to environmental perturbations.
  This research explores how skeletal and dental systems respond to biocultural factors throughout early life based on their varying developmental timelines, and tests several longstanding assumptions regarding early development. This is accomplished by investigating recognized skeletal and dental indicators of growth, including long bone length, vertebral neural canal dimensions, and developing tooth length.
  This research was conducted using the skeletal remains of approximately 80 children from the Certosa Collection, a documented osteological assemblage of known age and sex from the municipal cemetery in Bologna, Italy. These individuals were known to be from the city’s poorest socioeconomic class based on associated records. The findings of this research are interpreted through the biocultural lens, using historical and archival sources to contextualize the physical evidence of the growth environment.
  The results demonstrate that first, contrary to existing assumptions, the linear growth of more distally situated bones was not found to have the greatest sensitivity to environmental perturbations, with the proximal bone of the lower limb being the most stunted in this sample. Second, neural canal diameters of the cervical region were found to have similar or greater levels of diminished growth relative to the lumbar region, which does not align with current methodological practices that exclude cervical data from analyses. Third, development of the dentition is adversely affected by biocultural factors related to an individual’s socioeconomic status, with dental development exhibiting increasing variation and delay in tooth length for age.
  The findings of this research demonstrate that the physical growth and development of the Certosa children was adversely affected by their poor socioeconomic circumstances. The results from the three scientific articles indicate that existing assumptions in bioarchaeological research require greater exploration and demonstrate the importance of critically evaluating common methodological practices. This research furthers current knowledge of skeletal and dental stress responses to biocultural factors present during childhood, increasing our ability to accurately interpret the lived experiences of children from their physical remains.

• Subjects / Keywords

  • anthropology
  • biological anthropology
  • development
  • dentition
  • childhood
  • biocultural
  • vertebral
  • growth
  • development
  • stress

• Graduation date

  Spring 2024

• Type of Item

  Thesis

• Degree

  Doctor of Philosophy

• DOI

  https://doi.org/10.7939/r3-wt69-1d81

• License

  This thesis is made available by the University of Alberta Libraries with permission of the copyright owner solely for non-commercial purposes. This thesis, or any portion thereof, may not otherwise be copied or reproduced without the written consent of the copyright owner, except to the extent permitted by Canadian copyright law.