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| Conservation bulletin | Issue : Spring

Human Osteology atWharram Percy Life and death in a medieval villageSimon Mays Human Skeletal Biologist, Centre for Archaeology

T he deserted medieval village at WharramPercy, in the Yorkshire Wolds, was the subjectof one of the longest-running archaeologicalexcavations in Britain ( – ), ledby Maurice Beresford and the late JohnHurst. Part of the eldwork focused on thechurchyard, and this was the rst excavationof a sizeable collection of human skeletonsfrom an English medieval rural site. Thescientic work on the remains is being

coordinated from the Ancient MonumentsLaboratory at English Heritage’s Centre forArchaeology, Portsmouth, and many workersin Britain and abroad have collaboratedwith English Heritage on research usingthe skeletons. The application of the latestscientic techniques has allowed freshinsights into medieval rural life.

Infant mortality

About per cent of the skeletons wereinfants. This suggests that infant mortalitylevels may have been fairly low for an earlypopulation where gures may be as highas per cent. Insight into infant feedingpractices was provided by analysis ofnitrogen stable isotope ratios in the bones.Breastmilk contains a high level of nitrogen-

, permitting duration of breastfeedingto be investigated. Results indicated thatinfants were usually breastfed until theywere about months old. Breastfeedingbuilds the infant’s immune system andprevents early contact with potentially

contaminated foods. It may well be thatthe extended breastfeeding practiced by theWharram Percy women played a part inthe fairly low levels (for that time) of infantmortality.

Growth during childhood

The children’s problems began oncebreastfeeding ceased. By two years of age, theyhad started to fall behind modern childrenin their growth, and, by later childhood theirgrowth was greatly retarded. A Wharram Percy

-year-old child, for example, was only aboutthe same height as a modern -year-old, andcomparison with th-century gures shows

that the medieval children were no taller thanfactory children in the Industrial Revolution.This suggests that childhood health andnutrition were no better than that of th-century slum-dwellers. Despite this problem,the average height of the adults ( ’ ” for men,

’ ” for women) was only a few inches shyof modern gures. This is probably due toprolongation of growth – in the past, peoplecontinued to grow well into their s ratherthan growth ceasing in the late teens as now.

SCIENCE AND THE HISTORIC ENVIRONMENT

Scientic study of human skeletal remains from thedeserted village of Wharram Percy sheds new light ondisease, diet and death in a rural medieval community.

Sacrum and right pelvicbone from a WharramPercy burial. The lowestlumbar vertebra is fusedto the sacrum. There is alarge hole in the vertebralbody leading to an abscesscavity within. Spinalabscesses are typical oftuberculosis. There is somenew bone formation onthe sacrum, probably as aresponse to pus exhuded

from the abscess. Analysisof bone samples revealedDNA from tubercle bacilli,conrming the diagnosis oftuberculosis. ©

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Issue : Spring | Conservation bulletin |

Part of the churchyardat Wharram Percy underexcavation.

Osteoporosis

Approximately per cent of adult burials wereof individuals over years old. This showsthat even in this rather poor settlement, lifeexpectancy was reasonable once adulthoodhad been attained. Indeed, many manifestedevidence of diseases which afict the elderlytoday. For example, the loss of bone density

due to osteoporosis was no less than thatseen nowadays. This nding is an example ofhow studies of ancient bones have relevancefor modern medicine. It has often been heldthat many aspects of modern lifestyles, suchas cigarette smoking and sedentary habits,exacerbate loss of bone density in osteoporosis.The nding that osteoporosis was just assevere among the non-smoking, physicallyactive peasants at Wharram Percy as it is inmodern populations leads one to question the

importance of lifestyle factors in inuencing thedisease.

Seafood in diet

The bone data provides evidence for tradingand other links between Wharram Percy andsurrounding settlements. The stable isotopeanalyses played a role here. Consumption ofseafood can be detected using this technique,and analyses revealed that marine sh were aminor but signicant source of dietary protein.Seafood may have been acquired direct fromcoastal settlements or via trade with inlandmarket towns.

Disease

Regular links between Wharram Percy andlarger settlements may have affected the diseaseexperience of the community. Evidence fortuberculosis was found among the skeletons.There are two forms of tuberculosis, oneacquired from animals (particularly cattle) andone transmitted human-to-human. analysisof skeletons showing tuberculosis indicatedthat the Wharram Percy people suffered fromthe human type. As this type thrives in large,crowded settlements it may be that regular

contact with large urban centres helpedmaintain the disease, even in rather thinlypopulated countryside.

Notwithstanding the evidence for regularcontact between town and country, therewere some differences in health betweenthe Wharram Percy population and thosefrom nearby towns. For example, despite theevidence for tuberculosis, in general, infectiousdisease was less often seen on the WharramPercy bones than was the case in a coevalskeletal series from York. This is consistent withthe idea that rural populations had generallyfewer infectious diseases than those fromcrowded, insanitary urban centres.

New research

The Wharram Percy skeletal collectioncontinues to attract researchers from aroundthe world. A number of projects are currentlybeing conducted, including investigation ofthe effects of peasant labour on health usinganalyses of spinal and other joint injuries,a study of diet using chemical analysis of

mineralised dental plaque found on the teeth,and further studies of osteoporosis. Most ofthese are being carried out as collaborativework between English Heritage and otherresearch institutions.

SC IE NC E A ND TH E H IS TORI C E NV IRO NME NT : Human Osteology at Wharram Percy

A femur from a WharramPercy burial, showing aporous deposit of newbone. This is a typical bonyresponse to infection,although which particulardisease was the cause

cannot be determined.Such lesions are lessfrequent at Wharram Percythan among burials frommedieval York.

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