The main aim of this study is to present a novel method of nonadult (ca. 1–19 years) age‐at‐death estimation using the dental wear of deciduous, mixed deciduous‐permanent, and permanent dentitions... Show moreThe main aim of this study is to present a novel method of nonadult (ca. 1–19 years) age‐at‐death estimation using the dental wear of deciduous, mixed deciduous‐permanent, and permanent dentitions, including the incisors, canines, premolars, and first and second molars. The stage‐based method is derived from degrees of dental wear in known‐age (n = 39) and estimated‐age (n = 11) nonadults containing 951 teeth from the predominately 19th century cemetery of Middenbeemster, The Netherlands. The need for such a method is warranted in cases where dental development and/or eruption cannot be assessed for age‐at‐death estimation. As well, by establishing a baseline for normal age‐related nonadult tooth wear, users may better document wear that could be due to extramasticatory behaviours. The regression analysis reveals a strong quadratic correlation—F(2, 47) = 555.1, p < .001, R2 = .95, standard error of the estimate = 1.14, residual sum of squares (RSS) = 68.89, predicted residual error sum of squares (PRESS) = 77.67—between age and wear and multivariate adaptive regression splines (R2 = .95, generalised cross validation = 1.67, RSS = 67.68, PRESS = 89.34), which are used to develop an R‐package that users may employ to estimate age‐at‐death from dental wear. The accuracy of this method (78–98%) is evaluated using leave‐one‐out cross‐validation. Analyses of males versus females, deciduous versus permanent, upper versus lower, and anterior versus posterior teeth revealed no apparent reason to warrant separate methods for these groups of separated dentitions. This method fills a disciplinary gap in the understudied area of deciduous and nonadult dental wear and hopes to stimulate much future research. With the R‐package, we also provide the foundation and framework for the development of additional reference populations across different spatiotemporal contexts, to make the method more widely applicable. Show less
The period of the Industrial Revolution brought major changes in nutrition, lifestyle, and living conditions in London. These changes are conducive to the development of osteoporosis in the... Show moreThe period of the Industrial Revolution brought major changes in nutrition, lifestyle, and living conditions in London. These changes are conducive to the development of osteoporosis in the population. Osteoporosis is a metabolic bone disease, which is characterised by increased bone porosity, and may result in more fragile bones and fractures. The World Health Organisation has identified osteoporosis as one of the most prevalent diseases in the modern world, however archaeological sources remain mainly silent on the subject. Data from London provided by the Museum of Archaeology London (MOLA) is compared to observe whether there is a change in prevalence of osteoporosis between the Medieval and post-Medieval period. This research shows that if advanced techniques, such as radiography, are incorporated within the osteological analysis more osteoporosis cases are found within the archaeological record. Structural incorporation of modern techniques will provide new insights in past populations. Show less
