The medieval Black Death (c. 1347-1351) was one of the most devastating epidemics in human history. It killed tens of millions of Europeans, and recent analyses have shown that the disease targeted elderly adults and individuals who had been previously exposed to physiological stressors. Following the epidemic, there were improvements in standards of living, particularly in dietary quality for ...

Arthritis is one of the most common manifestations of aging and is the single largest cause of disability in the UK, US, Australia, and Canada among people age 30 years and older. Osteoarthritis of appendicular joint surfaces exhibits alterations of bony tissue in and around the joint surface. The degree to which osteoarthritis of articular surfaces occurs as a function of age and sex can be re...

Just as modern nation-states struggle to manage the cultural and economic impacts of migration, ancient civilizations dealt with similar external pressures and set policies to regulate people's movements. In one of the earliest urban societies, the Indus Civilization, mechanisms linking city populations to hinterland groups remain enigmatic in the absence of written documents. However, isotopic...

The aim of this paper is to assess the frequency of localised primary canine hypoplasia (LHPC) in a sample of 24 subadults from aNeolithic cemetery assemblage located at Man Bac, northern Vietnam (~4000–3500 years BP), and explore the range of factors potentially contributing to the development of this condition. It is found that 41.7% of individuals (20.9% of primary canines) have LHPC, which ...

In Colchester, Britain's oldest recorded town, during the Roman period there were areas which were clearly used solely as cemeteries. One of the most significant is at Butt Road, which includes a late Roman probable Christian cemetery with an associated building, apparently a church, that overlies and developed from a pagan inhumation cemetery. DNA was extracted from the long bones (femurs) of ...

Artificial container-breeding mosquitoes, such as Aedes aegypti, Ae. albopictus, and Culex pipiens, are well-recognized vectors of diseases throughout the world. Cemeteries are considered major sources of mosquitoes and the results of more than 30 studies concerning mosquitoes in cemeteries have been published over the last decade. The characteristics of these environments in regard to the avai...

The present paper describes both a high-resolution survey of the facade of the Monumental Cemetery in Piazza del Duomo (Pisa, Italy) was realised. It’s performed via the Riegl LMS Z420i laser scanner available at the Department of Civil Engineering (DCE), seat of Topography and Photogrammetry, and a photogrammetric survey of the main entrance portal of the cemetery, in order to provide document...

The gladiator cemetery discovered in Ephesus (Turkey) in 1993 dates to the 2nd and 3rd century AD. The aim of this study is to reconstruct diverse diet, social stratification, and migration of the inhabitants of Roman Ephesus and the distinct group of gladiators. Stable carbon, nitrogen, and sulphur isotope analysis were applied, and inorganic bone elements (strontium, calcium) were determined....

This journal, which was started to supply a want, has proved to be a great success. Religion and Art have been connected in all ages. There is nothing sectarian in the objects of the journal, and the current number contains a valuable article on " Relics of Religious Art in India." The following extract from a paper on " How we Bury our Dead " contains some excellent sanitary observations:?" Qu...

BACKGROUND Late medieval England underwent intensive urbanisation, particularly in its largest city: London. Urban dwellers were exposed to factors such as high population density, elevated risk of infection, unsanitary living conditions and precarious food supplies. AIM To assess whether the urban environment was more detrimental to health than the rural environment, this study compares risk...