Body proportions in a medieval village population: effects of early childhood episodes of ill health

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to widen the observational basis for analysing growth patterns. To reach this aim measurements taken on skeletons from a small Danish village, Tirup, are analysed in relation to evidence for ill health in early childhood (age 1-6 years, inclusive). Enamel hypoplasia is taken as the indicator of health problems in this age range. It is found that episodes of ill health in childhood played no part in the formation of adult size. In order to analyse size independent aspects of adult morphology shape related variables like residual height and principal component scores were analysed. It is found that the episodes of ill health leading to hypoplasia did indeed change the score on some size independent linear combinations of the raw measurements. It is concluded that the kind of stress in childhood leading to enamel hypoplasia probably modified the relationship between long bone lengths and stature. It appears that the association between vertebral body breadth measurements and living height is--at least in part--brought about by episodes of ill health in early childhood.

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