All out of proportion? : stature and body proportions in Roman and Early Medieval England
The transitional period between the Roman occupation of Britain and the creation of smaller kingdoms during the Early Medieval period is one that is heavily debated. The shift in material culture from the fifth century onwards suggests Continental influences, but the extent to which this represents large-scale migrations or acculturation by indigenous people is contested. New bioarchaeological and isotopic studies of skeletal remains demonstrate an improvement in health from the Roman to Early Medieval periods, along with greater evidence of a much more complicated picture with respect to the direct association of particular grave goods with migrants. This comprehensive analysis of stature, body proportions, and health stress from the Romano-British to Early Medieval period represents an additional bioarchaeological contribution to these debates. A total of 1248 individuals excavated from 20 cemetery sites of Romano-British and Early Medieval date throughout southern and eastern England were analysed. Stature was examined as an indicator of health and growth as it is associated with childhood adversity, whilst body proportions can reflect adaptations to local environments. The stature and body proportions
Walther, Lauren Jo
All out of proportion? : stature and body proportions in Roman and Early Medieval England. The transitional period between the Roman occupation of Britain and the creation of smaller kingdoms during the Early Medieval period is one that is heavily debated. The shift in material culture from the fifth century onwards suggests Continental influences, but the extent to which this represents large-scale migrations or acculturation by indigenous people is contested. New bioarchaeological and isotopic studies of skeletal remains demonstrate an improvement in health from the Roman to Early Medieval periods, along with greater evidence of a much more complicated picture with respect to the direct association of particular grave goods with migrants. This comprehensive analysis of stature, body proportions, and health stress from the Romano-British to Early Medieval period represents an additional bioarchaeological contribution to these debates. A total of 1248 individuals excavated from 20 cemetery sites of Romano-British and Early Medieval date throughout southern and eastern England were analysed. Stature was examined as an indicator of health and growth as it is associated with childhood adversity, whilst body proportions can reflect adaptations to local environments. The stature and body proportions
proportion stature body proportion roman early medieval_england transitional_period roman_occupation britain creation small kingdom early_medieval period heavily debate shift material_culture onwards suggest continental influence extent represent large_scale migration acculturation indigenous_people contest new bioarchaeological isotopic_study skeletal_remain improvement health roman_early medieval_period along great evidence much complicate picture respect direct association particular grave_good migrant comprehensive_analysis stature body proportion health stress romano british early_medieval period represent additional bioarchaeological debate total_individual excavate cemetery sit romano british early_medieval date throughout southern eastern_england analyse stature examine indicator health growth associate childhood adversity whilst body proportion reflect adaptation local_environment stature body proportion