Skeletal Trauma from Medieval Oslo

Bones Don't Lie ^ | 5-1-2012 | Katy Meyers

[Renfield]

The Medieval period is one characterized throughout the Western world as one of violence. Artwork from this era shows not only violence done towards other cultural groups, but dangers and suffering from daily life. Historical texts document the violence of heroes and villains, their phrases often loaded with drama. Scholars have argued that this violence was part of the social environment and to some extent was institutionalized. However, judgements from text and art alone are limited by individual perception and bias. Human remains have been vital in understanding the extent and manner of violence in the Medieval period. While they too are biased, given that wounds to soft tissue would not be preserved, they provide another source of evidence. Brodholt and Holck (2012) summarize the findings from the Medieval Schreiner Collection of human remains from Oslo in order to create a more nuanced interpretation of the violence occurring in this era....

[Renfield]

[Renfield]

Ping

[SMARTY]

I wonder what the author means by ‘middle age’ in describing the remains of individuals found there.

‘Middle age’ in our understanding, I thought, would be ‘old age’ in ancient cultures.

The general population was low to begin with ... infant mortality was incredibly high and death from disease, fighting, etc. usually took an immense toll on populations as well.

I remember reading that age 45 could be regarded as ‘old age’ in ancient cultures. Considering this, Eric Hoffer said that 'history was made by juvenile delinquents...'

[Mercat]

I’m reading for the third time Barbara Tuchman’s A Distant Mirror about the 14th century. She’s a good place to start for anyone interested in this period of time. Although mainly set in France, it covers the wars and politics of all of Europe.

[Pollster1]

I was going to ping SunkenCiv, but I got beat to that so I'll settle for posting a picture of the investigator they should call.
Temperance Brennan (Emily Deschanel) always figures out what bone trauma means in 46 minutes or less.

[SunkenCiv]

GGG managers are SunkenCiv, StayAt HomeMother & Ernest_at_the_Beach	join list or digest view topics view or post blog bookmark post a topic subscribe
Thanks Renfield, and Pollster1. To all -- please ping me to other topics which are appropriate for the GGG list.

[agere_contra]

Unless they murdered millions of their own children every year, the Medieval period was not as violent as our own.

[Sherman Logan]

I remember reading that age 45 could be regarded as ‘old age’ in ancient cultures.

Nope. Old age pretty much meant then what it does now. The Bible refers to 70 or 80 years as expected lifespan.

Death rates were higher at all age levels then than now, especially in infancy and childhood.

IOW, fewer people as a percentage of total population were at any given time in the "middle age" and "old" categories, but viewpoints of who was in these groups weren't much different from today.

[Renfield]

Abortion was much more common in the middle ages than most people know. A number of common plants act as abortifacients; the herb pennyroyal, for example.

Roman women used a half lemon, partially squeezed out, as an ancient equivalent of the “morning after pill”. It was inserted cut-face first into the vagina and maneuvered over the cervix; apparently this was quite effective in preventing pregnancy.

[rmlew]

Good luck finder her. She’s on the lamb.

[ThanhPhero]

Good luck finder her. She’s on the lamb.

I won't even try. I'm allergic to wool.

[Flag_This]

"...apparently this was quite effective in preventing pregnancy."

I seem to recall a high school biology teacher saying that sperm cells are PH sensitive, so I guess it makes sense.