Dealing with Difference: Using the Osteobiographies of a Woman with Leprosy and a Woman with Gigantism from Medieval Poland to Identify Practices of Care

Matczak, Magdalena Domicela; Kozłowski, Tomasz

doi:10.1007/978-3-319-39901-0_7

Cited by 10 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 35 publications

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“…The right upper limb was bent at the elbow, the left lower limb was bent at the knee, and apparently without care. This does not mean that the woman from Ostrow Lednicki was completely rejected, but in the contrast to the case presented in this paper from Đurine ćelije, she was probaly not a full member of the community (Gladykowska-Rzeczycka et al, 1998;Matczak and Kozlowski, 2017).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 60%

A possible case of Gigantism and/or Acromegaly in a 15th-17th century woman from Đurine Ćelije, Serbia

Đajić¹

2021

J. bioanthropol. (Online)

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Endocrine disorders during growth and development that occur due to the secretion of excessive growth hormones are very rare in archaeological and modern populations. The human skeletal remains analyzed in this paper belong to an unusually tall woman, approximately 35-40 years of age, buried at the Đurine ćelije site (15th-17th century) in Serbia, who may have suffered from overgrowth syndrome. Individuals with this condition have an unusually tall stature and accompanying pathological changes related to organ systems and joint diseases. The aim of this paper is to show how the aforementioneddisorder affected the health status of an individual (grave No. 7a) and the performance of daily activities, but also the attitude of the community towards deformities during life and after death. Differential diagnosis was performed since otherdiseases tend to lead to similar skeletal changes. During the analysis, changes in growth were noticed, and her stature was determined to be 186.42 cm. Compared to the documented stature of post-medieval population from this period, theskeletal remains show a significant deviation from the average, especially when it comes to female individuals. Other pathological changes observed in this woman are osteoarthritis, spondyloarthropathy, and periosteal new bone formation.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 60%

A possible case of Gigantism and/or Acromegaly in a 15th-17th century woman from Đurine Ćelije, Serbia

Đajić¹

2021

J. bioanthropol. (Online)

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“…Osteobiography has already proved its value in providing "a past with faces," a past in which all people, rather than just textually privileged ones, have humanity and agency rather than remaining "faceless blobs" (in Tringham's [1991:94] memorable phrase). Landmark osteobiographies are reviewed in the introduction above and in the articles in this issue; for medieval England osteobiographical approaches have been advocated by Gilchrist (2012:43-67; see also Knüsel et al 2010, and medieval examples from the Netherlands [Arts 2003], Norway [Hamre et al 2017], Cyprus [Baker et al 2012], and Poland [Matczak and Kozłowski 2017]). Our goal in this article is not only to provide another example, useful though that would be.…”

Section: Biography With and Without Textsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Osteobiography: The History of the Body as Real Bottom-Line History

Robb

Inskip

Cessford

et al. 2019

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What is osteobiography good for? The last generation of archaeologists fought to overcome the traditional assumption that archaeology is merely ancillary to history, a substitute to be used when written sources are defective; it is now widely acknowledged that material histories and textual histories tell equally valid and complementary stories about the past. Yet the traditional assumption hangs on implicitly in biography: osteobiography is used to fill the gaps in the textual record rather than as a primary source in its own right. In this article we compare the textual biographies and material biographies of two thirteenth-century townsfolk from medieval England-Robert Curteis, attested in legal records, and "Feature 958," excavated archaeologically and studied osteobiographically. As the former shows, textual biographies of ordinary people mostly reveal a few traces of financial or legal transactions. Interpreting these traces, in fact, implicitly presumes a history of the body. Osteobiography reveals a different kind of history, the history of the body as a locus of appearance and social identity, work, health and experience. For all but a few textually rich individuals, osteobiography provides a fuller and more human biography. Moreover, textual visibility is deeply biased by class and gender; osteobiography offers particular promise for Marxist and feminist understandings of the past. ¿Para qué sirve la osteobiografía? La última generación de arqueólogos luchó para superar la suposición tradicional de que la arqueología es meramente (accesoria) a la historia, una sustituta que se puede utilizar cuando las fuentes escritas son deficientes. Ahora es ampliamente reconocido que las historias materiales y las historias textuales igualmente válido y complementario del pasado. Sin embargo, la suposición tradicional continúa implícitamente en la biografía: se utiliza la osteobiografía para llenar los vacíos en el historial textual en vez de utilizarla como fuente primaria por derecho propio. En esta investigación comparamos las biografías textuales y biografías materiales de dos ciudadanos de la Inglaterra medieval del siglo XIII-Robert Cuteis, documentado en registros legales, y "Feature 958", excavada arqueologicamente y examinada osteobiograficamente. Como demuestra la primera, biografías textuales de la gente común sobre todo revelan algunos rastros de transacciones financieras o legales. La interpretación de estos rastros de hecho presume implícitamente una historia del cuerpo. La osteobiografía revela una clase de historia distinta, la historia del cuerpo como un sitio que contiene información sobre apariencia e identidad social, trabajo, salud y experiencia. Para todos aparte de algunos

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“…67–78; Roberts, 2020, p. 280; Touati, 2000). In reviews of archaeological contexts that include skeletons with evidence of leprosy from Prehistory through the Medieval Periods in Asia, Africa, and Europe, there is usually no differentiation in the burial treatment of those with leprosy for the time and place (Baker & Bolhofner, 2014; Matczak & Kozłowski, 2017; Roberts, 2020: overview, 191–280; Filipek, Roberts, Gowland, & Tucker, 2021). In addition to treatment after death, pathological lesions present on the skeletons of people with leprosy can be interpreted within the “Index of Care” framework (Tilley, 2017; Tilley & Cameron, 2014) to assess whether individuals were provided with care (clinical and communal) during life.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In addition to treatment after death, pathological lesions present on the skeletons of people with leprosy can be interpreted within the “Index of Care” framework (Tilley, 2017; Tilley & Cameron, 2014) to assess whether individuals were provided with care (clinical and communal) during life. Although previous studies supported hints of a “community of care” (Filipek, Roberts, Gowland, & Tucker, 2021; Matczak & Kozłowski, 2017; Roberts, 2017), the “Index of Care” framework is limited by the incomplete nature of osteological data and the variable manifestation of skeletal pathologies, thereby meriting more nuanced studies to enrich these concepts of care in the past. More recently, analyses of mobility isotope data ( 87 Sr/ 86 Sr and δ 18 O) derived from adolescents with leprosy buried at the Late Saxon (10th–11th centuries AD) parish cemetery of St. John at the Castle Gate/Timberhill (Norwich, England) revealed isotope values consistent with their burial location (Filipek, Roberts, Gowland, Montgomery, & Evans, 2021).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Creating communities of care: Sex estimation and mobility histories of adolescents buried in the cemetery of St. Mary Magdalen leprosarium (Winchester, England)

Filipek

Roberts

Montgomery

et al. 2022

American Journal of Biological Anthropology

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Objectives: This study examines the biological sex and geographical origins of adolescents buried at the St Mary Magdalen leprosarium (Winchester, UK). The data are combined with archaeological and palaeopathological evidence to broaden the understanding of mobility and its relationship to leprosy and leprosaria in Medieval England.Materials and Methods: Nineteen individuals ($10-25 at death) with skeletal lesions diagnostic of leprosy were analyzed using standard osteological methods. Amelogenin peptides were extracted from five individuals whose biological sex could not be assessed from macroscopic methods. Enamel samples were analyzed to produce 87 Sr/ 86 Sr and δ 18 O values to explore mobility histories.Results: Amelogenin peptides revealed three males and two females. Tooth enamel samples provided an 87 Sr/ 86 Sr ratio range from 0.7084 to 0.7103 (mean 0.7090, ±0.0012, 2σ). δ 18 O P values show a wide range of 15.6‰-19.3‰ (mean 17.8 ± 1.6‰ 2σ), with corresponding δ 18 O DW values ranging from À9.7‰ to À4.1‰ (mean À6.3 ± 2.4‰ 2σ).Discussion: Amelogenin peptide data reveal the presence of adolescent females with bone changes of leprosy, making them the youngest confirmed females with leprosy in the archaeological record. Results also show at least 12 adolescents were local, and seven were from further afield, including outside Britain. Since St. Mary Magdalen was a leprosarium, it is possible that these people traveled there specifically for care. Archaeological and palaeopathological data support the notion that care was provided at this facility and that leprosy stigma, as we understand it today, may not have existed in this time and place.

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Dealing with Difference: Using the Osteobiographies of a Woman with Leprosy and a Woman with Gigantism from Medieval Poland to Identify Practices of Care

Cited by 10 publications

References 35 publications

A possible case of Gigantism and/or Acromegaly in a 15th-17th century woman from Đurine Ćelije, Serbia

A possible case of Gigantism and/or Acromegaly in a 15th-17th century woman from Đurine Ćelije, Serbia

Osteobiography: The History of the Body as Real Bottom-Line History

Creating communities of care: Sex estimation and mobility histories of adolescents buried in the cemetery of St. Mary Magdalen leprosarium (Winchester, England)

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