Sex differences in adult famine mortality in medieval London.
Am J Phys Anthropol
; 171(1): 164-169, 2020 01.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-31587269
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES:
Recurrent famine events during the medieval period might have contributed to excess mortality during the Black Death in London, England (c. 1349-1350). Previous research using conventional methods of age estimation revealed that adult males experienced lower risks of mortality under "normal" (attritional) but not famine mortality conditions following the Black Death. However, given the biases inherent in conventional age estimation methods, this study reassesses sex differences in risks of medieval adult famine mortality using ages estimated via transition analysis, which avoids some of the limitations of conventional age estimation methods. MATERIALS ANDMETHODS:
We apply hazards analysis (the Gompertz model of adult mortality) to ages estimated for human skeletal remains (n = 1245) from London cemeteries dated to the pre-Black Death (c. 1000-1250 CE) and post-Black Death (c. 1350-1540 CE) periods.RESULTS:
The results reveal no sex differences in risks of mortality before the Black Death but indicate that adult males faced lower risks of mortality after the Black Death during conditions of normal and famine mortality.CONCLUSIONS:
These findings largely support those of our previous research, which suggested that selective mortality during the Black Death or sex-biased improvements in standard of living following the epidemic reduced risk of mortality for adult males in the post-Black Death period under normal mortality conditions. However, the use of transition analysis age estimates also revealed a reduced risk of mortality for post-Black Death adult males under famine conditions.Palavras-chave
Texto completo:
1
Coleções:
01-internacional
Contexto em Saúde:
4_TD
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Peste
/
Mortalidade
/
Fome Epidêmica
Tipo de estudo:
Prognostic_studies
Limite:
Adult
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
País/Região como assunto:
Europa
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Am J Phys Anthropol
Ano de publicação:
2020
Tipo de documento:
Article