Smoking histories: a bioarchaeological approach to tobacco consumption in two skeletal populations from The Netherlands (1300-1829 CE).

Over the past decade, the history of tobacco's introduction to Europe and its societal impact has been extensively studied, resulting in prevailing narratives about its adoption and consumption. In the Netherlands, historical records generally concur that: (I) tobacco rose in popularity among all socioeconomic classes between 1590 and 1630 CE; and (II) it spread throughout the Country as a male habit. However, the presence and consumption of tobacco have exhibited profound variations across diverse societies throughout history, manifesting dissimilar patterns of employment and significance over varying temporal and spatial dimensions. By analysing a sample of 351 human skeletons dating from 1300 to 1829 CE, the present study challenges the limited historical narratives presented above and emphasizes the diverse contextual factors that influenced tobacco's prevalence in two different Dutch centres. Our results suggest that in certain areas of the Netherlands tobacco was likely present and widely consumed well before 1630 CE, while also highlighting overall substantial female participation in the practice. Furthermore, our analysis hints at the possibility of divergent methods of tobacco consumption between sexes, suggesting that the historical narrative of tobacco as solely a male habit may warrant reconsideration. Overall, our study contributes to a deeper understanding of the complex history of tobacco in the Netherlands, shedding light on historical trends and cultural practices.

Chronic Maxillary Sinusitis: A comparison of osteological and CT methods of diagnosis.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the differences between endoscopic and radiological methods of analysis for diagnosing chronic maxillary sinusitis (CMS) in archaeological skeletal remains. MATERIALS: 32 crania from a Dutch post-medieval rural population. METHODS: We assessed the presence of bone changes indicative of CMS (i.e., bone growth and bone resorption) both endoscopically and through computed tomography (CT), and then compared results. RESULTS: We observed moderate agreement between bone growth scores obtained through endoscopy and CT, and fair agreement when assessing bone resorption. CONCLUSIONS: CMS prevalence rates observed through CT may be comparable to rates assessed endoscopically, although caution is needed when making direct comparisons. SIGNIFICANCE: This is the first study comparing data obtained through endoscopy and radiological methods in the study of CMS, informing paleopathologists about potential biases in data comparison. LIMITATIONS: Our small sample size likely impacted results. SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH: Further research is advised to fully explore the comparability of endoscopic and radiological method of analysis in the study of sinusitis. DATA AVAILABILITY: The datasets generated and analyzed during the current study are available upon request.

A distant city: Assessing the impact of Dutch socioeconomic developments on urban and rural health using respiratory disease as a proxy.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the prevalence of respiratory disease in several populations from the Netherlands across different time periods and socioeconomic conditions. MATERIALS: We analyzed 695 adult individuals from six different Dutch contexts of urban and rural settlements dating to different time periods (i.e., early-medieval, late-medieval, post-medieval). METHODS: For each individual, the presence/absence of chronic maxillary sinusitis, otitis media, and inflammatory periosteal reaction on ribs was recorded macroscopically according to accepted methods. RESULTS: Statistically significant associations were found in the presence of sinusitis diachronically (early-medieval to late-medieval period, and early-medieval to post-medieval period) both in rural and urban environments. Differences in prevalence rates of otitis media were found statistically significant when comparing rural to urban environments in the early-medieval and late-medieval periods. CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that factors such as increased contact between towns and countryside, higher population densities, and intensification of agricultural production impacted the respiratory health of past populations both in rural and urban settings. SIGNIFICANCE: Our study provides new insights into the impact of environmental changes and urbanization on respiratory disease prevalence, shedding light on the relationship between health and changing social and environmental contexts. LIMITATIONS: Research limitations included the complex etiology of respiratory diseases, and the impact of uncontrollable factors such as hidden heterogeneity, selective mortality, and rural-to-urban migration. FUTURE RESEARCH: Further research in different contexts is advised in order to continue exploring urbanization and its impact on human health across both time and space.