THE HUMAN BONES FROM WEST HESLERTON NORTH YORKSHIRE
Author(s): M Cox
Skeletal remains from 193 inhumation burials and 13 cremations have been examined. Analysis of these remains has been impaired by the condition of the skeletons; over 50% survived only as fragments of bone or teeth. Of the inhumations, 55 cannot be classified as either adult or juvenile. One hundred and four adults and 34 juveniles could be identified. Of the adults 23 are female and one possibly female, fifteen are male and four possibly male. No perinatal and only one infant death are represented. The most likely explanation for this is burial practice. Juvenile mortality was greatest between the ages of five and six years and from eleven to sixteen. If dental attribution provides meaningful ages at death, adults appear to have died most frequently between the ages of 25 and 35. Dental and oral health was better than in most Anglo-Saxon sites. Fracture rates appear to have been very low although there is other evidence of physical trauma. It seems likely that many adolescents were employed in fairly arduous physical labour. The most interesting pathology is a motor neurone disorder, possibly a stroke, causing hemiplegia. This affected a young woman aged about 25 at death. That she survived this condition for long enough for her skeleton to respond is testimony of a caring society in which the disabled were accepted and supported.
- Report Number:
- 112/1990
- Series:
- AML Reports (New Series)
- Pages:
- 31
- Keywords:
- Human Bone Human Remains
