Toil and trade: functional bone adaptation and social allocations of labour in urban medieval Scotland
Abstract
Measures of functional bone adaptation have often been applied to archaeological populations to reconstruct behaviours from the past. Although there has been increasing interest in women’s history and feminist archaeology, work that centres functional adaptation in women is still uncommon. The three most frequently used methods, entheseal changes (EC), long bone cross-sectional geometry (CSG), and degenerative joint changes (DJC), have rarely been applied in conjunction. Skeletal collections from Scotland have not been studied as frequently as others in Britain and activity data are in short supply.
The primary aim of this thesis was to investigate patterns of skeletal changes compatible with social allocations of labour in urban medieval Scotland (c.800-1600 CE). The secondary aim was to determine the accuracy, value, and efficacy of using the three individual and concurrent methods. Sociohistorical, clinical, and palaeopathological data were synthesised to contextualise interpretations of functional adaptation. 204 individuals from medieval Edinburgh, Leith, St Andrews, Perth, and Dunbar were examined.
The effects of gender and social status on bone were found via all three methods. Females showed evidence of a wide variety of strenuous labour that was similar for both high and low status groups. Women’s work was bimanual, but asymmetrical, and often performed below shoulder level using the elbow and forearm such as sweeping with a broom or holding an object with one arm. Evidence of labour in males was asymmetrical and consistent with frequent work at or above shoulder level. Men’s tasks were more often unimanual, specialised, and had less variety like carrying heavy objects on one shoulder. High status males, however, displayed less wear at the shoulder and more use of the forearm. Affluent and educated men likely performed more detailed and specialised sedentary tasks like writing or fine metalworking.
This research confirms the value of clinical, anatomical, and kinesiological data to interpreting bone functional adaptation and highlights the effects of a highly gendered and stratified society on bone. This work adds to the growing field of feminist bioarchaeology and reveals the extraordinary contribution of women to the economy in urban medieval Scotland.