Using Isotopic Analysis to Investigate Diet and Disease in a Medieval German Poorhouse
Paper by Karyn C. Olsen
Given at the European Association of Archaeologists meeting at Bern, September 4-7, 2019
Abstract: Medieval poorhouses were an early form of social care facility that offered permanent shelter to the sick and destitute. This paper presents a bioarchaeological case study on a medieval (twelfth to sixteenth century) poorhouse skeletal collection from Regensburg, Germany. By assessing the health and diet of poorhouse members, we explore the lives of an underprivileged group within larger medieval society. The most common pathological conditions observed in the sample (n = 111) include dental disease, osteoarthritis, and non-specific evidence for stress (e.g., periosteal reactions). Together, the osteological evidence suggests that many of the individuals suffered significant health stressors, but the conditions were debilitating rather than deadly.
In addition to examining health, we use isotopic data from bone collagen and structural carbonate to explore dietary histories among poorhouse residents. Carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen (δ15N) isotope analyses indicate that poorhouse residents subsisted primarily on C3 plants and protein from terrestrial and freshwater sources. However, the results also suggest differential access to protein, and a small subset of individuals may have incorporated socially inferior famine foods (e.g., millet) into their diet. Despite a shared lower-class status at the end of their lives, these data suggest that the backgrounds of poorhouse residents may have been economically diverse. The bioarchaeological framework applied here allows us to comment on the lived experience of Regensburg’s urban poor and the social response to poverty in this medieval city.
Using Isotopic Analysis to Investigate Diet and Disease in a Medieval German Poorhouse
Paper by Karyn C. Olsen
Given at the European Association of Archaeologists meeting at Bern, September 4-7, 2019
Abstract: Medieval poorhouses were an early form of social care facility that offered permanent shelter to the sick and destitute. This paper presents a bioarchaeological case study on a medieval (twelfth to sixteenth century) poorhouse skeletal collection from Regensburg, Germany. By assessing the health and diet of poorhouse members, we explore the lives of an underprivileged group within larger medieval society. The most common pathological conditions observed in the sample (n = 111) include dental disease, osteoarthritis, and non-specific evidence for stress (e.g., periosteal reactions). Together, the osteological evidence suggests that many of the individuals suffered significant health stressors, but the conditions were debilitating rather than deadly.
In addition to examining health, we use isotopic data from bone collagen and structural carbonate to explore dietary histories among poorhouse residents. Carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen (δ15N) isotope analyses indicate that poorhouse residents subsisted primarily on C3 plants and protein from terrestrial and freshwater sources. However, the results also suggest differential access to protein, and a small subset of individuals may have incorporated socially inferior famine foods (e.g., millet) into their diet. Despite a shared lower-class status at the end of their lives, these data suggest that the backgrounds of poorhouse residents may have been economically diverse. The bioarchaeological framework applied here allows us to comment on the lived experience of Regensburg’s urban poor and the social response to poverty in this medieval city.
See also the article “Investigating Diet and Disease in a Medieval German Poorhouse Population using Isotopic Analysis of Human and Faunal Tissues” from Bioarchaeology International.
You can follow Karyn C. Olsen’s research on Google Scholar
Photo by Avarim / Wikimedia Commons
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