Tuberculosis, syphilis, and some forms of cancer also leave traces. Study of
the teeth can tell us a great deal about hygiene and diet, as well as age–how
well developed are they, how worn, how many teeth have decayed because of
poor diet? Dietary deficiency can also be seen–a lack of iron leads to
anaemia, with porous holes developing, particularly in the eye sockets. A lack
of Vitamin C leads to scurvy and tooth loss. A lack of Vitamin D can cause
rickets as seen in the characteristically bent legs of children who have suffered
the deficiency. Periods of malnutrition and disease also leave their marks,
especially in growing children. Teeth and bones stop developing at a normal
rate while the body is under stress, and these periods can be seen in Xrays as
more opaque bands across the bone, or as ridges on teeth and fingernails.^5
These clues may be helpful in identifying individuals whose life history may
be known.
More information can be gathered from a study of the stomach contents of
the deceased. Even if only skeletal remains survive, there may be tiny clues
about the diet of the person left in the soil–minute fish bones, seeds, traces of
grains and so on. These can say something about the health and wealth of the
individual. Where a body has been preserved in a bog, or in ice, more
information can be gathered, as was the case with the body from the Lindow
Moss in Cheshire, and the‘Ice Man’discovered in the Alps. Among other
things, traces of poison might be present.
It is often possible to build up a picture of a person’s life through the
stresses their skeletons have suffered, and it is also sometimes possible to
identify medical treatments.
Repetitive, heavy work leads to joint problems and changes in bone forms
and the size and position of muscle attachment areas on the bones. Someone
who has spent their life lifting heavy weights may have strong muscle
formations in the arms and back, but also spinal deterioration. Archers, like
those whose bodies were found in the wreck of the Tudor warshipMary Rose,
had a shoulder condition known asos acrimoniale, caused by years of practice
pulling back a heavy bow.
Trauma caused by accidents or injuries can also often be identified–places
where bones have fractured or been crushed. Sometimes the person survived
the injury for days, months, even years, and the degree of new bone formation
can tell us for how long they lived after the injury. Some injuries to hands and
forearms, known as parry fractures, can show whether or not the victim tried
to defend themselves. However, an injury that is fatal does not necessarily
have to affect the bones. It is probable that many injured people have died
from soft tissue injury, through blood loss and infection, before modern
ARCHAEOLOGY, HISTORY, CRIME AND PUNISHMENT