A study of the juvenile skeleton from the early medieval site in Moravia, Czech Republic: Attempt to age at injury estimation using stress chronology from developmental record in the microstructure of teeth (preliminary report)

RAČANSKÁ, Michaela, Adela HUPKOVÁ, Wendy DIRKS, Lenka VARGOVÁ and Miroslav KRÁLÍK. A study of the juvenile skeleton from the early medieval site in Moravia, Czech Republic: Attempt to age at injury estimation using stress chronology from developmental record in the microstructure of teeth (preliminary report). In MORPHOLOGY 2014. 2014.

Basic information

• Original name: A study of the juvenile skeleton from the early medieval site in Moravia, Czech Republic: Attempt to age at injury estimation using stress chronology from developmental record in the microstructure of teeth (preliminary report)
• Authors: RAČANSKÁ, Michaela, Adela HUPKOVÁ, Wendy DIRKS, Lenka VARGOVÁ and Miroslav KRÁLÍK.
• Edition: MORPHOLOGY 2014, 2014.

Other information

• Original language: English
• Type of outcome: Conference abstract
• Field of Study: Archaeology, anthropology, ethnology
• Country of publisher: Czech Republic
• Confidentiality degree: is not subject to a state or trade secret
• Organization unit: Faculty of Medicine

Abstract

Throughout the period of development and growth of the teeth, ameloblasts and odontoblasts very sensitively react to physiological upsets. Altered or incomplete matrix is subsequently mineralized, leading to a permanent record of metabolically stressful events in the microstructure of all the teeth that are forming at the time of the stress event. Analyses of growth markers and accentuated (stress) lines in enamel and dentin make it possible to reliably reconstruct a chronology of dental development and timing of stressful events from histological sections of teeth. In dentally immature individuals, besides the stress chronology, the sequence of subsequent accentuated lines ending with the last-formed increment on the least developed tooth, can be used to assess chronological age at death. In the case of the juvenile (Grave 95) from the early medieval site Dětkovice, Prostějov district, locality „Za zahradama“ in Moravia, Czech Republic, a serious antemortem shaft fracture of the proximal half of diaphysis of right femur indicates a very strong stress episode as this serious injury is usually associated with significant blood loss and a long convalescence. Significant blood loss associated with anemia would be consistent with presence of trabecular type cribra orbitalia, degree III in both orbits. Along with cribra orbitalia, other macroscopic markers considered to be indicators of nonspecific metabolic stress such as dental enamel hypoplasia and Harris lines were observed. The purpose of the present study was to analyze the relationship of the femur fracture, macroscopic stress markers and developmental record of stress events in the microstructure of teeth in order to estimate age at occurrence of this injury.