Paper short abstract:

This paper draws on collated osteological data from medieval England to examine what we can currently infer about the nature of child health in the past. The limitations and potentials of child skeletal remains in palaeopathology are explored, and future directions discussed.

Paper long abstract:

The study of pathology in non-adult skeletal remains from Britain was rare before the mid-90s. Today, we have a greater understanding of the nature, expression and types of trauma and disease that can be identified on child skeletons. However, we are only just beginning to collate these data to build a picture of overall child health within any one period. This paper focuses on the study of child remains from Medieval England, drawing on published and unpublished pathological cases, as well as attempting to provide an overview of what we can infer about what it was like to be a child living in medieval England, from their ages at death, diet, exposure to infectious diseases and the impact of their working lives on their health and survival.

This research forms part of the 'Adolescence, Migration and Health in Medieval England' research project, funded by the Leverhulme Trust.