| Detecting Social Change |
Figure 1 . On the left ( 1a ) is a section of a normal vertebrae visible and on the right ( 1b ) a vertebrae affected by osteoporosis . The difference can be seen in both the external ( cortical ) and internal ( trabecular ) bone . The cortical bone in the right vertebrae is thinner and void spaces emerge in the matrix of the trabecular bone . Due to the thinner outer layer and larger gaps in the internal structure is the bone less dense and therefore more prone to fractures ( photographs by S . A . Inskip , 2017 ).
factors and osteoporosis make it relevant to study this disease in past populations since its prevalence
conditions in the past ( Brickley et al . 2006 , 136 ).
During the Industrial Revolution in Britain there was a change in nutrition , lifestyle and living conditions . London ’ s population more than doubled in size during the eighteenth and nineteenth century ,
especially for the poorer population ( Schwarz 1992 , 126 ). The urban expansion of narrow streets and industrial growth resulted in smog formation and blocked sunlight ( Bucholz and Ward 2012 , 333 ; Henderson et al . 2013 , 256 ). Sunlight provides vitamin D , which is an important substance in the protection against osteoporosis . However , less sunlight would have affected the whole population of London .
These recorded changes in nutrition , lifestyle and living conditions during the Industrial Revolution are largely conducive to the presence of osteoporosis in a population . This leads to the expectation that a greater prevalence of osteoporosis would be expected in the post-Medieval period than in the preceding period . However , earlier research by Roberts and Cox ( 2003 ), using a crude prevalence rate ( CPR ) demonstrated a decrease in prevalence between the Medieval and post-Medieval period in Great Britain ( 2.62 % Medieval and 1.20 % postmethod to examine a change , the authors admit that the percentage value for their post-Medieval sample is only based on two cemeteries in London .
Roberts and Cox ( 2003 ) recognise their limitations and therefore the rate based on the two sites could be a bias . This raises the question whether or not the crude prevalence rates presented for the Medieval and post-Medieval period are representative for the whole period and the whole of Britain . This is especially important since recent archaeological studies on osteoporosis in the UK compare their rates with the presented results from the study by Roberts and Cox ( e . g . Miles et al . 2008 , 155 ).
This study therefore aims to assess this trend by researching multiple sites from London . It will examine whether there is an increase or decrease in prevalence of osteoporosis during the time of industrialisation by comparing osteoporosis rates between analysed individuals from Medieval cemeteries and post-Medieval cemeteries in London .
Materials and methods The data used in this research is derived from information provided by the Museum of London Archaeology ( MOLA ). The osteological material has been analysed by the Centre of Human Bioarchaeology ( CHB ) and has been published by MOLA in monographs or in the Wellcome Osteological Research Database ( WORD ). Using data generated by MOLA and CHB has the advantage that it all follows the same methods and analysis strategy . Biased comparisons between data derived from different institutions are thereby excluded .
2017 | INTER-SECTION | VOL III | p . 29