Anthropologist Jessica Galea has received a Fulbright Postgraduate Scholarship Award Committee to conduct research at the University of Bristol in the state of health of populations medieval sites.
Since October 2011, Galea will work towards a MPhil under the direction of Dr Kate Robson Brown in the Department of Archaeology and Anthropology. His project, entitled ‘orbitalia cribra as a marker of health and the situation in medieval Britain, is to determine a new method to quantify the presence of pores or lesions in the bony orbits of skeletons. These markers can be a symptom of anemia and nutritional deficiencies. The resulting scoring system could lead to a better understanding of the status of current populations.
The study collection was the result of an excavation in 2005 in Taunton, Somerset ContextOne by independent archaeological consultant. The remains date from about 1342 to 1539, a period that saw the Black Death, the War of the Roses, the Hundred Years War and the dissolution of the monasteries. The analysis of remains osteoarchaeological Research Group of the University, headed by Dr. Robson Brown and Heidi Dawson, identified 84 skeletons of children and 109 adults, with many skeletons show signs of orbitalia cribra.
Galea microCT scanner used to carry out a high resolution study of the witness to examine the pore depth, diameter and volume. These results were used to determine the effectiveness of existing scoring systems for orbitalia cribra pores, and propose changes.
Galea said: “The UK has a history of excellence in historical archeology, which examines human remains in the context of a literate society and therefore provides researchers with a firsthand account of events. My proposed project will combine this with bioarchaeology, which is a difficult course to pursue in the United States, where the conservation laws archaeologists limit access to human remains. “
She continued: “Anthropology Department of Bristol is unique in the UK with a microCT scanner. In the two years since Dr. Robson Brown acquired, it has been used not only on archeology and anthropology, but also in collaboration in forensic cases, and in the biological sciences and mechanical engineering projects. The wide range of technological applications of this knowledge will lead to greater flexibility in my own research.
“During my year in the UK, who also volunteered in various archaeological excavations led by the Department, such as Berkeley Castle in Gloucestershire, to advance my understanding of the methods of the British historical archeology. By understanding how the disease has affected the populations of the past, we can apply this information to cultural practices, such as construction techniques and eating habits, to better understand the changes in the population of the area over time. “
Dr. Robson Brown said: “For a decade, anthropologists and archaeologists from Bristol have been at the forefront in the development of noninvasive CT imaging for analyzing objects and ancient human remains. I am delighted that Jessica Galea has been awarded a Fulbright scholarship and will join us later this year, she is a young anthropologist excellent, and the project presents a great opportunity to develop new standards in recording and interpreting the pathology of the skull.
Jessica Galea was born in Toledo, Ohio. He graduated from the University of Illinois at Chicago with two degrees in Anthropology and History and a minor in France in 2011. During the past four years, she has worked in the Bristol Renaissance Fair, an event held in the town of Bristol, New York, which recreates the visit of Queen Elizabeth I to the city of Bristol in the UK in 1574 .
His love of French led her to Avignon in the summer of 2009, where he attended the theater in French and archeology. The following summer he went to Amarna, Egypt, for field work in ancient skeletons. This is where she discovered the symptoms of child malnutrition, which are the subject of his work in Bristol.
article from Media-newswire.com
