Department of Archaeology, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge, United Kingdom.
Laboratory for Human Osteoarchaeology, Faculty of Archaeology, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands.
Am J Phys Anthropol. 2021 Mar;174(3):463-478. doi: 10.1002/ajpa.24161. Epub 2020 Oct 26.
The objective of this study is to apply pubertal stage estimation methods to a sample from a rural community: the post-medieval Dutch skeletal collection from Middenbeemster. Puberty is a key developmental period involving transition to physical adulthood with broad societal relevance through its impact on fertility, morbidity, and mortality.
Individuals (n = 55), including 27 of known sex and age-at-death, between the ages of 8 and 25 years were assessed for six skeletal markers indicative of pubertal growth spurt. Recent novel osteoarchaeological methods from Shapland and Lewis are used to reconstruct the timing and duration of pubertal stages.
Pubertal acceleration occurred earlier in females (10.38 years, n = 8) than males (13.30 years, n = 6), whereas maturation occurred later in males (21.36 years, n = 11) than females (19.30 years, n = 5). Onset appears earlier and completion later compared to other archaeological skeletal samples with osteoarchaeological evidence of puberty. Age shortly after menarche was reconstructed at 20.45 years, substantially later than historic records and bioarchaeological research reports suggest.
This early onset and late completion caused a "stretch" of the overall duration of puberty compared to other collections, especially of the last three stages. This prolonged development is reflected in historically known social expectations for the Netherlands, for example, that marriage and children should not occur before about 22-23 years of age. Increasing the range of past peoples with puberty stage reconstruction will permit more insightful interpretations of the biological and cultural patterns of this important life stage.
本研究旨在将青春期阶段评估方法应用于一个农村社区样本：米登贝克斯特的后中世纪荷兰骨骼收藏。青春期是一个关键的发育阶段，涉及到向生理成年人的过渡，对生育能力、发病率和死亡率有着广泛的社会影响。
评估了 55 名年龄在 8 至 25 岁之间的个体（n=55），包括 27 名已知性别和死亡年龄的个体，他们的六项骨骼标志指示青春期生长突增。使用 Shapland 和 Lewis 的最近新的骨考古方法来重建青春期阶段的时间和持续时间。
女性的青春期加速（8 岁，n=8）比男性更早（13.30 岁，n=6），而男性的青春期成熟（21.36 岁，n=11）比女性更晚（19.30 岁，n=5）。与其他具有骨考古学证据表明青春期的考古骨骼样本相比，青春期开始更早，完成更晚。初潮后的年龄重建为 20.45 岁，远晚于历史记录和生物考古学研究报告所表明的年龄。
与其他收藏相比，这种早期开始和晚期完成导致了青春期整体持续时间的“延长”，尤其是最后三个阶段。这种延长的发育反映了历史上已知的荷兰社会期望，例如，婚姻和生育不应在 22-23 岁之前发生。增加具有青春期阶段重建的过去人群的范围将允许对这个重要生命阶段的生物和文化模式进行更有洞察力的解释。
