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Outputs (91)

Vitamin D status in post-medieval Northern England: Insights from dental histology and enamel peptide analysis at Coach Lane, North Shields (AD 1711–1857) (2024)
Journal Article
Snoddy, A. M. E., Shaw, H., Newman, S., Miszkiewicz, J. J., Stewart, N. A., Jakob, T., …Gowland, R. (2024). Vitamin D status in post-medieval Northern England: Insights from dental histology and enamel peptide analysis at Coach Lane, North Shields (AD 1711–1857). PLoS ONE, 19(1), Article e0296203. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0296203

Objectives: The post-medieval period in Europe saw a dramatic increase in metabolic bone disease related to vitamin D deficiency (VDD). Recent paleopathological work has utilized interglobular dentin (IGD) as a proxy for poor vitamin D status during... Read More about Vitamin D status in post-medieval Northern England: Insights from dental histology and enamel peptide analysis at Coach Lane, North Shields (AD 1711–1857).

The expendables: Bioarchaeological evidence for pauper apprentices in 19th century England and the health consequences of child labour (2023)
Journal Article
Gowland, R. L., Caffell, A. C., Quade, L., Levene, A., Millard, A. R., Holst, M., …Alexander, M. M. (2023). The expendables: Bioarchaeological evidence for pauper apprentices in 19th century England and the health consequences of child labour. PLoS ONE, 18(5), https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0284970

Child labour is the most common form of child abuse in the world today, with almost half of child workers employed in hazardous industries. The large-scale employment of children during the rapid industrialisation of the late 18th and early 19th cent... Read More about The expendables: Bioarchaeological evidence for pauper apprentices in 19th century England and the health consequences of child labour.

The Developmental Origins of Health and Disease: Implications for Paleopathology (2022)
Book Chapter
Gowland, R., & Caldwell, J. L. (2022). The Developmental Origins of Health and Disease: Implications for Paleopathology. In A. L. Grauer (Ed.), The Routledge Handbook of Paleopathology (520-540). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003130994

The Developmental Origins of Health and Disease (DOHaD) hypothesis evolved from earlier research by Barker and colleagues in the 1980s, which demonstrated a link between early life adversity and increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in adult... Read More about The Developmental Origins of Health and Disease: Implications for Paleopathology.

Compounding vulnerabilities: Syndemics and the social determinants of disease in the past (2022)
Journal Article
Perry, M. A., & Gowland, R. L. (2022). Compounding vulnerabilities: Syndemics and the social determinants of disease in the past. International Journal of Paleopathology, 39, 35-49. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpp.2022.09.002

Objective: This article explores the theory and utility of a syndemic approach for the study of disease in the past. Syndemic principles are examined alongside other theoretical developments within bioarchaeology. Two case studies are provided to ill... Read More about Compounding vulnerabilities: Syndemics and the social determinants of disease in the past.

Creating communities of care: Sex estimation and mobilityhistories of adolescents buried in the cemetery of St. MaryMagdalen leprosarium (Winchester, England) (2022)
Journal Article
Filipek, K., Roberts, C., Montgomery, J., Gowland, R., Moore, J., Tucker, K., & Evans, J. (2022). Creating communities of care: Sex estimation and mobilityhistories of adolescents buried in the cemetery of St. MaryMagdalen leprosarium (Winchester, England). American Journal of Biological Anthropology, 178(1), 108-123. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajpa.24498

Objectives: This study examines the biological sex and geographical origins of adolescents buried at the St Mary Magdalen leprosarium (Winchester, UK). The data are combined with archaeological and palaeopathological evidence to broaden the understan... Read More about Creating communities of care: Sex estimation and mobilityhistories of adolescents buried in the cemetery of St. MaryMagdalen leprosarium (Winchester, England).

Health inequality in Britain before 1750 (2021)
Journal Article
Kendall, E. J., Brown, A. T., Doran, T., Gowland, R., & Cookson, R. (2021). Health inequality in Britain before 1750. SSM - Population Health, 16, Article 100957. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssmph.2021.100957

Background This study examines the claim that social inequality in health in European populations was absent prior to 1750. This claim is primarily based on comparisons of life expectancy at birth in England between general and ducal (elite aristocra... Read More about Health inequality in Britain before 1750.

Height and health in Roman and Post-Roman Gaul, a life course approach (2021)
Journal Article
Quade, L., & Gowland, R. (2021). Height and health in Roman and Post-Roman Gaul, a life course approach. International Journal of Paleopathology, 35, 49-60. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpp.2021.10.001

Objective: The present study explores growth and health in Roman (1st-3rd centuries CE) and Post-Roman (4th-7th centuries CE) Gaul, incorporating a life-course approach, to better understand the influence of Roman practices and lifestyles on health,... Read More about Height and health in Roman and Post-Roman Gaul, a life course approach.

Illness and inclusion: Mobility histories of adolescents with leprosy from Anglo‐Scandinavian Norwich (Eastern England) (2021)
Journal Article
Filipek, K. L., Roberts, C. A., Gowland, R. L., Montgomery, J., & Evans, J. A. (2021). Illness and inclusion: Mobility histories of adolescents with leprosy from Anglo‐Scandinavian Norwich (Eastern England). International Journal of Osteoarchaeology, 31(6), 1180-1191. https://doi.org/10.1002/oa.3029

Leprosy is one of the most notorious diseases in history, widely associated with social stigma and exclusion. This study builds on previous work to reevaluate the medicohistorical evidence for social stigma in relation to leprosy. This is achieved by... Read More about Illness and inclusion: Mobility histories of adolescents with leprosy from Anglo‐Scandinavian Norwich (Eastern England).

Poisoned pregnancies: consequences of prenatal lead exposure in relation to infant mortality in the Roman Empire. (2021)
Book Chapter
Moore, J., Williams-Ward, M., Filipek, K., Gowland, R., & Montgomery, J. (2021). Poisoned pregnancies: consequences of prenatal lead exposure in relation to infant mortality in the Roman Empire. In E. J. Kendall, & R. Kendall (Eds.), The Family in Past Perspective: An Interdisciplinary Exploration of Familial Relationships Through Time (137-158). Routledge

Large families were often a desired outcome of Roman marriages; laws were even passed to encourage procreation. Despite this, large families were not the norm. The high infant mortality, miscarriage and stillbirth rates throughout this period probabl... Read More about Poisoned pregnancies: consequences of prenatal lead exposure in relation to infant mortality in the Roman Empire..

Alloparenting Adolescents: Evaluating the Social and Biological Impacts of Leprosy on Young People in Saxo-Norman England (9th to 12th Centuries AD) through Cross-Disciplinary Models of Care (2021)
Book Chapter
Filipek, K. L., Roberts, C., Gowland, R. L., & Tucker, K. (2021). Alloparenting Adolescents: Evaluating the Social and Biological Impacts of Leprosy on Young People in Saxo-Norman England (9th to 12th Centuries AD) through Cross-Disciplinary Models of Care. In E. J. Kendall, & R. Kendall (Eds.), The Family in Past Perspective: An Interdisciplinary Exploration of Familial Relationships Through Time (30-57). Routledge

The majority of historical sources describe past attitudes towards people with leprosy as negative, focussing on ostracism and damnation, and this is thought to have impacted on the care that sufferers received. More recent historical and archaeologi... Read More about Alloparenting Adolescents: Evaluating the Social and Biological Impacts of Leprosy on Young People in Saxo-Norman England (9th to 12th Centuries AD) through Cross-Disciplinary Models of Care.

Death Metal: Evidence for the impact of lead poisoning on childhood health within the Roman Empire (2021)
Journal Article
Moore, J., Filipek, K., Kalenderian, V., Gowland, R., Hamilton, E., Evans, J., & Montgomery, J. (2021). Death Metal: Evidence for the impact of lead poisoning on childhood health within the Roman Empire. International Journal of Osteoarchaeology, 31(5), 846-856. https://doi.org/10.1002/oa.3001

The use of lead was ubiquitous throughout the Roman Empire, including material for water pipes, eating vessels, medicine, and even as a sweetener for wine. The toxicity of lead is well established today, resulting in long-term psychological and neuro... Read More about Death Metal: Evidence for the impact of lead poisoning on childhood health within the Roman Empire.

Assessing pathological conditions in archaeological bone using portable X-ray fluorescence (pXRF) (2021)
Journal Article
Kilburn, N. N., Gowland, R. L., Halldórsdóttir, H. H., Williams, R., & Thompson, T. J. (2021). Assessing pathological conditions in archaeological bone using portable X-ray fluorescence (pXRF). Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, 37, Article 102980. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jasrep.2021.102980

This study aims to investigate the potential of portable X-ray fluorescence spectrometry (pXRF) for identifying pathological conditions in archaeological human skeletal remains. Bone element distribution in relation to known disease categories is ana... Read More about Assessing pathological conditions in archaeological bone using portable X-ray fluorescence (pXRF).

Sex estimation of teeth at different developmental stages using dimorphic enamel peptide analysis (2021)
Journal Article
Gowland, R., Stewart, N. A., Crowder, K. D., Hodson, C., Shaw, H., Gron, K. J., & Montgomery, J. (2021). Sex estimation of teeth at different developmental stages using dimorphic enamel peptide analysis. American journal of physical anthropology, https://doi.org/10.1002/ajpa.24231

Objectives This study tests, for the first time, the applicability of a new method of sex estimation utilizing enamel peptides on a sample of deciduous and permanent teeth at different stages of mineralization, from nonadults of unknown sex, includin... Read More about Sex estimation of teeth at different developmental stages using dimorphic enamel peptide analysis.

Modeling Health during Societal Collapse: Can Recent History Help Our Understanding of Post-Roman Gaul? (2020)
Journal Article
Quade, L., & Gowland, R. (2020). Modeling Health during Societal Collapse: Can Recent History Help Our Understanding of Post-Roman Gaul?. Bioarchaeology international, 4(3-4), 172-190

Societal collapse results in structural breakdowns and instability, which can affect life expectancy and population health. Previous bioarchaeological studies have, however, sometimes struggled to identify correlations between sociopolitical changes... Read More about Modeling Health during Societal Collapse: Can Recent History Help Our Understanding of Post-Roman Gaul?.

Desperately seeking stress: A pilot study of cortisol in archaeological tooth structures (2020)
Journal Article
Quade, L., Chazot, P., & Gowland, R. (2021). Desperately seeking stress: A pilot study of cortisol in archaeological tooth structures. American journal of physical anthropology, 174(3), 532-541. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajpa.24157

Objectives: Cortisol is a glucocorticoid hormone produced through activation of the hypothalamic pituitary adrenal axis. It is known as the “stress hormone” for its primary role in the body's stress response and has been the focus of much modern clin... Read More about Desperately seeking stress: A pilot study of cortisol in archaeological tooth structures.

Knock-knees: Identifying genu valgum and understanding its relationship to vitamin D deficiency in 18th to 19th century northern England (2020)
Journal Article
Tschinkel, K., & Gowland, R. (2020). Knock-knees: Identifying genu valgum and understanding its relationship to vitamin D deficiency in 18th to 19th century northern England. International Journal of Osteoarchaeology, 30(6), 891-902. https://doi.org/10.1002/oa.2919

Genu valgum is a condition in which a person's knees angle inwards and touch one another creating a ‘knock‐kneed’ appearance during life and potentially causing pain and walking difficulties. The most common cause of genu valgum is medial torsion of... Read More about Knock-knees: Identifying genu valgum and understanding its relationship to vitamin D deficiency in 18th to 19th century northern England.

Theoretical approaches to bioarchaeology: The view from across the pond (2020)
Book Chapter
Gowland, R., & Kacki, S. (2020). Theoretical approaches to bioarchaeology: The view from across the pond. In C. M. Cheverko, J. R. Prince-Buitenhuys, & M. Hubbe (Eds.), Theoretical Approaches in Bioarchaeology. Taylor and Francis

This chapter explores the development and integration of social theory in bioarchaeology from the perspective of the UK and France, and in relation to North America. It examines the constraining influence of traditional academic structures, which hav... Read More about Theoretical approaches to bioarchaeology: The view from across the pond.

Hidden dangers? Investigating the impact of volcanic eruptions and skeletal fluorosis in medieval Iceland (2020)
Journal Article
Walser, J. W., Gowland, R. L., Desnica, N., & Kristjánsdóttir, S. (2020). Hidden dangers? Investigating the impact of volcanic eruptions and skeletal fluorosis in medieval Iceland. Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences, 12(3), Article 77. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12520-020-01026-0

Volcanic emissions are known to be a serious source of pollution to humans and animals. This study aimed to examine the possible health burden of fluoride (F) exposure from volcanic eruptions in the past. Osteological analyses were performed on 186 s... Read More about Hidden dangers? Investigating the impact of volcanic eruptions and skeletal fluorosis in medieval Iceland.

At the world’s edge: reconstructing diet and geographic origins in medieval Iceland using isotope and trace element analyses (2019)
Journal Article
Walser, J. W. I., Kristjánsdóttir, S., Gröcke, D. R., Gowland, R., Jakob, T., Nowell, G., …Montgomery, J. (2020). At the world’s edge: reconstructing diet and geographic origins in medieval Iceland using isotope and trace element analyses. American journal of physical anthropology, 171(1), 142-163. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajpa.23973

Objectives. A multi-isotope study was conducted on individuals buried at Skriðuklaustur monastery (AD 1493–1554) to investigate their geographic origins and dietary composition. Comparative material from individuals excavated from Skeljastaðir, an in... Read More about At the world’s edge: reconstructing diet and geographic origins in medieval Iceland using isotope and trace element analyses.

What Doesn't Kill you: Early Life Health and Nutrition in Anglo-Saxon East Anglia (2019)
Book Chapter
Kendall, E. J., Millard, A., Beaumont, J., Gowland, R., Gorton, M., & Gledhill, A. (2019). What Doesn't Kill you: Early Life Health and Nutrition in Anglo-Saxon East Anglia. In R. Gowland, & S. Halcrow (Eds.), The Mother-Infant Nexus in Anthropology and Archaeology. Small Beginnings, Significant Outcomes (103-124). Springer Verlag

The Mother-Infant Nexus in Anthropology. Small Beginnings, Significant Outcomes (2019)
Book
Gowland, R., & Halcrow, S. (Eds.). (2020). The Mother-Infant Nexus in Anthropology. Small Beginnings, Significant Outcomes. Springer Verlag. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-27393-4

Over the past 20 years there has been increased research traction in the anthropology of childhood. However, infancy, the pregnant body and motherhood continue to be marginalised. This book will focus on the mother-infant relationship and the variabl... Read More about The Mother-Infant Nexus in Anthropology. Small Beginnings, Significant Outcomes.

Concluding Thoughts. Small Beginnings, Significant Outcomes (2019)
Book Chapter
Halcrow, S., & Gowland, R. (2019). Concluding Thoughts. Small Beginnings, Significant Outcomes. In R. Gowland, & S. Halcrow (Eds.), The Mother-Infant Nexus in Anthropology. Small Beginnings, Significant Outcomes (275-277). Springer Verlag

Ruptured: Reproductive Loss, Bodily Boundaries, Time and the Life Course in Archaeology (2019)
Book Chapter
Gowland, R. (2019). Ruptured: Reproductive Loss, Bodily Boundaries, Time and the Life Course in Archaeology. In R. Gowland, & S. Halcrow (Eds.), The mother-infant nexus in anthropology : small beginnings, significant outcomes (257-274). Springer Verlag. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-27393-4_14

The concept of the bounded body is powerfully resonant within the post-industrialised Western world; it is performed and reinforced through cultural practices which observe the maintenance of bodily space and the delineation of individual bodies. Rec... Read More about Ruptured: Reproductive Loss, Bodily Boundaries, Time and the Life Course in Archaeology.

Like Mother, Like Child: Investigating Perinatal and Maternal Health Stress in Post-medieval London (2019)
Book Chapter
Hodson, C., & Gowland, R. (2019). Like Mother, Like Child: Investigating Perinatal and Maternal Health Stress in Post-medieval London. In The Mother-Infant Nexus in Anthropology; Small Beginnings, Significant Outcomes (39-64). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-27393-4_3

Post-Medieval London (sixteenth-nineteenth centuries) was a stressful environment for the poor. Overcrowded and squalid housing, physically demanding and risky working conditions, air and water pollution, inadequate diet and exposure to infectious di... Read More about Like Mother, Like Child: Investigating Perinatal and Maternal Health Stress in Post-medieval London.

Like Mother, Like Child: Investigating Perinatal and Maternal Health Stress in Post-Medieval London (2019)
Book Chapter
Hodson, C., & Gowland, R. (2019). Like Mother, Like Child: Investigating Perinatal and Maternal Health Stress in Post-Medieval London. In R. Gowland, & S. Halcrow (Eds.), The mother-infant nexus in anthropology : small beginnings, significant outcomes (39-64). Springer Verlag. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-27393-4_3

Post-Medieval London (sixteenth-nineteenth centuries) was a stressful environment for the poor. Overcrowded and squalid housing, physically demanding and risky working conditions, air and water pollution, inadequate diet and exposure to infectious di... Read More about Like Mother, Like Child: Investigating Perinatal and Maternal Health Stress in Post-Medieval London.

North and south: A comprehensive analysis of non‐adult growth and health in the industrial revolution (AD 18th–19th C), England (2019)
Journal Article
Newman, S. L., Gowland, R. L., & Caffell, A. C. (2019). North and south: A comprehensive analysis of non‐adult growth and health in the industrial revolution (AD 18th–19th C), England. American journal of physical anthropology, 169(1), 104-121. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajpa.23817

Objective Stark health inequalities exist in the present day between the North and South of England, with people in the South, overall, experiencing better health across a range of parameters (e.g., life expectancy and number of years spent in good h... Read More about North and south: A comprehensive analysis of non‐adult growth and health in the industrial revolution (AD 18th–19th C), England.

Human Growth and Stature (2018)
Book Chapter
Gowland, R., & Walther, L. (2018). Human Growth and Stature. In W. Scheidel (Ed.), The Science of Roman History Biology, Climate, and the Future of the Past. Princeton University Press

Volcanoes, medicine, and monasticism: Investigating mercury exposure in medieval Iceland (2018)
Journal Article
Walser, J. W., Kristjánsdóttir, S., Gowland, R., & Desnica, N. (2019). Volcanoes, medicine, and monasticism: Investigating mercury exposure in medieval Iceland. International Journal of Osteoarchaeology, 29(1), 48-61. https://doi.org/10.1002/oa.2712

This study aimed to evaluate the possible use of mercury as a medical treatment at the medieval monastic hospital Skriðuklaustur (ad 1494–1554) in eastern Iceland. The individuals excavated from Skriðuklaustur exhibited a wide range of pathological c... Read More about Volcanoes, medicine, and monasticism: Investigating mercury exposure in medieval Iceland.

Broken Childhoods: Rural and Urban Non-Adult Health during the Industrial Revolution in Northern England (Eighteenth-Nineteenth Centuries) (2018)
Journal Article
Gowland, R., Caffell, A., Newman, S., Levene, A., & Holst, M. (2018). Broken Childhoods: Rural and Urban Non-Adult Health during the Industrial Revolution in Northern England (Eighteenth-Nineteenth Centuries). Bioarchaeology international, 2(1), 44-62. https://doi.org/10.5744/bi.2018.1015

During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, England underwent a period of rapid urbanization and industrialization. The detrimental effects of urban living conditions and child factory labor on the health of children during this time has been the... Read More about Broken Childhoods: Rural and Urban Non-Adult Health during the Industrial Revolution in Northern England (Eighteenth-Nineteenth Centuries).

Infants and Mothers: Linked Lives and Embodied Life Courses (2018)
Book Chapter
Gowland, R. (2018). Infants and Mothers: Linked Lives and Embodied Life Courses. In S. Crawford, D. Hadley, & G. Shepherd (Eds.), The Oxford handbook of the archaeology of childhood (104-121). Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199670697.013.6

There is a burgeoning interest in the variable ways in which past and present societies construct the notion of foetal and infant entities and the beginnings of personhood. The newborn baby has often been conceptualized as a tabular rasa, a blank sla... Read More about Infants and Mothers: Linked Lives and Embodied Life Courses.

A Novel Investigation into Migrant and Local Health-Statuses in the Past: A Case Study from Roman Britain (2018)
Journal Article
Redfern, R., DeWitte, S., Montgomery, J., & Gowland, R. (2018). A Novel Investigation into Migrant and Local Health-Statuses in the Past: A Case Study from Roman Britain. Bioarchaeology international, 2(1), 20-43. https://doi.org/10.5744/bi.2018.1014

Migration continues to be a central theme in archaeology, and bioarchaeology has made significant contributions toward understanding the disease and demographic consequences of migration in different periods and places. These studies have been enhanc... Read More about A Novel Investigation into Migrant and Local Health-Statuses in the Past: A Case Study from Roman Britain.

Overview: Archaeology and the Medieval Life-Course (2018)
Book Chapter
Gowland, R., & Penny-Mason, B. (2018). Overview: Archaeology and the Medieval Life-Course. In C. Gerrard, & A. Gutiérrez (Eds.), The Oxford handbook of later medieval archaeology in Britain (759-773). Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780198744719.013.52

Historical evidence has provided a rich source of information concerning the structure and experience of the medieval life-course. Archaeology has also contributed to these debates, through the material remains associated with different age groups an... Read More about Overview: Archaeology and the Medieval Life-Course.

Sex determination of human remains from peptides in tooth enamel (2017)
Journal Article
Andre Stewart, N., Fernanda Gerlach, R., Gowland, R. L., Gron, K., & Montgomery, J. (2017). Sex determination of human remains from peptides in tooth enamel. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 114(52), 13649-13654. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1714926115

The assignment of biological sex to archaeological human skeletons is a fundamental requirement for the reconstruction of the human past. It is conventionally and routinely performed on adults using metric analysis and morphological traits arising fr... Read More about Sex determination of human remains from peptides in tooth enamel.

‘From the mouths of babes’: a subadult dietary stable isotope perspective on Roman London (Londinium) (2017)
Journal Article
Redfern, R., Gowland, R., Millard, A., Powell, L., & Gröcke, D. (2018). ‘From the mouths of babes’: a subadult dietary stable isotope perspective on Roman London (Londinium). Journal of Archaeological Science, 19, 1030-1040. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jasrep.2017.08.015

Londinium (48–410 CE) was the focus for Roman administration and trade in Britain; it was established and inhabited by people from across the Empire who continued to practice their diverse food-ways. Roman London was a unique settlement, whose fluctu... Read More about ‘From the mouths of babes’: a subadult dietary stable isotope perspective on Roman London (Londinium).

Child Bioarchaeology: Perspectives on the Past 10 Years (2017)
Journal Article
Mays, S., Gowland, R., Halcrow, S., & Murphy, E. (2017). Child Bioarchaeology: Perspectives on the Past 10 Years. Childhood in the Past, 10(1), 38-56. https://doi.org/10.1080/17585716.2017.1301066

This article aims to provide an overview of some of the more important developments in the bioarchaeology of childhood over the past decade. Analysis of publication trends in the major osteoarchaeology and physical anthropology journals demonstrated... Read More about Child Bioarchaeology: Perspectives on the Past 10 Years.

Towards a best practice for the use of active non-contact surface scanning to record human skeletal remains from archaeological contexts (2017)
Journal Article
Errickson, D., Grueso, I., Griffith, S., Setchell, J., Thompson, T., Thompson, C., & Gowland, R. (2017). Towards a best practice for the use of active non-contact surface scanning to record human skeletal remains from archaeological contexts. International Journal of Osteoarchaeology, 27(4), 650-661. https://doi.org/10.1002/oa.2587

Active surface scanners emit light or a laser stripe to record the exterior surface of an object or landscape, providing results in three dimensions. The use of active surface scanners to record anthropological and archaeological contexts has increas... Read More about Towards a best practice for the use of active non-contact surface scanning to record human skeletal remains from archaeological contexts.

Embodied Identities in Roman Britain: A Bioarchaeological Approach (2017)
Journal Article
Gowland, R. (2017). Embodied Identities in Roman Britain: A Bioarchaeological Approach. Britannia: A Journal of Romano-British and Kindred Studies, 48, 175-194. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0068113x17000125

Human skeletal remains from Roman Britain are abundant and provide a rich repository of social as well as biological information concerning health, migration, diet and body/society interactions. At present, skeletal remains tend to be marginalised in... Read More about Embodied Identities in Roman Britain: A Bioarchaeological Approach.

Foundations and approaches to the study of care in the past (2016)
Book Chapter
Southwell-Wright, W., Gowland, R., & Powell, L. (2016). Foundations and approaches to the study of care in the past. In W. Southwell-Wright, L. Powell, & R. Gowland (Eds.), Care in the past : archaeological and interdisciplinary perspectives (1-19). Oxbow Books

Experimental abrasion of water submerged bone: The influence of bombardment by different sediment classes on microabrasion rate (2016)
Journal Article
Griffith, S., Thompson, C., Thompson, T., & Gowland, R. (2016). Experimental abrasion of water submerged bone: The influence of bombardment by different sediment classes on microabrasion rate. Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, 10, 15-29. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jasrep.2016.09.001

Data presented here demonstrates the utility of quantitative analysis of sediment-induced microabrasion on bone's surface. Fresh sheep (Ovis aries) bone, acting as a human analogue, was bombarded by mobile sediments from silt, sand and gravel classes... Read More about Experimental abrasion of water submerged bone: The influence of bombardment by different sediment classes on microabrasion rate.

Immaculate conceptions: Micro-CT analysis of diagenesis in Romano-British infant skeletons (2016)
Journal Article
Booth, T., Redfern, R., & Gowland, R. (2016). Immaculate conceptions: Micro-CT analysis of diagenesis in Romano-British infant skeletons. Journal of Archaeological Science, 74, 124-134. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2016.08.007

Most histological analyses of bone diagenesis are destructive and limited to the inspection of a cross-section that may not be representative of the whole. X-ray microtomography (Micro-CT) may provide a non-destructive means of investigating taphonom... Read More about Immaculate conceptions: Micro-CT analysis of diagenesis in Romano-British infant skeletons.

Growing Old: Biographies of Care and Disability in Later Life (2016)
Book Chapter
Gowland, R. (2016). Growing Old: Biographies of Care and Disability in Later Life. In L. Tilley, A. Schrenk, & D. Martin (Eds.), New developments in the bioarchaeology of care : further case studies and expanded theory (237-251). Springer Verlag. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-39901-0_12

The elderly are the most neglected demographic in archaeology and have also been overlooked in studies of disability and care in the past. This is in part because impairment and frailty have been regarded as normalised facets of later life. This chap... Read More about Growing Old: Biographies of Care and Disability in Later Life.

Dedicated followers of fashion? Bioarchaeological perspectives on socio-economic status, inequality, and health in urban children from the Industrial Revolution (18th-19th C), England (2016)
Journal Article
Newman, S., & Gowland, R. (2016). Dedicated followers of fashion? Bioarchaeological perspectives on socio-economic status, inequality, and health in urban children from the Industrial Revolution (18th-19th C), England. International Journal of Osteoarchaeology, 27(2), 217-229. https://doi.org/10.1002/oa.2531

The 18th and 19th centuries in England were characterised by a period of increasing industrialisation of its urban centres. It was also one of widening social and health inequalities between the rich and the poor. Childhood is well-documented as bein... Read More about Dedicated followers of fashion? Bioarchaeological perspectives on socio-economic status, inequality, and health in urban children from the Industrial Revolution (18th-19th C), England.

Death on the frontier: military cremation practices in the north of Roman Britain (2016)
Journal Article
Thompson, T., Szigeti, J., Gowland, R., & Witcher, R. (2016). Death on the frontier: military cremation practices in the north of Roman Britain. Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, 10, 828-836. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jasrep.2016.05.020

The study of cremated human remains from archaeological contexts has traditionally been viewed as less valuable than the study of inhumed bodies. However, recent methodological and theoretical developments regarding the taphonomic processes that tran... Read More about Death on the frontier: military cremation practices in the north of Roman Britain.

‘Til Poison Phosphorous Brought them Death’: A potentially occupationally-related disease in a post-medieval skeleton from north-east England (2016)
Journal Article
Roberts, C., Caffell, A., Filipek-Ogden, K., Gowland, R., & Jakob, T. (2016). ‘Til Poison Phosphorous Brought them Death’: A potentially occupationally-related disease in a post-medieval skeleton from north-east England. International Journal of Paleopathology, 13, 39-48. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpp.2015.12.001

This paper describes the pathological changes observed on the skeleton of a c.12–14 year old person buried in a north-east England Quaker cemetery dated to AD 1711–1857. Bone formation (woven and lamellar) and destruction are present mainly on the ma... Read More about ‘Til Poison Phosphorous Brought them Death’: A potentially occupationally-related disease in a post-medieval skeleton from north-east England.

Coming of age in Roman Britain: osteological evidence for pubertal timing (2016)
Journal Article
Arthur, N., Gowland, R., & Redfern, R. (2016). Coming of age in Roman Britain: osteological evidence for pubertal timing. American journal of physical anthropology, 159(4), 698-713. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajpa.22929

Objectives: Puberty is a key transitional phase of the human life course, with important biological and social connotations. Novel methods for the identification of the pubertal growth spurt and menarche in skeletal remains have recently been propose... Read More about Coming of age in Roman Britain: osteological evidence for pubertal timing.

Identifying migrants in Roman London using lead and strontium stable isotopes (2016)
Journal Article
Shaw, H., Montgomery, J., Redfern, R., Gowland, R., & Evans, J. (2016). Identifying migrants in Roman London using lead and strontium stable isotopes. Journal of Archaeological Science, 66, 57-68. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2015.12.001

The ancient settlement of Londinium (London) has long been characterized as a major commercial and bureaucratic centre of the Roman province of Britain (Britannia). Primary source information indicates that people were drawn to the city from around t... Read More about Identifying migrants in Roman London using lead and strontium stable isotopes.

Poor preservation of antibodies in archaeological human bone and dentine (2016)
Journal Article
Kendall, R., Hendy, J., Collins, M., Millard, A., & Gowland, R. (2016). Poor preservation of antibodies in archaeological human bone and dentine. Science and Technology of Archaeological Research, 2(1), 15-24. https://doi.org/10.1080/20548923.2015.1133117

The growth of proteomics-based methods in archaeology prompted an investigation of the survival of non-collagenous proteins, specifically immunoglobulin G (IgG), in archaeological human bone and dentine. Over a decade ago reports were published on ex... Read More about Poor preservation of antibodies in archaeological human bone and dentine.

Gendered Differences in Accidental Trauma to Upper and Lower Limb Bones at Aquincum, Roman Hungary (2015)
Journal Article
Gilmour, R., Gowland, R., Roberts, C., Bernert, Z., Klara Kiss, K., & Lassanyi, G. (2015). Gendered Differences in Accidental Trauma to Upper and Lower Limb Bones at Aquincum, Roman Hungary. International Journal of Paleopathology, 11, 75-91. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpp.2015.08.004

It was hypothesized that men and women living in the border provinces of the Roman Empire may have encountered different risks associated with their different occupations and activities. Limb bone trauma data were used to assess sex-based differences... Read More about Gendered Differences in Accidental Trauma to Upper and Lower Limb Bones at Aquincum, Roman Hungary.

An unusual exostotic lesion of the maxillary sinus from Roman Lincoln (2015)
Journal Article
Kendall, R., Kendall, E., Macleod, I., Gowland, R., & Beaumont, J. (2015). An unusual exostotic lesion of the maxillary sinus from Roman Lincoln. International Journal of Paleopathology, 11, 45-50. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpp.2015.09.001

This report provides a differential diagnosis of an exostotic bony lesion within the left maxillary sinus of a Romano-British (3rd to 4th century AD) adult male from Newport, Lincoln. Macroscopic, radiographic, and cone beam computed tomography (CBCT... Read More about An unusual exostotic lesion of the maxillary sinus from Roman Lincoln.

Entangled lives: Implications of the developmental origins of health and disease hypothesis for bioarchaeology and the life course (2015)
Journal Article
Gowland, R. (2015). Entangled lives: Implications of the developmental origins of health and disease hypothesis for bioarchaeology and the life course. American journal of physical anthropology, 158(4), 530-540. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajpa.22820

Epidemiological research since the 1980s has highlighted the consequences of early life adversity, particularly during gestation and early infancy, for adult health (the “Barker hypothesis”). The fast-evolving field of molecular epigenetics is provid... Read More about Entangled lives: Implications of the developmental origins of health and disease hypothesis for bioarchaeology and the life course.

The Use of Non-Adult Vertebral Dimensions as Indicators of Growth Disruption and Non-Specific Health Stress in Skeletal Populations (2015)
Journal Article
Newman, S., & Gowland, R. (2015). The Use of Non-Adult Vertebral Dimensions as Indicators of Growth Disruption and Non-Specific Health Stress in Skeletal Populations. American journal of physical anthropology, 158(1), 155-164. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajpa.22770

Objective: Traditional methods of detecting growth disruption have focused on deficiencies in the diaphyseal length of the long bones. This study proposes the implementation of vertebral measurements (body height and transverse diameter of the neural... Read More about The Use of Non-Adult Vertebral Dimensions as Indicators of Growth Disruption and Non-Specific Health Stress in Skeletal Populations.

The proximal ulna as an additional diagnostic feature of advanced rheumatoid arthritis (2015)
Journal Article
Craps, D., & Gowland, R. (2015). The proximal ulna as an additional diagnostic feature of advanced rheumatoid arthritis. International Journal of Paleopathology, 10, 26-30. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpp.2015.04.002

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is considered to be an uncommon condition in paleopathology, although several case studies have recently been published. These studies tend to focus on changes in the small joints of the hands and feet, which are the most di... Read More about The proximal ulna as an additional diagnostic feature of advanced rheumatoid arthritis.

Infant and child burials rites in Roman Britain: a study from East Yorkshire (2015)
Journal Article
Millett, M., & Gowland, R. (2015). Infant and child burials rites in Roman Britain: a study from East Yorkshire. Britannia: A Journal of Romano-British and Kindred Studies, 46, 171-189. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0068113x15000100

The discovery of infant burials on excavated domestic sites in Roman Britain is fairly common but in the past these burials have often been dismissed as a product of unceremonious disposal. There is a growing literature which considers the phenomenon... Read More about Infant and child burials rites in Roman Britain: a study from East Yorkshire.

Elder abuse: evaluating the potentials and problems of diagnosis in the archaeological record (2015)
Journal Article
Gowland, R. (2015). Elder abuse: evaluating the potentials and problems of diagnosis in the archaeological record. International Journal of Osteoarchaeology, 26(3), 514-523. https://doi.org/10.1002/oa.2442

The elderly are the most neglected demographic in archaeology. In today's youth-obsessed society, the elderly are consistently denigrated, particularly those perceived to be physically or mentally frail. A related and growing concern in contemporary... Read More about Elder abuse: evaluating the potentials and problems of diagnosis in the archaeological record.

Ideas of Childhood in Roman Britain: The Bioarchaeological and Material Evidence (2014)
Book Chapter
Gowland, R. (2016). Ideas of Childhood in Roman Britain: The Bioarchaeological and Material Evidence. In M. Millett, L. Revell, & A. J. Moore (Eds.), The Oxford handbook of Roman Britain (303-320). Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199697731.013.019

Since the 1990s there has been a burgeoning focus on the experience and treatment of children in the ancient world. The majority of studies have utilized historical and iconographic sources more than the archaeological record, resulting in an image o... Read More about Ideas of Childhood in Roman Britain: The Bioarchaeological and Material Evidence.

The Children of the Reformation: Childhood Palaeoepidemiology in Britain, ad 1000–1700 (2014)
Journal Article
Penny-Mason, B. J., & Gowland, R. L. (2014). The Children of the Reformation: Childhood Palaeoepidemiology in Britain, ad 1000–1700. Medieval Archaeology, 58(1), 162-194. https://doi.org/10.1179/0076609714z.00000000035

CHILDHOOD IS A TIME of rapid biological growth and development, and a stage of the life course during which bodies are particularly sensitive to social and environmental stressors. As a consequence, events which may impact upon a child’s care and tre... Read More about The Children of the Reformation: Childhood Palaeoepidemiology in Britain, ad 1000–1700.

Childhood health in the Roman World: perspectives from the centre and margin of the Empire. (2010)
Journal Article
Gowland, R., & Redfern, R. (2010). Childhood health in the Roman World: perspectives from the centre and margin of the Empire. Childhood in the Past, 3(1), 15-42. https://doi.org/10.1179/cip.2010.3.1.15

Very few studies to date have presented contextualised interpretations of bioarchaeological evidence from Roman urban environments. This paper compares and contrasts the osteological data for childhood health from two urban centres, one at the centre... Read More about Childhood health in the Roman World: perspectives from the centre and margin of the Empire..

Infantile cortical hyperostosis: cases, causes and contradictions. (2009)
Conference Proceeding
Lewis, M., & Gowland, R. (2009). Infantile cortical hyperostosis: cases, causes and contradictions. In M. . E. Lewis, & M. Clegg (Eds.), Proceedings of the Ninth Annual Conference of the British Association for Biological Anthropology and Osteoarchaeology: Department of Archaeology, University of Reading 2007 (43-52)

Brief and precarious lives: infant mortality in contrasting sites from medieval and post-medieval England (AD 850-1859) (2007)
Journal Article
Lewis, M., & Gowland, R. (2007). Brief and precarious lives: infant mortality in contrasting sites from medieval and post-medieval England (AD 850-1859). American journal of physical anthropology, 134(1), 117-129. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajpa.20643

This study compares the infant mortality profiles of 128 infants from two urban and two rural cemetery sites in medieval England. The aim of this paper is to assess the impact of urbanization and industrialization in terms of endogenous or exogenous... Read More about Brief and precarious lives: infant mortality in contrasting sites from medieval and post-medieval England (AD 850-1859).

Estimation of adult skeletal age-at-death: statistical assumptions and applications (2007)
Journal Article
Samworth, R., & Gowland, R. (2007). Estimation of adult skeletal age-at-death: statistical assumptions and applications. International Journal of Osteoarchaeology, 17(2), 174-188. https://doi.org/10.1002/oa.867

We examine the statistical assumptions underlying different techniques of estimating the age-at-death of a skeleton from one or more age indicators. The preferred method depends on which property of the distribution of the data in the reference sampl... Read More about Estimation of adult skeletal age-at-death: statistical assumptions and applications.

Introduction. (2006)
Book Chapter
Gowland, R., & Knusel, C. (2006). Introduction. In R. Gowland, & C. Knusel (Eds.), Social Archaeology of Funerary Remains (ix-xiv). Oxbow

Detecting plague: palaeodemographic characterisation of a catastrophic death assemblage (2005)
Journal Article
Gowland, R., & Chamberlain, A. (2005). Detecting plague: palaeodemographic characterisation of a catastrophic death assemblage. Antiquity, 79(303), 146-157. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0003598x00113766

The archaeological definition of a plague should be possible from skeletal populations, because the age profile of a population afflicted by a catastrophe will be different to that of a community exposed to a more normal mortality. The authors show h... Read More about Detecting plague: palaeodemographic characterisation of a catastrophic death assemblage.

A Bayesian Approach to Ageing Perinatal Skeletal Material from Archaeological Sites: Implications for the Evidence for Infanticide in Roman-Britain (2002)
Journal Article
Gowland, R., & Chamberlain, A. (2002). A Bayesian Approach to Ageing Perinatal Skeletal Material from Archaeological Sites: Implications for the Evidence for Infanticide in Roman-Britain. Journal of Archaeological Science, 29(6), 677-685. https://doi.org/10.1006/jasc.2001.0776

The skeletal remains of substantial numbers of perinatal human infants have been excavated from within a variety of archaeological contexts dating to the Romano-British period. It has been argued that the distribution of ages at death of these infant... Read More about A Bayesian Approach to Ageing Perinatal Skeletal Material from Archaeological Sites: Implications for the Evidence for Infanticide in Roman-Britain.