Childhood Stress and Adult Health: Investigating Harris Lines and Enamel Hypoplasia in Bronze Age Populations of Northern Banat

<p>Research on both modern and past populations has demonstrated that adverse early-life conditions can have a significant impact on long-term health and longevity. This perspective was notably advanced by D. Barker and colleagues through the Developmental Origins of Health and Disease (DOHaD) hypothesis, which originally established a correlation between low birth weight and an increased risk of cardiovascular disease in later life. In recent years, scholars have explored the applicability of this hypothesis to archaeological populations with varying degrees of success. This study examines childhood physiological stress in Early and Middle Bronze Age populations from the necropolises of Mokrin and Ostojićevo, Serbia, through the analyses of Harris Lines (HL) in tibiae and enamel hypoplasia (EH) in teeth. These methods were selected because they enable the reconstruction of childhood health status from adult skeletal remains. By utilizing adult skeletons to assess the childhood health status, we are able to expand the usually limited picture provided by subadult skeletons, as well as take into account the survivors of childhood stress, thus circumventing the osteological paradox. Previous research on this skeletal series identified a potential relationship between EH and reduced age at death. To expand upon these findings, we analyzed 113 individuals from both sites using digital X-ray imaging and the Harris Line Tool. This study aims to determine whether the patterns observed with EH can also be detected using another marker of non-specific physiological stress and to assess the similarities and differences between these indicators in reconstructing early-life health experiences. We expect to see the correlation between the shorter lifespan and episodes of growth arrest, as well as a correlation between the presence and frequency of EH and Harris lines.</p>