Height and health: predicting longevity from bone length in archaeological remains

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Abstract
The skeletal material was derived from an excavation of approximately 3000 skeletons at the site of St Peter's Church, Barton on Humber in the north east of England. The graves date from the 9th century up to around 1850. The lengths of all available long bones were measured to the nearest millimetre using an osteometric board, by two trained observers. Sex and age at death were assigned to skeletons using standard anthropological methods. Sex, based on morphological differences mainly in the pelvis but also in the skull and post-cranial bones, can be assigned with some confidence.3 4 Aging adult remains is more problematic and in this sample was mainly based on an assessment of changes in the pubic symphisis and the amount of wear to dentition. Over the age of 45 it is not usually possible to reliably divide into further age categories.4 5

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