Sophie Newman | University of Edinburgh (original) (raw)

Papers by Sophie Newman

Increasing urbanization seen during the medieval period (7th to 16th centuries) is associated wi... more Increasing urbanization seen during the medieval period (7th to 16th centuries) is
associated with adverse living conditions that may have negatively impacted childhood growth via the influence of infectious diseases and nutritional deficiencies due to increasing population density and periodic food shortages. This study aims to compare the growth of non-adults (less than 12 years of age) from urban, proto-urban,
and rural environments from medieval England to determine whether settlement
type influenced child health, and by proxy overall population health, during this
period. Tibial and femoral maximum diaphyseal lengths and dental age of non-adults
(0–12 years) from urban St. Gregory's Priory (n = 60), urban York Barbican (n = 16),
proto-urban Black Gate (n = 38), and rural Raunds (n = 30) were examined using
z-scores. The results reveal that non-adults < 2 years from St. Gregory's Priory had
the lowest growth values followed by Raunds, Black Gate, and York Barbican with
the highest growth values. Further, non-adults 2–12 years from York Barbican had
the lowest growth values followed by Raunds, Black Gate, and St. Gregory's Priory
with the higher growth values. The femoral and tibial diaphyseal growth values are
explored within the context of breastfeeding and weaning practices, stability of economies, and environmental conditions.

Bioarchaeology International, 2023

The elderly have been neglected within bioarchaeological discourse, partly due to limitations in ... more The elderly have been neglected within bioarchaeological discourse, partly due to limitations in current osteological techniques for identifying older adults. Historical evidence suggests that older women in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries were often denigrated and neglected, but this has yet to be fully explored within bioarchaeological research. This study aims to investigate elderly underrepresentation in bioarchaeological discourse, and the biological and social impact of aging on women in eighteenth and nineteenth century England.

Archival sources were integrated with skeletal evidence from two eighteenth–nineteenth-century cemetery sites and a contemporaneous dataset of individuals of known age-at-death. This formed the interpretative basis for osteological case studies of two women aged 88 and 64 years at death (based on coffin plates). Older adult females from the known age-at-death sample were more frequently placed in the “18+ years” age-at-death category than males. This is partly due to preservation bias driven by factors such as osteoporosis and smaller bone size. Paleopathological analysis revealed the impact of conditions associated with bodily degeneration in older adults, and the osteobiographies identified risks associated with reduced bone density and susceptibility to fragility fractures for aging women. Archival cause-of-death data indicated that older women were more likely than older men to be recorded as dying of “old age,” revealing gendered social perceptions aligned to aging.

Studies encompassing both historical and osteoarchaeological sources can further our knowledge regarding the elderly in the past, particularly those underrepresented within bioarchaeological assemblages, and reflect on persistent gendered social perceptions of these groups in the present.

Childhood in the Past, 2021

Nineteenth-century London was notorious for overcrowding, poor housing, and heavy air pollution. ... more Nineteenth-century London was notorious for overcrowding, poor housing, and heavy air pollution. With a large proportion of its population living in conditions of poverty, diseases flourished as people were increasingly drawn to the industrialising centres of England in search of employment opportunities. Utilising historical documentary and skeletal evidence, this paper explores the impact of increasing urbanisation on non-adult (those aged 0–17 years) health, particularly in relation to exposure to a multitude of infectious diseases in circulation during this time. Focusing on the community of St Bride’s Church, London, it highlights the greater susceptibility of infants and children to risk of severe morbidity and mortality from infectious diseases, particularly amongst the lower classes. When considered against the socio-political, cultural and economic milieu of nineteenth-century London, this reveals how the multi-faceted process of urbanisation exacerbated ill-health, increased susceptibility to deadly infectious pathogens, and ultimately further marginalised its poorest inhabitants.

The Family in Past Perspective - E.J. Kendall and R. Kendall, 2021

As London continued to grow in population, wealth, and power in the 18th to 19th centuries, the d... more As London continued to grow in population, wealth, and power in the 18th to 19th centuries, the deleterious conditions propagated by overcrowded and polluted living conditions had significant impacts on the health and survival prospects of the very young. Previous bioarchaeological studies have explored the influence of social inequality and environmental pressures on child health during this time, within a population perspective. However, such data have yet to be considered in terms of how families responded to the ubiquitous threat of child illness. This chapter integrates historical records from St. Bride's Fleet Street, London (1820–1850) and bioarchaeological data from five contemporaneous London-based sites of varying status for individuals aged 0–17 years. The combination of data from these sources enables the exploration of differential risks of childhood disease and loss of children throughout the social strata. A multitude of social and environmental factors influenced risk of morbidity and mortality for children—particularly the spread of infectious diseases. Ultimately, social class was not a determinant of the emotional investment bestowed on children by parents, but whether these risks could be mitigated by health care and child care provisions, or exacerbated by abject poverty, was primarily determined by social status.

American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 2019

Objective Stark health inequalities exist in the present day between the North and South of Engla... more 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 health). Bioarchaeological studies of skeletal remains from cemeteries across this geographical divide have the ability to provide a temporal perspective on the etiology, longevity, and nature of this disparity.

Methods
In total 574 non-adults (0–17 years) from six urban sites (c. AD 1711–1856) were analyzed from the North and South of England. Measurements of long bone length, cortical thickness, and vertebral dimensions were analyzed alongside both skeletal and dental palaeopathological data to assess patterns of disease and growth disruption between skeletal samples.

Results
There were few significant differences in growth parameters between the six sites in relation to geographical location. However, the northern-based sample Coach Lane (North Shields) demonstrated some of the highest rates of pathology, with metabolic disease being particularly prevalent.

Discussion
Northern and southern populations suffered alike from the detrimental environmental conditions associated with urban centers of the 18th–19th centuries. However, the elevated prevalence of vitamin D deficiency seen within the Coach Lane sample is indicative of a regionally specific risk that may be related to latitude, and/or the influence of particular industries operating in the North-East.

The 18th and 19th centuries in England were characterised by a period of increasing industrialisa... more 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 being a stage in the life course during which the body is particularly sensitive to adverse socioeconomic environments. This study therefore aims to examine the relationship between health and wealth through a comprehensive skeletal analysis of a sample of 403 children (0–17 years), of varying socioeconomic status, from four cemetery sites in London (c.1712–1854). Measurements of long bone diaphyseal length, cortical thickness, vertebral neural canal size, and the prevalence of a range of pathological indicators of health stress were recorded from the Chelsea Old Church (high status), St Benet Sherehog (middle status), Bow Baptist (middle status), and Cross Bones (low status) skeletal collections. Children from the low status Cross Bones site demonstrated deficient growth values, as expected. However , those from the high status site of Chelsea Old Church also demonstrated poor growth values during infancy. Fashionable childcare practices (e.g. the use of artificial infant feeds and keeping children indoors) may have contributed to poor infant health amongst high status groups. However, differing health risks in the lower status group revealed the existence of substantial health inequality in London at this time.

OBJECTIVE: Traditional methods of detecting growth disruption have focused on deficiencies in the... more 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 canal) from non-adults (0–17 years) as a new methodology for the identification of growth disruption.

METHODS: Measurements of vertebral body height and transverse diameter were taken from 96 non-adult skeletons and 40 adult skeletons from two post-medieval sites in England (Bow Baptist, London and Coronation Street, South Shields). Non-adult measurements were plotted against dental age to construct vertebral growth profiles through which inter-population comparisons could be made.

RESULTS: Results demonstrated that both sites experienced some growth retardation in infancy, evident as deficiencies in transverse diameter. However, analysis of vertebral body height revealed different chronologies of growth disruption between the sites, with a later age of attainment of skeletal maturity recorded in the Bow Baptist sample.

DISCUSSION: These vertebral dimensions undergo cessation of growth at different ages, with transverse diameter being “locked-in” by ~1–2 years of age, while vertebral body height may continue to grow into early adulthood. These measurements can therefore provide complementary information regarding the timing of growth disruption within archaeological populations. Non-adult vertebral measurements can increase our osteobiographical understanding of the timings of episodes of health stress, and allow for the analysis of growth when other skeletal elements are fragmentary.

Conference Presentations by Sophie Newman

29th EAA Annual Meeting, Belfast, 2023

London in the 19th century posed significant health risks associated with rapid industrialisation... more London in the 19th century posed significant health risks associated with rapid industrialisation and population expansion. Within it also existed a highly stratified society, with Engels observing in 1844 “...poverty often dwells in hidden alleys close to the palaces of the rich...” (1950:26), and this is reflected in Charles Booth’s London Poverty Maps produced in the late-19th century (1889-1903). Social inequality has a significant influence on health, with social status dictating factors such as housing quality, diet, child care, and exposure to environmental pathogens. Thus, within the localities of 19th century London the lived experiences of those residing in close proximity to one another likely differed substantially.

This study integrates historical and bioarchaeological data, and GIS, to understand patterns in child morbidity and mortality within the parish of St Bride, London, UK. The burial records for St Bride’s Church provide data (sex, age-at-death, abode, and date and cause of death) for non-adults (<17 years: n=1,681) interred between 1820-1850. Crude status groups have been established from their recorded burial location based on burial fees: lower ground (lower), upper ground (mixed), vaults (higher). Using QGIS, and a georeferenced copy of Booth’s map, each individual will be registered to the street recorded as their residence, enabling spatial analysis of child mortality by sex, age, cause of death, and social status. Osteological data from excavations at St Bride’s churchyard will establish whether non-adults from the Lower Ground (lower status) experienced greater health stress (via analysis of growth, dental enamel hypoplasia, cribra orbitalia, periosteal new bone formation, and specific infectious disease) than those from the Crypts (higher status).

Over 120 years since Booth’s inquiry into life and labour in London many areas remain zones of marked social inequality, highlighting the importance of understanding the impact of complex health inequalities within local communities in the past.

BABAO Conference, 2018

The elderly have been neglected within archaeology, partly due to the inability of current skelet... more The elderly have been neglected within archaeology, partly due to the inability of current skeletal age estimation techniques to identify older adults accurately. Thus, while historical evidence suggests that elderly females in the 18th-19th centuries were often marginalised, this has yet to be fully explored within bioarchaeological research. Through the integration of historical and skeletal evidence this study aims to investigate both the extent of elderly underrepresentation in the bioarchaeological record and the embodied experience of elderly females during this period

The osteological ‘invisibility’ of the elderly is highlighted by a sample of named individuals from 18th/19th C London, in which females aged 65+ years were more likely to be classed as ‘18+ years’, perhaps due to conditions such as osteoporosis hampering preservation. The cause of death for those over 60 years was often ascribed to ‘old age’, particularly for women, thus potentially revealing negative social perceptions. Data compiled from five skeletal assemblages from the north of England and London identified joint disease and dental disease as particular burdens in those aged over 46 years. Chronic pain and impairment can lead to increased frailty, loss of independence, and social isolation in later life. Finally, osteological analysis of an 88-year-old woman (age according to coffin plate) from Hazel Grove, Stockport, UK, provided detailed insights into the bodily experience of ageing, including osteoporosis, degenerative joint changes, decubiti, and a suite of healed and unhealed fractures. While the latter may have been accidental, the presence of multiple fractures in different stages of healing could indicate spousal/elder abuse.

Research funded by the British Association of Biological Anthropology and Osteoarchaeology (BABAO)

The 18th and 19th centuries in England saw not only a decline in living conditions associated wit... more The 18th and 19th centuries in England saw not only a decline in living conditions associated with the industrial environment, but also a widening social inequality whereby individuals living in relatively close proximities would have experienced markedly different lives within the expanding cities.

A comprehensive analysis of growth was undertaken on non-adults (0-17yrs) from four London based populations (c.1712-1854) of varying socioeconomic status. Measurements of diaphyseal length, cortical thickness, and vertebral dimensions (neural canal size and body height) were taken from the Chelsea Old Church (high status), St Benet Sherehog (middle status), Bow Baptist (middle status), and Cross Bones (low status) skeletal collections to compare longitudinal, appositional, and vertebral growth.

The non-adults of Cross Bones did demonstrate deficient growth values as expected, due to their heightened exposure to the harmful industrial environment. However, the non-adults of Chelsea Old Church also demonstrated some of the poorest growth values in infancy. The middling sort tended to show improved growth, especially those of St Benet Sherehog. Fashionable child-care practises (such as a disinclination to breastfeed, the use of artificial infant feeds, swaddling, and confining children indoors) may have contributed to poor infant health in high status groups of this time. These data were corroborated by the high rates of rickets seen in the Chelsea group, as well as in Cross Bones. Therefore life in the city came with significant health risks to all of its members, regardless of class.

This study used a combination of methods to assess growth and health status, along with historical documentation, to quantify and discuss the effects of social status on childhood and child health in the Industrial Revolution. It also introduces vertebral growth profiles as a potential technique by which growth data may still be accessed in the absence of long bones.

Rickets is a condition that occurs in children due to deficiencies in vitamin D. This arises prin... more Rickets is a condition that occurs in children due to deficiencies in vitamin D. This arises principally from insufficient sunlight exposure and can have far-reaching consequences on the immune system, but most evident are the skeletal malformations (e.g. bowing of the limbs) principally associated with this condition. Rickets existed among past populations long before the rise of industrialisation, however the highly polluted urban environment combined with a multitude of social factors within this period of rapid transformation meant that this condition was rife in the 18th and 19th centuries. Therefore rickets came to be recognised as one of the most notorious industrial diseases.

The bending deformities of the limbs were often described by social commentators of the time concerned with the welfare of the working classes. Attention was commonly directed to the “bandy legs” of young child labourers, and references in popular literature of this era frequently draw on such descriptions to emphasise the pitiful station in life of the lower classes. This, combined with the Victorian belief that disease and poor health resulted from deficiencies in moral character of the afflicted individual, suggests that such a visually striking condition as rickets may have attracted some degree of social stigma in the 19th century.

However, rickets was not just a disease of the poor, and bioarchaeological evidence exists of its high prevalence within children of the upper classes. This not only reveals a wealth of information regarding child-care practices across the social strata, but also warns against the association of this condition primarily with poverty. This paper will describe how we can access evidence of rickets through bioarchaeological analysis, and will discuss what this may signify in terms of social class, environmental conditions, and childcare practices in the 19th century.

Conference Panel by Sophie Newman

by Sian Halcrow, Rebecca Gowland, Eileen Murphy, Helen L Ball, Mary Lewis, Tom J Booth, Nadja Reissland, Sophie Newman, Ellen Kendall, Claire M Hodson, and Julia Beaumont

This workshop will bring together world-leading, international scholars with the aim of developin... more This workshop will bring together world-leading, international scholars with the aim of developing new theoretical perspectives for studying the mother-infant nexus in anthropology. The themes covered will explore biocultural understandings and embodied practices relating to maternal, fetal and infant bodies and the significance for early life development and overall population well-being. This is particularly topical because there is a burgeoning awareness within anthropology regarding the centrality of mother-infant interactions for understanding the evolution of our species, infant and maternal health and care strategies, epigenetic change, and biological and social development. Over the past few decades the anthropology and archaeology of childhood has developed apace, however, infancy, the pregnant body and motherhood continue to be marginalised. The aim of this workshop is to develop new theoretical directions within anthropology and set future research agendas regarding the unique mother-infant relationship. We will achieve this aim
through two inter-related objectives: 1) Our targeted invitation of participants who are leaders in different sub-disciplines of
anthropology and beyond, whose research is breaking new methodological and theoretical ground in investigating mother-infant
relationships and; 2) To assess a series of inter-related research topics/themes through multiple anthropological approaches in order to develop a holistic biocultural understanding of the mother-infant relationship and broader implications for population well-being. Outputs will include an edited volume, 'The Mother-Infant Nexus in Anthropology:
Small Beginnings, Significant Outcomes' with Springer, a collaborative Major Article for Current Anthropology, and dissemination via major forms of social media.

Drafts by Sophie Newman