Reconstructing Physical Activity in Childhood and Adolescence: An Osteological Study of Two Skeletal Assemblages from Historical Iceland

• Main Author: Maren Clara von Mallinckrodt 1997-
• Other Authors: Háskóli Íslands
• Format: Master Thesis
• Language: English
• Published: 2025
• Subjects: Söguleg fornleifafræði; Fornleifafræði; Börn; Beinafræði; Ísland; Haffjarðarey; Reykjavík; Iceland
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/1946/49384

This thesis investigates osteological markers of physical activity and nonspecific stress in children, adolescents, and young adults from the archaeological sites of Haffjarðarey and Reykjavík. The aims of the thesis are twofold: First, it addresses broader questions about child labor and -health in historical Iceland. Second, it explores whether entheseal changes, frequently used in reconstructions of adult activity patterns, can be added to the corpus of methods used to reconstruct habitual activities in non-adults. To this end, a recently proposed method for recording entheseal changes in non-adults was applied and evaluated. Previous historical and archaeological research indicates that children in historical Iceland were active contributors to their communities from a young age, a notion supported by the skeletal findings from this thesis. Regarding the recording of entheseal changes, it was found that the protocol is reliable, but poses challenges related to data management, interpretation, and comparability. While clear patterns in entheseal changes were observed, distinguishing growth-related changes from those caused by physical activity remains difficult. Recommendations for future research are discussed, which could help refine the distinction between growth-related and activity-related entheseal changes in non-adult individuals. Supplementary material can be found here: https://osf.io/wa4fj/.