MB OSTEOARCHAEOLOGY

Osteoarchaeology of the Dutch Middenbeemster Post-Medieval Cemetery: Lifeways of a Colonizing Farming Community during the Little Ice Age

Coordinatore	UNIVERSITEIT LEIDEN    more  Organization address address: RAPENBURG 70 city: LEIDEN postcode: 2300 RA contact info Titolo: Dr. Nome: Menno L.P. Cognome: Hoogland Email: send email Telefono: 31715272377
Nazionalità Coordinatore	Netherlands [NL]
Totale costo	191˙675 €
EC contributo	191˙675 €
Programma	FP7-PEOPLE Specific programme "People" implementing the Seventh Framework Programme of the European Community for research, technological development and demonstration activities (2007 to 2013)
Code Call	FP7-PEOPLE-2011-IIF
Funding Scheme	MC-IIF
Anno di inizio	2012
Periodo (anno-mese-giorno)	2012-09-01   -   2014-08-31

 Partecipanti

#	participant	country	role	EC contrib. [€]
1	UNIVERSITEIT LEIDEN  Organization address address: RAPENBURG 70 city: LEIDEN postcode: 2300 RA contact info Titolo: Dr. Nome: Menno L.P. Cognome: Hoogland Email: send email Telefono: 31715272377	NL (LEIDEN)	coordinator	191˙675.40

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 Obiettivo del progetto (Objective)

'The Dutch town of Middenbeemster was established in the early 17th century upon land reclaimed after a series of lakes were drained. In 1623 the colonizing farming community built a church and graveyard that was used until 1868. Excavation has revealed over 400 burials of all age groups. Osteoarchaeology, the scientific study of human skeletal remains uncovered in an archaeological context, contributes a vast amount to our understandings of past peoples. A full complement of osteoarchaeological methods can answer questions about the mobility, demography, diet, activity, and health of this colonizing community – thus, reconstructing their lifeways. The osteoarchaeological analysis of Middenbeemster inhabitants will be central to examining the effects of the Little Ice Age in the Netherlands, a cold period between 1550AD to 1850AD. In Europe, the Little Ice Age caused shortened and less reliable growing seasons and increased flooding, which resulted in many years of dearth and famine. Episodes of starvation and illness are detectable via the macroscopic analysis of human skeletal remains, as are estimates of sex, age, stature, and activity-patterns, all of which will permit a refined picture of factors related to morbidity and mortality. Furthermore, chemical analyses of small tissue samples to determine diet and mobility will permit consideration of where settlers were coming from, and dietary variation related to crop selection and yield. The interpretation of results will be aided by archival materials about immigration, paleoenvironmental reconstructions, epidemiological patterns, and archaeological data about the socioeconomic status of Middenbeemster farmers. It will be particularly interesting to examine if and how these patterns changed in the over 250 years of cemetery usage. The osteoarchaeological analysis of Middenbeemster presents an extraordinary opportunity to produce a diachronic reconstruction of a rural farming community during the Little Ice Age.'