Aspects of health in prehistoric mainland Southeast Asia: Indicators of stress in response to the intensification of rice agriculture

American Journal of Physical Anthropology
Angela L ClarkS E Halcrow

Abstract

Numerous bioarcheological investigations have suggested that as agriculture intensifies, levels of physiological stress and poor health increase. However, previous research in Southeast Asia suggests that a decline in health was not universal. This study aimed to provide the first investigation of human health during the intensification of rice agriculture in the large skeletal sample from the prehistoric site of Ban Non Wat, Northeast Thailand (1750-420 b.c.). Health was analysed using two indicators of childhood stress, the prevalence of linear enamel hypoplasia (LEH), a measure of early childhood stress, and stature, as a measure of late childhood stress, were collated for 190 adults. Sex-specific diachronic relationships between the prevalence of LEH and stature were explored. For both sexes, initially the prevalence of LEH was found to decrease and then increase over time. Stature remained constant over time for males, although for females stature increased initially, then decreased. Early childhood stress was not significantly correlated with stature in females (P = 0.185), but high levels of LEH were unexpectedly correlated with taller male stature (P = 0.017). Our findings suggest an initial improvement in health during...Continue Reading

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Citations

Jul 22, 2014·American Journal of Physical Anthropology·Nicole C Rodney, Connie J Mulligan
Jun 30, 2015·American Journal of Physical Anthropology·Charlotte L KingGeoff Nowell
Jul 4, 2020·American Journal of Human Biology : the Official Journal of the Human Biology Council·Sammantha HolderTosha Dupras

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