The Bioarchaeology of Disability: A population-scale approach to investigating disability, physical impairment, and care in archaeological communities

Abstract

Objective: This research introduces ‘The Bioarchaeology of Disability’ (BoD), a population-scale approach which allows for a comprehensive understanding of disability in past communities through a combination of palaeopathological, funerary, and documentary analyses. Methods: The BoD consists of three phases: 1) Contextualisation includes period-specific literature review; 2) Data collection consists of palaeopathological re-analysis of individuals with physical impairment and collation of mortuary treatment data; and 3) Analysis incorporates qualitative and quantitative comparison of the funerary treatment of individuals with and without physical impairment to explore contemporary perceptions of disability. Materials: The BoD is demonstrated through a case study investigation of disability in later Anglo-Saxon England (c.8th-11th centuries AD) which included four burial populations (Ntotal=1,543; Nimpaired=28). Results: Individuals with disability could be buried with normative or non-normative treatment (e.g., stone/clay inclusions, non-normative body positioning), and in marginal, non-marginal, and central locations. Conclusions: The overall funerary variation for individuals with disability was relatively slight, which may suggest that political and religious factors were influencing normative funerary treatment of disabled individuals. The funerary variability that was observed in disabled individuals was probably influenced by individual and community-specific beliefs. Significance: This research describes a population-scale approach to archaeological disability studies that can be replicated in other archaeological contexts. Limitations: Individuals with non-skeletal physical impairment (e.g., soft tissue, mental) cannot be analysed osteologically and are not considered by the BoD. Suggestions for further research: The BoD should be applied to different archaeological communities around the world to better understand disability in the past.