Based on bones, bioarchaeologists can infer about an individual’s health. As described in “Disease and Death at Dr. Dickson’s Mounds,” they can see patterns of stress, disease, and death via looking at the presence, cause, and severity of bone lesions, dental developmental effects (likely due to diet), and the individual’s age at the time of death. They can also possibly determine the occupation the individual held, based on the certain overuse of particular muscles. Regarding a population, bioarcheologists can attempt to determine the classes individuals were a part of, perhaps due to what they may have been buried with, or even where they were buried. I would think it would be challenging for a bioarcheologist to always be able to infer why an individual’s health would happen to decline. As referenced in the article, there are numerous causes that can attribute to a decline in health and there is not always a clear connection.
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