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'Šereikienė I, Jankauskas R, 2002: Late Medieval Lithuanian Children Growth (According to Palaeoosteological Material of 14th-17th cc. Alytus Burial Ground). Anthropologie (Brno) 40, 2: 157-163'. |
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| Abstract | | The aim of this paper was to analyze late medieval Lithuanian children growth patterns and its factors and compare them with corresponding data of their contemporary Estonian, modern Lithuanian and African children. In total 239 children skeletons were measured and stature reconstructed according to Telkkä et al. (1962) regression equations. The data revealed little stature differences between newborns and 0 - 2 year infants in all four populations, as stature in this age depends more on fetal conditions in uterus and genetic potential, rather than on external factors. Children growth in medieval Lithuania and Estonia was characterized by decreased growth rates at the age from 2 to 5 years and delayed pubertal growth spurt. Modern Lithuanians were significantly taller in all other age groups. Our data demonstrated small difference in stature between African seminomadic pastoralist children and medieval Lithuanian children due to greater influence of growth conditions than genetic factors. The most important cause of poor children growth in late medieval Lithuania was environmental factors, especially chronic undernutrition. | | | | Keywords | | Palaeoauxology - Children growth curves - Late medieval populations - Lithuania | | |
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