UC Berkeley

Clinical and osteological studies have provided evidence that patterns in human skeletal morphological variations can be correlated with general patterns of activity. A whole-body life-course approach, which combines a variety of activity pattern analyses, provides the strongest support for activity related morphological variations and their development during life. By understanding the patterns of types of activities and their associated strain levels, applying biological characteristics of individuals in a life-course perspective, it becomes possible to frame biological and cultural data within a social narrative. This study examines social identity over the life course in the historic dairy farming community of Middenbeemster, NL, through the examination of skeletal markers of bone growth and maintenance and activity-related stress. It was hypothesized that the high demand for Dutch dairy products during the occupation of Middenbeemster would be reflected in the manifestation and intensity of skeletal markers of activity, suggesting sex and age-related patterns of activity and workload. A total of 87 adults (M=46, F=41) were chosen to be analyzed for the following variables: non-pathological osteoarthritis of all appendicular joints, 8 non-genetic non-metric traits, and 27 entheseal insertions (per side) chosen to represent a variety of major muscle groups/movements. Additionally, humeral and femoral diaphyseal cross-sectional geometry was examined in 108 adults (M=57, F= 51) and 22 subadults. Musculoskeletal development analyses provide strong support for a sex-based division of labor with several changes in activity patterns over the life-course for both sexes. Men from Middenbeemster exhibited changes in types of activities that most likely reflect an age-associated change in duties of daily farm life from an apprentice-like position involving milking the herd to more strenuous and variable activities. Women from Middenbeemster also exhibited age-associated changes in types of activities. Overall, the patterns of the results suggest that younger women were involved not only in the caretaking of the home, but were also important contributors in the dairy production process. A review of historical literature provides support for the inferred sex and age-based divisions of labor, however, the conclusions reached in this dissertation suggest a far more active role for women in the economic success of the dairy farms than was historically recorded.