Article contentResearchers at Cambridge University excavated medieval graves and found that life during Middle Ages was, indeed, pretty crappy for the lower classes. By the social inequality “recorded on the bones” of Cambridge’s residents, which is to say the researchers looked at trauma still present on the bones of the dead. Try refreshing your browser, or A medieval hit-and-run: Excavated bones paint a life of inequality and hardship, study finds Back to videoUniversity of Cambridge scientists examined the remains of 314 people who lived in the city between the 10th and 14th centuries. The social status of the people depended on which of the three sites the researchers excavated: a parish graveyard for ordinary working people; a charitable hospital for the infirm and destitute; and an Augustinian friary that buried the wealthy and religious elite. Using x-ray to analyze the fractures and trauma on the recovered bones, the researchers built a picture of the physical stress each body endured when the person was alive.

Source: National Post January 26, 2021 17:14 UTC