Linear and appositional growth in children as indicators of social and economic change during the Medieval Islamic to Christian transition in Santarem, Portugal

This study explores whether child growth has signalled periods of social change between the Medieval Islamic and post-Islamic Christian Periods in Santarem, Portugal. The social change is associated with the Christian conquest of Iberia and the fall of the Islamic Empire in Europe, which ceased the regional influence of the Golden Age of Islam. This may have caused a deterioration in living conditions brought by the Christian conquest, compared with the social improvements brought by the Medieval Islamic Empire. Forty-two juvenile skeletons were taken from three Medieval Islamic and three Late Medieval Christian sites excavated in the city of Santarem, Portugal. Age was estimated from tooth length. Linear growth for all long bones and appositional growth of the femur midshaft were compared with expected growth from the Denver Growth Study, using z scores. Significant growth deficit was found throughout the Medieval Islamic and Christian Periods in Santarem, as well as a deficit in apposition of cortical bone. Although children in the post-Islamic Christian period showed a trend towards greater linear and appositional growth deficits, these differences were not statistically significant. Children in Medieval Islamic and Late Medieval Christian Periods show significant growth disruption, suggesting that in Santarem, the post-Islamic Medieval Christian period may not have witnessed a decrease in living conditions after the fall of Islamic rule in the territory. Further studies that incorporate more samples from the Islamic and Post-Islamic Periods as well as pre-Islamic population samples are needed to explore the possibility that the Islamic Period was more favourable for child growth.