Chapter 6. Aspects of human osteology and skeletal biology

This chapter presents the results of three studies

that were undertaken as part of the Beaker People

Project (BPP), and which complemented the

osteological work undertaken for the Beakers

and Bodies Project as reported in Chapter 5. The

first study examined the age and sex of 201

individuals that had been deemed suitable for

isotopic analysis of dental enamel. The second

examined tooth enamel defects in 12 juvenile

skeletons, as an indicator of non-specific infant

stress. The third was a craniometric study of

skulls from the Peak District, designed to assess

the validity of previous claims for a change in

skull shape from dolichocephalic (long-headed)

during the Neolithic, to brachycephalic (roundheaded)

from the Chalcolithic onwards, and to

explore the possible reasons for the observed

differences. The chapter ends by considering

the results of the craniometric study in the

light of isotopic evidence suggesting a high

incidence of non-local individuals within the

Peak District dataset.