Occupational patterns in Anglo-Saxon and Medieval East Midlands, England: Insights from activity-related skeletal changes

This paper examines five assemblages from the East Midlands, England, assessing activity-related skeletal changes with the aim of exploring differences in labor-linked social divisions between the Anglo-Saxon (5th-11th century) and medieval periods (11th-15th century). The Anglo-Saxon assemblages come from Empingham and Southwell, while all three medieval assemblages originate from Leicester (St Michael's cemetery, St Peter's cemetery, Austin Friars). The analysis of activity-related skeletal changes encompassed entheseal changes (EC) and cross-sectional geometric properties (CSG) of the upper limb long bones. The results supported a lack of sexual dimorphism, with the exception of St Peter's for CSG. This pattern suggests the absence of systematic sex-based division of labor in both the Anglo-Saxon period and in the medieval period for part of the population, such as the poorer St Michael's individuals. Inter-assemblage patterns, although restricted by small sample sizes, agree with historical and archaeological evidence for a more complex and diversified urban life in the later medieval period compared to the earlier Anglo-Saxon period. However, at the same time they highlight the similarities that overall characterized these assemblages.