The biochemical signatures of stress: A preliminary analysis of osteocalcin concentrations and macroscopic skeletal changes associated with stress in the 13th-17th centuries black friars population

摘要

ObjectiveAs a chemical precursor to the hard tissue changes well-studied in bioarchaeological research, osteocalcin provides a unique opportunity to assess stress via fluctuations in bone metabolism. The main objectives of this research were 1) to successfully extract osteocalcin from the Black Friars skeletal population; 2) to assess the diagenetic change between individual bone samples; and 3) to compare osteocalcin concentrations across sex, age, time period and macroscopic indicators of stress.