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While research is increasingly looking at the experience of children in the past, this is still an under-researched area, and in terms of children’s exposure to violence, while cases of exceptional mass events can be recognised in archaeology, subtler, systematic examples of abuse or neglect are rarely assessed. To address this, a team from the University of Aberdeen, led by Dr Liz Ashcroft, have developed a new model to identify and interpret evidence for child abuse and neglect in the archaeological record, using an example from medieval Aberdeen as a case study.
The model, which was recently published in the journal Childhood in the Past (https://doi.org/10.1080/17585716.2026.2697377), is dependent on collecting various forms of evidence in order to piece together an individual child’s story, and as such the team call it an ‘Archaeological Jigsaw Model’. Using this method, the team examined a child’s skeleton that was excavated from the East Kirk of St Nicholas in Aberdeen (see CA 258 and 437), and was radiocarbon dated to between AD 1175 and 1266.
The first part of the model requires a complete bioarchaeological analysis. For the East Kirk child, the team noted that, based on fusion and length of the long bones, the individual was between 5 and 7 years old when they died. They recorded no evidence of physical neglect, with no signs of nutritional deficiencies or physiological stress, and there were also no pathologies that would have predisposed the child to skeletal injury.
The next phase assessed traumatic injuries. This child had a fracture on the left fourth rib, and fractures to four vertebrae. Looking at the causes of the fractures, the rib had a greenstick fracture, which is associated with bending through compression of the chest. In modern studies, fractures of this type in a child so young have a higher probability of being caused by physical abuse.
In terms of the vertebral fractures, the anterior part of the centra (or centre round parts) of the first four lumbar vertebrae suffered compression fractures, while the posterior part of the centrum of the fifth lumbar vertebra was also compressed. The fourth lumbar vertebra was unaffected. This suggests that the fractures resulted from the hyperflexion of the spine between the first three lumbar vertebrae and the hyperextention of the spine below the fifth lumbar vertebrae. This can happen when the child is shaken or thrown forcefully. Therefore, as this child suffered two different types of fractures that probably happened from two different events, it is more probable than not that the child was a victim of abuse.
To ascertain more fully the circumstances of these injuries, the model next requires assessment of the individual’s lived experience and the historical and archaeological context in which they lived. For this child, while they were buried in a higher-status cemetery, the area of the churchyard in which they were buried was relatively isolated, perhaps suggesting fewer familial ties. In contrast, however, historical evidence suggests that this was a relatively peaceful and prosperous period in medieval Aberdeen. While child abuse can occur at any time, it is more common during periods of economic or physiological stress. The team emphasise, however, that the purpose of this case study is not to prove or disprove physical abuse but ‘rather to show how the model can be most effectively employed for any suspected case in any culture and any time period’.
One member of the team, Professor Marc Oxenham, said: ‘This research addresses the current concerns about child abuse and neglect in archaeology, while the rigour and reproducibility of the proposed new way of examining this very complex topic will permit future researchers to describe the experiences of children who lived in antiquity and bring their often unknown and unrecognised stories to life.’
Text: Kathryn Krakowka / Photo: University of Aberdeen
