Rib trauma in a Late Medieval urban community , Portugal ( 13 th – 16 th century ) : anthropological insights about disease and survival in the past

The analysis of how people’s bodies were affected by trauma can increase our understanding of daily life and suffering in past populations. Although rib fractures are common and can provide useful insights about morbidity and mortality in past populations, they are seldom investigated in archaeological populations. This study focusses on rib fractures in 94 adults recovered from the churchyard of the São Martinho Medieval church (Leiria, Portugal). The prevalence of rib fractures was 32.8% and 66 out of 1169 macroscopically observed ribs had fractures (17.7%). Males had more broken ribs than females and older individuals had more broken ribs than younger individuals, but the differences in prevalence were only significant for age. Among females, rib fractures were associated with pathological conditions such as osteoporosis; among males, the association with osteoporosis was rarer, but rib fractures were found to be associated with fractures on other bones. Garcia /Cadernos do GEEvH 8 (1) 2019: xxx 2 Thirteen individuals had fractures on other bones besides the ribs, including the skull, ulna and hand bones, which can be related to interpersonal violence.