title: On the threshold of adulthood: A new approach for the use of maturation indicators to assess puberty in adolescents from medieval England.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This study provides the first large scale analysis of the age at which adolescents in medieval England entered and completed the pubertal growth spurt. This new method has implications for expanding our knowledge of adolescent maturation across different time periods and regions.
  
  
  METHODS
  In total, 994 adolescent skeletons (10-25 years) from four urban sites in medieval England (AD 900-1550) were analyzed for evidence of pubertal stage using new osteological techniques developed from the clinical literature (i.e., hamate hook development, cervical vertebral maturation (CVM), canine mineralization, iliac crest ossification, and radial fusion).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Adolescents began puberty at a similar age to modern children at around 10-12 years, but the onset of menarche in girls was delayed by up to 3 years, occurring around 15 for most in the study sample and 17 years for females living in London. Modern European males usually complete their maturation by 16-18 years; medieval males took longer with the deceleration stage of the growth spurt extending as late as 21 years.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This research provides the first attempt to directly assess the age of pubertal development in adolescents during the 10th-17th centuries. Poor diet, infections, and physical exertion may have contributed to delayed development in the medieval adolescents, particularly for those living in the city of London. This study sheds new light on the nature of adolescence in the medieval period, highlighting an extended period of physical and social transition.
authors.affiliation: Department of Archaeology, University of Reading, Whiteknights, Reading, England, RG6 6AB, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Mary
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lewis
authors.affiliation: Department of Archaeology, University of Reading, Whiteknights, Reading, England, RG6 6AB, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Fiona
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Shapland
authors.affiliation: Department of Archaeology, University of Reading, Whiteknights, Reading, England, RG6 6AB, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Rebecca
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Watts
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000365:Age Determination by Skeleton / Q000379:methods*; D001106:Archaeology / Q000379:methods*; D002648:Child; D004739:England; D005260:Female; D049668:History, 15th Century; D049669:History, 16th Century; D049670:History, 17th Century; D049691:History, Medieval; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011627:Puberty; D012741:Sexual Maturation; D055815:Young Adult