title: Coming of age in Roman Britain: Osteological evidence for pubertal timing.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Puberty is a key transitional phase of the human life course, with important biological and social connotations. Novel methods for the identification of the pubertal growth spurt and menarche in skeletal remains have recently been proposed (Shapland and Lewis, 2013, 2014). In this study we applied the methods to two Romano-British cemetery samples (1st-early 5th centuries AD) in order to investigate the timing of puberty during this period and further assess the veracity of the methods.
  
  
  METHODS
  Shapland and Lewis' methods (2013, 2014) were applied to 38 adolescents (aged 8-20 years) from the British cemetery sites of Roman London (1st-early 5th centuries AD) and Queenford Farm, Oxfordshire (4th-early 5th centuries AD).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Overall, the Romano-British males and females experienced the onset of puberty at similar ages to modern European adolescents, but subsequently experienced a longer period of pubertal development. Menarche occurred between the ages of 15 and 17 years for these Romano-British females, around 2 to 4 years later than for present-day European females.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The observed Romano-British pattern of pubertal timing has various possible explanations, including exposure to environmental stressors in early urban environments. The pattern of pubertal timing is largely congruent with social age transitions alluded to in ancient texts and funerary evidence for this period. While there are limitations to the application of these techniques to archaeological samples, they were successfully applied in this study, and may have important implications for understandings of past life courses, as well as providing a long-term perspective on pubertal timing and biocultural interactions.
authors.affiliation: Department of Archaeology, University of Durham, Durham, DH1 3LE, UK.
authors.forename: Nichola A
authors.initials: NA
authors.lastname: Arthur
authors.affiliation: Department of Archaeology, University of Durham, Durham, DH1 3LE, UK.
authors.forename: Rebecca L
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Gowland
authors.affiliation: Centre for Human Bioarchaeology, Museum of London, 150 London Wall, London, EC2Y 5HN, UK.
authors.forename: Rebecca C
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Redfern
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000885:Anthropology, Physical; D001842:Bone and Bones / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D055699:Cemeteries; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D049691:History, Medieval; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011627:Puberty / Q000502:physiology*; D012741:Sexual Maturation / Q000502:physiology*; D006113:United Kingdom; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: adolescence; growth spurt; menarche; skeletal development