Most people who lived ordinary lives in medieval times endured an existence of strenuous physical labor and malnutrition, Leicester University scientists reported Friday.
An examination of 300 medieval skeletons from a village in Oxfordshire, about 50 miles west of London, showed that most people endured lives of constant, strenuous physical labor and a lack of medical care, Leicester paleo-pathologists told the London Independent.Most skeletons of people over the age of 45 had lost all of their back teeth by the time they died.
"The remaining teeth are riddled with caries and tartar, which indicates an unhealthy, starchy diet based on cereal and bread," said Dr. Jenny Wakely, who led the investigation.
The skeletons also showed evidence that the men and women - ordinary townspeople who lived in the village of Abingdon Abbey between the years of 1070 and 1540 - had sustained several fractured ribs, arms, or legs, all of which had been left to heal naturally.
Most of the adult skeletons also showed evidence of more-highly developed muscle structure than common today.
Wakely said the findings indicate a life of hard, physical labor.
However, tests showed that such hardships did not necessarily shorten medieval man's life.
Scientists reported that the presence of arthritis in nearly half the adult skeletons - especially in fingers, knees, and hips - suggested that many people lived beyond middle age.