Abstract

MAZZA, Bárbara. The study of mechanical stress in present and past societies. Runa [online]. 2022, vol.43, n.2, pp.13-34.  Epub June 27, 2022. ISSN 1851-9628.  http://dx.doi.org/10.34096/runa.v43i2.10738.

The inference of activities in past societies is one of the great challenges of bioarchaeology. Since the beginning of the 20th century, interpretations of mechanical stress have been based on bone morphological traits. However, despite theoretical and methodological advances in their approach, such research has not been free of criticism. This paper aims to review the theoretical and methodological approaches to deduce past activities from general bone morphology and entheseal changes. This review focuses on medical and biological contributions to bioarchaeological studies, the changes in the approach to the subject, and their criticisms and solutions.

Keywords : Mechanical Stress; Bone Morphology; Entheseal Changes; Bioarchaeology; Interdisciplinarity.

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