It has been stated that the child is the father of man. This project extends from that premise, examining aspects of bone structure during human growth and development with the goal of producing new quantitative and structural knowledge of skeletal biology in childhood. Bone shape and structure have a predictable relationship to activity and load, making them potentially attractive for the study of behavior and childhood development of past and present populations. Relatively little research has been directed towards the variation in bone during growth and development, creating a deficiency in the foundation upon which this type of analysis can be used to examine the quality of life for past (and living) human groups. This research project studies the temporal sequence and variation in how bone form and shape are a reflection of growth and development and are associated with the timing and acquisition of normal childhood functional activities. The study uses an archaeological series of skeletons in order to address hypotheses about skeletal ontogeny. The skeletal sample is selected from SunWatch, a Late Prehistoric Ohio Valley village, located on the Little Miami River, near Dayton, Ohio. SunWatch is an example of a settlement pattern emerging in the Ohio Valley in the 12th century, characterized by agricultural villages with a central plaza and a peripheral ring of rectangular houses, burials, and storage/trash pits. Skeletal analysis will consist of completely nondestructive micro X-ray scanning of bone just below the knee, demonstrating the details of the lattice-like bony structure. Computer assisted analyses will develop structural parameters. The expectations of this study, in addition to assisting in graduate training, are to provide quantitative morphological and imaging data highlighting the dynamic sequential relationships between growth/development, general functional activities, and bone structure. This project represents a natural experiment in childhood growth and development, mechanical loading, and physical activity: infants going from not walking to walking, small body mass to large body mass, and dependency in activity to independence. The intellectual merit centers on the potential of using recent advances in computer-simulated modeling, non-invasive micro-imaging techniques, and finite element computational methodologies to advance understanding of socially structured human behavior, environmental influences, and the skeletal biology of childhood. Although this study is focused on the problem of growth changes in bone, the applicability of the project design can form the foundation for expanded comparative studies in physical anthropology, skeletal biology, growth and development, and bioarchaeology. Research into the structure of the human skeleton is situated within the broad framework of musculoskeletal biology with society-wide implications in the areas of changes in our skeleton with varying genetic and environmental settings, serious public health conditions (osteoarthritis and osteoporosis), and skeletal regenerative and implant investigations. This study enhances the infrastructure of research by incorporating recent advances, fostering a multidisciplinary approach towards understanding skeletal biology, and augmenting relevance to biocultural studies of ancient and recent populations.
