Helena Bütehorn

Masterthesis

Title: Examination of Skeletal Remains from a Historical Cemetery for the Poor in Lübeck with Special Focus on Markers of Occupational Stress

From 1639 to 1868, St. Anne’s Churchyard in Lübeck was the burial place for the city’s poor. This included the inhabitants of St. Anne’s poor and workhouse; a facility accommodating poor people, orphans and inmates alike. As part of the cemetery was recently excavated due to local construction works, the skeletal remains of the individuals buried at St. Anne’s are now to be examined.
For my master’s thesis, I examine the skeletal remains of the about 230 adult individuals together with Lea Beverungen to create a complete catalogue of findings. This encompasses the assessment of skeletal preservation, the determination of the individuals’ sex, age at death and body height, and the recording of other characteristics such as palaeopathological transformations. The results of the anthropological examination will provide information on population composition (e.g. the distribution of age groups and sex) as well as the individuals’ health, diet and other living circumstances.
Additionally, I examine markers of occupational stress. Since the skeletal system is a dynamic organ that adapts to mechanical stress, these markers reflect the amount and kind of physical labour the individuals had to conduct during their lifetime. In particular, I investigate signs of arthrotic transformations, degeneration of the spinal column and development of muscle attachments sites. This way, I seek to gain insight into the life and working conditions of poor people from this time period. Comparisons to other skeletal series can show how these circumstances potentially differ between social classes and to what extent the results are transferrable to other populations.