Publication Date

Fall 2025

Abstract

This dissertation integrates isotopic, biodistance, and skeletal stress data from cemeteries, Gać and Pień to study health and survival in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth (PLC). The PLC (16th–18th centuries) in Poland was marked by religious migration, social inequality, and environmental change. Chapter 2 used a multiproxy approach to identify migrant status: most at Pień were local, about half at Gać were migrants, often biologically related to locals. Chapter 3 used stable isotope analyses to find minimal sex-based dietary differences, except for Pień females’ higher millet intake, and showed that market access and feudal systems influenced subsistence strategies. Chapter 4’s survival analyses indicated females and migrants with small vertebral canal size faced higher mortality, linking early-life stress and social disadvantage to reduced longevity in these communities. These findings suggest sex, migrant status, and vertebral canal size affect adult lifespan.

Keywords

bioarchaeology, stable isotope analyses, developmental stress markers

Document Type

Dissertation

Language

English

Degree Name

Evolutionary Anthropology

Level of Degree

Doctoral

Department Name

Anthropology

First Committee Member (Chair)

Heather Edgar

Second Committee Member

Keith Prufer

Third Committee Member

Corey Ragsdale

Fourth Committee Member

Marek Polcyn

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