Rebecca Gilmour

• PhD, McMaster University
• Professor (Assistant) at Mount Royal University

Objective: This study uses biomechanical data from tibiae to investigate the functional consequences of lower limb fractures. Adults with malunited fractures are hypothesized to have experienced altered mobility, indicated by asymmetric tibial cross-sectional geometries (CSG). Materials: Ninety-three adults from Roman (1st to 4th centuries CE) Anc...

Objectives: Skeletal variation in cortical bone thickness is an indicator of bone quality and health in archeological populations. Second metacarpal radiogrammetry, which measures cortical thickness at the shaft midpoint, is traditionally used to evaluate bone loss in bioarcheological and some clinical contexts. However fragmentary elements are re...

Analyses of human skeletal shape and geometry are used to investigate questions related to habitual activities and physical lifeways, as well as biological distance and relatedness. Recently, these methods have been applied to research concerning human evolutionary predisposition for disease, as well as functional experiences of pathological condit...

Exploring behaviour through bones has always been a fascinating topic to those that study human remains. Human bodies record and store vast amounts of information about the way we move, where we live, and our experiences of health and socioeconomic circumstances. We see it every day, and experience it, but when it comes to past populations, underst...

Remote teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic led to a range of pedagogical challenges for anthropology laboratory courses. In biological anthropology courses such as Human Osteology, hands-on experience is essential to achieving learning outcomes, including basic bone and feature (i.e., landmark) identification, identification from fragmentary rema...

Pre-mortem Trypanites borings in Devonian palaeotaxodonts indicate the anatomical postero-dorsal area of the shell as well as the orientation of the animal within the substrate during life.

Objective: Traditional metacarpal radiogrammetry, a method for quantifying cortical bone in metacarpals to identify bone loss, typically relies on the presence of an unaltered or undamaged second metacarpal. This study compares the cortical indices of the second to the third, fourth, and fifth metacarpals to test if an additional metacarpal can be...

Metacarpal radiogrammetry provides archaeologists with a non-destructive method to quantify cortical bone and bone loss in past populations. Some archaeological bone loss studies include individuals with fully fused metacarpals, regardless of age, while the other criteria require individuals over 18 years old. As cortical bone apposition continues...

Epidemics and pandemics are typically discussed in terms of morbidity and mortality, susceptibility and immunity, and social responses to and impacts of the immediate epidemic event. Much less attention is paid to the longer-term consequences for individuals and populations in terms of the sequelae of infections, such as blindness after smallpox, d...

This paper reviews new analytical and theoretical perspectives regarding the movement of human and non-human primates. In biological anthropology, there is at times a disconnect between researchers investigating large-scale population movements, such as moving across continents and landscapes, and individual-level physiological and anatomical proce...

This study uses biomechanical data from the tibia to investigate functional consequences of fractures to the legs (femora, tibiae, and fibulae) in adults from Roman Ancaster, UK and Vagnari, Italy (1st to 4th centuries AD). We hypothesized that some leg bone fractures would cause altered mobility, evident as tibial cortical bone loss and asymmetry,...

Skeletal trauma and cross-sectional evidence for physical activity were assessed in the limb bones of 1st to 4th century AD Roman adults from Vagnari, Italy (n=66). Vagnari was an imperial estate with evidence for important economic activities that involved manual labor; as such, it was hypothesized that the residents of this community regularly en...

Extremity fractures can result in nerve and soft tissue damage, prolonged immobilization, pain, and use-avoidance, all of which may lead to limb disuse and bone atrophy. This research used biomechanical methods to investigate the long-term repercussions of fractures. Fracture type, location, malunion, and secondary complications (e.g., osteoarthrit...

Long-term repercussions of extremity trauma can include fracture mal- and non-union, osteoarthritis, pain, and impairment of physical movement, which can result in disuse of the limb and eventual bone loss. Although trauma is commonly investigated in palaeopathology, the functional repercussions of injuries are not typically considered. By integrat...

Skeletal trauma and biomechanical adaptations were assessed in the limb bones of sixty-six 1st to 4th century A.D. Roman adults from Vagnari (Italy). Vagnari was an Imperial Estate with archaeological evidence that agriculture, viticulture, and transhumance were important economic activities. Biomechanical and fracture analyses of the Vagnari sampl...

Fracture analyses were integrated with biomechanical data on long bone cross-sectional areas to investigate post-traumatic extremity disuse at the Roman period sites of Ancaster, UK (n=181) and Vagnari, Italy (n=66). Poor functional outcomes can be affected by a fracture’s location, type, and associated complications (e.g., osteoarthritis, malunion...

Second metacarpal (MC2) radiogrammetric methods are often used in palaeopathological studies to identify cortical bone loss, such as that associated with advancing age and osteoporosis. MC2 radiogrammetry is typically limited to complete elements and consequently excludes a number of individuals who, because of increased fragility related to bone l...

It was hypothesized that men and women living in the border provinces of the Roman Empire may have encountered different risks associated with their different occupations and activities. Limb bone trauma data were used to assess sex-based differences in physical hazards and evidence for fracture healing and treatment. Two hundred and ten skeletons...

Sharp force trauma to the skeleton is an important source of evidence for violent injury in the past. Lesions attributable to possible perimortem sharp force injury were observed in 20 fragments within disarticulated and commingled human bone from the Smith's Knoll collection, an assemblage associated with the battle of Stoney Creek (1813, southern...

Evidence of ‘disability’ in the past is a topic widely discussed in bioarchaeology, but little attention has been paid to the complexities associated with retrospective identification of physical impairment using skeletal evidence. Interpreting how individuals and groups experience injury requires a more detailed understanding of the factors leadin...

Carnivore scats recovered from animal attack and/or scavenging contexts frequently contain forensic evidence such as human bone fragments. Forensic cases with carnivore involvement are increasingly prevalent, necessitating a methodology for the recovery and analysis of scat evidence. This study proposes a method for the safe preparation of carnivor...