A group of researchers from the University of South Carolina (USA) studied the remains of people living in the Mid-Century in London. This was done in order to determine how periods of mass starvation and various deprivations affected their future fate.
Scientists have studied the remains of people who lived before and after the plague. The authors of the work found two signs of stress experienced, as a result it was established how often they met burials in two groups.
The experimental results were very contradictory, in difficult times the first sign of stress was often fixed – this is an underdeveloped tooth enamel. This leads to malnutrition and injuries sustained during the formation of teeth. The second sign is bone proliferation.
One of the authors of this study made a statement: “When a person feels real stress, it can be different experiences, fracture of bones and weight bearing for a long time, his bones strengthen on their own and begin to grow. This factor was more common in people who lived in a quiet time. “
It is commonly believed that bone proliferation is a bad sign indicating various human diseases. However, as part of the study, it was revealed that this happens in healthy people, in order for bone tissue to grow over only a few weeks are required. Thus, scientists cannot determine whether severe stress really caused people to die.
Currently, scientists intend to study the remains of people living in England in more detail in order to better understand the results that were obtained as part of the study.