Winchester London Implementing Intersectionality in Bioarchaeology: A Study of Sex and Status at Roman Winchester LC Avery, TL Prowse, MB Brickley McMaster University, Department of Anthropology 1. Purpose of Study • Examinations of inequalities based on a single factor of identity (e.g., sex or status) represent groups of individuals as homogenous and distinct. • The theoretical framework of Intersectionality 1 challenges this approach, to better understand the nuances of inequalities. • Research questions: (1) What are the risks of only using one factor of identity when studying inequality? (2) What can an intersectional approach offer bioarchaeologists, particularly when studying inequalities? 3. Materials and Methods • Roman Winchester was an urban administrative centre in southern England (1- 5 century CE; Fig 1). • Skeletal remains were excavated from the Northern Cemetery (3-5 th century CE). 2, 3, 4 • Age and sex was estimated based on standard methodologies; all adults (aged 16+) with some dentition were included in the study (n=342). • Antemortem tooth loss (AMTL), carious lesions, and dental wear were examined macroscopically (Fig.2). • Relative social status (high vs. low) was estimated based on grave construction and grave good typology. 4. Sex Based Differences Dental health variables were tested, using Mann-Whitney U tests, between all males and all females in the sample. Table 1: Sex Based Dental Health Results and Interpretation Dental Variable Male Female p value Interpretation Caries DMI 1 24.7% 28.4% 0.342 Males and females incorporated comparable levels of cariogenic foods within their diet PCF 2 19.2% 23.8% 0.120 Wear Anterior 3 3.8 3.3 0.000 Males consumed tougher, more abrasive foods, likely due to consumption of marine resources Posterior 4 16.7 13.9 0.000 AMTL Anterior 5 4.7% 4.4% 0.030 Differences likely related to differences in use of teeth as tools, interpersonal violence, and/or different oral care practices Posterior 6 17.5% 22.6% 0.809 Total 7 12.5% 15.6% 0.975 Interpretation - At Roman Winchester, dental pathology rates were similar between the sexes, indicating a similar diet. Differences in wear is likely due to male consumption of marine resources. 5. Status Based Differences Dental health variables were tested, using Mann-Whitney U tests, between higher and lower status individuals. Table 2: Status Based Dental Health Results and Interpretations Dental Variable High Low p value Interpretation Caries DMI 1 18.8% 26.1% 0.208 Groups incorporated comparable levels of cariogenic foods within their diet PCF 2 16.3% 20.3% 0.804 Wear Anterior 3 3.0 3.6 0.091 Comparable texture of foods consumed between groups Posterior 4 14.2 15.8 0.881 AMTL Anterior 5 1.5% 5.2% 0.054 Small, but accumulative, differences in caries rates and dental wear were present between the two groups Posterior 6 12.2% 20.8% 0.038 Total 7 8.1% 14.8% 0.028 Interpretation - Lower social status individuals consumed slightly tougher and slightly more cariogenic foods than higher social status individuals at Roman Winchester. 6. Intersectionality The sample was divided into sub-samples based on status. Dental health variables were then tested (Mann- Whitney U tests) between males and females within each sub-sample (i.e., higher males vs. higher females). Table 3: Higher Status Sex Based Dental Health Results Table 4: Lower Status Sex Based Dental Health Results Higher Social Status Group Lower Social Status Group Dental Variable Male Female p value Dental Variable Male Female p value Caries DMI 1 24.7% 20.5% 0.573 Caries DMI 1 24.7% 29.7% 0.229 PCF 2 23.4% 18.4% 0.882 PCF 2 18.8% 24.6% 0.101 Wear Anterior 3 3.7 2.7 0.054 Wear Anterior 3 3.8 3.4 0.000 Posterior 4 15.0 12.6 0.335 Posterior 4 16.8 14.1 0.000 AMTL Anterior 5 0.0% 2.2% 0.882 AMTL Anterior 5 5.0% 4.8% 0.043 Posterior 6 13.6% 12.5% 0.700 Posterior 6 17.7% 24.2% 0.551 Total 7 8.2% 8.6% 0.700 Total 7 12.8% 16.7% 0.690 Interpretation - Lack of sex-based differences in the higher social status group indicates that these men and women consumed similar foods. With respect to diet, women were not inherently inferior to men as is represented in literary texts, and at times had access to many of the same types of foods that men did. Interpretation - Lower status males and females exhibited slight differences in dental health, indicating these men and women experienced differences in pattern of consumption and/or texture of foods. In families where resources were strained, men and women consumed slightly different diets. Examined together through an intersectional approach, these results emphasize that differences in dental health, and likely in diet, at Roman Winchester were not only based on gender or social status, but were influenced by the confluence of gender and social status. Supported by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) of Canada Insight Grant, File Number 435-2013-1006 (ID#169793)(MBB). 2. Intersectionality • First defined by Crenshaw (1989) 1 to address inequalities and human rights issues. • States that inequalities and marginalization are not the result of individual systems of oppression, but are due to multiple systems interacting and influencing one another. • Intersections of oppression can result in increased marginalization, increasing likelihood of poor health, violence, and injustices. • In bioarchaeology, an intersectional approach analyzes multiple variables simultaneously to focus on the diversity and complexity of past peoples. 7. Conclusions 1. By examining only one variable at a time, the risk is to oversimplify interpretations, possibly obscuring the range and intricacy of lived experiences in the past. 2. An intersectional approach may allow bioarchaeologists to understand inequalities in a more comprehensive way. This approach will ultimately help bioarchaeologists investigate the various nuances of inequalities, and interconnectedness regarding multiple aspects of identity. Table Legend Dental variable mean presented, with p-value from Mann-Whitney U test. Statistically significant (p < .05) . 1 Diseased and Missing Index. 2 Proportional Correction Factor. 3 Incisors, Canines, Premolars. 4 Molars. 5 Incisors, Canines. 6 Premolars, Molars. 7 Total dentition. Figure 1: Winchester, Hampshire, UK. Figure 2: Dental Health Variables. A: AMTL (Skeleton #: LH 330). B: Carious Lesions (LH 442). C: Dental Wear (LH 254). C B A Works Cited 1 Crenshaw K. 1989. Demarginalizing the Intersection of Race and Sex: A Black Feminist Critique of Antidiscrimination Doctrine, Feminist Theory and Antiracist Politics. Univ Chic Leg Forum 1:139-167. 2 Clark G. 1979. Pre-Roman and Roman Winchester: The Roman Cemetery at Lankhills (Vol. 3). New York: Claredon Press. 3 Booth P, Simmonds A, Boyle A, Clough S, Cool HEM, Poore D. 2010. The Late Roman Cemetery at Lankhills, Winchester: Excavations 2000-2005. Oxford: Oxford Archaeology. 4 Ottaway P, Qualmann K, Rees H, Scobie G. 2012. The Roman Cemeteries and Suburbs of Winchester: Excavations 1971-86. Winchester: Winchester Museums. Figure 2: Images © Winchester Excavations Committee / LC Avery. Figure 3: Image © Trustees of the British Museum. Modified with permission by LC Avery. Figure 3: Roman Frieze, coloured to illustrate the diversity of identities and lived experiences in the past.