ORIGINAL PAPER Assessing pubertal stage in adolescent remains: an investigation of the San Nicolás Maqbara burial site (Murcia, Spain) Danielle M. Doe 1 & Josefina Rascón Pérez 1 & Oscar Cambra-Moo 1 & Manuel Campo Martín 1 & Armando González Martín 1 Received: 22 March 2017 /Accepted: 17 September 2017 # Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany 2017 Abstract Despite its biological, social, and cultural impor- tance, adolescence has been largely overlooked in historic groups as its measurement depends primarily on secondary sexual characteristics that cannot be observed in skeletal re- mains. Any information that can be obtained about this critical period permits for a better understanding of both life and death in historic populations. This study applies a newly outlined methodology by Shapland and Lewis (Am J Phys Anthropol 151:302–310, 2013; Am J Phys Anthropol 153:144–153, 2014) for assessing pubertal growth using osteological mate- rial to the San Nicolás Maqbara, a Hispano-Muslim burial site in the Spanish city of Murcia dating from the eleventh to thirteenth centuries AD. Despite an original sample of 80 ad- olescent skeletons, the methodology was applied to 54 indi- viduals, of which 32 were assigned a pubertal stage. The San Nicolás adolescents experienced pubertal growth onset at a similar age to modern Spaniards but fell behind at achieve- ment of peak height velocity (PHV). Delays in the attainment of later stages resulted in an extended adolescent growth pe- riod. Females progressed through the pubertal stages earlier and quicker than their male counterparts and were determined to be post-pubescent at 16–19 years of age while males had yet to reach this milestone in their late teenage years. As the developmental patterns of the San Nicolás adolescents appear to be quite similar to previously studied historic groups, it is suggested that the trends observed could be methodological artifacts or inherent to the study of osteological material. Keywords Medieval . Maqbara . Adolescence . Growth spurt . Menarche Introduction Puberty is an exceptionally important stage of life physically, psychologically, and culturally as it marks the boundary between childhood and adulthood. The pubertal process is the result of complicated hormonal interactions that cause internal and exter- nal changes in primary and secondary sexual characteristics cul- minating in reproductive maturity (Dorn and Biro 2011). This uniquely human experience has been studied in depth in clinical studies of various modern populations (Herman-Giddens et al. 1997; Rogol et al. 2000; Gavela-Pérez et al. 2015; Day et al. 2015) but many aspects about its initiation and timing remain unknown (Jameson 2007; Livadas and Chrousos 2016). Unfortunately, when studying historical populations using oste- ological material, the preferred secondary sexual characteristics are unavailable for analysis and the only indicators that remain are skeletal. In their recent publications, Shapland and Lewis (2013, 2014) have outlined a six-point method to assess puberty in skeletal remains using the following osteological markers: (1) mandibular canine calcification, (2) development of the hamate hook, epiphyseal fusion of the (3) hand phalanges, (4) distal radius, and (5) iliac crest, and (6) cervical verte- brae maturation (CVM). These markers have been linked to specific points on the pubertal growth spurt and with the achievement of menarche in living adolescents in the clin- ical literature. When these indicators are considered to- gether and the methodology is applied to a sizeable popu- lation, inferences can be made about the timing and tempo of the pubertal process in historic populations. * Danielle M. Doe danielle.doe@inv.uam.es 1 Laboratorio de Poblaciones de Pasado, Dpto. Biología. Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, 28049 Madrid, Spain Archaeol Anthropol Sci DOI 10.1007/s12520-017-0543-0