Theses and Dissertations

Advisor

Zuckerman, Molly

Committee Member

Goliath, Jesse

Committee Member

Bailey, Christine

Date of Degree

5-15-2026

Original embargo terms

Visible MSU Only 2 Years

Document Type

Graduate Thesis - Campus Access Only

Major

Applied Anthropology

Degree Name

Master of Arts (M.A.)

College

College of Arts and Sciences

Department

Department of Anthropology and Middle Eastern Cultures

Abstract

Public health research shows that children’s health is closely linked to economic conditions and access to government or charitable relief. This study examines how economic downturns and relief access shaped juvenile health in two contexts: Industrial Era London, England (n=142; 1760–1850) and Great Depression–era Cleveland, Ohio (n=71; 1912–1939). Juvenile skeletons were analyzed for physiological stress and nutritional deficiency lesions and contextualized with mortality data (age-at-death, cause of death, census records, public health reports). In London, juveniles from St. Saviour parish showed significantly higher rates of cumulative skeletal burden and younger ages-at-death than those from St. Bride’s, reflecting reduced Poor Law relief and harsher conditions. In Cleveland, juveniles who died during the Great Depression showed higher rates of cumulative skeletal burden and stronger associations with respiratory and infectious causes of death. When synthesized, these findings demonstrate how structural economic inequalities shaped children’s embodied stress across time and place.

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