Barbara Veselka graduated this summer for her MSc-degree Human Osteology and Funerary Archaeology, focusing in particular on the prevelance of rickets in childhood in the rural community of Beemster. Rickets is mainly caused by a prolonged deficiency of vitamin D, in adults this is termed osteomalacia. Therefore it is no surprise, that the PhD research will be a sequel of her master research and will focus on osteomalacia. Five sites from the Medieval and post-Medieval period in the Netherlands will be examined using macroscopic, radiographic and histological methods. The aim of her research is to improve identification of osteomalacia by assessing and combining several methods providing a more acurate estimation of the prevelance of this disease in past societies. This will provide a better understanding of the different variables causing vitamin D deficiency and consequently rickets and osteomalacia.
Although Barbara's research is external, it has been approved by the Leiden University Science Commitee and will be supervised by several members of the laboratory staff and Leiden University (prof. dr. T. van Kolfschoten, dr. A.L. Waters-Rist and dr. M.L.P. Hoogland).
Although Barbara's research is external, it has been approved by the Leiden University Science Commitee and will be supervised by several members of the laboratory staff and Leiden University (prof. dr. T. van Kolfschoten, dr. A.L. Waters-Rist and dr. M.L.P. Hoogland).
