BONE-MINERAL CONTENT IN MEDIEVAL GREENLAND NORSE

The bone mineral content (BMC) was measured using a special dual-photo n scanner in 25 mandibles with normal macroscopic and radiographic bon e structure. The mandibles were excavated from two Norse sites in Gree nland, which date to the first and last part of the medieval Norse set tlement period, respectively. The main purpose of this study was to in vestigate whether there was a change in BMC levels between the early a nd the late settlement period. The results showed no difference in mal e BMC between the early and the late site material. A statistically si gnificant gender difference was found, analogous to most clinical and archaeological BMC studies. The sample did not allow testing for age-r elated, especially female postmenopausal-related, bone loss. It is kno wn that Eskimos generally have a Very low BMC, probably the effect of a high-protein marine diet. The lack of decrease in BMC levels for the Norse could indicate that they did not increase their overall protein intake over the 500-year settlement period. Other studies (both archa eological and anthropological) point to an increased reliance on marin e foodstuffs throughout the settlement period. Thus, if the Norse incr eased their reliance on marine foodstuffs, they probably did not do so to the extent of an almost exclusive marine diet like that of the Esk imo. (C) 1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.