An Analysis of Spinal Pathology and Trauma of the Individuals Interred at the Milwaukee County Poor Farm Cemetery, 1882-1925.

Abstract

Approximately, 2,480 individuals were recovered during archaeological excavations ofMilwaukee County Poor Farm Cemetery 2 in 1991, 1992, and 2013 in advance of construction activities on the Milwaukee Regional Complex campus. Using both pathological and degenerative spinal conditions (specifically: facet and body osteophytosis, osteoarthritis, intervertebral disc disease, Schmorl’s nodes, Baastrup’s syndrome), this dissertation explores the implications of compromised spinal health to discern impairment among the interred individuals. Profiles of spinal health were constructed, assessing the frequency, prevalence, and severity of various spinal macroscopic paleopathological data from individual interments. Interdisciplinary clinical data concerning the physiological and functional impacts of these spinal conditions were utilized to contextualize impairment and disability in relation to social identity. The lens of intersectionality theory provides a deeper understanding of why certain segments of the MCPFC 2 burial population were more at risk for experiencing degenerative spinal pathologies or trauma. Variables of age and sex were assessed. While each spinal pathology exhibited an extremely high overall prevalence per individual for both males and moderately high overall prevalence for females, the Chi-Square tests were predominately non-significant. However, Chi-Square analysis did suggest an age-dependent component. A MANOVA analysis isolated three spinal conditions with discernable changes across time: Baastrup’s syndrome, intervertebral disc disease, and osteoarthritis. This may potentially represent a physiological consequence of industrialization and urbanization in Milwaukee.