Medieval Skeletons From Denmark and Germany Show High Lead Levels

[Angela]

http://www.archaeology.org/news/3811-151020-medieval-cemetery-lead

"ODENSE, DENMARK—Scientists from the University of Southern Denmark analyzed the levels of lead and mercury in more than 200 skeletons from medieval cemeteries in Denmark and Germany. They found that wealthier people, who usually lived in towns, had higher levels of heavy metals in their bodies. Mercury was used to prepare the color cinnabar, for gilding, and was used as medicine for the treatment syphilis and leprosy, a common ailment. As for lead exposure, the wealthy ate from plates that had been glazed with lead oxide. Salty and acidic foods kept in these glazed pots dissolved the glaze and the lead leaked into the food. Poorer people, often living in the country, were still exposed to lead, but they usually used unglazed pottery. “In the Middle Ages you could almost not avoid ingesting lead, if you were wealthy or living in an urban environment. But what is perhaps more severe, is the fact that exposure to lead leads to lower intelligence of children,” Kaare Lund Rasmussen said in a press release. Exposure to townspeople also came from lead coins, stained-glass windows, and lead tiles on the roofs, since rainwater was often collected for drinking."

The same has been said of the people of the Roman Empire.

Of course, the paper is behind a pay wall. If anyone has access, it would be interesting to know the precise levels. Also, anyone know other effects of higher lead levels?

 

[LeBrok]

For people who complain about modern world trying to poison them, should read up about these good old "healthy" times.

 

[Twilight]

For people who complain about modern world trying to poison them, should read up about these good old "healthy" times.

There have been a lot of complaints in the 21st century. Witch one are you referring too?

 

[LeBrok]

There have been a lot of complaints in the 21st century. Witch one are you referring too?

For example people drinking bottled or filtered water instead of perfectly good tap water. Many are scared of GM foods, because they believe that big business wants to poison them. They point to good and healthy old times when people lived in tune with environment. Paleo diet is the latest example, not mentioning all hippie movement topped up with conspiracy theories of sorts.

 

[Ike]

For example people drinking bottled or filtered water instead of perfectly good tap water. Many are scared of GM foods, because they believe that big business wants to poison them. They point to good and healthy old times when people lived in tune with environment. Paleo diet is the latest example, not mentioning all hippie movement topped up with conspiracy theories of sorts.

LoL, they don't literally try to poison you because they want you poisoned and dead. They just don't care if you get a bit poisoned, while they earn money.

 

[Twilight]

LoL, they don't literally try to poison you because they want you poisoned and dead. They just don't care if you get a bit poisoned, while they earn money.

Quite an interesting accusation, do you have a source to your claim?

 

[Ike]

Quite an interesting accusation, do you have a source to your claim?

For what? For processed food being filled with dangerous and poisonous substances? For GMO released into humans after usually two months of testing? For drinks that dissolve metal? For healthy plastic clothes? For red meat being stuffed with growth hormones and antibiotics? Give me the money, and I'll prove it

 

[Twilight]

For what? For processed food being filled with dangerous and poisonous substances? For GMO released into humans after usually two months of testing? For drinks that dissolve metal? For healthy plastic clothes? For red meat being stuffed with growth hormones and antibiotics? Give me the money, and I'll prove it

With all do respect, I'm going to need a article link or a book source. Otherwise the claim turns fringe. I see some holes to the poisoning conspiracy none the less.

I'm not sure about this. Most of these Big Buisness' and Government Employees are mostly Middle Class workers entailing that they would be poisoning themselves. Same as the Romans, it appears that the ancients knew of Lead poisoning since at least the 1st century BC. So it appears that the Romans knew of the dangers of Lead and the Upper Class Romans poisoned themselves.

Source: Needleman, H (2009). "Low level lead exposure: history and discovery". Annals of epidemiology 19 (4): 235–8. doi:10.1016/j.annepidem.2009.01.022.PMID 19344860.

 

[Ike]

With all do respect, I'm going to need a article link or a book source. Otherwise the claim turns fringe. I see some holes to the poisoning conspiracy none the less.

Well, if you look for it as a conspiracy theory you sure ain't gonna find it. Me, sanding a polonium stick on a balcony, and a few particles dropping on your kids who are playing basketball down in the field, is not a murder conspiracy.

 

[Twilight]

Well, if you look for it as a conspiracy theory you sure ain't gonna find it. Me, sanding a polonium stick on a balcony, and a few particles dropping on your kids who are playing basketball down in the field, is not a murder conspiracy.

i figured, just wanted to point that out to avoid feeling remised.

@Angela Nice article btw .

 

[Angela]

i figured, just wanted to point that out to avoid feeling remised.

@Angela Nice article btw .

Thanks.

To LeBrok's point, people in past eras were not necessarily living free of environmental hazards. It's not just lead covered ceramics, as with the Romans and people living in the Middle Ages (and I would imagine China). The lungs of people constantly breathing in the smoke from fires in enclosed spaces were coated with carcinogenic residue as some ancient samples have shown. Metal working also comes with certain hazards, even changing the dna of future generations.

So, it's a complicated situation.

It's definitely true that we now use pesticides, preservatives etc. that can cause great problems. At the same time, for all of human history up to virtually the present, the big problem was starvation. People had bigger problems than getting cancer; they didn't live long enough to get cancer.

These techniques have increased agricultural yields, providing more food for more people. I can tell you from personal experience that if you don't use pesticides you're going to lose a huge percentage of your crops. In tropical areas or even where there is just a lot of standing water in summer disease from mosquito bites will kill you (and did in the past) far earlier than colon cancer. I don't think most people understand how many have died from malaria, yellow fever, West Nile virus etc. Luckily, some of the more virulent strains of malaria are not as prevalent anymore, but it was once a plague of sorts.

I don't believe that the detrimental effects were totally known. The question is what do we do now to keep yields high while not impacting our health in later life.

 

[Ike]

i figured, just wanted to point that out to avoid feeling remised.

LOL

Thanks.

To LeBrok's point, people in past eras were not necessarily living free of environmental hazards. It's not just lead covered ceramics, as with the Romans and people living in the Middle Ages (and I would imagine China). The lungs of people constantly breathing in the smoke from fires in enclosed spaces were coated with carcinogenic residue as some ancient samples have shown. Metal working also comes with certain hazards, even changing the dna of future generations.

So, it's a complicated situation.

I guess people were smart enough to notice the effect of these environmental effects within 10-20 generations and avoid certain areas, food, way of life, etc? It doesn't take much to become aware that your people are more often sick and dying than people in the neighbouring valley, it is probably just because of constant wars, migrations and lack of literacy that some of these observation were partially lost throughout generations. Then again, those who didn't have, didn't know or disregarded the oral tradition had probably died out, while on the other hand a marginal communities, out of the way of invaders or high up in the mountains, have developed a very specific behavior and culture which they tend to guard as their existence depends on it.

It's definitely true that we now use pesticides, preservatives etc. that can cause great problems. At the same time, for all of human history up to virtually the present, the big problem was starvation. People had bigger problems than getting cancer; they didn't live long enough to get cancer.

True. Though some of those who were in position to nurture themselves, did live a decent lifetimes. Democritus died around the age of 90, Anaxagoras ~ 82, Diogenes ~ 89, etc...

 

[oriental]

I think Emperors Nero and Caligula were victims of lead poisoning as they were crazy. Lead affects the brain functions, I read somewhere.