Causative effects of cranial depression fractures: A case study of structural violence and social vulnerability within the Mississippi state asylum.

Cranial depression fractures (CDFs) are often associated with violence in a forensic and bioarchaeological context. Interpretations of CDFs, using a structural vulnerability framework, allow for examination of possible socioeconomic and sociocultural factors that influence an individual's life history. Placement of CDFs in relation to traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) and their potential connections to structural violence become essential for analysis.

Sex, gender, and sexuality in paleopathology: Select current developments and pathways forward.

Objective: Overall, paleopathology trails behind related fields in exploring sex, gender, and sexuality in past societies. Here, we interrogatively synthesize scholarship on topics not included in similar reviews, focusing on sex estimation methods, and considering the social determinants of health; trauma; reproduction and family; and childhood - to highlight novel, social epidemiology- and social theory-informed frameworks and interpretive devices.

Conclusions: Many paleopathological interpretations focus on sex-gender differences relative to health, with increasing use of intersectionality.