Heavy dental wear in medieval populations is common and reflects both diet, which was often rough and abrasive, and practices like using the teeth as tools to grip rope or process fibrous materials.

Bone changes consistent with joint degeneration in an older man are also typical of medieval skeletal populations.

The combination of a physically demanding life, limited ability to treat injuries effectively, and the cumulative effects of aging produced characteristic skeletal signatures in people who reached the 50 to 60 year age range in the eleventh century.

Reaching that age was itself a significant biological achievement.

Medieval mortality rates, especially in childhood, were high by modern standards.