This is a normal consequence of aging that would have been experienced even without the dietary deficiencies sometimes associated with osteoporosis in modern populations.

Fractures — broken bones — appear in the skeletal record, and the evidence for how they healed tells a story of its own.

The majority of fractures at Windover healed correctly: the bones were realigned and immobilized during healing, producing the pattern of clean union that indicates either natural recovery in favorable circumstances or deliberate splinting and support.

Bones that heal in proper alignment, in a prehistoric population, indicate that the community understood the importance of immobilizing broken limbs — either through deliberate medical practice or through the natural tendency to rest and protect an injured limb.

The evidence for community care at Windover extends beyond the spina bifida adolescent.