Children used to carry milk and cheese moulds — centuries later, their bones still bear the marks of this

Scientists have now identified possible consequences of such strain directly within the bones. Among children and young people from a community where heavy agricultural labour was particularly common, changes to the spine – typically associated with prolonged mechanical strain – were found to be significantly more prevalent.

Details

The researchers examined the skeletal remains of 143 children, adolescents and young adults aged approximately 4 to 25 who lived in the Netherlands between 1650 and 1850.

They compared three communities. In the rural town of Middenbemster, children worked on dairy farms. In Arnhem, child labour was predominantly linked to textile manufacturing. The third group comprised the more affluent residents of Delft, for whom heavy physical labour during childhood was less common.

They examined the spines for signs of joint wear, bone spurs and Schmorl’s nodes — changes in which the intervertebral disc tissue is pushed into the vertebral body.

The most pronounced damage was found among the residents of Middelbemster, particularly in the thoracic region of the spine. Historical sources indicate that local children were able to carry milk churns and cheese moulds from around the age of nine.

Interestingly, the spines of residents of the industrial town of Arnhem were found to be less damaged than expected. The authors suggest that the long hours spent spinning and weaving were exhausting, but placed a different strain on the body than the regular lifting and carrying of heavy loads.

However, the researchers do not know the occupation of each individual found in the graves. It is therefore impossible to assert that every injury discovered was unequivocally caused by child labour. The study demonstrates a statistical link between the nature of labour within communities and the condition of the spine.

Why this is important

The extent of child labour in Europe is known from censuses, documents and the accounts of contemporaries. It is much more difficult to understand what working long hours did to a growing body.

Bones provide a way of seeing the consequences that written sources scarcely recorded. The findings also suggest that it was not only the number of working hours that may have been significant, but also the type of physical exertion.

The authors do not claim that the changes found necessarily led to chronic pain or disability. However, some signs of wear and tear appeared at a very young age, when the spine was still developing.

Source

Study:“Built on the backs of children: A comparative analysis of spinal joint disease in non-adults from three post-medieval (1650–1850 CE) Dutch communities with documented histories of child labour”.

Authors: Alex Tutwiler, Rachel Schats.

Journal: International Journal of Paleopathology, 2026.