Request concerning (2025/107)

On 13 May 2025, the National Committee for Research Ethics on Human Remains (Human Remains Committee) received a request from Amanda Wisser, assistant professor at Department of Anthropology at DeGroote Institute for Infectious Disease Research at McMaster University in Ontario, Canada. Wisser is requesting to study remains of medieval human remains from St. Nicholas’ Church, Oslo., as part of the project “Simulating social-ecological cascades during the second plague pandemic”. The project period is 2025-2027.

McMaster University is responsible for the project. The project is financed by National Science Foundation (USA), Dynamics of Integrated Socio-Economic Systems (DISES-EX) Grant. 

Listed as collaborators are: Nicholas Gauthier (Principal Investigator, Florida Museum of Natural History and University of Florida), Sofía Pachecho-Forés (University of Minnesota), Timothy Newfield (Georgetown University), Gabriela Hamerlinck (University of Florida).

Wisser’s request to the Human Remains Committee includes a filled-out submission form (one in Norwegian and one in English), project description, ethical self-assessment and sampling protocol. The request was evaluated by the Human Remains Committee in its meeting on September 15th, 2025.

Project purpose

The request is part of the project “Simulating social-ecological cascades during the second plague pandemic”. The purpose of the overall project is to test the hypothesis that climate variability made plague outbreaks more likely by synchronizing demographic factors and environmental factors over large areas into epidemiological models. The project uses the Black Death and subsequent centuries of second-pandemic plague as a retrospective case study to explore the role of population heterogeneity and connectivity on the risk and severity of infectious disease outbreaks.

The project is collecting data from throughout Western Europe, Oslo being the northern-most site. 

Material and context

The material for this specific request is skeletal individuals from the St. Nicholas’ Church in Oslo, curated at the Museum of Cultural History, University of Oslo. St. Nicholas’ Church was a medieval church likely built around 1300 or earlier. Periodic excavations, over the last 150 years, have yielded hundreds of burials from the late 1200s–1400s. 

The project has chosen the site for its large collection, northern location, and prior aDNA evidence of Yersinia pestis (Namouchi et al. 2018). 

Due to a relocation process, the museum has not been able to provide full skeletal records including museum numbers, dates and preservation details, but estimates that about 100 individuals are available for analysis. 

The project aims to collect paleopathology data from all 100 individuals through non-destructive examination of skulls, long bones, and teeth. 

In addition, one tooth (the first molar) and a small section of one rib will be collected from up to 30 individuals. Ribs with pathology will not be sampled, and preference will be given to already broken or fragmentary ribs to minimize damage.

Method

The project will utilize two different methods in analyzing the material: 1) paleopathology analysis, and 2) stable isotope analysis.

1) Paleopathology analysis

Paleopathology analysis is a non-destructive method. Bones will be visually inspected, photographed if pathological changes are observed, and femurs measured to estimate stature. Life events such as trauma, disease, and environmental stress leave permanent markers on the skeleton and teeth, known as nonspecific indicators of skeletal stress, which can reflect both long-term and acute stress and are linked to increased morbidity and mortality. For this project, five such indicators – porotic hyperostosis, cribra orbitalia, periostosis, periodontal disease, and linear enamel hypoplasia – will be recorded using established macroscopic and scoring methods. These indicators manifest at different ages and provide insight into the health and stress experiences of past populations.

2) Stable isotope analysis of tooth and bone samples

Stable isotope analysis is a destructive method. The project plans to analyze both tooth samples and bone samples for radiogenic strontium isotopes (⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr) and stable oxygen isotopes (δ¹⁸O). These isotopes are incorporated into human bones and teeth via food and drink. Comparing isotopic signatures in teeth and bones allows reconstruction of individual residential histories.

The tooth and bone samples will be exported to the University of Minnesota Twin Cities for analysis. Whole teeth are required to avoid contamination during enamel collection. Sample preparation will occur in the Archaeological Chemistry Laboratory at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities under supervision by experienced personnel.

To preserve morphological information, samples will be photographed, 3D scanned, and when possible, tooth replicas made. Digital files and plaster replicas, along with remaining skeletal material, will be returned to the Museum of Cultural History in Oslo.

For teeth, 30 mg of enamel will be collected using a handheld drill, leaving most of the crown intact. The enamel powder will be examined microscopically, chemically cleaned, freeze-dried, and subsampled: 10 mg for ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr analysis at the Zheng Isotope Geochemistry clean laboratory at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, and 10 mg for δ¹⁸O analysis at Northern Arizona University’s Arizona Climate and Ecosystems (ACE) Isotope Laboratory.

Bone sampling is slightly more invasive, requiring ~2 g of rib shaft. After mechanical cleaning and powdering, 10 mg will be used for ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr analysis at the Zheng Isotope Geochemistry clean laboratory at the University of Minnesota and 10 mg for δ¹⁸O analysis at Northern Arizona University’s ACE Isotope Laboratory.

Ethical self-assessment

The project sees ethical considerations as central, as the analyses partially destroy irreplaceable bones and teeth from the St. Nicholas’ Church assemblage. The researchers acknowledge the cultural and historical value of these remains and have designed a sampling strategy to minimize damage.

Key strategies include:

• Only sampling teeth when it is not the individual’s only remaining tooth of that type.
• Prioritizing already fragmented/sampled bones and teeth.
• Avoiding pathological teeth or ribs when possible.

Isotopic protocols are optimized to use the minimum material needed for reliable data while avoiding contamination. Best practices are followed, including reference standards, quantifying diagenesis, and reporting calibration and uncertainty.

Before destructive analyses, all bones and teeth will be thoroughly documented, recording wear, pathologies, odontometric and cervicometric measurements, and dental nonmetric traits. Although much of this data will not be used in the current study, it ensures comprehensive information is preserved for future research.

After collecting data from bone and tooth samples, all specimens will be thoroughly documented through photographs (multiple views), reflectance transformation imaging (RTI), and 3D digital scans. Plaster casts may also be made from intact teeth and returned to the museum along with remaining samples and any leftover powders. 

The project emphasizes ethical data sharing and accessibility. All results will be published in open access journals, with data made publicly available to support international research and reduce future destructive analyses. Plaster casts, remaining samples, and laboratory notebooks will be returned or archived, while digital scans, photographs, and data spreadsheets will be submitted to the Digital Archaeological Record (tDAR) to ensure long-term preservation and broad access. All dissemination will respect the ownership and preferences of the Museum of Cultural History in Oslo.

The project emphasizes careful and well-defined research questions, ensuring that sampling and analysis of human skeletal remains from St. Nicholas’ Church Cemetery are directly relevant. Ethically, the project ensures that all data collected and samples taken will contribute to a completed study. 

The committee’s evaluation

In its ethical evaluation of the application, the committee uses the Guidelines for Ethical Research on Human Remains (National Committee for Research Ethics on Human Remains, 2022) as its primary reference. Where relevant, the committee may also consider other national and international research ethics guidelines. 

The project is complex and interdisciplinary, yet it presents both the complexity and potential pitfalls in a clear and transparent manner. The ambitions extend beyond generating new historical knowledge by also seeking to provide insights into any pandemic in the future. 

The research environment appears strong, with recognized scholars affiliated with leading universities. This strengthens the framework of the project with regard to scientific quality and credibility.

The protocol is extensive but at the same time thorough and well elaborated. The project group has also established procedures to minimize damage to material, including the use of already processed material, as well as scanning and plaster casting.

The project description provides limited information on collaboration with Norwegian research environments. This part appears weak, and the project group should reflect more thoroughly on how the project may create value for the collection and Norwegian research community.

The transportation of material out of the country is reasonably justified by the aim of performing all analyses at the same laboratory under identical procedures. Nevertheless, this entails risks, particularly for teeth, which are more difficult to protect than ribs. It is essential that all necessary export permits are obtained before sampling begins, in order to avoid irreversible interventions without certainty of approval for transport. Applications for export permits are handled by the Museum of Cultural History, UiO. English language applications are available at https://www.kulturdirektoratet.no/fag/museum-og-kulturarv/museumsutvikling/import-og-eksport#sknadsskjema-og-veiledning.

Conclusion

The project is assessed as solid, anchored in a strong research environment, and of clear scientific and societal relevance. The committee recommends the project be approved, subject to the following remarks:

• Approval must be sought from the analysis committee at the Museum of Cultural History in Oslo.
• Collaboration with Norwegian researchers and institutions should be strengthened and more clearly demonstrated, including the project’s added value for the museum collection and the Norwegian research community.
• Sampling must not commence before the necessary export permits have been obtained.

 

Yours sincerely

Sean D. Denham, Chair
Lene Os Johannessen, Secretariat

Copy: Museum of Cultural History, University of Oslo.