Set amidst Denmark’s tumultuous medieval and post-medieval periods, and using computer tomographic (CT) images, the cross-sectional properties of human second metacarpals were assessed for strength, rigidity, bone quality and age-related cortical bone loss. These parameters were evaluated across time (medieval/post-medieval), space (rural/urban), age and sex in two skeletal samples-the rural cemetery of Tirup (12th-14th century) and the urban cemetery of Black Friars (13th-17th century). Temporal shifts in urban conditions (social status, nutrition) contributed to decreased bone volume in young post-medieval males. Such influences were less pronounced in young females. Lower bone volume in older medieval males was linked to the presence of mendicant friars. Changes in behavioural parameters (total area and Imax) were consistent with a change in women’s activities by the post-medieval period. Consistencies in these parameters among males reflected a temporal consistency in their activity. Greater medullary area in young urban females indicated improved rural health and nutrition. Similarities among young males suggested improved rural health and higher urban socioeconomic status. Active lifestyles conserved bone mass in older rural males, while the friar’s lifestyle contributed to pronounced bone loss in medieval males. Older rural and urban females were comparable likely due to inadequate samples. No inter-site differences in behavioural parameters were observed in males or females, at any age, suggesting similar mechanical loading between rural and urban settings. Age-related findings at Tirup and post-medieval Black Friars (PMBF) suggested that active lifestyles mitigated age-related bone loss. Overall, despite cortical bone loss, strength and rigidity were maintained by the redistribution of bone mass along the central diaphyseal axis. At Tirup, behavioural parameters implied age-based divisions of labour. Sex-based comparisons revealed reduced bone volume in young females across all sites likely due to reproductive history. Menopause-induced bone loss was detected in older PMBF females. At Tirup and medieval Black Friars, greater age-related bone loss occurred in males likely due to limited samples of older females. Biomechanical evidence indicated a sexual division of labour in younger individuals at PMBF and in all age categories at Tirup. At medieval BF biomechanical evidence implies a similar history of mechanical loading for the sexes.