ANT 309 Monday February 25, 2008

  IX               Human Remains (or Bioarchaeology [Formerly archaeological osteology]: The study of human remains (primarily skeletal) from archaeological contexts

                            A               Types of Remains

                                                     1               Whole Bodies

                                                                         a                   Intentional Mummies: Egypt

                                                                         b                   Freeze Dried (The Ice Man)

                                                                         c                   Bogs

                                                     2               Cremations

                                                     3               Burials

                            B               Traditional Description

                                                     1               Skeletal orientation

                                                                         a                   Ventral or dorsal

                                                                         b                   Flexed or extended

                                                                         c                   Orientation of head

                                                     2               Primary or secondary

                                                     3               Basic identification

                                                                         a                   Age of remains

                                                                                                                                i            Modern- forensics

                                                                                                                              ii            Archaeological

                                                                                                                                                        (a)       Radiocarbon

1.      Direct

2.      Via association

                                                                                                                                                        (b)       Association with time-sensitive artifacts

                                                                         b                   Age of individual at death

                                                                                                                                i            Teeth

                                                                                                                                                        (a)       Eruption

                                                                                                                                                        (b)       Wear

                                                                                                                              ii            Patterns of bone growth and deterioration

                                                                                                                                                        (a)       Arthritis

                                                                                                                                                        (b)       Epiphyseal fusion

                                                                         c                   Sex (difficult for subadults)

                                                                                                                                i            Size of bones (males commonly larger than females)

                                                                                                                              ii            Morphology of the pelvis

                                                                         d                   Stature: Based on measurements and ratios from bones to living

                            C               More recent elaborations

                                                     1               Ethical Considerations

                                                                         a                   Native American Grave Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA)

                                                                                                                                i            The Case of Ishi’s Brain

                                                                                                                              ii            Kennewick Man

                                                                         b                   Public Resources Code (State Law)

                                                     2               Paleopathologies (signs of ancient diseases and other ailments indicated by erosion, growths, or altered structure)

                                                                         a                   Arthritis

                                                                         b                   Iron-deficiency anemia

                                                                         c                   Venereal diseases

                                                     3               Signs of trauma

                                                                         a                   Harris lines: Linear signatures in human long bones detectable by X-ray that reflect intervals of dietary stress- famine

                                                                                                                                i            Example in central California study by McHenry- Fewer Harris lines with adoption of the acorn economy

                                                                         b                   Dental hypoplasia

                                                                         c                   Signs of inter-personal violence

                                                                                                                                i            Healed head wounds in the Santa Barbara Channel: Head bonking (sub-lethal conflict)

                                                     4               Reconstructing Diet from stable isotopes

                                                                         a                   Carbon: C12 versus C13

                                                                                                                                i            stable isotope ratios are passed up the food chain, leaving distinctive signatures in bone tissue of consumers. The diet can be reflected in these ratios as found in human bone

                                                                         b                   Carbon pathways and photosynthesis

                                                                                                                                i            Mid latitude plants employ C3 pathway in photosynthesis that discriminates against 13C

                                                                                                                              ii            Tropical plants (maize) employs C4 photosynthesis that discriminates less against 13C

                                                                                                                            iii            Ratios expressed as parts per million from a standard (thus have negative values)

                                                                                                                            iv            Example: Maize in the Tehuacan Valley

                                                                         c                   15N versus 14N ratios are different for marine and freshwater blue-green algae (and fish feeding on the algae) have low ratios while terrestrial plants and animals have high ratios Example: Santa Barbara

                                                     5               Regional Variation

                                                                         a                   Osteometrics

                                                                         b                   DNA

                                                                                                                                i            Mitochondrial

                                                                                                                              ii            Y Chromosome (Nuclear)

                                                                                                                            iii            Native American Haplogroups