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Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons

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Archaeological Anthropology

Ursidae: The Undergraduate Research Journal at the University of Northern Colorado

Journal

2017

Articles 1 - 2 of 2

Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

Biological Distance Between Flexed And Supine Burials At The Ancient Greek City Of Himera Using Dental Nonmetric Data, Jessica Czapla Dec 2017

Biological Distance Between Flexed And Supine Burials At The Ancient Greek City Of Himera Using Dental Nonmetric Data, Jessica Czapla

Ursidae: The Undergraduate Research Journal at the University of Northern Colorado

We investigate potential differences in genetic relatedness of flexed and supine burials from Himera, a Greek colony on Sicily (648-409 BCE), using biodistance analysis of nonmetric dental traits to explore whether locals adopted Greek burial styles, Greek and local customs hybridized, and/or each group maintained distinct burial styles. In other contexts, supine burials have been associated with Greeks, and flexed burials have been interpreted as representing indigenous individuals. Thus, we hypothesize that supine burials will be more closely related to Greeks from Euboea (indirect founders of Himera) and flexed burials will be genetically distinct, possibly representing locals. To test our …


The Small But Healthy Hypothesis: Evidence Of Skeletal Stress And Adaptation In Himera, Sicily, Tessa Smith Dec 2017

The Small But Healthy Hypothesis: Evidence Of Skeletal Stress And Adaptation In Himera, Sicily, Tessa Smith

Ursidae: The Undergraduate Research Journal at the University of Northern Colorado

Physical anthropologists are interested in the concept of health in skeletal populations because it helps interpret past human behavior and biological adaptations. Since health is difficult to assess, we use markers of physiological stress in skeletal remains as a proxy for health. Generally, skeletons with more markers of physiological stress (paleopathology) and shorter stature (stunted individuals) are interpreted as being less “healthy.” However, some argue that being shorter does not automatically imply poor health. This study will test the “small but healthy” hypothesis by analyzing a sample size of 14 individuals from Himera, Sicily (six females and eight males) that …