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Umm an-Nar

Year 2: AABA 2022 – Denver, CO

Articles 1 - 4 of 4

Full-Text Articles in Biological and Physical Anthropology

Age And Inclusivity In Umm An-Nar Communal Tombs From Southeastern Arabia, Lesley A. Gregoricka, Jaime M. Ullinger, Christian Berends, Alyssa Bolster, Brittany Clark, Hannah Jeanlouis, Urvi Kaul, Rachael Orkin Jan 2022

Age And Inclusivity In Umm An-Nar Communal Tombs From Southeastern Arabia, Lesley A. Gregoricka, Jaime M. Ullinger, Christian Berends, Alyssa Bolster, Brittany Clark, Hannah Jeanlouis, Urvi Kaul, Rachael Orkin

Year 2: AABA 2022 – Denver, CO

Umm an-Nar (2700-2000 BCE) tombs in the United Arab Emirates contained the commingled remains of hundreds of individuals interred across multiple generations. Archaeologists commonly reference tomb demographics as being inclusive of all ages, but this assumption is based on a handful of studies that rarely distinguish age categories beyond “subadult” or “adult.” An undergraduate research training program sought to examine age distributions – and thus inclusivity in tomb membership – in greater detail, with a particular focus on fetal and older adult age categories.

A combination of traditional and novel aging techniques were applied to bones from tombs Unar 1 …


A Transition From Tradition: Employing Ta3 And Traditional Age & Sex Estimation Methods To Study Paleodemography In Umm An-Nar Arabia, Alyssa Bolster, Hannah Jeanlouis, Lesley A. Gregoricka, Jaime M. Ullinger Jan 2022

A Transition From Tradition: Employing Ta3 And Traditional Age & Sex Estimation Methods To Study Paleodemography In Umm An-Nar Arabia, Alyssa Bolster, Hannah Jeanlouis, Lesley A. Gregoricka, Jaime M. Ullinger

Year 2: AABA 2022 – Denver, CO

Background: Transition Analysis 3 (TA3) has enormous potential for the study of commingled skeletal material. Previous demographic analyses on commingled remains from Umm an-Nar (2700-2000 BCE) tombs Unar 1 and Unar 2 at the site of Shimal (Ras al-Khaimah, UAE) placed the majority of individuals in a generalized “adult” category using dental eruption. We hypothesized that we would identify more older adults (50+) in both tombs using TA3, and that more would be found in Unar 2, prior to the intensification of agriculture and regional aridification.

Methods: Commingled and fragmentary skeletal fragments (pubic symphyses (n=51), humeri (n=85), femora (n=194)) were …


Estimating Age From Fetal And Young Nonadults From Basilar Portions At Umm An-Nar Tombs From The Uae, Rachael Orkin, Christian Berends, Lesley A. Gregoricka, Jaime M. Ullinger Jan 2022

Estimating Age From Fetal And Young Nonadults From Basilar Portions At Umm An-Nar Tombs From The Uae, Rachael Orkin, Christian Berends, Lesley A. Gregoricka, Jaime M. Ullinger

Year 2: AABA 2022 – Denver, CO

Background: The Umm an-Nar period (2700-2000 BCE) was a time of significant change in southeastern Arabia, prompted by agricultural shifts and seen in shifting social and mortuary practices. Communal tombs Unar 1 and Unar 2 from the Emirate of Ras al-Khaimah (United Arab Emirates), which date to the end of the third millennium BCE, contained commingled, cremated, and fragmented skeletons, a common mortuary pattern in this period.

Methods: Unfused basilar portions of nonadult occipital bones were examined to assess tomb membership and inclusion of young individuals. Three methods were used to analyze age, and measurements taken included sagittal length and …


Analyzing The Prevalence And Severity Of Cribra Orbitalia In Bronze Age Arabia, Urvi Kaul, Brittany Clark, Lesley A. Gregoricka, Jaime M. Ullinger Jan 2022

Analyzing The Prevalence And Severity Of Cribra Orbitalia In Bronze Age Arabia, Urvi Kaul, Brittany Clark, Lesley A. Gregoricka, Jaime M. Ullinger

Year 2: AABA 2022 – Denver, CO

Background: The Umm an-Nar period (ca. 2700-2000 BCE) in southeastern Arabia was marked by the intensification of oasis agriculture and a corresponding shift to sedentism. Cribra orbitalia lesions from tombs Unar 1 and Unar 2 (Emirate of Ras al-Khaimah, UAE) were observed for rates of nonspecific stress during this period of transition. We hypothesized that due to increased reliance on agriculture beginning around 2200 BCE, Unar 1 individuals would have a higher prevalence of active cribra orbitalia.

Methods: Given the commingled and fragmentary nature of these collections, we first scored percentage of orbit present in 25% increments. Scorable orbits (defined …