Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Assessing Multiple Lines Of Evidence For Gene Flow In Archaeological Contexts, Angela Marie Mallard

Doctoral Dissertations

This multi-study dissertation assesses the ability of two skeletal analysis methods—a model-bound quantitative genetic method (Relethford-Blangero) and a model-free biological distance method (Mahalanobis’ D²)—to evaluate gene flow in the U.S. Southwest and Northwest Mexico based on archaeological models. The first study uses dental metric data from the Sonoran Desert and Mogollon Rim (c. 1600 B.C. to A.D. 1450) to pilot the Relethford-Blangero method in this context. Notably, the method shows that populations from two large sites have less than expected dental variance, failing to support a gene flow event despite material culture pointing to at least two coexisting …

Comparative Investigations Of Population Health In Urban Military And Non-Military Communities Of Roman Britain, Marina Elizabeth Noble

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

This research compiles and compares the biological health profiles of three urban populations at Venta Belgarum (Winchester), Londinium (London), and Eboracum (York) as a means for assessing health and status differences between military and non-military urban populations in Roman Britain. Data concerning a total of 1,334 individuals representing all ages and both sexes were analyzed between the three cemetery samples. Estimations of mean stature, rates of periosteal reaction, porotic hyperostosis, cribra orbitalia, linear enamel hypoplasias, and trauma are compared here in an effort to discuss relative health, status, and inequality within the wider populations of urban non-military communities (Venta …

"When The Voices Of Children Are Heard": Evaluating The Biological Effects Of Socioeconomic Status On Children In Postmedieval London., Ashley R. Ezzo

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

As the most vulnerable members of society, children (and their treatment) may reveal important sociocultural and socioeconomic praxes throughout human history. During the Postmedieval period, children, especially low socioeconomic status (SES) individuals, participated in the workforce. By examining the demographic distributions and paleopathological profiles of juvenile skeletal remains from high SES (St. Bride’s Crypt and Chelsea Old Church) and low SES (St. Bride’s Lower and Crossbones) Postmedieval (1700-1850 CE) London cemeteries, we can better understand how SES impacted the biological health and mortality of children. While results indicated higher mortality risk associated with low SES circumstances, most differences in pathological …

Assessing Population Variation Using Heritable Nonmetric Traits: A Bronze Age Assemblage From Tell Abraq, United Arab Emirates, Katie Marie Taylor

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

This research investigates the use of heritable nonmetric traits as a means for assessing population variation and biological relatedness within an archaeological sample using the commingled human skeletal tomb assemblage from the Bronze Age site of Tell Abraq, United Arab Emirates (2100-2000 BCE). A total of 410 individuals representing all ages and both sexes were interred in the Umm an-Nar period tomb. An analysis of sixteen heritable nonmetric traits was conducted on the adult human skeletal remains for both cranial and postcranial elements. Of the eight elements analyzed, one element in particular displayed anomalies rarely described in archaeological contexts. Seven …

Analyzing The Consistency Of Scoring Porotic Hyperostosis From 3d Scans, Carson Rouse

Master's Theses

The use of 3D scans is becoming more and more common in the field of bioarchaeology. They alleviate the need to travel, allow for larger sample sizes, and can help preserve bones with pathologies on them which make them more fragile. Though there are major benefits with using 3D scanning of human remains, there is a lack of studies which examine whether or not traditional pathology scoring methods can be used to consistently gather the same data from these 3D scans. This project examines how consistently six researchers of varying experience levels scored porotic hyperostosis from 25 3D scans on …

Bodily Memory In Digital Space: Personalized Bioarchaeological Research And Musculoskeletal Modeling At The Milwaukee County Poor Farm Cemetery, Jessica L. Skinner

Theses and Dissertations

A well-contextualized account of personal experience and identity is essential to any study of social dynamics and is crucial to the enactment of critical and socially active bioarchaeology. New technology, including digital bioarchaeology, can enhance the growing body of work that examines embodiment, agency, and identity, particularly when used with a holistic and ethical approach. This dissertation utilizes three-dimensional (3D) scanning, a method that creates digital representations of human skeletal remains, to bolster identifications of individuals once interred at the Milwaukee County Poor Farm Cemetery (MCPFC) whose identities were erased by construction in the 1900s. Embodied life experience is also …

An Evaluation Of Activity In A Colonial Maya Cemetery Using Femoral Cross-Sectional Analysis, Casey Lejeune

Master's Theses

Cortical bone formation in the population of Tipu, a colonial visita site in Belize, was examined here to reveal factors of their activity and address the possibility of a status-based burial plan. To answer this question, this research examined the endosteal surface of the midshaft femur using digital imaging methods. The femora from 70 individuals were photographed and examined using the BoneJ plugin in ImageJ software. The cortical bone area was compared to additional variables, including sex, age, stature, pilastric index, and burial location. It was hypothesized that sex, age, and stature would correlate with cortical bone area similarly across …

Of Body And Mind: Bioarchaeological Analysis Of Nineteenth And Early Twentieth Century Anatomization And Institutionalization In Siena, Italy, Jacqueline M. Berger

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Institutional bioarchaeology is a growing sub-field within bioarchaeology, particularly social bioarchaeology as informed by the biocultural approach. However, the majority of studies in this vein have primarily addressed English-speaking contexts, to include analyses of institutional assemblages preserved archaeologically, and anatomical collections. The present study examines of the Siena Craniological Collection (SCC) - located in Siena, Italy. The collection was assembled between 1862-1931, and originally contained remains of 1,122 patients from both the general and mental hospitals in operation in Siena during this period (Brasili-Gualandi & Gualdi-Russo, 1989a). In addition to demographic analysis of the Siena Craniological Collection as a whole, …

Health Disparities Between Women And Men In Medieval Europe: A Bioarcheological Study Of Gender Roles, Ella Uren

Conspectus Borealis

No abstract provided.

An Examination Of Sex Distributions In Umm An-Nar Tombs From Bronze Age Arabia Using The Distal Humerus, Charles Downey, Silvio Ernesto Mirabal Torres, Lesley A. Gregoricka, Jaime M. Ullinger

Year 1: AAPA 2021 – virtual

Background: Umm an-Nar (2700-2000 BCE) communal tombs from southeastern Arabia contain human skeletal remains characterized by extensive commingling and variable degrees of burning. Because of this, few bioarchaeological studies have been conducted examining the proportions of males to females in these monumental tombs. We hypothesized that increased social stratification in the late Umm an-Nar period would lead to a higher number of males interred in Umm an-Nar tombs over time.

Methods: To estimate sex, we measured four features of the distal humeri from tombs Unar 1 (2400-2200 BCE) and Unar 2 (2300-2100 BCE). Heat-induced changes to bone from cremation were …

Mni And Sex Estimation In Two Umm An-Nar Tombs From The Uae, Jaime M. Ullinger, Lesley A. Gregoricka, Chaylee Arellano, Quentin Burke, Victoria Calvin, Charlie Downey, Rachel Heil, Alyssa Mcgrath, Silvio Ernesto Mirabal Torres, Jeremy Simmons

Year 1: AAPA 2021 – virtual

Commingled tombs are often overlooked in bioarchaeological studies because of the difficult nature of analysis, despite their prevalence across the ancient world. Tombs Unar 1 (U1) and Unar 2 (U2), located in the United Arab Emirates, date to the Umm an-Nar period (2700-2000 BCE), when people witnessed shifts in mortuary practices likely reflective of broader changes in subsistence and social organization. A collaborative project that trains undergraduates in anthropological research has examined tomb membership for U1 and U2 by estimating MNI and sex. Despite early descriptions of U1 and U2 holding similar numbers of individuals, this project found that MNI …

Counting Chins To Count People: Determining Mni For Umm An-Nar Tombs From Mandibular Fragments, Chaylee Arellano, Quentin Burke, Lesley A. Gregoricka, Jaime M. Ullinger

Year 1: AAPA 2021 – virtual

Background: The Umm an-Nar period (2700-2000 BCE) was a time of rapid transformation within the Oman Peninsula, characterized by changes in mortuary practices, agriculture, and settlement. Located in the United Arab Emirates, Unar 1 (2400-2200 BCE) and Unar 2 (2300-2100 BCE) are two large Umm an-Nar tombs that held commingled, fragmented remains, posing a challenge in determining the minimum number of individuals (MNI). Based on the larger size of Unar 2, we hypothesized that the number of interred individuals would increase over time.

Methods: MNI was calculated using the zonation and landmark methods for the mandible. MNI and tomb size …

Sex Estimation For Early Bronze Age Arabian Tombs Using The Temporal Bone, Victoria Calvin, Jeremy Simmons, Lesley A. Gregoricka, Jaime M. Ullinger

Year 1: AAPA 2021 – virtual

Background: The Umm an-Nar period (2700-2000 BCE) in the United Arab Emirates was marked by the appearance of settlements, oasis agriculture, and fortification towers, suggesting increasing stratification. Conversely, mortuary practices indicate equality based on commingling of community members. Based on other tombs in the region, it was hypothesized that sex ratios would not differ between tombs Unar 1 (U1; 2400-2200 BCE) and Unar 2 (U2; 2300-2100 BCE).

Methods: Sex was estimated using robusticity of the mastoid process and the lateral angle of the internal auditory meatus for the temporal bone. As cremation was part of the mortuary ritual and could …

A Tali Of Two Tombs: Calculating Mni And Bone Calcination In Commingled Remains From Two Bronze Age Tombs In The Uae, Alyssa Mcgrath, Rachel Heil, Lesley A. Gregoricka, Jaime M. Ullinger

Year 1: AAPA 2021 – virtual

Background: The Umm an-Nar period (2700-2000 BCE) is known for its dichotomy between the rise in social hierarchy during life, seen in the construction of monumental towers and emergence of oasis agriculture, and equal treatment in death, seen in the commingling of all community members within monumental tombs. Umm an-Nar tombs Unar 1 (2400-2200 BCE) and Unar 2 (2300-2100 BCE) were part of the Shimal Necropolis in the United Arab Emirates. Archaeologists initially hypothesized that these tombs each contained 400+ people, but these estimates were not based on bioarchaeological methods.

Methods: Using the talus, the landmark and zonation methods were …

Archaeobiogeography Of Extinct Rice Rats (Oryzomyini) In The Lesser Antilles During The Ceramic Age (500 Bce–1500 Ce), Marine Durocher, Violaine Nicolas, Sophia Perdikaris, Dominique Bonnissent, Gwenola Robert, Karyne Debue, Allowen Evin, Sandrine Grouard

School of Global Integrative Studies: Faculty Publications

During the Ceramic Age (500 BCE–1500 CE), Lesser Antilles rice rats (tribe Oryzomyini) made up a significant portion of the diet of Caribbean islanders. Archaeological excavations across the archipelago resulted to the discovery of large quantities of remains from to these now extinct taxa. It offers a unique opportunity to investigate the past biogeography of this taxon of high cultural and ecological importance. We have studied 1,140 first lower molars originating from 40 archaeological sites across eleven islands of the Lesser Antilles archipelago using two-dimensional geometric morphometric approaches to establish spatiotemporal pat-terns relying on phenotypic variations. This study identified three …