Biological and Physical Anthropology Commons^™

Low Mineral Density Of A Weight-Bearing Bone Among Adult Women In A High Fertility Population, Jonathan Stieglitz, Bret Beheim, Benjamin C. Trumble, Felicia C. Madimenos, Hillard Kaplan, Michael Gurven

ESI Publications

Evolutionary theories of aging posit that greater reproductive effort causes somatic decline given a fundamental trade-off between investing energy in reproduction and repair. Few studies in high fertility human populations support this hypothesis, and problems of phenotypic correlation can obscure the expected trade-off between reproduction and somatic condition. This cross-sectional study investigates whether greater reproductive effort is associated with reduced calcaneal bone mineral density (BMD) among female Tsimane forager-farmers of lowland Bolivia. We also investigate whether female Tsimane BMD values are lower than sex- and age-matched US reference values, despite the fact that Tsimane engage in higher physical activity levels …

A Mediterranean Mosaic: The Archaeological Evidence For Ethnic Diversity At Pithekoussai, Rachel Dewan

The Partisan

No abstract provided.

In A Bind: Artificial Cranial Deformation In The Americas, Aaron Fehir

The Partisan

No abstract provided.

Leadership In An Egalitarian Society, Christopher Von Rueden, Michael Gurven, Hillard Kaplan, Jonathan Stieglitz

ESI Publications

Leadership is instrumental to resolution of collective action dilemmas, particularly in large, heterogeneous groups. Less is known about the characteristics or effectiveness of leadership in small-scale, homogeneous, and relatively egalitarian societies, in which humans have spent most of our existence. Among Tsimane’ forager-horticulturalists of Bolivia, we (1) assess traits of elected leaders under experimental and naturalistic conditions and (2) test whether leaders impact collective action outcomes. We find that elected leaders are physically strong and have more kin and other exchange partners. Their ranks on physical dominance, kin support, and trustworthiness predict how well their groups perform, but only where …

Political Influence Associates With Cortisol And Health Among Egalitarian Forager-Farmers, Christopher Von Rueden, Benjamin C. Trumble, Melissa Emery Thompson, Jonathan Stieglitz, Paul L. Hooper, Aaron D. Blackwell, Hillard Kaplan, Michael Gurven

ESI Publications

Background and objectives: Low social status increases risk of disease due, in part, to the psychosocial stress that accompanies feeling subordinate or poor. Previous studies report that chronic stress and chronically elevated cortisol can impair cardiovascular and immune function. We test whether lower status is more benign in small-scale, relatively egalitarian societies, where leaders lack coercive authority and there is minimal material wealth to contest.

Methodology: Among Tsimane’ forager-horticulturalists of lowland Bolivia, we compare informal political influence among men with urinary cortisol, immune activation (innate and acquired), and morbidity as assessed during routine medical exams.

Results: After …

Tempo And Mode Of Domestication During The Neolithic Revolution: Evidence From Dental Mesowear And Microwear Of Sheep, Melissa Zolnierz

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The Neolithic Revolution marked a dramatic change in human subsistence practices. In order to explain this change, we must understand the motive forces behind it. Researchers have proposed many different stimuli, with most theories invoking environmental dynamics, human population density increases beyond environmental carrying capacity, and the natural outgrowth of human and plant/animal interactions. However, unanswered questions remain concerning the mechanics of animal domestication. Traditional studies of changing faunal morphology and skeletal population profiles offer some clues, but such research has had limited success identifying stages intermediate between wild and domesticated forms, which makes it difficult to discern initial attempts …

Atherosclerosis: A Longue Durée Approach, L. Samuel Wann, Randall C. Thompson, Adel H. Allam, Caleb E. Finch, Albert Zink, Hillard Kaplan, Bruno Frohlich, Guido P. Lombardi, M. Linda Sutherland, James D. Sutherland, Lucia Watson, Samantha L. Cox, Michael I. Miyamoto, Alexandre F. R. Stewart, Jagat Narula, Gregory S. Thomas

ESI Publications

Fernand Braudel popularized the longue durée approach to scholarly investigation in the mid-20th century. The longue durée approach can be loosely translated to mean “look for the big picture, synthesize data collected using all available methodology over the long periods of time to identify fundamental principles, rather than becoming preoccupied with isolated observations.” Braudel, a historian and economist, emphasized observation of enduring historical structures and analysis of long-term, panoramic economic trends rather than concentrating on detailed descriptions of particular events or individuals. He also urged the use of insight gained from many scholarly disciplines to identify the essential underpinnings of …

Genomic Correlates Of Atherosclerosis In Ancient Humans, Albert Zink, L. Samuel Wann, Randall C. Thompson, Andreas Keller, Frank Maixner, Adel H. Allam, Caleb E. Finch, Bruno Frohlich, Hillard Kaplan, Guido P. Lombardi, M. Linda Sutherland, James D. Sutherland, Lucia Watson, Samantha L. Cox, Michael I. Miyamoto, Jagat Narula, Alexandre F. R. Stewart, Gregory S. Thomas, Johannes Krause

ESI Publications

Paleogenetics offers a unique opportunity to study human evolution, population dynamics, and disease evolution in situ. Although histologic and computed x-ray tomographic investigations of ancient mummies have clearly shown that atherosclerosis has been present in humans for more than 5,000 years, limited data are available on the presence of genetic predisposition for cardiovascular disease in ancient human populations. In a previous whole-genome study of the Tyrolean Iceman, a 5,300-year-old glacier mummy from the Alps, an increased risk for coronary heart disease was detected. The Iceman’s genome revealed several single nucleotide polymorphisms that are linked with cardiovascular disease in genome-wide association …

Why Did Ancient People Have Atherosclerosis?: From Autopsies To Computed Tomography To Potential Causes, Gregory S. Thomas, L. Samuel Wann, Adel H. Allam, Randall C. Thompson, David E. Michalik, M. Linda Sutherland, James D. Sutherland, Guido P. Lombardi, Lucia Watson, Samantha L. Cox, Clide M. Valladolid, Gomaa Abd El-Maksoud, Muhammad Al-Tohamy Soliman, Ibrahem Badr, Abd El-Halim Nur El-Din, Emily M. Clarke, Ian G. Thomas, Michael I. Miyamoto, Hillard Kaplan, Bruno Frohlich, Jagat Narula, Alexandre F. R. Stewart, Albert Zink, Caleb E. Finch

ESI Publications

Computed tomographic findings of atherosclerosis in the ancient cultures of Egypt, Peru, the American Southwest and the Aleutian Islands challenge our understanding of the fundamental causes of atherosclerosis. Could these findings be true? Is so, what traditional risk factors might be present in these cultures that could explain this apparent paradox? The recent computed tomographic findings are consistent with multiple autopsy studies dating as far back as 1852 that demonstrate calcific atherosclerosis in ancient Egyptians and Peruvians. A nontraditional cause of atherosclerosis that could explain this burden of atherosclerosis is the microbial and parasitic inflammatory burden likely to be present …

Funerary Artifacts, Social Status, And Atherosclerosis In Ancient Peruvian Mummy Bundles, M. Linda Sutherland, Samantha L. Cox, Guido P. Lombardi, Lucia Watson, Clide M. Valladolid, Caleb E. Finch, Albert Zink, Bruno Frohlich, Hillard Kaplan, David E. Michalik, Michael I. Miyamoto, Adel H. Allam, Randall C. Thompson, L. Samuel Wann, Jagat Narula, Gregory S. Thomas, James D. Sutherland

ESI Publications

Background: Evidence of atherosclerotic plaques in ancient populations has led to the reconsideration of risk factors for heart disease and of the common belief that it is a disease of modern times.

Methods: Fifty-one wrapped mummy bundles excavated from the sites of Huallamarca, Pedreros, and Rinconada La Molina from the Puruchuco Museum collection in Lima, Peru, were scanned using computed tomography to investigate the presence of atherosclerosis. Funerary artifacts contained within the undisturbed mummy bundles were analyzed as an attempt to infer the social status of the individuals to correlate social status with evidence of heart disease in …

Emerging From The Shadows: Civil War, Human Rights, And Peacebuilding Among Peasants And Indigenous Peoples In Colombia And Peru In The Late 20th And Early 21st Centuries, Charles A. Flowerday

Anthropology Department: Theses

Peacebuilding in Colombia and Peru following their late-20^th and early 21^st century civil wars is a challenging proposition. In this study, it becomes necessary as indigenous peoples and peasants resist domination by extractive industries and governments in their thrall. Whether they protest nonviolently or rebel in arms, they are targeted for human-rights violations, especially murder, disappearance and displacement. The armed actors, state, insurgency, paramilitaries or drug traffickers, destroy civic institutions (local or regional government) and the civil (nonprofit) sector and replace them with their own authoritarian versions. Therefore, peacebuilding has emphasized rebuilding civic institutions, civil society and local …

Skeleton Found In A Rhode Island Cave, Possibility Of Lyme Disease, Tooba Ghafoor

2014 Honors Council of the Illinois Region Papers

A skeleton of a member of the Wampanoag tribe was recently found in a cave near the eastern shore of Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island. Examination of the skeleton revealed the individual was most likely a male in his late 40s. Six Amblyomma americanum and nine Xodes scapalaris ticks were found in the fur cloth of the individual. These ticks, as well as abnormalities of the skeleton, including a missing arm and broken rib, raise the possibility of the individual suffering and dying from Lyme disease. Carbon-14 dated the remains and ticks to the year 1600.

The Evolutionary Fitness Of Personality Traits In A Small-Scale Subsistence Society, Michael Gurven, Christopher Von Rueden, Jonathan Stieglitz, Hillard Kaplan, Daniel Eid Rodriguez

ESI Publications

"Personality, or “behavioral syndromes”, are relatively stable dispositional traits and behaviors that have now been identified in a myriad of social species (Gosling, 2001; Sih et al., 2004), and with clear consequences on fitness (Smith & Blumstein, 2008). The canalization of personality during development and relative stability thereafter, despite varying circumstances over the life course that might otherwise favor greater plasticity, is an important problem attracting much theoretical and empirical attention (Dall et al., 2004; Dingemanse et al., 2010). Further, personality is highly heritable, yet how heritable genetic variation in personality traits is maintained over generations remains another conundrum (Buss …

Occam's Razor Vol. 4 - Full (2014)

Occam's Razor

No abstract provided.

A Biocultural Perspective On The Transition To Agriculture In Ukraine, Jordan Kenneth Karsten

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

The development of agriculture and its spread around the globe is one of the most consequential events in the history of our species. The transition to agriculture is associated with many cultural developments, such as craft specialization, urbanization, and the creation of social hierarchies. Many social theorists believe that these changes associated with the adoption of farming were beneficial to the human condition, however, not all agree. The goal of this research is to evaluate the impact of the adoption of agriculture on human health. To do this, bioarchaeological analysis is employed, comparing the skeletal and dental health of Mesolithic …