Biological and Physical Anthropology Commons^™

In Search Of A Cause: An Etiological Analysis Of Manubrial Porosity, Jose Sanchez

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Few studies in paleopathology focus on the sternum as a unit of analysis to determine how it can contribute to disease diagnosis in the past. This thesis tested the null hypothesis that manubrial porosity was not associated with respiratory disease or pulmonary tuberculosis. One hundred fifty-four individuals from the Luis Lopes Skeletal Collection were assessed for manubrial porosity. This study sought to be as comprehensive as possible, and thus tested several variables to identify any significant associations with manubrial porosity. Using the odds ratio, 95% confidence interval, and chi-square tests, significant associations exist between manubrial porosity, adolescence, and sternal body …

Sacred Heart: A Stable Isotope Analysis Of Childhood, Diet, And Mobility At A Nineteenth Century Ontario Cemetery, Emily Wells

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This thesis uses stable isotopes of carbon and nitrogen derived from bone collagen and tooth dentin to study infant feeding behaviour, diet, and mobility at the 19^th century Sacred Heart Cemetery in Ingersoll, Ontario, in use from 1848 to 1880. d¹⁵N and d¹³C bone values indicate a diet high in protein with a mix of C₃ and C₄ plants. The most significant source of dietary C₄ plants is through secondary consumption, via livestock raised on maize fodder. The dietary profile of the Sacred Heart population is similar to two contemporary Ontario populations. …

The Methodological And Diagnostic Applications Of Micro-Ct To Palaeopathology: A Quantitative Study Of Porotic Hyperostosis, Jennifer A. Morgan

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The purpose of this dissertation was to assess the value of micro-CT to palaeopathology for the non-destructive analysis of orbital and cranial porotic hyperostosis, common lesions observed in many archaeological skeletal collections. The objectives of this study were to: 1) identify palaeoepidemiological trends in the prevalence of porotic hyperostosis that may support differential diagnoses, 2) evaluate the reproducibility and reliability of two-dimensional (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) methods of micro-CT data collection for the quantitative analysis of bone microarchitecture, and 3) quantitatively evaluate orbital and cranial porotic hyperostosis to determine the value of micro-CT methods for understanding disease pathogenesis and improving …

Elemental Distribution In Bone Impacted By Bacterial Diseases, Steven J. Naftel

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Previous work, by this and other authors, noted several elements in bones and teeth are distributed non-uniformly. It was theorized that elemental distributions may be accentuated in the case of bacterial infections. Regions of bone surrounding Dental Abscess and Tuberculosis lesions were identified from, Varden (AdHa-1) and LeVesconte, Ontario; San Pedro, Belize and Kellis II Cemetery, Egypt. The abscess cavities were excised intact and cross-sectioned through the identified lesion.

Elemental distributions in the bones were obtained using Synchrotron X-ray Fluorescence mapping. Maps of Zinc, Copper, Iron and Bromine were collected from the samples. The elements included in this study displayed …

Exploring The Movement Of People In Postclassic And Historic Period Lamanai Using Stable Isotopes, Alicia E. Donis

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The location of the Maya site of Lamanai on the New River Lagoon in northern Belize strategically situated it to participate in both coastal and inland trade routes and communication. This study of human burials at Lamanai examines the phosphate-oxygen isotope compositions of bone and enamel, which reflect drinking water and hence climatic zones, oxygen- and hydrogen-isotope compositions of modern local water, which provide a baseline for drinking water, and carbon- and nitrogen-isotope compositions of bone collagen, which reflect diet. The combination of isotopic, mortuary, osteological, and artifactual data is used to explore mobility at Lamanai during the Postclassic and …

A Multi-Isotope Investigation Of Two Medieval German Populations: Insight Into The Relationship Among Diet, Disease, And Tissue Isotopic Compositions, Karyn C. Olsen

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This thesis investigates the relationship between disease and bone collagen isotope compositions, and uses isotopic analyses of human and faunal bone to examine the diet and geographic associations of two medieval (9th to 16th century) German communities derived from urban (Regensburg, n=111) and rural (Dalheim, n=24) contexts.

The first goal of this research was to determine the reliability of bone collagen isotopic compositions to characterize diet in unhealthy individuals. Examples of bone pathology were selected from two medieval samples and one modern/historic skeletal collection (n=49) in order to measure the extent to which pathology influences intra-skeletal isotopic variability. The carbon- …

A Micro-Ct Analysis Of The Hominoid Subnasal Anatomy, Arthur M. Klages

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This thesis performed a micro-CT analysis of extant hominoid subnasal anatomy and a review of the subnasal anatomy of the Miocene hominoids. This thesis tested the hypothesis that the extant hominoids exhibit diagnostic morphological patterns of the subnasal anatomy that are phylogenetically informative. The terminology of the subnasal anatomy was revised and new measurements were constructed to analyze the morphology of the hominoid subnasal anatomy. It is suggested that previous analyses of the hominoid subnasal anatomy were limited by technological constraints, poorly constructed measurements, and ambiguous terminology. This micro-CT analysis confirmed that the extant hominoids do exhibit diagnostic patterns of …

Statistical Analysis Of Nonmetric Cranial Trait Interactions In A Skeletal Population Sample From The Dakhleh Oasis, Egypt, Lisa C. Brown

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Skeletal nonmetric traits have been used since the 1960s in genetic distance analyses, largely ignoring the potential for intertrait correlation. Using a skeletal population sample from the Dakhleh Oasis, Egypt, this thesis tests the null hypothesis that intertrait correlation is not occurring in the population at a significant level. Additionally, this thesis tests whether the odds ratio is a suitable statistical test for intertrait correlation. Using the phi coefficient and odds ratio, pairwise comparisons between 39 cranial nonmetric traits were calculated. The results of the statistical analysis show that intertrait correlation is occurring in the Dakhleh Oasis at a significant …

A Stable Isotope Investigation Of Palaeodiet And Residential Mobility During The Integration Period, Quito Basin, Ecuador, Carlie Pennycook

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The Integration Period (500/600-1532 C.E.) saw pre-Columbian society in the Quito Basin of Ecuador develop more politically and socially complex chiefdoms focused around agricultural production and trade. In this study, carbon, nitrogen and oxygen isotopic analyses of bone and teeth from 115 individuals from the sites of Tajamar (n=73) and Nuevo Aeropuerto Internacional de Quito (NAIQ) (n=42) were performed in order to reconstruct short- and long-term dietary patterns, and residential mobility in the Quito Basin. Emphasis was placed on how/if these large-scale societal changes in the region affected group dietary patterns and individual choices and actions.

The isotopic analysis of …

Foreigners Among The Dead At Túcume, Peru: Assessing Residential Mobility Using Isotopic Tracers, Barbara R. Hewitt

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Inhabited from the Late Intermediate Period (A.D. 1000-1470) until the time of Spanish conquest, Túcume was a religious and ceremonial site that was transformed over time into a major urban centre. Archaeological excavations at Túcume have revealed that hundreds of individuals were victims of human sacrifice at the site, where their remains were interred in distinct groupings that are most likely defined by the motivation behind different sacrificial rites. This research employs biogeochemical, archaeological and ethnohistoric data to explore residential mobility related to human sacrifice in and around the site of Túcume, Peru.

This dissertation has two primary foci: one …

A Comparative Ontogenetic Study Of Biomechanical Adaptations In The Long Bones Of South African Khoisan And Sadlermiut Inuit, Kaye-Lynn Boucher

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This research examines and compares the biomechanical adaptations of juveniles from two different climate-adapted populations: Khoisan foragers from South Africa and Sadlermiut Inuit from Nunavut, Canada. Cortical bone measurements were recorded at three diaphyseal locations on the Sadlermiut and Khoisan humeri, tibiae and femora using biplanar radiographs. Biomechanical strength properties were calculated using the Eccentric Ellipse Method (EEM). EEM calculations were interpreted with consideration to the known behavioural patterns of the two groups. Humeral AP and torsional bending strength were greater in the Sadlermiut compared to the Khoisan – most likely caused by kayak paddling among the Sadlermiut. Few differences …

Investigations Of The Biological Consequences And Cultural Motivations Of Artificial Cranial Modification Among Northern Chilean Populations, Christine E. Boston

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The purpose of this study is to build on existing normative models of craniofacial growth and previous craniofacial studies of artificial cranial modification (ACM) in order to deepen the cultural and biological understanding of the this practice. Areas of concentration include a study of the biological changes to cranial epigenetic traits and facial metrics related to ACM, an examination of the biological effects of ACM in order to assess their implications on morbidity and mortality, and an investigation into the cultural motivations for ACM. Three hypotheses were tested: 1) ACM did not affect epigenetic trait incidence or facial metrics; 2) …

Hearts And Minds: Examining The Evolution Of The Egyptian Excerebration And Evisceration Traditions Through The Impact Mummy Database, Andrew D. Wade

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Egyptian mummification and funerary rituals were a transformative process, making the deceased a pure being; free of disease, injury, and disfigurements, as well as ethical and moral impurities. Consequently, the features of mummification available to specific categories of individuals hold social and ideological significance. This study refutes long-held classical stereotypes, particularly dogmatic class associations; demonstrates the apocryphal nature of universal heart retention; and expands on the purposes of excerebration and evisceration implied by synthetic and radiological analyses.

Features of the embalming traditions, specifically the variable excerebration and evisceration traditions, represented the Egyptian view of death. Fine-grain analyses, through primary imaging …

Cross-Sectional Morphology And Mechanical Loading In Plio-Pleistocene Hominins: Implications For Locomotion And Taxonomy, Michele M. Bleuze Ms.

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This study explores locomotion and locomotor variability in Plio-Pleistocene hominins by examining cross-sectional properties and mechanical loading patterns in the proximal and midshaft femur of Paranthropus, fossil Homo sp. and H. erectus. Modern human and Pan models are used for comparative purposes. Cross-sectional properties in the proximal and midshaft femur of fossil hominins are examined to test the hypothesis that members of the same genus should exhibit similar locomotor behavior. In the proximal femur, fossil Homo sp. cluster with modern humans to the exclusion of Paranthropus, and East and South African Paranthropus cluster together. Group differences are primarily due to …