Nicholas P Herrmann

Isoscape refinement is an essential component for  accurately predicting region-of-origin in forensic investigations involving isotope analysis of unidentified human remains. Stable oxygen (d18O) and hydrogen (d2H) isotopes were measured from 57 tap water samples collected across Mississippi to model refined isoscapes for the state. A tap water conversion equation, d18Otw=1.64 d18Op
31.35, was developed for the southeastern USA to test the prediction accuracy of the d18Otw isoscape using individuals with known residential histories. A local Mississippi resident (USAFA-134) was assigned with 90% probability to the correct region-of-origin reported by the participant. Assignments for Georgia residents (USAFA-118 and USAFA-205) had variable results, predicting USAFA-118 from Mississippi and USAFA-205 as a nonlocal resident. Stable isotope values often overlap geographically and a multi-isotope approach should be used when narrowing region(s)-of-origin(s). This study demonstrates the utility of refining isoscapes and the importance of tissue calibration in prediction assignments of human remains.

Bioarchaeologists and palaeopathologists have recently turned their attention towards one critical aspect of the study of the history of disease: health-related caregiving. In response, an approach, the bioarchaeology of care, and, within it, the web-based Index of Care (IoC) have been developed to enable the identification and interpretation of past caregiving. Here, we apply the IoC to Burial 86, a young adult (18-25 years) female from the late Mississippian period, Dallas cultural phase Holliston Mills site (40HW11; ca. AD 1348-1535), TN. Burial 86 exhibits pathologies specific to treponematosis. They also exhibit a suite of pathologies indicative of physical impairment, including a varus angular deformity in the right tibia that is potentially the result of a malaligned pathological fracture. Following the IoC, we determine that Burial 86 probably experienced moderate clinical impacts on several domains (e.g., musculoskeletal system) with various functional impacts on essential activities of daily living. This means that Burial 86 likely had a disability and likely received caregiving, though it is impossible to determine if the care was efficacious. That care was provided likely reflected the community of Holliston Mills' more egalitarian socio-political structure, which was unusual for the late Mississippian. It may also reflect Burial 86's agency, the presence of adequate resources at the site, as indicated by high frequencies of high status mortuary artifacts, or a combination of these factors. The mortuary program for Burial 86 does not indicate that they were marked as being different-in status or other social categories-than other community members. This study highlights how bioarchaeological evidence can be used to explore the downstream effects of chronic infections, such as treponematosis, throughout the body and across the life course, and the opportunities for health-related caregiving in past societies that these processes can potentially create.

Bioarchaeologists and palaeopathologists have recently turned their attention towards one critical aspect of the study of the history of disease: health-related caregiving. In response, an approach, the bioarchaeology of care, and, within it, the web-based Index of Care (IoC) have been developed to enable the identification and interpretation of past caregiving. Here, we apply the IoC to Burial 86, a young adult (18-25 years) female from the late Mississippian period, Dallas cultural phase Holliston Mills site (40HW11; ca. AD 1348-1535), TN. Burial 86 exhibits pathologies specific to treponematosis. They also exhibit a suite of pathologies indicative of physical impairment, including a varus angular deformity in the right tibia that is potentially the result of a malaligned pathological fracture. Following the IoC, we determine that Burial 86 probably experienced moderate clinical impacts on several domains (e.g., musculoskeletal system) with various functional impacts on essential activities of daily living. This means that Burial 86 likely had a disability and likely received caregiving, though it is impossible to determine if the care was efficacious. That care was provided likely reflected the community of Holliston Mills' more egalitarian socio-political structure, which was unusual for the late Mississippian. It may also reflect Burial 86's agency, the presence of adequate resources at the site, as indicated by high frequencies of high status mortuary artifacts, or a combination of these factors. The mortuary program for Burial 86 does not indicate that they were marked as being different-in status or other social categories-than other community members. This study highlights how bioarchaeological evidence can be used to explore the downstream effects of chronic infections, such as treponematosis, throughout the body and across the life course, and the opportunities for health-related caregiving in past societies that these processes can potentially create.

Methods for estimating age, sex and stature are well‐developed and produce quantifiable accurate classifications if the necessary skeletal elements are present. However, the primary methods used to estimate ancestry are craniometric (Spradley et al., 2008) and dental morphological analyses (Edgar, 2013), both of which are not currently capable of discerning between “Hispanics” of different country origins. This is mainly due to “the term Hispanic [being] a social construct
with no precise genetic meaning” (Spradley et  al., 2008: 21). Instead, the US Census Bureau classifies all members of the Caribbean, Mexico, Central America and South America (except Brazil) into one general category, “Hispanic” (Spradley et al., 2008). Recent and promising attempts have been made by Edgar (2013) to differentiate between New Mexican and South Florida Hispanics using specific dental morphological traits that are common within each population. In some
cases, the skull and/or the appropriate teeth necessary for ancestry estimations are not present, which prohibits either craniometric or dental morphological analyses. For cases missing the essential skeletal elements required for ancestry estimation, stable isotope analysis can help predict potential regions of origin based on the geochemical signature of the bones and teeth. Stable isotopes are incorporated into the hard and soft tissues of an individual during life from food,
water and the environment, and can be extracted after death to inform the analyst about the diet and migration patterns of the decedent. Isotope results can be used to rule out geographical regions that do not correspond to predictions based on isotope signatures from skeletal material. Stable isotope data can be used to reduce the time spent looking at missing person reports that may match the biological profile but are not consistent with the isotopic information for an unidentified individual.

The Mississippi State Asylum (MSA) Cemetery sample offers a complex opportunity to assess institutional health patterns in post-reconstruction Mississippi. Although the burials are unidentified, they are not unknown. Extensive admission, discharge, and death certificate records provide a layered demographic picture of the asylum community. These records provide a listing of most individuals who died at the facility (N≈10,000) and serve as the ante-mortem dataset within a Disaster Victims Identification (DVI) framework for the unidentified recovered burials (n=66). Employing dendrochronology, skeletal biology profiles, and isotopic geochemistry we assess the MSA sample within a DVI model. Identification is the ultimate goal, but an ancillary goal is to contextualize the limited burial sample. Candidate patient lists are derived from the DVI model based on biological profile and additional isotopic and archaeological information. From individual burial candidate lists, health profiles will be generated from the admission and death records and used to build a composite health picture of the burial sample in relation to the historical records. We present the results for Burial 1 for whom we have a dendrochronological coffin date of post-1926 (near cut), a dental enamel strontium ratio value of 0.709253 ± 0.000001 2se, and dental enamel carbonate δ180 value of -4.13‰ (VPDB).  Combining these data with a biological profile, we narrow the potential patient list. Ideally, these efforts would lead to identification when combined with DNA analysis, but the candidate lists can also be examined to provide a richer understanding of the health challenges facing this institutionalized population.

Modern Americans consume imported foods, foreign beverages, and bottled water. The consumption of these imported products has increased since the rise of the global supermarket. Studies in forensic anthropology suggest the consequence of the global supermarket is the homogenization of biogeochemical signatures in modern humans. For this presentation, radiogenic strontium (87Sr/86Sr) and stable oxygen (δ18O) isotopes were analyzed from modern donated skeletal collections to understand the effects of the global supermarket over time.
Isotopic assays from bone collagen, hair keratin, and enamel apatite from the William Bass, Maxwell Museum, and Texas State University-San Marcos donated skeletal collections were combined with previously reported data from the United States Air Force Academy and Joint POW/MIA Accounting Commands Central Identification Laboratory. Samples from individuals with self-or-family-reported birth locations and/or permanent residential history changes were used for this study. Birth year for the donated individuals ranged from 1903 to 1987. The 87Sr/86Sr values (n=75) ranged from (0.70749-0.71324; SD=0.00099) and δ18O values (n=95) ranged from (14.35‰-21.47‰; SD=1.48). Spatial and temporal analyses for 87Sr/86Sr and δ18O data were conducted using ArcGIS 10.2, and classified by Jenks natural breaks according to birth year and tested with calibrated probability assignment models.
The 87Sr/86Sr results show that modern human isotope signatures gradually approach the value of seawater over time (0.7092). Modern human δ18O isotope signatures remain variable and less dependent on the individual’s birth year. The consequence of the global supermarket is its effect on the usefulness of 87Sr/86Sr isotopes for individuals born after 1980.
Supported by the National Institute of Justice Grant under Award No. 2008-DN-BX-K193.