Biological distance

Pottery Mound is a large Ancestral Puebloan site situated within the Middle Rio Grande (MRG) region of New Mexico. This article adds to our understanding of relationships between Pottery Mound, the Western Pueblos, and Mexico through use of biological distance analysis based on dental nonmetric traits. Extensive material and cultural influences, as well as migration events from Western Pueblos to Pottery Mound, have been proposed by several scholars, while others have highlighted parallels to Mexico, especially Paquimé. A total of 1,528 individuals from the U.S. Southwest and Mexico were used to examine relationships between Pottery Mound and these areas. We find no evidence of close biological similarity between Pottery Mound and the Western Pueblos or northern Mexico. Instead, the results indicate biological affinity between Pottery Mound and sites in the MRG region and Mogollon areas. This similarity suggests that although there is evidence for trade between Pottery Mound and oth...

Archaeological evidence suggests that Tecolote Pueblo, occupied from A.D. 1050-1300, may be a geographic outlier, located at the far eastern edge of Puebloan occupation but still affiliated with the Pueblo. The biological affinity of its residents, however, was not known, as Plains sites have also been recovered very near to Tecolote. Using the dentitions recovered from the site, a dental anthropological approach was used to determine whether the residents’ biological affinity was closer to Puebloan or Plains groups. Dental nonmetric traits were recorded using ASUDAS (Arizona State University Dental Anthropology System) standards and compared statistically using the Mean Measure of Divergence and nonstatistically using Turner’s expression count method. Results from both methods indicate that Tecolote Pueblo is more closely related to Puebloan than Plains groups. This result supports the results of a previous study based on cranial metric traits that Tecolote Pueblo was slightly, but not significantly, more closely related to the Pueblo. However, multidimensional scaling shows that Tecolote does not fall neatly into the Puebloan group and may be biologically different due to genetic drift.

Around A.D. 1050 Late Woodland peoples living near the Mississippi River and its tributaries experienced vast changes in material culture, site organization, and ideology. These changes are often attributed to trade, religion, or migration from the center of Mississippian cultural expansion, the Cahokia site, near St. Louis, Missouri. Previous biological distance analyses examining skeletal assemblages in and around the Cahokia site area have found biological continuity between Late Woodland and Mississippian individuals. Minimal biological distance research has been done investigating biological relationships between groups at the northern periphery of the Mississippian cultural landscape; therefore, this project looked at the movement of people in the central Illinois River valley, southeast Wisconsin, and south central Indiana. The Archaic Indian Knoll group was examined as a comparative control group. The wide scope of this dissertation presents a unique examination of Late Woodland and Mississippian interaction in the Midwest.

Biological distances were investigated through examination of human permanent dentition using odontometric and non-metric trait analyses. Results show that there is no evidence for a group of biologically different Mississippian people moving into the areas examined. Results also indicated a general reduction of within-site biological variation occurring during the Mississippian period. This is consistent with previous biological distance research in the Midwest. Small differences present between dental size and dental shape data results may indicate increased biological homogenization of groups as a result of Mississippianization of the area. Furthermore, large biological distances between groups in Wisconsin as well as the larger region suggest that Wisconsin groups were participating in different social and biological networks than those analyzed in this project.

Finally, the Archaic Indian Knoll skeletal assemblage was examined as a comparative control group based on the hypothesis that their geographic and temporal distance would also result in biological distance, primarily as a result of dental reduction through time. Results show that the Indian Knoll group had small biological distances to all other groups in the project with no evidence of dental reduction and therefore could not be used as a comparative control.

ABSTRACT: Analysis of stable carbon and nitrogen isotopes from soft or mineralized tissues is a direct and widely used
technique for modeling diets. In addition to its continued role in paleodiet analysis, stable isotope analysis is now
contributing to studies of physiology, disease, and nutrition in archaeological and living human populations. In humans
and other animals, dietary uptake and distribution of carbon and nitrogen among mineralized and soft tissue is carried
out with varying efficiency due to factors of internal biology. Human pathophysiologies may lead to pathology-influenced
isotopic fractionation that can be exploited to understand not just skeletal health and diet, but physiological
health and nutrition. This study reviews examples from human biology, non-human animal ecology, biomedicine, and
bioarchaeology demonstrating how stable isotope analyses are usefully applied to the study of physiological adaptation
and adaptability. Suggestions are made for future directions in applying stable isotope analysis to the study of nutritional
stress, disease, and growth and development in living and past human populations.

Biological distance, representing the determination of differences between populations relying on features controlled in most cases by more than one gene, is determined for populations having lived in the past by using anthro-poscopic [non-metric] and anthropometric [metric] traits developing in dependence on both environmental and genetic factors. This study on the skulls of 344 male skeletons belonging to twelve Anatolian populations which lived during various periods and in various places, dating from the Early Bronze Age to the first quarter of the twentieth century , and stored in Hacettepe University's Biological Anthropology Laboratory, was conducted using 20 metric and 28 non-metric traits with the aim of comparing of these two variables in studies of biological distance in Anatolian populations and determining the biological relationship between these populations. In order to determine biological distances from metric variables, Mahalanobis's Generalized Distance (D²) was used. In order to determine biological distances from non-metric traits, MMD statistics were used. Utilizing the SHAN cluster method in the NT-SYS packet program, fenograms were created for the distance matrices belonging to both variables found in dual comparisons of Anatolian populations. Fenograms created from D² matrix calculated from metric variables and fenograms created from MMD matrix calculated from trait variables produced relatively similar results. In addition, in this study both chronologic and geographic distance were shown to be better reflected in non-metric traits than in metric traits. Results produced from these variables were determined to be more in accord with archaeologic and historical data than results

Giriş: Dişler geçmişte yaşamış toplulukların kültü-rel özellikleri hakkında bilgi verirken, aynı zaman-da bu toplulukların biyolojik akrabalık ilişkilerinin de en önemli yansıtıcıları olarak değerlendirilmektedir. Dünya genelinde topluluklar arasındaki varyasyonun belirlenmesi için çok sayıda çalışma yapılmış olması-na rağmen, bu çalışma Anadolu için ilk örneği oluş-turmaktadır.

Many different data sources are used in determining the biological distance of populations, mostly the results of genetic and also linguistic, anthropometric, osteometric, odontometric and anthroposcopic studies. If the use of genetic studies is not considered due to the need of a serious infrastructure and a high cost, non-metric dental traits have many advantages over other skeletal traits for biological distance determination. These advantages include a multifactorial inheritance (genetics, epigenetics and environmental), no significant sexual dimorphic features, no consistent right and left jaw side differences, and having a standard recording system providing for in-observer and inter-observer compliance (Arizona State University Dental Anthropology System / ASUDAS). The system and standards for determining and quantifying non-metric dental traits are as important as the statistical methods (Mean Measure Divergence / MMD, Mahalonobis D 2) used for the accurate analysis of the data, and also the softwares (R, SPSS, C++) in which these methods are applied. The aim of this study is to indicate the features of AnthropMMD package program developed on R programming language based on MMD statistics, to show the advantages of graphical user interface, and to discuss the results in terms of Anatolian samples. For this purpose, "AnthropMMD" package program is tested by using part of the non-metric dental traits data provided from skeletons obtained from the Topaklı (TP / Nevşehir), Klazomenai (KLZ / İzmir), İzmir Demir Çelik Limanı (İDÇ / İzmir) and Batı Limanı (BTL / İzmir) excavations. As a result, it is seen that AnthropMMD package program and its graphical user interface provide great convenience both in calculating the required statistics and in visualizing the obtained data unlike other programs. The results obtained are consistent with the predicted biological distance relationships in terms of the periodic proximity and geographic location of the relevant populations without genetic data.

El sitio Chimpay se encuentra en el valle medio del río Negro, pocos kilómetros al oeste de la isla de Choele Choel, en el centro-sur de la República Argentina. Se trata de un contexto de fines del siglo XIX conformado por el entierro doble de un hombre y una mujer adultos, asociados con un abundante y diverso acompañamien-to funerario de origen europeo e indígena, que sugiere que habrían gozado de cierta jerarquía y que el hombre habría ostentado un cargo militar en el ejército argentino. A fin de esclarecer este complejo ritual funerario, el presente trabajo parte de un enfoque osteobiográfico y busca avanzar en la identificación biológico-poblacio-nal de los individuos e inferir condiciones generales de vida.

ABSTRACT The Chimpay site is located in the Negro River middle valley, a few miles west from Choele Choel Island, in the south-center of Argentina. It is a late nineteenth century context that consists in a double burial of a man and a woman associated with a rich and diverse european and indigenous funeral offering, suggesting that they had a hierarchical social position and that the male would have had an Argentine military rank. In order to clarify this complex funeral ritual, the paper develops an osteobiographical approach and aims to give information about biological identification of the individuals and to infer their general living conditions.

Medieval Poland (10th-15th c. A.D.) was characterized by long term sociopolitical transformation that drew culturally diverse immigrants across Europe and Asia. Historical, archaeological, and bioarchaeological evidence indicate an increase in craft specialization and interregional trade. This led to an increase in trade and market economy which drew people from rural into urbanized areas. Previous scholars have used cranial data to examine biological distance between medieval populations. However, the use of dental morphology to investigate geographic patterns in biological distance has been underutilized. This project investigates dental morphological variation in relation to geographic distance from various medieval skeletal samples.

To investigate population variation, we recorded the presence and absence of dental nonmetric traits using the dental morphological trait scoring system now referred to as the Turner-Scott method. Thirty-three nonmetric traits were scored on two-hundred individuals from five medieval sites. Medieval population affinities were compared using C.A.B. Smith’s Mean Measure of Divergence (MMD). The MMD results demonstrate that Stręgoborzyce, Gubin, and Pawłów-Trzebnicki are more similar to each other than to Płońsk and Sandomierz. Phenotypic and geographic distances were then compared using the Mantel and partial-Mantel matrix correlation test. Results of the Mantel and partial-Mantel tests indicate that dental morphological variation is significantly correlated (r=0.787397; p-value=0.027) with geographic distance. These preliminary results highlight phenotypic similarity is associated with geographic proximity and conforms to a model of isolation by geographic distance. We conclude that the integration of dental data will provide valuable insight in medieval Poland where extensive interdisciplinary evidence is available for comparison

Archaeological evidence suggests that Tecolote Pueblo, occupied from A.D. 1050-1300, may be a geographic outlier, located at the far eastern edge of Puebloan occupation but still affiliated with the Pueblo. The biological affinity of its residents, however, was not known, as Plains sites have also been recovered very near to Tecolote. Using the dentitions recovered from the site, a dental anthropological approach was used to determine whether the residents' biological affinity was closer to Puebloan or Plains groups. Dental nonmetric traits were recorded using ASUDAS (Arizona State University Dental Anthropology System) standards and compared statistically using the Mean Measure of Divergence and nonstatistically using Turner's expression count method. Results from both methods indicate that Tecolote Pueblo is more closely related to Puebloan than Plains groups. This result supports the results of a previous study based on cranial metric traits that Tecolote Pueblo was slightly, but not significantly, more closely related to the Pueblo. However, multidimensional scaling shows that Tecolote does not fall neatly into the Puebloan group and may be biologically different due to genetic drift.

The Gallina heartland was abandoned around AD 1275. The fate of the Gallina people after this abandonment is not well understood. This study uses biological distance analysis to evaluate possible migratory patterns of the Gallina people after their decline. Is there evidence for population continuity of the Gallina in the Rio Grande Valley, or did cultural pressures drive them to more distant areas such as the Mogollon Rim or Greater Southwest? We use dental morphological data to compare individuals from Gallina with samples representing the Rio Grande Valley, as well as the Arizona Mountain Mogollon and Northern Mexico dating after AD 1300. Our results indicate the Gallina possibly migrated to the Middle Rio Grande region, and refute hypotheses that the Gallina people were culturally and biologically isolated from other American Southwest populations. We emphasize the importance of combining archaeological, linguistic, and biological data to evaluate migratory patterns of past popu...

Nickel constitutes about 8-60 % of orthodontic alloys. It is known as an allergenic/cytotoxic trace metal. Therefore, it should be investigated in patients undergoing orthodontic treatment which might last for 2 or 3 years. However, no controlled studies have assessed the influence of orthodontic treatments of longer than 5 months on its systemic levels. Thus, the aim of this retrospective cohort study was to evaluate systemic nickel in patients undergoing orthodontic therapy for a minimum period of 1 year. In this study, urinary nickel concentrations in 20 female and 10 male patients being treated with stainless steel appliances were measured using atomic absorption spectrophotometry. The same procedure was done on a control group of the patients' same-gender near-age siblings (n = 30). The effect of treatment and gender on urinary nickel levels were assessed using a repeated-measures two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and a Tukey test (α = 0.05). The mean treatment duration...

Between 1995 and 1996 archaeological investigations were carried out at Haindorf-Allstedter Mühlberg. During the excavation a cemetery with burials from late Neolithic and the early Bronze Age was discovered. On the Basis of grave goods and specific burial rites it was possible to classify the burials. For the anthropological analysis the partly poorly preserved human remains from 26 graves were at our disposal. In our anthropological determination we could sort out two more individuals, wich probably belonged to unrecognized double burials. We could estimate the age at death for two thirds of the burials, but the sex could only be determined for a quarter. The main reason for this is the absence of distinctive parts of bones for the sex determination. Furthermore, there are individuals without any differentiating features. Two unclear features at this cemetery are the absence of adolescent individuals within the early Bronze Age burials - in contrast to the Late Neolithic - and the distinct imbalance of additional sutural ossicles between the two groups. Ist should also be noted that there are degenerated vertebrae and big joints, certain healed fractures at some extremity bones and - most importantly - an unusual big calvaria trauma (trepanation).

"Based on a variety of sophisticated analyses, these funerary data reveal fascinating and often unexpected patterns that provide insights about social relations, health, diet, and body modifications of early colonial indigenous Maya and African populations of Campeche."--Janine Gasco, California State University, Dominguez Hills"""This multi-disciplinary study is as ambitious as it is timely. The close collaboration of respected ethnohistorians, archaeologists, and physical anthropologists from Mexico and the U.S. is enthusiastically applauded."--Joel W. Palka, University of Illinois, Chicago""The town of San Francisco de Campeche was founded in 1540 and during the first two centuries of the colonies served as one of the key Mexican ports of the Spanish Empire. The contributors to this volume have combed through archival written documents, architectural plans, maps, ceramic artifacts, and bioarchaeological data from human remains recovered at the original Catholic cemetery to reconstruct a dramatic story of colonial life and death.The documents reveal the religious and political strategies used by the Spanish Crown to implant European society; the skeletal evidence traces the human side of the story: physical hardship, the ravages of disease, body modifications (especially of teeth) to denote status, and forced assimilation of both natives and Africans. These nuanced discussions and insights reveal much about the complex, multiracial tapestry of the early Colonial period in Mexico."

Stepwise discriminant function analysis and Mahalanobis's generalized distance are applied to 36 measurements recorded in crania from Australasia and Oceania for assessing biological relationships and possible origins of these populations. Craniofacial variation in Australia is found to be clinal. There is extreme diversity in the Murray River Valley and southern Queensland cranial series. Multiple origins of the Australians are not supported by these results. Although selection and other processes cannot be completely ruled out, gene flow and restrictions to the exchange of genes can explain most of the morphological patterning observed. Breadth and length dimensions of the vault, interorbital breadth, biorbital breadth, palate length, and upper facial height are among the most important discriminators. Viewed within the broader context of Asia and the Pacific, Australians represent a biologically distinct population, one sharing ancestral ties with Melanesians but not with the recent populations of Asia and the rest of the Pacific. The latter represent a second major population complex.

Skeletal evidence of violence in the American Southwest is well known and both healed and peri-mortem trauma has been reported at many sites, including high rates of cranial injury supporting evidence of warfare. The present study examines the peri-mortem skeletal injuries in three young males from Pot Creek Pueblo (AD 1260-1320) located in the Taos Valley. Of the individuals analyzed from the Taos Valley, peri-mortem trauma only occurred in these three males, although healed ante-mortem injuries were present in several other individuals. CT scans of the skulls provided an additional method of analysis of the injuries and data necessary to differentiate peri-mortem trauma from post-mortem damage in one case. The pattern of peri-mortem blunt force and chopping force trauma to the skulls and post-cranial remains suggests hand-to hand combat occurred and these individuals died from chopping trauma to the skull, potentially from warfare related activities. Additionally, comparisons of the trauma patterns to rock art dating to the period suggests the type of weapon depicted may have been utilized to inflict the trauma to the skulls.

Biological distance, or biodistance, analyses are a calculation of population similarity or dissimilarity based on various skeletal traits (Buikstra et al. 1990). In this way measures of population divergence of skeletal samples can be ascertained between groups Approaches to biodistance analyses have changed greatly over time and now incorporate population genetics. This revised understanding of population interactions over time and space has led to vastly different types of analyses within biodistance studies. We compare various historical approaches to biodistance analyses to illustrate the past, present, and future of such studies.

Nickel constitutes about 8-60 % of orthodontic alloys. It is known as an allergenic/cytotoxic trace metal. Therefore, it should be investigated in patients undergoing orthodontic treatment which might last for 2 or 3 years. However, no controlled studies have assessed the influence of orthodontic treatments of longer than 5 months on its systemic levels. Thus, the aim of this retrospective cohort study was to evaluate systemic nickel in patients undergoing orthodontic therapy for a minimum period of 1 year. In this study, urinary nickel concentrations in 20 female and 10 male patients being treated with stainless steel appliances were measured using atomic absorption spectrophotometry. The same procedure was done on a control group of the patients' same-gender near-age siblings (n = 30). The effect of treatment and gender on urinary nickel levels were assessed using a repeated-measures two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and a Tukey test (α = 0.05). The mean treatment duration was 17.1 ± 6.4 months (range, 12-21). The mean nickel concentrations in male and female patients were 9.67 ± 3.25 and 9.9 ± 3.83 μg/L, respectively. These statistics for male and female control subjects were 6.65 ± 2.57 and 8.43 ± 2.94 μg/L, respectively. The ANOVA showed a statistically significant difference between the urinary nickel levels of the treatment and the control groups (P = 0.009) but not between the genders (P = 0.194). The interaction between gender and treatment was also nonsignificant (P = 0.337). The Tukey test indicated that the increase in nickel was higher in male patients, in comparison to their brothers (P < 0.05). It could be concluded that orthodontic therapy for longer durations with stainless-steel archwires might elevate slightly, but significantly, urinary nickel levels.