Human Bioarchaeology

RESUMEN Los modelos bioantropológicos y arqueológicos proponen cambios en la demografía, en la organización social, en las dinámicas poblacionales y en las redes de interacción social entre los grupos cazadores-recolectores del norte de la Patagonia y del sur pampeano durante los últimos 1000 años. El objetivo de este trabajo es explorar, desde la
perspectiva de la antropología dental, si los individuos recuperados en el curso inferior del río Colorado (transición pampeano-patagónica oriental, provincia de Buenos Aires), inhumados durante el Holoceno tardío (ca. 3000-250 años AP), pertenecieron a diferentes poblaciones biológicas o si, por el contrario, compartieron un pool génico común a lo largo
de ese período. Para alcanzar este objetivo se realizaron
análisis métricos de la dentición permanente de 21 individuos adultos de ambos sexos, procedentes de tres sitios arqueológicos.
Los resultados indican una similitud en la dispersión de
los valores obtenidos, lo que permitiría inferir cierta continuidad fenotípica. En este sentido, no se observan segregaciones claras entre grupos de individuos, de manera que es posible plantear que no habrían existido divergencias biológicas entre los grupos humanos que inhumaban a sus ancestros en el área durante todo el lapso considerado. Estos datos contrastan con la información generada en áreas vecinas (p. ej., Pampa
occidental), lo que indicaría que durante el Holoceno tardío final (ca. 1000-250 años AP) se habrían desarrollado diferentes procesos y dinámicas poblacionales (p.ej., regionalización) a nivel macro-regional.

ABSTRACT Bioanthropological and archaeological models propose changes in demography, social organization, population dynamics, and social network interactions among hunter-gatherer groups of northern Patagonia and southern Pampas over the last 1000 years BP. Following this argument, the aim of this paper is to examine, from a dental anthropological perspective, whether the individuals recovered in the lower course of the Colorado river (Eastern Pampean-Patagonian transition, Buenos Aires province, Argentina), buried during the late Holocene (ca. 3000-250 years BP), belonged to different biological populations or, on the contrary, whether they shared a common gene pool
throughout this period. To achieve this goal, dental metrics were performed on adults from both sexes, recovered from three archaeological sites. The results indicate a similarity in the dispersion of the values obtained, which would allow the inference of certain phenotypic continuity. In this sense, no clear segregations among groups of individuals are
observed, so that it is possible to argue that biological differences would not have existed among the human groups that buried their ancestors in the lower course of the Colorado river during the period considered. These data contrast with the information generated in neighboring areas (e.g., western Pampas), indicating that during the final late Holocene (ca. 1000-250 years BP) different processes and population dynamics (e.g., regionalization) developed at a macro-regional level.

We explore the preservation status and alterations of organic compounds in Roman period human hair strands from a specific individual (M196) excavated at Juliopolis (JP). How do these organic compounds present in this c. 2000-year-old human hair compare to those present in modern hair? Alterations to organic compounds in archaeological human hair are caused by biological degradative processes dependent on multifactorial processes acting on the hair since the deposition of a body in a mortuary context. We investigate the type of organic compounds present using Synchrotron Radiation Fourier Transform Infrared (SR-FTIR). Juliopolis (Iuliopolis) is an ancient multiperiod city, located in the Çayırhan district of Nallıhan, northwest of Ankara. The Juliopolis necropolis from which M196 was recovered was in use throughout the Hellenistic, Roman, and Byzantine periods, and yielded over 700 tombs with numerous human remains. One tomb (M196) contained human remains of exceptional preservation status, including substantial amounts of hair. Human hair from archaeological contexts is not only extremely rare, but importantly, has high analytical value, with potential for analysis of diet, geographical origins, ancient DNA, metal exposure, and other aspects of life in a time-resolved manner. These data make significant contributions to the life history of the individual (osteobiography), as well as contribute towards key archaeological questions. As these analyses are in their majority destructive, prior evaluation of the preservation of sufficient amounts of the organic compounds on which many such analyses rely upon is crucial, to avoid unnecessary loss of precious ancient samples. The results of our SR-FTIR analyses at SESAME synchrotron show that keratin in the JP M196 is more degraded in comparison to the modern reference sample. However, the results also point to clear potential for further analyses with techniques relying on organic compound preservation, such as C and N isotopic analyses for diet, and aDNA.

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.

This research engages in a bioarchaeological analysis of two medieval Danish sites using combined microscopic and macroscopic methods in order to investigate three objectives. The first was to consider the relationship between childhood stress and adult health through the joint consideration of microscopic enamel defects and adult health indicators. Given the context of these populations over a period of history characterized by changing climate and socioeconomic conditions, punctuated by famine and plague, this research also sought to examine temporal patterns in health and stress. Given the increased urbanization over the medieval period, the final objective was to consider health patterns between rural and urban populations. The results showed that the number of stress events did have an impact on later life mortality, and that there was differential expression of this relationship between males and females and between surface and internal enamel defects. A statistically significant decrease in stature was apparent after 1350 A.D. as well as an insignificant increase in tuberculosis and treponema, but an insignificant increase in age at death over time. The inter-site comparison showed higher rates of infectious disease at the rural site of Sejet, with tuberculosis in particular being significantly higher in females at Sejet. Mean age at death was also significantly lower at Sejet for the study sample, but a consideration of the broader cemetery sample showed no significant site differences, suggesting that this might be a sampling phenomenon. These patterns likely reflect the complex nature of the rural and urban interaction during this period, but also emphasize the need for further sampling. This research points to the complex relationship between stress and health and outlines the importance of developing more comprehensive etiological models and operational definitions for identifying stress indicators in dental enamel.

Accentuated lines in dental microstructure are hypothesized to correlate with potentially stressful life history events, but our understanding of when, how and why such accentuated lines form in relation to stressful events is limited. We examined accentuated line formation and life history events in the teeth of three naturally deceased mandrills (Mandrillus sphinx, Cercopithecidae), for whom we had detailed life history information. We determined the ages at formation of accentuated lines in histological tooth sections and used dates of birth and death to calibrate dental histology to calendar time and individual age. We found accentuated lines that matched their mother's resumption of sexual cycles in two individuals, and possibly in the third individual. The subjects also formed lines when their mothers were mate-guarded by males or wounded. Accentuated lines matched the birth of the next sibling in one of two cases. Both females formed accentuated lines when they experienced their own sexual swelling cycles, but lines did not match all sexual swelling cycles. Mate-guarding matched an accentuated line in one case, but not in another. Lines matched all three parturitions in the two females. Changes in alpha male and captures did not consistently coincide with accentuated line formation, but repeated captures were associated with lines. Using simulated data, we show that the observed number of matches between lines and events would be very unlikely under a null hypothesis of random line formation. Our results support the hypothesis that some life history events are physiologically stressful enough to cause accentuated line formation in teeth. They contribute to our understanding of how primate life histories are recorded during dental development and enhance our ability to use teeth to reconstruct life history in the absence of direct observation.

Un seminario per mostrare l'importanza di un dialogo tra discipline umanistiche e scientifiche.
Sinergie necessarie per scavare, documentare, ricostruire e valorizzare storie di uomini e popolazioni passate.
A parlarcene saranno membri dell'ISCUM, esperti del mondo accademico e del MiBACT.
Vi aspettiamo!

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