Browsing by Subject "Bioarchaeology"
Now showing 1 - 3 of 3
Results Per Page
Sort Options
Item Resource intensification in pre-contact central California: a bioarchaeological perspective on diet and health patterns among hunter-gatherers from the lower Sacramento Valley and San Francisco Bay(Texas A&M University, 2006-08-16) Bartelink, Eric JohnIn this study, I use bioarchaeological data derived from human burials to evaluate subsistence change in mid-to-late Holocene central California (circa 4950-200 B.P.). Previous investigations in the region have proposed two competing models to account for changes in subsistence patterns. The seasonal stress hypothesis argues that the increased reliance on acorns and small seeds during the late Holocene led to improved health status, since these resources could be stored and used as a ??buffer?? against seasonal food shortages. In contrast, resource intensification models predict temporal declines in health during the late Holocene, as measured by a decline in dietary quality and health status, increased population crowding, and greater levels of sedentism. I test the hypothesis that health status, as measured by childhood stress and disease indicators, declined during the late Holocene in central California. I analyzed 511 human skeletons from ten archaeological sites in the Sacramento Valley and San Francisco Bay area to investigate temporal and spatial variability in diet and health. I analyzed a subset (n = 111) of this sample to evaluate prehistoric dietary patterns using carbon and nitrogen stable isotope ratios. Indicators of health status show significant temporal and regional variation. In the Valley, tibial periosteal reactions, porotic hyperostosis, and enamel hypoplasias significantly increased through time, implying a decline in health status. In the Bay, health indicators show little temporal variability. However, inter-regional comparisons indicate a higher prevalence of stress and disease indicators among Bay Area skeletons than in the Valley skeletal series. The stable isotope data from human bone collagen and apatite also indicate significant interregional differences in prehistoric diets between the Bay and the Valley. In the Bay, diets shifted from high trophic level marine foods to a more terrestrially focused diet over time. In the Valley, there are no significant dietary trends observed in the data. Dental caries and antemortem tooth loss are significantly more prevalent in the Valley than in the Bay, and closely match the isotopic findings. The paleopathological findings provide support for late Holocene resource intensification models posited for the Valley, but not for the Bay Area.Item Site occupation and phenotypic variation at Colha, Belize(2013-08) Snowden, Brenda; Durband, Arthur C.; Houk, Brett A.The purpose of this research project is to use regional biodistance analysis to better understand site occupation history and burial patterns amongst a prehistoric population from the lowland Maya site of Colha, Belize. Regional biodistance analysis is a technique used by bioarchaeologists to better understand familial relationships between archaeological populations. It has been used to study migration patterns, marriage customs, and burial practices. This research project contributes to the body of knowledge concerning Maya culture. This research will use intracemetery analysis, a type of regional biodistance analysis, to analyze occupation history and burial practices at Colha. In particular, nonmetric traits will be used to determine phenotypic variability. The Colha site is known for large-scale lithic manufacture, standardized tool production, and early evidence for craft specialization. This suggests that there may have been continued occupation of the site over a long period of time by the same family group who possessed the skills needed to produce the lithics. If this is the case, there should be low phenotypic variability among the skeletal population because of limited introduction of new genetic material. Also, most of the skeletal materials were found in Lots 110, 223 and Lot 107, which was a crypt, from Operation 2031. The individuals from Lots 110 and 223 may represent a family group because of their location underneath the floor of the same house. It is also possible that the crypt represents a form of ancestor veneration conducted by the same family. If this is the case, there should be low phenotypic variability between these different lots. This would be further evidence of continued occupation of the site by a family group. Thirty-three cranial nonmetric traits were gathered from 30 individuals to determine phenotypic variability. Mean Measure of Divergence and Fisher’s Exact Test were used to analyze the traits. The sample was divided into three different groupings of two to compare the individuals. In all tests, results were statistically insignificant which indicates that there is high phenotypic similarity among the individuals from Colha Operation 2031.Item The Late Medieval Agrarian Crisis and Black Death plague epidemic in medieval Denmark: a paleopathological and paleodietary perspective(2009-06-02) Yoder, Cassady J.The medieval period of Denmark (11th-16th centuries) witnessed two of the worst demographic, health, and dietary catastrophes in history: the Late Medieval Agrarian Crisis (LMAC) and the Black Death plague epidemic. Historians have argued that these events resulted in a change in subsistence from a cereal grain to a more pastorallyfocused diet, and that the population decimation resulted in improved living conditions. This dissertation bioarchaeologically examines the impact of these historically described events on the diet and health of the population from Jutland, Denmark. I examine the stable isotopic ratios of carbon and nitrogen, dental caries, cribra orbitalia, porotic hyperostosis, periosteal reactions, and femur length to examine the samples for dietary and health differences due to sex, time period, site and social status. The results suggest that there are few chronological differences in diet or health in these samples. There are greater disparities among the sites, as peasants from the rural site had a more terrestrially-based diet and poorer health than the urban sites. While there is little difference in diet by sex, there is a disparity in health between the sexes. However, the direction of difference varies by site, suggesting that the relative treatment of the sexes was not universal in Denmark. While the results indicate there is little difference in health by status, there are dietary differences, as elites had a more marinebased diet than peasants. This research indicates the importance of bioarchaeological analysis in the interpretation of historical events. The recording of history is dependent on the viewpoint of the recorder and may not accurately reflect the importance of events on the the population itself. Bioarchaeological techniques examine skeletal material from the individuals in question and may provide a better understanding of the consequences of historic events on the population, such as the effects of the LMAC and Black Death on the population of Denmark. This research reveals that, contrary to historical expectation, these events did not have a measurable impact on Danish diet or health. Thus, the use of historical documentation and bioarchaeological analyses provides a richer understanding of these historical events.