Cranioskeletal Size Variation in San Francisco Bay Prehistory: Relation to Calcium Deficit in the Reconstructed High-seafoods Diet and Demographic Stress

An osteometric–statistical study of residual rickets (RR) skeletal plasticity has been made of a time-ordered sequence of 11 series of adult skeleton sets (n=251) from shellmound sites around San Francisco Bay (the Bay) spanning the three archaeological horizons of Central California Indian prehistory in this region: Early (EH), Middle (MH) and Late (LH). To control for major differences of subsistence ecology and ethnolinguistic affiliation, the Bay sequence was further subdivided into four subregions: East (EB, Costanoan), South (SB, Costanoan, high acorns), West (WB, Costanoan, low acorns) and Northwest (NWB, Coast Miwok). In the eight EB series, a non-linear downward trend in cranioskeletal size was observed between EH and LH2, coinciding with a modest upward trend in the RR-15B score. To ascertain if food calcium deficit (CADEF) can explain the observed secular decline in cranioskeletal size, the evolving aboriginal Bay archaeodiet—relatively high in marine mammals, birds, fish and calcium-rich mollusks—was reconstructed by the diet grid method: in the three subregions with large stands of oaks (EB, SB, NWB), CADEF rose from negligible in the EH to moderate in the LH, as the subsistence base became more dependent on leached acorn meal for energy. Temporal and areal variation in Bay cranioskeletal size relates mostly to CADEF, demographic stress in females (DS), and the ‘male nutritional advantage interaction co-factor’ (MNAIC), in descending order of importance. This study has also confirmed the existence of the San Francisco Bay Indian physical type.     

Secular decline in cranioskeletal size over two millennia of interior central California prehistory: Relation to calcium deficit in the reconstructed diet and demographic stress

An osteometric study of residual rickets (RR) skeletal plasticity has been made of a time-ordered sequence of fifteen series of adult skeleton sets (n=359) from the Great Valley of central California (GV), spanning the three archaeological horizons of California Indian prehistory in this region: Early (EH), Middle (MH) and Late (LH). By least-squares linear regression analysis, a clear and continuous downward trend obtained in cranioskeletal size in both sexes, proceeding from EH to LH in the GV sequence, pari passu with a steady upward trend in the RR-15 score. To ascertain if dietary calcium deficit (CADEF), a known cause of active rickets, can explain the observed secular increase in RR, the aboriginal diet was reconstructed by the diet grid method: CADEF was found to rise from borderline in the EH, to moderate in the MH, to severe in the LH, as the subsistence base shifted gradually away from hunted prey, and storable seed foods—mainly leached acorn meal—became the dominant source of energy. Further regression analysis has shown that the secular upward trend in CADEF is highly correlated with the temporal clines of the GV sequence, directly with the RR-15 score, and inversely with cranioskeletal size: in round numbers, one grade of CADEF brings about a loss of 120 cm³ or 4 per cent in partial skeleton volume. Two biocultural influences—demographic stress (DS) in females, and the less common ‘male nutritional advantage interaction co-factor’ (MNAIC)—modulate the primary bone antitrophic CADEF effect: DS enhancing, MNAIC ameliorating.     

Microchemical and crystallographic analysis of human bones from Nasca,Peru. A possible method of direct dating of archaeological skeletal material

This paper provides two archaeometric equations obtained by crystal–chemical parameters for dating human bone samples from the archaeological site of Nasca, Peru. Based on radiocarbon dating, the burials span from 500 BC to AD 1000. Crystal–chemical modifications in bone hydroxylapatite over time were compared with a twentieth century skeleton from Italy. Chemical analysis was carried out by means of electron microprobe along a profile from the periosteal to the endosteal border of the midshaft of four human femurs. The results indicate that the Ca/P ratio is linearly correlated with time according to the equation t=7880.68Ca/P−12805.90 (r=0.97; r²=0.95). Bone apatite X-ray powder diffraction analysis showed a systematic increase in the (002) reflection intensity with time, according to the equation t=250.49h/a−1961.86 (r=0.98; r²=0.97). The two independent archaeometric equations permit good accuracy in dating osteoarchaeological remains from the south coast area of Peru. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Cranial Variation and Biodistance in Three Imperial Roman Cemeteries

Ancient Roman populations are expected to exhibit considerable biological variation because of extensive trade networks and migration patterns throughout Europe and the circum‐Mediterranean. The purpose of this research is to examine regional biological variation in Italy during imperial Roman times (1st to 3rd centuries ad ) using three samples exhibiting distinctive class and economic systems. The individuals buried at Isola Sacra and Velia represent middle‐class tradesmen and merchants from coastal port populations from Central and Southern Italy, respectively, while the individuals from Castel Malnome represent an inland population near Rome of freed slaves and other lower‐class individuals involved in heavy labour associated with salt production. Data were recorded from 25 three‐dimensional cranial coordinate landmarks and analysed using Procrustes superimposition and associated multivariate statistics in MorphoJ. Procrustes analysis of variance statistics were unable to detect any significant group differences for centroid size (p  = 0.595), but did detect differences in shape (p  = 0.0154), suggesting some variation between the three samples. Canonical variates analyses based on Procrustes distance values suitable for small sample sizes indicated that while Castel Malnome was not significantly different from either of the coastal sites (Isola Sacra, p  = 0.2071 and Velia, p  = 0.8015), Isola Sacra and Velia were significantly different (p  = 0.0119). The similarity of Castel Malnome to the other sites may reflect inherent heterogeneity in the sample, as it represents a group of freed slaves likely originating from various geographic locations. The separation of the two coastal sites is not unexpected, as Velia's location was influenced by an influx of Greek populations in the southern Italian Peninsula. This work supports previous studies using traditional craniometrics and dental metrics showing group similarity across the Italian Peninsula and a separation between more northern and southern groups. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Computed femur and tibia volumes and cranial capacity under near-optimal conditions of skeletal growth: Relation to geomagnetic dipole field intensity and other latitude-dependent climatic variables in archaeological North America and North Africa

Using computed femur (F) and tibia (T) volumes and cranial capacity (CC), the Pleistocene geomagnetic acromegalosis (PGMA) model of human evolution is tested in eight series of male skeleton sets (n = 123) from aboriginal North America and North Africa, the majority dated to the Holocene. The material was selected from the extensive multiracial osteometric data base previously assembled in the course of adult residual rickets (RR) skeletal plasticity research in archaeological populations of the Northern Hemisphere, controlling for optimal bone eutrophism, that is, for the absence of sunshine and calcium deficits and demographic stress. Six of the eight series are of hunter-gatherers, including a terminal Pleistocene mesolithic sample from the Maghreb. As predicted by PGMA, a clear osteotrophic response is observed between the F, T, and CC of these populations and their geomagnetic dipole field intensity (GMFI) backgrounds, here expressed in microteslas (μT); along with evidence that the GMFI-dependent osteotrophism is stronger near the sagittal plane. Slightly higher bioenvironmental correlations, also compatible with PGMA, are obtained with a composite environmental osteotrophism parameter (CEOT.J), which incorporates the reciprocal of the archaeological site's reconstructed mean July temperature as a synergizer of GMFI. In a final demonstration of the utility of the new computed osteovolumetrics, it is shown that Skhul IV, to judge from its size and proportions, is a hyperrobust pre-neanderthal male skeleton of early Late Pleistocene interglacial age, and belongs to the North African geographical race.     

Diet,Geography and Drinking Water in Polynesia: Microfossil Research from Archaeological Human Dental Calculus,Rapa Nui (Easter Island)

Microfossil analysis of human dental calculus provides consumption‐specific and archaeologically relevant data for evaluating diet and subsistence in past populations. Calculus was extracted from 114 teeth representing 104 unique individuals from a late 16^th to early 18^th century skeletal series on Rapa Nui (Easter Island) to address questions of human–environment interactions and possible dietary preference. Scanning electron microscopy was used in lieu of optical microscopy for its superior depth of field and resolution of surface detail. The calculus microfossil recovery produced 16,377 total biogenic silica microfossils: 4733 phytoliths and 11,644 diatoms. The majority of phytoliths correspond with the Arecaceae or palm family (n = 4,456) and the minority corresponds to the Poaceae or grass family (n = 277). Because of the relatively large sample size, we were able to test hypotheses related to age cohort, sex, dental element and geographic region. Results indicate no significant difference in phytolith or diatom recovery based on age cohort or sex. The high frequency and proportion of Arecaceae phytoliths found in calculus extracted from the anterior dentition suggests consumption of soft or cooked foods containing palm phytoliths and the high frequency of diatoms recovered from the southern part of the island argue for different sources of drinking water. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Wildlife Visual Imagery: Do Pictures Used to Promote Destinations Online Match On‐site Species Visibility at Two Geographic Destinations?

Diverse photographic images (pictures) are used to promote wildlife tours on the Internet. But what pictures are used and are they likely to accurately reflect what visitors might see, and hence create realistic expectations for tourists? The relative importance of wildlife and the prevalence of iconic species were assessed for pictures on the Internet used by six English tour companies offering wildlife tours to very different destinations: Southern Africa and Australia. These were then compared with the likely visibility of wildlife at the destination. The content of 926 Southern African pictures representing 1316 different subjects, and 228 pictures representing 307 different subjects from Australia were classified into four themes (wildlife, landscapes/vegetation, activities, accommodation). Wildlife, particularly large mammals, was more frequently used for Southern African tours (43%) whereas pictures for Australian tours were often of landscapes (45%). Large, social mammals active during the day and hence highly visible (e.g. elephant, n= 64) were often used, while iconic, but cryptic, species such as koalas (n= 7), Tasmanian devil (n= 1), leopards (n= 12), and black rhinos (n= 2) were seldom used. Therefore, online pictures used for wildlife tours appear to merge well with what tourists are likely to see at the destination, but appear to diverge somewhat from established destination images for these two regions, particularly Australia.     

Shellfish Exploitation in the Western Canary Islands Over the Last Two Millennia

ABSTRACT

The residents of the Canary Archipelago consumed limpets since the arrival of humans ～2500 yrs. ago, and these harvested gastropods were deposited in large coastal shell middens. This work preliminarily explores shell margin oxygen isotope composition (δ¹⁸O) and body size of the black limpet (Patella candei d’Orbigny, 1840) from archaeological sites in the Canary Islands to assess possible seasonal variability and intensity of shellfish collection throughout the late Holocene. The shell margin δ¹⁸O values of 100 shells (radiocarbon dated between ～500 and ～1800 cal. yr BP) were analysed to estimate sea surface temperature (SST) at time of death. Paleotemperature estimates suggest shellfish harvesting was not year-round, and was avoided in the cooler months (when SST?<?20°C). This pattern differs from most higher latitude Mesolithic and Neolithic human groups, which gathered shellfish year-round, targeting winter more heavily. Preliminary body-size measurements suggest shell sizes have experienced a decline from aboriginal times to the present, which possibly resulted from increasing anthropogenic pressures. During aboriginal inhabitation, maximum adult shell size remained stable, suggesting that present-day harvesting practices are more intense than harvesting from aboriginal human groups. This intensive collection has likely diminished the average adult size of limpet populations in the islands by ～27%.     

Linear Enamel Hypoplasia and Age‐at‐Death at Medieval (11th–16th Centuries) St. Gregory's Priory and Cemetery,Canterbury, UK

Linear enamel hypoplasia (LEH) is a macroscopically detectable band‐like dental defect, which represents localized decrease in enamel thickness caused by some form of disruption to a child's health. Such dental deformations are utilized in osteoarchaeological research as permanent markers of childhood physiological stress and have been extensively studied in numerous ancient human populations. However, currently there is no such data for medieval populations from Canterbury, UK. Here, LEH is examined in the context of age‐at‐death in human burials from the medieval St. Gregory's Priory and adjacent cemetery (11^th–16^th centuries), Canterbury, UK. The cemetery and Priory burials represented lower (n = 30) and higher status (n = 19) social groups, respectively. Linear enamel hypoplastic defects were counted on mandibular and maxillary anterior permanent teeth (n = 374). The age and sex of each skeleton were estimated using standard methods. Differences in LEH counts, age‐at‐death, and LEH formation ages were sought between the two social groups. Results indicate significantly greater frequencies of LEH in the Cemetery (mean = 17.6) compared to the Priory (mean = 7.9; t = −3.03, df = 46, p = 0.002). Adult age‐at‐death was also significantly lower in the Cemetery (mean = 39.8 years) compared to the Priory burials (mean = 44.1 years; t = 2.275, df = 47, p = 0.013). Hypoplasia formation ages differed significantly between the Priory (mean = 2.49 years) and Cemetery (mean = 3.22 years; t = 2.076; df = 47; p = 0.034) individuals. Results indicate that childhood stress may reflect adult mortality in this sample, and that the wellbeing of individuals from diverse social backgrounds can be successfully assessed using LEH analyses. Results are discussed in terms of the multifactorial etiology of LEH, as well as weaning‐related LEH formation. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Determining the habitats of mollusk collection at the Sapelo Island shell ring complex, Georgia, USA using oxygen isotope sclerochronology

Sequential oxygen isotope analysis was performed on Mercenaria spp. (n = 41) and Crassostrea virginica (n = 17) valves excavated from the Sapelo Island Shell Ring complex, coastal Georgia, USA. The data were analyzed to determine the habitats in which the mollusks were harvested in order to gain insight into the subsistence practices of the site occupants. The rationale for this study is based on the observation that temperatures are similar in all of the habitats surrounding the island, but the δ¹⁸O_water trends across the habitats co-vary with salinity. Accordingly, the shells grown in these habitats contain sinusoidal oscillations in δ¹⁸O through ontogeny due primarily to seasonal temperature variation, but the absolute values reflect the salinity ranges of each habitat. Assuming a relatively constant oxygen isotope/salinity gradient since the time of site occupation, it appears that both of these mollusks were exploited over nearly the full range of their salinity tolerances. While a precise estimate of travel distance during collection cannot be made, these data suggest that mollusks were harvested at distances from the site greater than would be predicted using terrestrial foraging models. In addition to providing insight into past subsistence strategies in this region, this research establishes a new method of assessing catchment area and mobility practices.     

Viking age wood resources at Argisbrekka,Faroe Islands

A project is described concerning the examination of wood from two settlements on Eysturoy. Argisbrekka is a seasonally occupied inland settlement radiocarbon‐dated to the 9th–11th centuries, while Toftanes is a year‐round coastal settlement from the 9th–10th centuries. Preliminary investigations of wood from houses and refuse layers at Argisbrekka demonstrate the utilization of three resources: (a) local vegetation of Juniperus, tree Betula and heathland dwarf shrubs, (b) driftwood Picea and Larix, (c) imported wood Pinus and Quercus. The impact of man and husbandry on the vegetation probably resulted in the extinction of tree Betula and the almost total disappearance of Juniperus.     

The Organisation of a Zoo-archaeological Reference Collection of Bird Bones

Abstract

This note describes how we have organised part of our reference collection of bird bones in a series of drawers. The layout takes into consideration a) part of the skeleton (all humeri, for example, are housed together), b) size (smallest species are in the first drawer, larger in the second and so on), and c) taxonomic position (within each drawer specimens within orders, whose labels are colour-coded, are grouped together). Empty cells, reserved for species still missing from the collection, serve as reminders of possible alternative identifications for an archaeological specimen and therefore help to prevent the tendency of forcing identification to what is present in the reference collection.     

Selective hunting of pine marten,Martes martes,in Late Mesolithic Denmark

Pine marten, Martes martes, is the dominating fur prey at three contemporaneous Danish Late Atlantic sites, Agernæs (EMNI = 34), Ringkloster (EMNI = 41) and Tybrind Vig (EMNI = 26). All skeletal elements are represented and the only marks present on the skeleton are those consistent with skinning. Burned teeth in the three populations suggest either new hunting methods or a ritual act. Ringkloster is on the mainland, while Tybrind Vig and Agernæs are island localities. Morphometric data indicate that the subfossil population of larger individuals was maintained on the mainland due to free migration, while the animals in the subfossil island populations had decreased in size in the Late Atlantic.     

Study Abroad Field Trip Improves Test Performance through Engagement and New Social Networks

Although study abroad trips provide an opportunity for affective and cognitive learning, it is largely assumed that they improve learning outcomes. The purpose of this study is to determine whether a study abroad field trip improved cognitive learning by comparing test performance between the study abroad participants (n = 20) and their peers who did not participate (n = 365). Test performance was statistically identical between these groups before and immediately after the study abroad program. On the final exam, the study abroad participants scored significantly higher. Qualitative methods were used to identify increased engagement with the course material and the creation of new social networks as likely explanations.     

John Locke on Native Right,Colonial Possession,and the Concept of Vacuum domicilium

The early paragraphs of John Locke’s Second Treatise of Government (1690) describe a poetic idyll of property acquisition widely supposed by contemporary theorists and historians to have cast the template for imperial possessions in the New World. This reading ignores the surprises lurking in Locke’s later chapters on conquest, usurpation, and tyranny, where he affirms that native rights to lands and possessions survive to succeeding generations. Locke warned his readers that this “will seem a strange doctrine, it being quite contrary to the practice of the world.” His doctrine of native right is equally strange to recent scholars who see in Lockean theory the ideological prototype for England’s colonial expropriation in the “vacant lands” of North America. This interpretation, dignified by the elusive principle of vacuum domicilium, is considerably weakened when Locke’s arguments are placed in the historical context of the sixteenth and early seventeenth-century English colonial experience. Locke’s Second Treatise, with its literary flourish of a vast and idyllic state of nature, was written in the full appreciation of Amerindian agriculture, its established populations, the acknowledgement of native property rights, and the policy and practice of purchasing land from the native inhabitants.     

Internal migration,group size,and ethnic endogamy in Indonesia

Much of the literature on assortative mating has centred on the social contexts of immigrant‐receiving countries in the West. This article examines ethnic assortative mating (endogamy) against rising volumes and intensity of migration within a multi‐ethnic lower middle‐income country. We used full enumeration data from the 2010 Indonesian Population Census to create a national dataset of husband–wife pairs (n = 47.8 million couples), and five subsets of married couples from provinces with the highest proportion of lifetime migrants: Riau, Riau Islands, Jakarta, East Kalimantan, and West Papua (n = 4.05 million). First, we examined the association between migration, group size, and endogamy at the provincial level. We found a negative association between internal migrant stock and endogamy across 33 provinces in Indonesia. Using endogamy as a proxy of the strength of ethnic boundaries, we have shown that accounting for group size at the provincial level changes the overall ranking of endogamy among ethnic groups. Second, drawing on the subsets of couples in the five provinces with the highest proportion of migrants in their population, we used multivariate analysis to examine how migration status correlates with the likelihood of endogamy at the individual level. Controlling for sex, group size, age, education, and religion, we found that the relationship between an individual's migration status and endogamy varies across the five provinces, reflecting the different nature and history of migration, and the ethno‐religious composition in these regions.     

SPATIAL ECONOMETRIC MODELING OF ORIGIN‐DESTINATION FLOWS*

ABSTRACT Standard spatial autoregressive models rely on spatial weight structures constructed to model dependence among n regions. Ways of parsimoniously modeling the connectivity among the sample of N=n² origin‐destination (OD) pairs that arise in a closed system of interregional flows has remained a stumbling block. We overcome this problem by proposing spatial weight structures that model dependence among the N OD pairs in a fashion consistent with standard spatial autoregressive models. This results in a family of spatial OD models introduced here that represent an extension of the spatial regression models described in Anselin (1988) .     

Invasive cordgrass (Spartina spp.) in south‐eastern Australia induces island formation,salt marsh development,and carbon storage

Invasive vegetation species can lead to major changes in the geomorphology of coastal systems. Within temperate estuaries in the southern hemisphere, especially Australia and New Zealand, the cordgrass Spartina spp. has become established. These species are highly invasive, and their prolific growth leads to the development of supratidal environments in formerly intertidal and subtidal environments. Here, we quantified the impact of Spartina invasion on the geomorphology and sequestration capacity of carbon in the sediments of Anderson Inlet, Victoria, Australia. Spartina was first introduced to the area in the 1930s to aid in land reclamation and control coastal erosion associated with coastal development. We found that Spartina now dominates the intertidal areas of the Inlet and promotes accretion (18 mm/year) causing the formation of over 108 ha of supratidal islands over the past 100 years. These newly formed islands are calculated to potentially contain over 5.5 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalent carbon. Future management of the inlet and other Spartina‐dominated environments within Australian presents a dilemma for resource managers; on the one hand, Spartina is highly invasive and can outcompete native tidal marshes, thereby warranting its eradication, but on the other hand it is likely more resilient to rising sea levels and has the potential for carbon sequestration. Whether or not the potential advantages outweigh the significant habitat change that is anticipated, any management strategies will likely require additional research into costs and benefits of all ecosystem services provided by Spartina including in relation to nutrient cycling, shoreline stabilisation, and biodiversity as well as in response to the longevity of carbon found within the sediments.     

Assessment of the Southern Dispersal: GIS-Based Analyses of Potential Routes at Oxygen Isotopic Stage 4

This paper explores the geographic and environmental context of the Southern Dispersal Route, which has been proposed as a migratory route for Homo sapiens from East Africa to Australasia during oxygen isotope stage (OIS) 4 (71–59 kyr). A series of assumptions and constraints garnered from modern hunter-gatherer observations are used to build a model of coastal foragers, which is then integrated with high-resolution physiographic analyses to produce a potential dispersal route along the coastline of the Indian Ocean. Paleoenvironmental conditions that may have supplied critical resources or served as obstacles to human colonization are identified and discussed in regards to human subsistence, the speed of migration, and demographic expansion. These factors suggest that rapid dispersals along coastlines and river valleys would have occurred upon the initial expansion out of Africa, but slowed as populations expanded demographically into South Asia and the Sunda Shelf. This also suggests that archaeological signatures relating to the earliest modern Homo sapiens are more likely to be recovered in South Asia.     

Anomalous diurnal phase shifts of Omega VLF waves (10–14 kHz) on the east–west low latitude and transequatorial paths

The phase of the Omega HAIKU (Hawaii, U.S.A.) and REUNION (La Reunion) signals were measured at Inubo, Japan and onboard ship at Fremantle. Australia. Strong east–west non-reciprocities of the diurnal phase shift are obtained both on the low latitude and transequatorial paths, and it is found that the non-reciprocity on one path is in an opposite sense to the other. The diurnal phase shift, ϕ_DN for the west-to-east (WE) propagation is 7.8–8.7 µs Mm^–1 at 13.6 kHz on the transequatorial and mid-latitude paths, indicating no significant latitude dependence of the phase velocity in WE propagation. On the other hand, ϕ_DN for the east-to-west (EW) propagation greatly depends on the geomagnetic latitude; at 13.6 kHz ϕ_DN = 11.3µs Mm^–1 on the low latitude path and ϕ_DN = 50 µs Mm^–1 on the transequatorial path, which are 40% greater and 35% less than ϕ_DN in WE propagation, respectively. The east-west non-reciprocities of ϕ_DN on the low latitude and transequatorial paths are interpreted in terms of a single mode propagation in the conventional anisotropic waveguide model with β_D = 0.3 km^–1, β_N = 0.5 km^–1 and h_N–h_D = 12.5 km. In particular, the anomalously small ϕ_DN on the EW transequatorial path is explained as due to the high phase velocity of the night-time first-order mode in the equatorial region within ±12° geomagnetic latitude.