Talking of Human Rights: Histories,Heritages, and Human Remains

While the rhetoric of human rights is now globally pervasive, the reality of rights implementation patently lags behind and violations continue to escalate worldwide. An examination of recent books demonstrates that rights talk occupies an increasingly central place in all subfields of anthropology. Problematically, anthropologists are excessively invoking “human rights” to imply a higher order of magnitude for the cases they study than if those cases were framed in terms of other rights and claims. Labeling everything a fundamental human right is detrimental to both ethics and accuracy, especially in the face of acknowledged differences in cultural and historical contexts.     

Human Agency and Impersonal Determinants in Historical Causation: A Response to David Lindenfeld

Lindenfeld's proposed reclassification of causes—offered in lieu of a chaos theory applicable to history—yields paradoxical results when applied to the developments that installed Hitler in power, since these would have to rank as "constraining" rather than "empowering" because of his lack of control over them. The "principle of sensitive dependence," while an admirable aspiration, proves a counsel of perfection beyond reach of the historian when applied to those same events. As to historical explanations in terms of structural, impersonal determinants, these remain ascendant, to the neglect of human agency. Narrative history, which alone can account for both remote and immediate causes, continues to be unfashionable. Explanations in terms of structures and impersonal forces, which can only imply causation, are attractive because they offer historians wide scope for exercise of erudition and arrive at determinants that appear larger and more powerful than mere actions of humans. Where profound developments are to be explained, such interpretations conform to the assumption that their causes must have been profound. Yet countless turning-points in history, including Hitler's installation in power, were decisively shaped by acts of a few persons. The frustrating difficulty of accounting for individual behavior contributes to the appeal of impersonal, structural explanations. These tend, however, toward a deterministic view of the past which awakens the impression that what happened had to happen. That obscures the openness of past situations and rules out assignment of personal responsibility to individuals, who seem mere pawns of forces beyond their control. A remedy for such deterministic tendencies lies in counterfactual analysis, which, by drawing attention to feasible, but unrealized, alternatives to what happened, can convey the open-ended qualities of past situations and the importance of contingency.     

Distinguishing Remains of Human Cremations from Burned Animal Bones

Abstract

Archaeological remains of human cremations, often consisting of a few calcined bone fragments unassociated with any other indicators of human mortuary behavior, are sometimes difficult to distinguish from mammalian remains representing ancient garbage. Although experimental and archaeological studies of human cremation may facilitate recognition of cremated or otherwise burned mammal bone, they do not provide the necessary criteria to distinguish cremation from other kinds of burning and, therefore, to recognize, immediately, a human cremation in archaeological context. Experiments were conducted to provide criteria for distinguishing the remains of cremated whole large mammals from intensively burned fresh, anhydrous, archaeological, boiled, and baked bones of large mammals. Results indicate that distinctive patterns of cracking, fracturing, and warping of calcined bone, and especially the absence of evidence of perimortem fracture, may alert the excavator to the possibility of a human cremation.     

The Suitability of 3D Data: 3D Digitisation of Human Remains

The use of 3D data in the analysis of skeletal and fossil materials has conveyed numerous advantages in many fields; however, as the availability and use of 3D scanning equipment are rapidly increasing, it is important for researchers to consider whether these methods are suitable for the proposed study. The issue of suitability has been largely overlooked in previous research; for instance, casts and reconstruction methods are frequently used to increase sample sizes, without sufficient assessment of the effect, this may have on the accuracy and reliability of results. Furthermore, the reliability of geometric morphometric methods and the implications of virtual curation have not received sufficient consideration. This paper discusses the suitability of 3D research with regard to the accuracy, reliability, and accessibility of methods and materials, as well as the effects of the current learning environment. Areas where future work will progress 3D research are proposed.     

Remains of the Dead: Exploring a Human Anatomical Collection from Brazilian Amazon

Osteological lesions can be important to positively identify human remains in forensic contexts, as well as contribute to past population studies. However, their analysis requires training and appropriate research conditions, which may be lacking in certain geographic areas as, for example, the northern region of Brazil. Emphasising existing resources, such as anatomical collections, may help to address this issue. This study explores the anatomical collection of Professor Dr. Manuel da Silva Braga of the Federal University of Pará (Brazil), introducing the traumatic lesions identified in seven crania (13.7%; 7/51) of male (four) and female (three) individuals. The sample profile and the cases identified are in accordance with the pattern of violent victims in the region. This study is the first of its kind in the Pará State, contributing with case studies and examples, to the disciplines of biological anthropology, paleopathology, and bioarchaeology and forensic discipline. It also highlights the significance that anatomical collections may have in the development of those disciplines, suggesting a need for reappraisal and reevaluation of existing resources, as these may be of use for training and research. Lastly, this study builds a bridge towards the social and cultural context of the collection, reinforcing the value of an interdisciplinary approach to human remains. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A Bioarchaeological Investigation into the Human Remains Discovered in the Chloorkop Area,South Africa

In November 2008, human skeletal remains were discovered during construction works undertaken by Carlop Properties in the Chloorkop industrial area, Kempton Park, Gauteng. The Forensic Anthropology Unit of the University of Pretoria, Forensic Anthropology Research Centre (FARC) was notified, and rescue excavations of both the exposed and the undisturbed remains were undertaken. The skeletonised remains of at least 18 individuals were recovered and sent to the Department of Anatomy at the University of Pretoria for standard anthropological analysis. The identity and the time period of these human remains are unknown, and during social consultation, no relatives could be identified. Excavations revealed a formal burial pattern, which suggests a formal cemetery, probably associated with a historic institution. All individuals were buried in wooden coffins in an extended, supine position. The remains consist of both adult and juvenile remains. Some of the remains were found in a commingled state because of disturbance caused by construction work. The minimum number of individuals was determined by the visual pair matching of skeletal elements on the basis of similarities observed in bone morphology, age and sex, trauma and pathology and taphonomic alterations. Bioarchaeological techniques were used, and the following results were obtained. Of the 18 individuals, at least 15 were identified to be males, one possibly female and two juveniles. At least five of the adult male individuals presented with cut marks associated with standard autopsy procedures. No reference to the individuals' identity or to the context of the cemetery within the historical span of the Chloorkop area has been located. However, the burial pattern observed, as well as the demographic profile and pathology observed on the skeletal remains, suggests that these individuals could be linked to the Klipfontein Organic Products Factory (ca 1941s–1970s), which employed many migrant labourers, most to whom lived in compounds on the factory premises. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A Novel Application of Molecular Techniques to Pacific Archaeofish Remains*

Until recently, the identification of fish bone from Pacific archaeological sites generally relied upon morphological analysis of a relatively restricted number of skeletal elements. Limited morphological variation within fish families, amongst other things, has often restricted Pacific archaeofish determinations to the level of family or, in some cases, genus. We suggest that these relatively imprecise determinations may mask important aspects of prehistoric human fishing practices and subsistence patterns. This paper describes a molecular technique that allows for more precise taxonomic determinations, initially applied to the large and diverse family of Serranidae. The technique involves extraction, amplification, sequencing and analysis of mitochondrial DNA variation in the 16s ribosomal RNA gene. Following development of protocols and primers for modern reference materials, the technique was applied to an archaeological faunal assemblage from Aitutaki, southern Cook Islands.     

Neurocranial Trauma in the Late Archaic Human Remains from Xujiayao,Northern China

The early Late Pleistocene late archaic human remains from Xujiayao, northern China, reveal several abnormalities of the neurocranial vault. The Xujiayao site is located on the northwestern boundary of the Nihewan Basin, and on the basis of various indicators, it dates to the early Late Pleistocene. Among the 15 human neurocranial elements found at Xujiayao in the 1970s, three elements show minor traumatic lesions of the external table: the largely complete Xujiayao 5a immature parietal bone, the Xujiayao 8 small piece of anterior right parietal bone and the Xujiayao 12 partial occipital bone. The lesions are all superior to the temporal or nuchal lines and hence were subcutaneous, covered only by the pericranium, the galea aponeurotica and the overlying skin. The external tables are variably concave with irregular bone within the bony depressions, and the diploë show varying degrees of involvement. The Xujiayao abnormalities join a series of minor neurocranial healed lesions among Pleistocene humans, as well as more pronounced healed neurocranial and facial trauma. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.