Age‐at‐Death Estimates from a Disarticulated,Fragmented and Commingled Archaeological Battlefield Assemblage

Estimation of age‐at‐death is an important and challenging part of any investigation of human remains. Extensive research has been undertaken on this subject as demographic information contributes much to bioarchaeological and forensic work. Disarticulated, fragmentary and commingled human remains occur from a wide range of spatial and temporal contexts, and estimation of age‐at‐death can be particularly challenging in these collections. This study evaluated the impact of preservation on techniques that might be applied and their relative utility, using human remains from the site of the Smith's Knoll associated with the Battle of Stoney Creek, a War of 1812 collection from Ontario Canada with some supporting documentary evidence on age‐at‐death. Features assessed were the pubic symphysis, auricular surface and epiphyseal fusion in the innominate. An age‐at‐death estimate was produced for 16 out of 19 individuals considered; the highest minimum number of individuals (MNI) was 24 (right radius) from 2701 identifiable fragments. The pubic symphysis made no contribution to construction of a demographic profile, but as has been suggested previously epiphyseal fusion was useful in this respect. Results demonstrate that previous statements regarding preservation of the auricular surface and its utility in fragmented and poorly preserved collections need to be carefully evaluated. Although 129 fragments of innominate were recorded just one had an auricular surface and post auricular area that could be fully assessed. Transition Analysis was easier to apply than techniques developed previously, and findings from this study suggest that use of the forensic prior distribution could assist in assessment of battlefield assemblages. These results raise some valuable points that need to be considered in any future attempts to improve age‐at‐death estimates using the auricular surface, and important questions regarding expectations for estimation of age‐at‐death in disarticulated, fragmented and commingled collections of human bone. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Bone changes in the human skull probably resulting from scurvy in infancy and childhood

Scurvy in children is poorly known in the palaeopathological literature despite biomedical references indicating that bone changes do occur in some cases and should be observable in human skeletal remains. Research on infants' and children's skulls in museum and anatomical collections in the USA and Europe reveals a complex of features on the external surface of the greater wing of the sphenoid and adjacent bone tissue that may be caused by scurvy. The lesions are bilateral and are characterized by porosity and, in some cases, hypertrophic bone formation. These abnormal bone changes are probably the result of a reaction to chronic haemorrhage in the deep vasculature associated with temporalis muscle function. While these lesions resemble those seen in anaemia and infection, their distinctive anatomical location and association with chewing should differentiate them, in most cases, from other disease conditions. These features are also associated with porous, hypertrophic lesions of the orbital roof and provide additional evidence that caution is needed in attributing porous lesions of the orbital roof solely to anaemia. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Custody and custodianship: A reflection on collection terminology through the lens of human remains

The vast number of human remains in scientific research, museum and teaching collections bring the multifaceted terms ‘custody’ and ‘custodianship’ into view. The question of ‘custodianship’ and ‘curation’ is part and parcel of the language of collection, yet human remains push the question of ownership to a more elementary level. The authors look at the meanings of custodianship as used (and not yet used) within the framework of an interdisciplinary project on academic collections of human remains. They suggest that expanding from custodial protection, representation and expertise to custodial responsibility and care may offer a lens for framing the past and for ‘letting go’ in the future.     

Caring for the dead? An alternative perspective on Sámi reburial

This article is an effort to critically discuss Sámi repatriation and reburial practice based on the analysis of five repatriation cases. Since the seminal repatriation (and burial) of the skulls of Somby and Hætta in Gávvuonna/Kåfjord in 1997, and the more recent reburial of 94 skeletons in Njauddâm/Neiden in 2011, a precedent seems established in Norway that allows the unconditional reburial of all Sámi human remains from collections and excavations. This inevitably poses a serious challenge to research on Sámi human remains and the Sámi past. It is argued that what is important is not research, but that Sámi are allowed to decide for themselves how they wish to care for the dead. Rather than argue according to the adversarial pro-research or pro-reburial viewpoints, this article will take a closer look at how the dead, and their associated material remains, are cared for during Sámi reburial. As will be argued, the care for the material side tends to be neglected and therefore raises an ethical question regarding this practice.     

Straddling the Boundaries Between Sciences

The author reverts to the theme that, in addition to the particular disciplines in physical geography and in economic geography, there is a genuine need for a general geographic approach to study of the geographical environment and of the man-nature relationship. As a result of the growing social impact on the environment, the operation of natural laws and social laws becomes so closely intertwined that no single discipline operating with one particular set of laws is capable of understanding the complex processes and phenomena in the interplay between nature and society. The growing specialized differentiation of geography as a science does not eliminate it as a distinct field of human knowledge with a common object of study. However there is a danger that the process of differentiation may be going too far, with an increasing number of scholars from adjacent disciplines coming into geography. The trend is said to be evident in the advanced training of geographers in universities, where geography facilities are turning into collections of departments turning out, say, meteorologists with little general geographic background. And yet there is a growing need for broadly trained geographers, particularly in the entire field of long-range planning and pre-planning research, in which the author is engaged.     

Counting your chickens: density and distribution of chicken remains in archaeological sites of Oceania

In an effort to document the density and distribution of prehistoric chicken (Gallus gallus) remains across Oceania, this paper presents the analysis of reported faunal remains from over 500 individual archaeological and natural sites from across the Pacific. We examined the presence and absence of chicken in secure prehistoric contexts and factors which may account for this, including human choice, taphonomy, the influence of other animals on extinction events, differential access to resources, and purposeful extirpation. This research highlights the need for full study of the large percentage (18%) of Pacific avifauna collections which have yet to be analysed, to clarify the range and importance of chicken in prehistory. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Past or present? Differentiating California prehistoric native American remains from forensic cases: An empirical approach

The goal of this project is to provide additional data and statistical analyses for differentiating between prehistoric/historic Native American remains and modern forensic cases that may be potentially confusing. Forensic anthropologists often receive requests from local law enforcement to infer whether skeletal remains are of forensic or non‐forensic significance. Skeletal remains of non‐forensic significance are commonly of Native American ancestry, but the empirical methods common for determining Native American affinity from skeletal remains have not been established for California prehistoric/historic Native Americans. Therefore, forensic anthropologists working in California lack empirical methods for not only identifying prehistoric California Native American remains, but also differentiating them from modern/forensic populations whose skeletal attributes are similar. In particular, skeletal remains of Latin American US immigrants of indigenous origins are becoming more present in the forensic anthropological laboratory, and can exhibit the same suite of skeletal traits classically used to identify Native American affinity. In this article, we initiate an investigation into this issue by analyzing both craniometric and morphoscopic data using a range of statistical methods for differentiating prehistoric Northern California Native Americans from modern Guatemalan Maya. Our discriminant analyses results indicate that by using nine craniometric variables, group classification is 87% correct. In addition, seven morphoscopic variables can predict group classification correctly for 77% of the sample. The results suggest that it is possible to differentiate between our two samples. Such a method contributes to the efficient and empirical determination of temporal and geographic affinity, allowing for the repartriation of Native American remains to their tribes, as well as the accurate analysis of forensically significant remains. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Ceramic Technology of the <Emphasis Type="Italic">Asurini do Xingu,Brazil</Emphasis>: An Ethnoarchaeological Study of Artifact Variability

This article presents some of the results of ethnoarchaeological research on ceramic technology I have conducted among the Asurini do Xingu, an Amazonian indigenous population inhabiting a village in the margins of the Xingu River, Pará, Brazil. Based on collected data, presented throughout the article, I discuss the reasons behind the formal, quantitative, spatial and relational variability of the Asurini ceramic vessels. This work will demonstrate that these distinct dimensions of variability are related to the potters’ technological choices during the vessels’ production process, the ceramic teaching-learning structure, and the type, frequency, method and context of use of the same vessels. I try to make clear the different practical and symbolic aspects that may influence the production, use, reuse, storage and discard processes of the vessels. Furthermore, I compare the Asurini context with other ethnographic contexts and try to distinguish regularities that may serve as interpretative references to the study of archaeological ceramic assemblages.

The Glaze Technology of Hispano‐Moresque Ceramic Tiles: A Comparison Between Portuguese and Spanish Collections

For the first time, Hispano‐Moresque glazed tiles from Portuguese and Spanish collections were studied together and compared. This work is included in a wider study tackling the technology of Hispano‐Moresque tile production from several collections in the Iberian Peninsula. While showing many similarities, differences were identified between collections, regarding both chemical and morphological characteristics. The collection from the Mosteiro de Santa Clara‐a‐Velha (Coimbra) stands out from the other collections, with higher SnO₂ content (up to 14 wt%), the highest Fe₂O₃ contents in amber glazes and a Ca‐rich interface layer (mostly comprised of wollastonite, CaSiO₃). Samples from Palácio Nacional de Sintra (near Lisbon) and Seville‐attributed samples (from the Instituto Valencia de Don Juan) are chemically similar, except that most Sintra's samples display a K‐rich glaze/ceramic interface, whereas the ones from Seville exhibit both K‐rich and Ca‐rich inclusions. The samples attributed to Toledo show glazes with many inclusions, contrasting with the homogeneous glazes in most Hispano‐Moresque tiles. From these results, we identify differences that can be used as markers in future studies on Hispano‐Moresque tiles.     

Allegorical Specters and the Rhetorics of Mourning in Diamela Eltit's Jamás el fuego nunca

It has been four decades since the military coup d'état in Chile; however, legal and criminal questions regarding the disappeared bodies of Pinochet's regime are still unanswered, not only because the perpetrators remain unpunished, hence, the question of the viability of justice and the proper closure of national trauma are still in suspense, but also because the conditions of death and disappearance are not clear. The search for the disappeared body has turned towards forensic anthropology in order to assist with the identification of remains and the causes of death. In this article, I study Diamela Eltit's novel Jamás el fuego nunca (2008) and argue that her work questions the place of unidentifiable and unlocalizable remains have within the rhetorics of mourning in a post-dictatorial context. I argue, furthermore, that by recurring to the figure of the specter as an allegory of the forcefully disappeared, Eltit is creating a spectral ontology of the remains in order to interpellate the world of the living with regard to the repressed past.     

Use of stone hammer tools and anvils by bearded capuchin monkeys over time and space: construction of an archeological record of tool use

Wild bearded capuchins (Sapajus libidinosus) in the cerrado (seasonally dry savannah-like region) of Brazil routinely crack open several species of palm nuts and other hard encased fruits and seeds on level surfaces (anvils) using stones as hammers. At our field site, their nut cracking activity leaves enduring diagnostic physical remains: distinctive shallow depressions (pits) on the surface of the anvil, and cracked shells and stone hammer(s) on or next to the anvil. A monthly survey of the physical remains of percussive tool use at 58 anvils in our study site over a 36-month period revealed repeated use, seasonal consistency, temporal variation, landscape-scale patterning, appearance of new hammers and transport of existing hammers to new anvil sites. Artefactual evidence of the temporal and spatial pattern of tool use collected in the survey is in correspondence with concurrent direct observation of monkeys using and transporting tools at this site. Shell fragments endure for years above ground, suggesting that they may also endure in the strata around anvil sites. The bearded capuchins provide an opportunity to study the construction of percussive tool sites suitable for archeological investigation concurrently with the behavior responsible for the construction of these sites. We suggest several lines of inquiry into tool sites created by capuchin monkeys that may be useful to interpret the archeological evidence of percussive tool use in early humans. Archeologists should be aware that transported stone materials and artificial durable landscape features may be the result of activity by non-human animals.     

Archaeological and Historical Materials as a Means to Explore Finnish Crop History

ABSTRACT

In Northern Europe, barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) has been cultivated for almost 6000 years. Thus far, 150-year-old grains from historical collections have been used to investigate the distribution of barley diversity and how the species has spread across the region. Genetic studies of archaeobotanical material from agrarian sites could potentially clarify earlier migration patterns and cast further light on the origin of barley landraces. In this study, we aimed to evaluate different archaeological and historical materials with respect to DNA content, and to explore connections between Late Iron Age and medieval barley populations and historical samples of barley landraces in north-west Europe. The material analysed consisted of archaeological samples of charred barley grains from four sites in southern Finland, and historical material, with 33 samples obtained from two herbaria and the seed collections of the Swedish museum of cultural history.

The DNA concentrations obtained from charred archaeological barley remains were too low for successful KASP genotyping confirming previously reported difficulties in obtaining aDNA from charred remains. Historical samples from herbaria and seed collection confirmed previously shown strong genetic differentiation between two-row and six-row barley. Six-row barley accessions from northern and southern Finland tended to cluster apart, while no geographical structuring was observed among two-row barley. Genotyping of functional markers revealed that the majority of barley cultivated in Finland in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century was late-flowering under increasing day-length, supporting previous findings from northern European barley.     

AN OPEN INVITATION?: ADDING LINKS TO THE EPISTEMOLOGY OF HISTORICAL REPRESENTATIONS

Gradual changes in the way historians select, interpret, and represent aspects of the past are related to equally or perhaps more gradual changes in museum practice. Edited collections on this subject reflect the state of both disciplines and offer an opportunity to evaluate trends, assess progress, and forecast the future. The collection examined in this review essay focuses on the idea of sharing historical authority: How far have we come? What methods have been used? What is the value of collaborative effort? Have technological developments, including digital media and the “participatory Web,” really enabled more inclusive participation? The analysis of the collection includes specific attention to the text itself as an exhibitionary object and emphasizes the effects of its unusual design elements, deictic signals, and heterogeneous genres—particularly the case studies and “thought pieces” that form a significant part of the collection. Other focal points include: the interrogative mood of the text and its call for active reading; explicit historical, social, and disciplinary contexts; and precursor texts that have addressed similar subject matter.     

Cynophagia in the Púchov (Celtic) Culture Settlement at Liptovská Mara,Northern Slovakia

This paper deals with the remains of butchered dogs from the La Tène and Early Roman sites in northern Slovakia. A large settlement revealed at Liptovská Mara was inhabited by the Celtic tribe of Cotini, representing the so‐called Púchov culture. The long‐term excavation of the site has yielded one of the largest collections from that time in Slovakia. During archaeozoological analysis, the skeletal remains of dogs were identified. Interestingly, a large portion of the specimens represent the cranial skeleton, and the majority of mandibles bear distinctive marks of butchery. On the basis of their placement and similar characteristics, the authors conclude that they resulted from tongue‐removal procedures. Moreover, their frequent occurrence clearly supports the idea of the use of dog flesh at the site. The authors argue that cynophagia occurred mainly for economic reasons; however, it might also have been part of the rituals documented in the sanctuary of Liptovská Mara. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Bridging the gap between forensic anthropology and osteoarchaeology—a case of vascular pathology

We report on two cases of similar bony lesions and emphasize the importance of cooperative work between forensic anthropology and forensic pathology. A fairly well preserved cadaver of an old woman was autopsied by a forensic team at the National Institute of Forensic Medicine in Portugal. Although age at death and sex were easily determined, there was insufficient other evidence for personal identification. However, the female revealed severe and extensive lesions in both lower legs and these were useful for determining personal identity. Here we describe the pathological findings, consistent with venous chronic insufficiency. The woman's family subsequently confirmed she suffered from this condition. Furthermore, they informed us of varicose ulcers, which also were suspected by the ties found, in both her legs, during autopsy. A long history of venous chronic insufficiency was subsequently found in her medical records. We compare these forensic findings to the bony pathologies of a male skeleton from the Coimbra Identified Skeletal Collection not previously diagnosed. We argue that these two cases represent the same pathological condition. Without the medical forensic work, the skeletal remains of the second case might not have been positively identified. The benefits of cooperative work between medical and anthropological forensic specialists are reinforced leading to resolution of otherwise unidentified skeletal pathological conditions. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Study and restudy of curated skeletal collections in bioarchaeology: A perspective on the UK and the implications for future curation of human remains

This paper considers the bioarchaeological study and restudy of human skeletal remains in museums and other institutions that curate human remains from archaeological sites. Papers published from 1990 to 2009 in the Journal of Archaeological Science, Journal of Paleopathology, American Journal of Physical Anthropology and International Journal of Osteoarchaeology were considered and contributions dealing with skeletal remains from UK archaeological sites were assessed. There were 258 papers published that matched these criteria and 352 instances when a skeletal collection had been analysed. Seventy‐nine per cent of the papers were based on skeletal samples curated in five geographic areas, London, Bradford, Portsmouth, Canterbury and York; the two sites that were most used were those of Wharram Percy, North Yorkshire, curated in Portmouth at English Heritage, and Christ Church, Spitalfields, curated at the Natural History Museum, London. Reasons for this concentration of research are suggested. It is recommended that the ‘use load’ should be better and more evenly spread around skeletal samples in other geographic areas of the UK in order that knowledge is not limited just to a few skeletal collections, and that a centralised database of skeletal collections curated by different institutions would contribute to this aim. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

WHAT TYPE OF HISTORIAN? CONCEPTUAL HISTORY AND THE HISTORY OF CONCEPTS: A COMPLEX LEGACY AND A RECENT CONTRIBUTION

Javier Fernández Sebastián's edited collections of essays, Political Concepts and Time, is both a critical homage to the monumental work of Reinhart Koselleck (1923–2006) and an important contribution to the methodology of history‐writing. Centered on the polysemic nature of concepts, which are read as “‘vehicles for thought’” studied in their pragmatic and communicative applications in society, Political Concepts and Time provides a stimulating analysis of the role, weight, and future of conceptual history. Its thirteen essays offer an account of problems, questions, and debates on the interplay of words and concepts, meaning and historical change, context and discourse. They endeavor to clarify the complicated and perennially unresolved relationship between theory and practice. In order to do so, Fernández Sebastián has assembled a scholarly composite and broadly international group of specialists from a variety of disciplines and research fields. With the intellectual legacy of Koselleck's Begriffsgeschichte looming large, this book rethinks the ways in which not just historians but also social scientists and philosophers study the past as the expression of contingent, ever‐changing, and revocable semantic units shaping the culturally plural worlds we inhabit. Informed by the idea that history is porous, Political Concepts and Time also deals with the perhaps obvious but no less challenging issue of our approach to time as everyday experience and through its representation(s). Together with exploring the volume's specific historical topics, this essay will highlight some of its limitations and, above all, will respond to its criticism of intellectual history. The following pages will thus argue the case for the latter methodological perspective by reflecting on the type of historian it delineates. Claiming that in their investigation of past meanings intellectual historians make use of creative imagination, the essay will suggest that this model of history‐writing leads to a better understanding of multiple sources and that it might ultimately help overcome some of the inconsistencies and often simplistic divisions between various branches of the historiographical tree. In particular, a small proposal to reconcile conceptual and intellectual history will be advanced.     

Urban Centrality: A Simple Index

This study introduces a new measure of urban centrality. The proposed urban centrality index (UCI) constitutes an extension to the spatial separation index. Urban structure should be more accurately analyzed when considering a centrality scale (varying from extreme monocentricity to extreme polycentricity) than when considering a binary variable (monocentric or polycentric). The proposed index controls for differences in size and shape of the geographic areas for which data are available, and can be calculated using different variables such as employment and population densities, or trip generation rates. The properties of the index are illustrated with simulated artificial data sets and are compared with other similar measures proposed in the existing literature. The index is then applied to the urban structure of four metropolitan areas: Pittsburgh and Los Angeles in the United States; São Paulo, Brazil; and Paris, France. The index is compared with other traditional spatial agglomeration measures, such as global and local Moran's I, and density gradient estimations. El presente estudio introduce una nueva medida de centralidad. El índice de centralidad urbana propuesto (UCI, por sus siglas en inglés) es una extensión al índice de separación espacial (spatial separation index)(Midelfart‐Knarvik et al. 2000). El análisis de la estructura urbana resulta más preciso al usar el índice cuando se toma en cuenta una escala de continua de centralidad (que puede variar de un monocentrismo extremo a un policentrismo extremo) que cuando se considera una variable binaria (monocéntrica o policéntrica). El índex propuesto controla las diferencias de tamaño y forma de las áreas geográficas de las que se tienen datos, y puede ser calculada utilizando diferentes variables, como empleo y densidad poblacional, o tasas de generación de viajes. Las propiedades del índice se ilustran con conjuntos de datos artificiales simulados, y se comparan con otras mediciones similares en la literatura ya existente. Posteriormente, el índice es aplicado a la estructura urbana de cuatro áreas metropolitanas: Pittsburgh y Los Ángeles, en EEUU; San Pablo, en Brasil; y París, Francia. Finalmente, se compara el índice con otras mediciones tradicionales de aglomeración espacial, como el índice de Moran local y global, y estimaciones de gradiente de densidad. 本文介绍了一种度量城市中心性的新方法,提出的城市中心性指数（UCI）是对空间分离指数的扩展。当涉及到中心性规模（从极单中心到极多中心）,不仅仅是二元变量（单中心或多中心）,城市结构则需更加精确的测度。本文构建的指数可以通过数据可获取的不同大小和形状的地理单元控制,并通过不同变量（如就业与人口密度或者旅次产生率）测算得到。该指数的属性可以通过人工数据集的模拟示例说明,或者通过对比已有文献对相似指数的阐述加以说明。然后,通过将该指数应用于全球四个大都市区（美国匹兹堡和洛杉矶、巴西圣保罗和法国巴黎）的城市结构中进行检验。最后,将该指数与其他测度传统空间集聚指数如全局和局部Moran指数及密度梯度估计进行对比.     

Limited yet informative: pathological alterations observed on human skeletal remains from third and second millennia bc collective burials in the United Arab Emirates

While syntheses of palaeopathological studies have been undertaken in many parts of the world, until recently little was known about human health in the past in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Focusing on skeletal pathologies, this paper documents the results of the first synthetic palaeopathologlcal study for this country. The collections of archaeological human skeletal remains come from three sites dating to the third and two sites dating to the second millennia bc and consist predominantly of disarticulated, partially fragmented and often cremated remains. The paper initially discusses potential explanations for the neglected study of human skeletal remains from the UAE. This discussion is followed by an outline of the types of burial practices employed in the past in this region and their effects on preservation. The nature of the collections and the methodology employed in their study are described. Using specific headings, the pathological findings are then documented, followed by a discussion of the results of the skeletal analysis in light of the available archaeological evidence. Finally, it is shown that although limited by preservation, analyses of human skeletal remains provide valuable details about the types of diseases that affected people in the past in the UAE. While less detailed than some palaeopathological syntheses, the results presented in this paper lay the foundations for further work on humans in the past in eastern Arabia. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Assessing Post‐traumatic Time Interval in Human Dry Bone

The post‐traumatic status of antemortem fractures in human dry bone remains is currently defined as being either ‘healing’ or ‘healed’. However, detailed ‘dating’ of the related post‐traumatic time interval would be desirable, since it would aid in assessing individual medical status and care at the time of death. Within forensic pathology practice, fresh tissue healing phases are routinely used as an intrinsic parameter for the length of the post‐traumatic time interval. Unfortunately, the direct application of such a method is hampered when applied to dry bone skeletal material. This study explores the possibility of applying a fracture dating system, drawn forth from the traditional forensic pathology method, on dry bone remains. More specifically, the aim is to establish the extent to which various histomorphological features indicative of specific time intervals of healing are consistently detectable. Human dry bones with fractures and amputations in various phases of healing were studied. Results show that the complementary use of radiological and histological investigation techniques improves the differentiation between various healing phases and thus allow for a more detailed dating of lesions. For future use, healing features that have proven to be consistently detectable and their related post traumatic time intervals are listed. The system aids in demarcating a considerably more ‘narrow’ post‐traumatic time interval than usual. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.