Age Estimation by Tympanic Bone Development in Foetal and Infant Skeletons

This article analyses age‐related changes in the development of the temporal bone in a sample of foetal and infant skeletons to contribute to the estimation of age by means of this skeletal element in bioarchaeological and forensic contexts. The sample was selected from a contemporary documented skeletal collection and is constituted by the temporal bones of individuals of both sexes (n = 37) with ages from 23 weeks of gestation up to 11 postnatal months. Different states of fusion of the tympanic ring and development of the tympanic plate were scored separately, and intra‐observer consistency was evaluated. Both documented chronological age and skeletal estimated age were examined in relation to successive stages of fusion and development in the pre‐ and postnatal periods. It was found that the state of fusion of the tympanic ring is especially useful in the discrimination of foetal and postnatal individuals, whereas the development of the tympanic plate is helpful in the differentiation of individuals from and below 3 postnatal months. Even though a certain degree of overlap between successive stages was observed, the fusion of the tympanic ring and the development of the tympanic plate constitute good indicators of age in foetal and infant skeletons. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Spondylolysis in non‐adult skeletons excavated from a medieval rural archaeological site in England

Spondylolysis is studied in a large series of non‐adult skeletons, ranging in age at death from 28 weeks gestation to 18 years old, from the deserted medieval village of Wharram Percy. The aim is to shed light on the age of occurrence of the lesion. Among those with complete lumbar spines, the prevalence of spondylolysis is 0.7%. The prevalence in adults from this group is 12% with no age patterning. Age of occurrence of spondylolysis in this population is inferred generally to be during late adolescent or early adult life. This contrasts with a published study of a modern reference group, unselected for activity patterns or medical complaints, which reported that in most cases spondylolytic defects had already formed by 6 years of age. The Wharram Percy group appeared to resemble rather more the pattern seen today in those involved in strenuous activities, such as competitive sports, both in the relatively late age of occurrence of defects and in the eventual high prevalence. This may be consistent with the observation that, during adolescence, individuals in medieval rural communities were beginning to take on adult tasks which would have been physically strenuous. However, it is unclear why individuals from Wharram Percy did not also form defects in early childhood as modern children appear to. A late age of occurrence appears consistent with published data which suggest a paucity of cases in non‐adults in British archaeological populations. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Identification of the Archaeological ‘Invisible Elderly’: An Approach Illustrated with an Anglo‐Saxon Example

The aim of this paper is to present a method to facilitate age‐at‐death estimation of older individuals (generally those aged 50+ years) in a representative cemetery sample. The purpose of disaggregating catch‐all categories, such as 50+ years, is to enable the exploration of the elderly (those in their 50s, 60s, 70s or 80s) in the context of mortuary archaeology, bioarchaeology and/or palaeopathology. The methodological steps include the following: (1) assessment of occlusal tooth wear in an Anglo‐Saxon cemetery sample from Worthy Park, UK; (2) seriation of the sample, from youngest to oldest, based on the degree of tooth wear; (3) selection of an ethnographically derived model (known mortality profile) by which seriated individuals in the Worthy Park sample could be reallocated to more realistic or appropriate age classes; (4) reallocation of individuals in the seriated Worthy Park sample to the model age classes. A Hadza, Tanzania, hunter‐gatherer profile was chosen to model the Worthy Park sample, although others are available. By using this model, some 66% of the entire adult sample, originally allocated to the single final age category of 45+ years, was distributed across four new age categories from the mid‐40s to mid‐70s. Relatively straightforward, this approach provides a way to identify those individuals, 50+ years old, not normally sensitive to traditional age‐at‐death estimation methodologies currently available. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Penetrating Spinal Injury: An Extraordinary Case of Survival in Early Neolithic Siberia

This paper presents the first archaeological case of long‐term survival following a penetrating spinal injury. The afflicted young adult male individual was recovered from an Early Neolithic hunter‐gatherer cemetery in the Baikal region of Siberia (Russian Federation), dating back nearly 8000 years. The second or third lumbar vertebra exhibits a lithic projectile point embedded in the right lamina, extending most of the way through the vertebral foramen, with evidence of extensive, if not complete, healing indicating survival for at least several months. Micro‐computed tomography imaging is used to non‐destructively visualize both the point and the bone in order to better understand the nature of the traumatic event, as well as the immediate and long‐term complications associated with this grave injury. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Scapular development from the neonatal period to skeletal maturity: A preliminary study

An understanding of the basic growth rates and patterns of development for each element of the human skeleton is important for a thorough understanding and interpretation of data in all areas of skeletal research. Yet surprisingly little is known about the detailed ontogenetic development of many bones, including the scapula. With the intention of describing the changes that accompany postnatal ontogeny in the scapula and algorithms to predict sub‐adult age at death, this communication examines the development of the scapula through nine measurements (3 from the glenoidal area, 4 from the body and 2 related to the spinous process) by polynomial regression. Data were collected from 31 of the individuals that comprise the Scheuer Collection, which is housed at the University of Dundee (Scotland). Four of the derived mathematical curves (scapular length, infra‐ and suprascapular height and spine length) displayed linear growth, whilst three (maximum length of the glenoid mass, acromial width and scapular width) were best expressed by a second‐degree polynomial and two (maximum and middle diameter of the glenoidal surface) by a third‐degree polynomial. All single measurements proved useful in the prediction of age at death, although derived indices proved to be of limited value. In particular, scapular width, suprascapular height and acromial width showed reliable levels of age prediction until late adolescent years. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Probable Atretic Cephalocele in an Adult Female from Punta Secca (Sicily,Italy)

Excavations at Punta Secca, Sicily (Italy), in 2008 uncovered a substantially built tomb of ca ad 625/630 inside a private house and accompanying evidence for libations and funerary feasting in honour of the deceased. Inside the tomb were the skeletal remains of an adult female aged approximately 20/25 years and a child aged approximately 3/5 years. DNA analysis showed the child to be female and the adult and child to have been consanguineous. Archaeological and epigraphic evidence demonstrates that they were Christians. The cranium of the adult female showed an enlargement of the central portion of the occipital bone and a circular depression that terminated in a bifurcated foramen (diameter 3.25 mm). The former is likely an instance of occipital bunning; the latter is the first attested example of atretic cephalocele from an archaeological context. Tombs do not normally occur in ancient houses, and the hypothesis is advanced that the individual may have suffered from medical side effects, such as seizures, which caused rejection of the adult female by the local Christian community but veneration of her by her family as a holy woman. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

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.     

Diet and Oral Health of Populations that Inhabited Central Argentina (Córdoba Province) during Late Holocene

The aim of this work is to study, from a bioarchaeological perspective, the diet and oral health of the populations that inhabited Central Argentina in two periods which would reflect changes in subsistence strategies: earlier late Holocene (ca. 2500–1500 years BP) and later late Holocene (ca.1500–400 years BP). The sample is composed by 83 adult individuals from 47 archaeological sites. We considered five non‐specific indicators of stress, infectious and degenerative diseases: hypoplasia of dental enamel, dental caries, abscesses, antemortem teeth loss, and calculus. We also considered hypercementosis, dens in dens, and agenesis. We test intraobserver error by means of intraclass correlation coefficient and analysis of variance of repeated measures. We calculated prevalence by sex, age, geographic subregion, and chronological period. We applied Chi‐square (X²) to test statistical significance of observed differences. Considering the sample as a whole, low prevalence of dental caries (10.27%), abscesses (16.52%), and hypoplasia (10.84%) are coincident with values observed for populations with mixed or hunter‐gathering subsistence strategy. In later late Holocene, high incidence of caries should be considered as indicator of consumption of C4 vegetables or other carbohydrate‐rich vegetables, such as legumes of Prosopis sp. Also, moderate values of dental enamel hypoplasia should be related with metabolic‐systemic stress episodes. Summarizing, these results are coincident with isotopic, archaeological, and ethnohistorical evidences which suggest climatic, social, and demographic pressures that might have affected the lifestyle of these populations before the Spanish conquest. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Estimation of adult skeletal age‐at‐death: statistical assumptions and applications

We examine the statistical assumptions underlying different techniques of estimating the age‐at‐death of a skeleton from one or more age indicators. The preferred method depends on which property of the distribution of the data in the reference sample is preserved in the skeleton to be aged. In cases where the conditional distribution of age given indicator is preserved, we provide ‘look‐up’ tables giving essentially unbiased age estimates and prediction intervals, using a large reference sample and the auricular surface and pubic symphysis age indicators. Where this assumption is violated, but the conditional distribution of indicator given age is preserved, we find that an alternative model which attempts to capture the biological process of development of an individual has some attractive features, which may make it suitable for further study. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Non‐specific indicators of stress and their association with age at death in Medieval York: Using stature and vertebral neural canal size to examine the effects of stress occurring during different periods of development

Selective mortality can occur towards individuals who survive episodes of physiological stress, such as disease and malnutrition, during development. The skeletal elements affected depend on the timing of these stressful episodes. Studying multiple non‐specific indicators of stress can show which periods of development were affected and whether certain periods can be linked with selective mortality. To examine this method a preliminary study of 61 adult individuals from the Medieval population of Fishergate House, York was undertaken to examine small vertebral neural canal size and reduced adult stature. Previous studies have shown that selective mortality occurs towards individuals who display these non‐specific indicators of stress. Statistical analysis showed that small transverse neural canal diameter was significantly associated with early adult mortality for males and females and there was evidence of selective mortality towards females with reduced stature. This suggests that individuals who died in early adulthood experienced health insults during late childhood which stunted VNC growth but males in particular were not significantly affected by health insults after this age as they achieved a normal adult stature. Therefore it appears that health insults which occurred during late childhood had a greater influence on adult health in the Fishergate House population. This method could be expanded to provide more detailed information by using a greater variety of non‐specific indicators of stress which will allow more specific periods of development to be investigated. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Multicentric osteosarcoma associated with DISH,in a 19th century burial from England

Osteosarcoma is a rare type of malignant neoplasm that is most frequent in adolescents and young adults although it can develop at any age. It can metastasize from a primary site in bone to other bones and soft tissues. Usually the disorder causes a single bone‐forming lesion (unicentric) but some cases have multicentric, bone‐forming lesions. Some of these lesions develop at different sites at different times. In a second variant of multicentric osteosarcoma, synchronous bone‐forming lesions develop at multiple sites. Distinguishing between these two types of multicentric osteosarcoma is challenging in a clinical context and the criteria for doing so are unlikely to be met in an archaeological burial. Wolverhampton burial HB 39 was excavated from an early‐nineteenth century cemetery site in England. It consists of the incomplete skeleton of an adult male of at least 45 years of age with multicentric osteosarcoma. The individual represented by this burial also had diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis (DISH). Three of the bone‐forming lesions associated with osteosarcoma developed on the bony outgrowths related to DISH. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Analysis of strain‐induced ground‐water fluctuations at Devils Hole,Nevada

The pool in Devils Hole is a sensitive indicator of crustal strain and fluctuates in response to changes in atmospheric pressure, earth tides, earthquakes, large‐scale tectonic activity and ground‐water development. Short‐term and cyclic water‐level fluctuations caused by atmospheric pressure and earth tides were found to be on the order of millimeters to centimeters. The 1992 Landers/Little Skull Mountain earthquake sequence and the 1999 Hector Mine earthquake induced water‐level offsets of greater than ?12 and ?3.6 cm, respectively. The results of a dislocation model used to compute volumetric strain for each earthquake indicates that the coseismic water‐level offsets are consistent in magnitude and sense with poroelastic responses to earthquake‐induced strain. Theoretical postseismic fluid‐flow modeling indicates that the diffusivity of the system is on the order of 0.03 m² sec^?1, and identified areas of anomalous water‐level fluctuations. Interpretation of model results suggests that while the persistent post‐Landers rise in water‐level can be attributed to deformation‐induced channeling of fluid to the Devils Hole fault zone, the cause of the pre‐Hector Mine water‐level rise may be related to postseismic excess fluid pressures or preseismic strain accumulation.     

A Large‐Scale Palaeopathological Study of Hip Fractures from Post‐Medieval Urban England

Hip fractures have high incidence rates in many current groups and are associated with high morbidity, mortality, and considerable expenditure. Although hip fractures associated with significant traumatic events can occur at any age, many hip fractures occur in older adults. To date, few hip fractures have been reported from archaeological skeletal material, and a number of hypotheses have been suggested for this. This research presents a comprehensive assessment of hip fractures in archaeological bone; 1597 adult (18+ years) skeletons from eight urban post‐medieval sites from England dating from the 18^th and 19^th centuries were recorded, and contemporary medical texts reviewed. This adult sample included 834 males and 652 females as well as 11 persons of undetermined sex. Ways of classifying and describing fractures in the clinical literature were reviewed and a methodology applicable to paleopathology determined. Of this sample, 15 (0.94%) had fractures in the femoral neck or intertrochanteric area: nine males, four females, and two individuals of undetermined sex. The numbers of fractures in males were interesting and most likely represent examples of accidental trauma as well as osteoporosis‐related fractures, the latter receiving growing awareness in recent clinical literature. Overall there was an age‐related trend with more individuals aged 50+ years with fractures than in other age categories. Underlying osteoporosis was potentially a complicating factor in five individuals and was likely associated with a vitamin D deficiency osteomalacia and a metastatic neoplastic condition in a further two cases. Fractures occurring close to the time of death and healed fractures were observed, indicating that the risk of mortality following this trauma was not consistent across this 18^th and 19^th century sample. Skeletal and historical evidence presented in this study indicate that the impact of hip fracture injuries varied, with survival likely linked to the fracture type. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Scars of Parturition? Influences Beyond Parity

In the 40 years since the phrase ‘scars of parturition’ was coined, studies have attempted to show the relationship between scars on the bony pelvis and parity history. Despite numerous studies, the relationship of parity and scarring remains unclear. The challenge facing these studies is the rarity of skeletal collections of known parity. The alternative study approach is examining relationships between scars and factors other than pregnancy‐related strains that may affect their manifestation. Skeletal remains of 312 individuals were examined for scarring at the dorsal pubic surface, pubic tubercle, preauricular sulcus, interosseous groove and iliac tuberosity. Pelvic and femoral measurements were also taken. Features were compared according to sex and age. Principal components analysis was performed to assess the influence of body and pelvic size on scar manifestation. Scars occurred in both sexes, although they were more common and more severe in females. Scar severity remained unchanged or increased with age in both sexes. Females had smaller bodies but larger pelves than males. The interspinous and transverse inlet diameters and the femur measurements increased with age. Principal components analysis showed that body and pelvic sizes represented the majority of the observed variation, with scars occurring more commonly in small‐bodied individuals with large pelves, most of which were females. Both sexes also show a difference in the magnitude of scarring at the pubis and ilium. These results suggest that weight‐bearing and pelvic stability may be a better explanation for scarring than parturition‐related strain. Female pelves are more flexible and require more ligamentous stabilization, causing increased scar formation. The weight‐bearing strain on male pelves may sometimes also be sufficiently large to cause similar scars. Future studies may be able to test this theory on samples of known parity history. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Warfare and mortality at Koger's Island,Alabama

Koger's Island, a late prehistoric agricultural community in the southeastern USA, is the site of a cemetery containing four mass graves of individuals with perimortem trauma and scalping cutmarks. Although the site as a whole has a demographic profile typical for a society of this kind (with high infant mortality), the mass graves contain relatively few infants or children, and an abundance of adult males. It is suggested that the skeletons found in the multiple burials represent the victims of raiding or warfare. The disproportionate number of males in the mass graves may be related to the fact that relatively few males at the site are older than 50 years, presumably because they are dying at an early age from violence.     

Skeletal evidence for morbidity and mortality in Copper Age samples from northeastern Hungary

Analysis of 183 human skeletons representing the Copper Age in northeastern Hungary indicates slightly less morbidity and mortality than found in previous studies of later Bronze Age and Iron Age samples from the same area. Mean adult age at death was 33.4 years for males and 32.9 years for females. Life table reconstruction revealed a life expectancy at birth of about 28 years, and at age 15 of about 17 years. Frequencies of dental hypoplasia (<1%) and carious lesions (2.3%) were relatively low. Comparisons of the Copper Age data reported here with previously published studies of later Bronze Age and Iron Age samples from the same area revealed little or no change in life expectancy at age 15, long bone diaphyseal circumference, estimated living stature, frequencies of dental hypoplasia, alveolar abscesses, tooth loss, adult porotic hyperostosis or trauma. Temporal increases were detected in life expectancy at birth, dental caries frequency, cribra orbitalia, subadult periosteal lesions and vertebral osteoarthritis. The study is part of a larger effort to examine long‐term temporal changes in skeletal samples from that region. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Reassessing the Age,Sex and Metric Variation of Commingled Human Remains from a 1911 Excavation of a Neolithic Passage Tomb Complex in North‐West Ireland

The Neolithic passage tomb complex at Carrowkeel, County Sligo, Ireland, is one of the best preserved and most significant megalithic funerary and ritual landscapes in Europe. The most substantial archaeological excavations at the complex were undertaken in 1911, from which a relatively large sample of commingled unburnt and cremated human remains from seven chambered passage tombs was recovered. Although the archaeological value of this material is reduced as its spatial and stratigraphic context is uncertain, the skeletal remains have the potential to provide insights into how these monuments were used. This study is a quantitative reassessment of that osteological material from the passage tombs excavated in 1911, with a focus on a contextual analysis of the remains. Overall, the age‐at‐death and sex ratios do not indicate any demographic differentiation between monuments in selecting locations for the deposition of bodies, and there is no clear evidence to suggest any selectiveness of certain skeletal elements took place. There may however have been a differentiating age and gender aspect in terms of the unburnt versus cremated bone surface depositions within the passage tombs, as a higher proportion of 5+ years non‐adults and adult females were present in the cremated material. By using the log‐ratio metric scaling technique on the cremated adult material, a statistically significant difference in skeletal dimensions is observed between individual passage tombs; however, it is unclear how significant this disparity is from a biocultural point of view. Despite apparent methodological difficulties in assessing an archaeological bone assemblage collected by early 20th‐century antiquarians, the material can still yield new knowledge about the rituals conducted at Carrowkeel. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Age‐Related Cortical Bone Maintenance and Loss in an Imperial Roman Population

This article explores age‐ and sex‐related patterns of cortical bone loss, assessed by radiogrammetry of the second metacarpal, from a skeletal sample excavated from the Imperial Roman port city of Velia (1st and 2nd century ad ), to contribute to our understanding of health and disease during the Imperial period. Patterns of age‐ and sex‐related bone loss and health at Velia are also compared with other historical samples and to modern clinical data. It was hypothesised that patterns of age‐ and sex‐related bone loss in this well‐represented Roman sample (n = 71) would mirror those reported in modern populations. Differences in the quantity of cortical bone between three age groups (18–29, 30–49 and 50+ years) are significant in both men and women; however, the pattern of bone loss differs between the sexes. Women show a gradual decline in bone quantity beginning in middle age, whereas men only lose bone in old age. However, there are no significant sex differences at any age group in the metacarpal cortical index. These findings suggest the hypothesis should be refuted because significant sex differences, particularly in old age, are an expected hallmark of bone loss in Western populations today. The possible biocultural and gender‐related factors that may have contributed to the observed patterns of bone maintenance and loss at Velia are discussed. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Retracted: A Possible Case of Hypopituitarism in Neolithic China

A human skeleton with a possible case of hypopituitarism is reported. The individual (burial M53) is from the site of Guanjia, a Neolithic settlement in northern China, dated to the Late Yangshao period (6000–5500 bp ). On the basis of the fully erupted third permanent molars and moderate occlusal dental wear resulting in substantial exposure of dentine, the initially estimated age‐at‐death was placed between 26 and 33 years. However, dimensions of the postcranial skeleton fall significantly below and outside the range from contemporaneous adult populations, and along with delayed epiphyseal fusion present throughout the skeleton, the postcranial age is concordant to that of an 11‐ to 13‐year‐old child. Most long bone epiphyses display incomplete fusion or are entirely unfused, but a lack of microporosity in the metaphyseal areas near growth plates indicates a cessation of longitudinal bone growth. Because no signs of porotic hyperostosis, cribra orbitalia, periosteal lesions or linear enamel hypoplasia are observed, the restricted growth of this individual is likely caused by a growth hormone disorder and is unrelated to nutritional deficiencies or systemic infection. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.