The origin of the Juch'uypampa Cave mummies: strontium isotope analysis of archaeological human remains from Bolivia

Previous analyses of strontium isotopes from human bone and teeth have identified diverse patterns of residential mobility in the South Central Andes during the Middle Horizon (AD 500–1100). During this time, the large polity of Tiwanaku exerted great influence over what are now southern Peru, northern Chile, northwestern Argentina and Bolivia. Recently, five naturally-mummified individuals were discovered in the cave of Juch'uypampa in the Pulacayo region of southern Bolivia. Although these individuals were buried with a number of fine Tiwanaku-style grave goods as well as non-Tiwanaku items, the burial site is isolated and does not conform to the pattern of large Tiwanaku-affiliated cemeteries and residential sites outside of the Lake Titicaca Basin. Strontium isotope analysis was performed on enamel from two adult men and bone from a third adult male in order to test the hypotheses that one or more of the males was from either the Tiwanaku heartland in the Lake Titicaca Basin, the Chilean oasis of San Pedro de Atacama, which contains a series of cemeteries with Tiwanaku-style grave goods, or the local area in which they were buried. Results show that two individuals likely spent their childhood in the local area where they were interred, while the third man probably spent at least the last twenty years of his life in that region before being buried there. This raises interesting questions regarding the nature of Tiwanaku influence in southern Bolivia and the relationship between the Juch'uypampa mummies and the Tiwanaku polity.     

Recording dental caries in archaeological human remains

Dental caries is an important condition to record in archaeological collections, but the way in which recording is carried out has a large effect on the way in which the results can be interpreted. In living populations, dental caries is a disease that shows a strong relationship with age. Both the nature of carious lesions and their frequency change with successive age groups from childhood to elderly adulthood. There is also a progression in the particular teeth in the dentition which are most commonly affected and, in general, the molars and premolars are involved much more frequently than the canines and incisors. Lower teeth are usually affected more than upper, although the condition usually involves the right and left sides fairly equally. In the high tooth wear rate populations represented by many archaeological and museum collections, there is a complex relationship between the form of lesions and the state of wear, which adds yet another range of factors to the changing pattern of caries with increasing age. In the same populations, chipping, fracture and anomalous abrasion of teeth are also common, and these contribute similarly to the distribution and forms of carious lesion observed. Amongst the living, the pattern of ante‐mortem tooth loss is important in understanding caries and, in archaeological material, there is also the complicating factor of post‐mortem tooth loss. Finally, there is the question of diagnosis. There are diagnostic problems even in epidemiological studies of living patients and, for archaeological specimens, diagenetic change and the variable preservation of different parts of the dentition add further complications. For all these reasons, it is difficult to define any one general index of dental caries to represent the complete dentition of each individual, which would be universally suitable for studying a full range of collections from archaeological sites or museums. Variation in the nature of collections, their preservation, tooth wear, and ante‐mortem and post‐mortem tooth loss mean that when such a general index appears to differ between sites, there could be many other reasons for this, in addition to any genuine differences in caries incidence and pattern that might have been present. It is suggested here that the best approach is instead to make comparisons separately for each tooth type, age group, sex, lesion type and potential lesion site on the tooth. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The ethics of displaying human remains from British archaeological sites

Abstract

The 1998 exhibition London Bodies at the Museum of London provided an opportunity to review the ethical issues relating to the excavation, study and display of human remains in modern Britain. It is suggested that for most Britons the display of human skeletal material is not considered a problem, but that archaeologists would do well to ensure that their practices are in line with the views and beliefs of the society in which they work.     

DNA analysis of archaeological sheep remains from China

Recent research has thrown considerable light on the history of the domestic sheep, but has not extended to ancient sheep specimens. In the present study, ancient DNA analysis was carried out on eight archaeological sheep remains recovered from Erlitou archaeological site in Henan Province (ca. 2100–1800 B.C.) to explore the genetic structure of ancient sheep and the phylogenetic relationship between ancient and modern sheep. We analyzed the control region sequences and coding regions of mitochondrial DNA from the remains by direct sequencing and restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis, respectively. Our results reveal that all ancient sheep belong to lineage A defined by modern sheep sequences. Phylogenetic analysis shows that neither argali (Ovis ammon) nor urial (Ovis vignei) mtDNA is closely related to Erlitou ancient sheep. In addition, our results suggest that ancient DNA analysis can serve as a powerful tool in tracing prehistoric population movement.     

DNA analysis of archaeological rabbit remains from the American Southwest

Ancient DNA analysis was carried out on 20 archaeological rabbit remains from an early Pueblo II period site in Colorado (circa 1000 A.D.) to explore the possibility of obtaining accurate rabbit genus and species identifications. The presence of abundant rabbit remains at archaeological sites in the American Southwest indicates the importance of rabbit species in the subsistence economy and ritual activities of early aboriginal populations. The study of these remains is hindered by the difficulty of accurate identification due to the fragmentary nature of the bones and the lack of genus- and species-specific morphological features.A short cytochrome b gene fragment was amplified and sequenced to produce a genetic profile for each bone sample. At the genus level, the DNA identifications were consistent with those based on the analysis of mandible morphology for the majority of specimens. When compared to species-specific reference DNA sequences, Lepus americanus and Lepus californicus samples were easily identified. Identification of an unexpected L. americanus (snowshoe hare) from the remains provided new information concerning hunting ranges or exchange between groups in the region. Sylvilagus nuttallii and Sylvilagus audubonii, however, could not be confidently differentiated at this point due to the difficulty in obtaining accurate species-specific reference sequences.The inability to obtain such reference sequences can be a serious problem for DNA species identification of non-domestic animals that lack population-level genetic data and have few sequences available in GenBank. The lack of the DNA data increases the possibility that inappropriate reference sequences could be applied, resulting in false species identification even when authentic DNA is retrieved and amplified from ancient remains.     

Genetic analysis of archaeological wood remains: first results and prospects

A total of 51 ancient oak wood samples originating from various European archaeological sites, dating from the Neolithic period to the 18th century, were assayed for the presence of reproducible chloroplast (cp) DNA sequences. Five polymorphic chloroplast fragments were targeted. Only five of the samples could be fully genetically characterised, revealing four different oak cpDNA haplotypes. In all cases, the haplotypes detected on ancient woods and the haplotypes characterised from fresh samples from the same localities matched. Overall, this congruence is consistent with a genetic continuity between ancient and modern European oaks, confirming the hypothesis that the mapped genetic patterns largely reflect the original structure that established during the post-glacial. This stability of the genetic structure implies that, in the future, the technique could be used to infer or confirm the transport of wood by man, providing interesting perspectives for the genetic analysis of ancient woods.     

The diagnosis of pituitary disease from human skeletal remains

The purpose of this study was to determine whether the radiological criteria once widely used when investigating pituitary disease in the living can be applied to early man. The material examined forms part of the assemblage of skulls in the Duckworth Collection in Cambridge. It proved possible to measure the sella turcica from the radiographs of 88 of 155 predynastic adult Egyptian skulls with an intact base. These were compared with the measurements from 41 of 76 adult Burmese skulls of more recent origin and those of a randomly selected sample of living Caucasian adults. There was a wide range of sellar volumes in all three groups. The results were subjected to statistical analysis. Opportunities to apply the results of this study have been limited to the assessment of sellar erosion in a predynastic Badarian, review of the diagnosis of acromegaly in a, presumed, early Egyptian and the investigation of a hydrocephalic skull. The radiological examination of human skeletal remains thought to show evidence of pituitary disease or hydrocephalus can make palaeopathological diagnoses more secure.     

The molecular palaeoecology of geese: identification of archaeological goose remains using ancient DNA analysis

The remains of six species of geese are commonly recovered from archaeological sites in Britain dating from the Saxon and later periods. However, identification of this material to species level is hampered by a lack of morphological variation and a large overlap in size. To address this issue we obtained DNA sequence data for a section of the mitochondrial cytochrome b gene from modern samples of each species, and successfully identified several DNA markers for Branta species. No markers were found within the cytochrome b gene for the genus Anser. Ancient DNA techniques were then used to recover DNA from goose bones excavated from two archaeological sites. The DNA sequences enabled identification of Barnacle goose (Branta leucopsis) from one site and confirmed the presence of Anser species at another. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Contamination controls when preparing archaeological remains for ancient DNA analysis

Contamination is of utmost concern when working with ancient DNA as it easily leads to false positive results. The best way to prevent or minimize contamination is to start precautionary measures as early as possible, ideally commencing with sample collection and preparation by field archaeologists. This paper discusses the nature of contamination in ancient DNA studies and offers some practical guidelines as to how archaeologists in the field can “clean-collect” samples for ancient DNA analysis. Methods for preparing contaminated samples from museum collections for ancient DNA analysis are also discussed.     

The identification of charred archaeological remains of vegetative parenchymous tissue

The biased way in which some inferences may be drawn from archaeobotanical assemblages, due to problems in identification, is briefly discussed. A potentially important class of plant remains, vegetative parenchymous organs, commonly sources of food, are indicated as being such a class rarely identified from archaeological contexts. Their identification based on characters of the plants' anatomy and morphology together with an understanding of the way in which tissues degrade on preservation by charring is suggested. Characters of the charred tissues that make up vegetative parenchymous organs are described in detail. The processes of sorting and identification are then briefly discussed.     

A new calibration of the XRD technique for the study of archaeological burned human remains

A new calibration of human bones as a function of programmed temperature (200–1000 °C) and time (0, 18 and 60 min) is presented and discussed in order to investigate the issues related to the study of cremated bone remains by using the powder X-ray diffraction approach. The experimental results confirm the growth of hydroxylapatite crystallites as a function of the applied temperature, with a sigmoid behaviour that has been parameterized to the experimental data points. Particularly, it was observed that the thermal treatments for 60 min anticipate of about 100 °C the effects that are otherwise observed after the treatments for 0 min. The developed procedure was subsequently applied to cremated remains of various archaeological sites of Spain and supplied precise information not only about the temperature reached during the funerary rites, but also on the presumed duration for the cremation.     

Estimating age by tooth wear of prehistoric human remains in Brazilian archaeological sites

The occlusal surfaces of 298 permanent maxillary and mandibular molar teeth of prehistoric shellfish‐gatherer subjects from the Piaçaguera and Tenorio sites (4930 to 1875 BP), near the central‐northern coastline of São Paulo, Brazil, were examined for classification of macro‐wear stages. Molar tooth wear is an indication of masticatory activity and can be used in the estimation of age at death. The examination of visual and schematic aspects of occlusal macro‐wear used a visual chart proposed by Brothwell, which includes the three superior and inferior, left and right, permanent molars. Three examiners performed the macroscopic observations twice under the same conditions. The resulting age estimates were compared with previous information of age estimated by skeletal examination. A reduced intra‐ and inter‐observer variation was observed; all re‐examinations indicated discrepancies of less than two years for the upper and lower limit of the age range estimates. The procedure was also considered consistent with the skeletal method used for age estimation of human remains excavated in Brazilian archaeological shell mounds, with a discrepancy of less than 8.22 years between the upper and lower limits of estimates by both methods. Age classification by the occlusal molar wear may be a useful tool for the classification of archaeological findings, mainly when only fragmentary skeletal remains are excavated. The current results indicate that the application of the Brothwell chart for Brazilian archaeological series presented satisfactory results of consistency, and its expanded use may represent a relevant adjunct for research. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The archaeological remains of Ratu Boko: From Sri Lankan Buddhism to Hinduism

From the 8th to the early 10th century the region around mounts Merapi and Sumbing in central Java was the centre of powerful Indianised kingdoms. One such site, Ratu Boko, was transformed into a Javanese replica of the Abhayagiri-vihāra, a well-known Buddhist monastery in Sri Lanka. Shortly afterwards, the Sinhalese influence showed elements of Hindu and Vajrayāna traditions revealing from the archaeological remains that it was not merely a copy of a Sri Lankan model but a testimony of Javanese civilisation and history.     

考古发掘现场出土脆弱遗迹提取方法研究述评

考古发掘现场脆弱遗迹提取关系到遗迹长期保存及后续保护修复,因此要求提取方法科学、严谨,所用材料安全、有效。本文以考古发掘现场文物保护与修复工作实际出发,总结了提取材料的要求与原则,回顾了考古发掘现场出土脆弱遗迹所用的石膏提取、聚氨酯泡沫提取、环十二烷提取以及薄荷醇提取等几种方法的使用情况,评述了其提取工艺及性能,并对考古发掘现场出土脆弱遗迹提取方法未来研究方向进行了展望。     

Osseous changes due to mastoiditis in human skeletal remains

Mastoiditis is a disease that follows otitis media and may lead to severe endocranial complications. Most studies on mastoiditis and middle ear diseases in archaeological skeletal remains are based on radiological investigations. The following study describes the morphological changes in the pneumatised cells of the mastoid process due to mastoiditis in archaeological skeletal remains, based on macroscopic, endoscopic, light and scanning‐electron microscopic investigations. For the purposes of this study, we used an early medieval Frankish population from Dirmstein, State of Rhineland‐Palatinate, Germany. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.