Mortuary patterns in burial caves on Mangaia,Cook Islands

The behavioural, cultural, and political implications of archaeological human remains in non‐mortuary, possibly culinary, contexts requires that we understand the range of mortuary practices in a particular region. Although several rockshelter sites on Mangaia, Cook Islands have yielded burned, fragmentary human bones in earth ovens that seem to support archaeological models and ethnohistoric accounts of ritual sacrifice and cannibalism, the absence of data on the range of Mangaian mortuary patterns obscures these interpretations. We describe burial patterns based on 40 above‐ground interments representing at least 92 individuals in caves of Mangaia, Cook Islands, in order to begin to develop an island‐wide perspective on mortuary patterns. Sampling both pre‐ and post‐European contact sites we found that multiple interments dominate probable pre‐contact burials (73%, 19 of 26) and single interments dominate post‐contact contexts (80%, eight of ten burials), probably reflecting the influence of Christianity on mortuary ritual. Subadults were more frequent in all post‐contact contexts suggesting alternative burial places, probably church cemeteries, for adults. Burial cave remains are broadly consistent with ethnohistoric accounts of interment in caves, however, they also illustrate additional burial practices and differences between time periods, such as primary body position and the role of multiple‐individual interments, which are not discussed ethnohistorically. The mortuary practices in Mangaian burial caves differ from burials associated with marae and seem completely unrelated to the presence of highly fragmentary and burnt human remains in pre‐contact rockshelter middens elsewhere on the island. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Multiple Injury and Health in Past Societies: An Analysis of Concepts and Approaches,and Insights from a Multi‐Period Study

Earlier clinical and bioarchaeological studies found that injury recidivists were most likely to be young adult males. Since then, the clinical meaning of the injury recidivist has expanded to include all individuals with multiple injuries, and other aspects of health have been considered. Our study sought to apply these advances to paleopathology and place multiple injuries in a wider context by investigating: the age and sex distribution of those with single and multiple fractures, and if people with multiple injuries had poorer general health. The sample of 213 males and 190 females (≥18 years old) from six populations in England, Siberia, and Sudan ranged in date from the 3rd century BC to the mid‐19th century AD. Health variables included cribra orbitalia, porotic hyperostosis, periostitis, Schmorl's nodes, enamel hypoplasias, dental caries, and periodontitis. Ante‐mortem injuries were: fractures (0/1/≥2), myositis ossificans, dental trauma, and sharp‐force injuries. The data were analysed using chi‐square and hierarchical loglinear analyses (P = 0.05). No significant three‐way association between age, sex, and injury was found. There was no difference between the sexes when individuals with single versus multiple injuries were compared. There were significant differences in the age‐distribution of people with 0 and 1/≥2 fractures. Males and those 26–35 years old were most likely to have fractures and multiple injuries. Porotic hyperostosis was significantly associated with fractures. There was no significant relationship between general poor health and multiple injuries. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

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.     

Early Neolithic funerary diversity and mitochondrial variability of two Iberian sites

An analysis of the burial characteristics of the individuals recovered from two Early Neolithic sites in Navarre (Los Cascajos and Paternanbidea), in the Spanish Basque Country, revealed a complex funerary ritual. The individuals recovered from the Paternanbidea site were distributed in three double graves and a multiple one, while the individuals from Los Cascajos were buried in individual pit-shaped tombs; furthermore, the tombs had a variety of cultural and funerary features. The aim of this study is to evaluate the burial ritual by means of mitochondrial DNA data and the funerary characteristics of 36 individuals recovered from these two sites. The results show that the diversity of these Early Neolithic burial practices from the northern Iberian Peninsula cannot be explained by means of maternal kinship relationships.     

Patterns of Interpersonal Violence at the Fisher Site

Abstract

Recent reanalysis of crania from the Late Prehistoric Fisher site in Will County, Illinois indicates relatively high levels of interpersonal violence. In the Big East and Big West mounds, cranial trauma was likely a result of repeated, low-level harassment of the villagers, resulting in the death of only a few people at a time. Numerous burials in the south-southwest mound, however, were interred in a large pit that reportedly contained at least 40 partially disarticulated individuals. Of those individuals from the mass burial pit, nearly all of the crania available for study showed evidence of perimortem trauma. These victims were likely the result of a large-scale attack that resulted in numerous deaths and subsequent abandonment of the site. Accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) of radiocarbon dates indicate that this violence was occurring between about A.D. 1225 and 1300, a period that seems to have been a particularly volatile one in Late Prehistoric Illinois.     

Kana Tamata or Feasts of Men: An Interdisciplinary Approach for Identifying Cannibalism in Prehistoric Fiji

By integrating osteological, taphonomic, archaeological and stable isotopic data, we test for cannibalism in the Lau Group, Fiji and discuss the potential underlying cause(s) and context(s) of this behaviour. First, we compare taphonomic and element representations of human skeletal material from two contexts in Fiji, examining human bone fragments from archaeological sites, including middens and burials in the Lau Island Group. Fourteen sites produced human remains. Only two of those sites included distinct human burial contexts, but in the remaining 12 sites, the human bone was recovered from middens or contexts where midden was mixed with possible secondary burials. A total of 262 number of identified specimens per species, representing an estimated 15 minimum number of individuals make up the Lau human assemblage. Second, we analysed bones contained in 20 individual human burials from four different sites that are housed at the Fiji Museum for comparative purposes. Third, we examine previously published stable isotopic (δ¹³C, δ¹⁵N) analysis of bone collagen to gauge protein consumption of likely cannibalised humans in midden contexts and potential cannibals from primary burials. We model a cannibalistic diet category within the context of isotopically measured Pacific Islands food groups and apply an isotopic mixing model to gauge plausible dietary contributions from six sources including human flesh. Isotopic mixing models of the Lauan samples illustrate a high diversity in reconstructed diets. The percent contribution of human flesh is low for all individual Lauans. We conclude that mortuary rituals evidenced by sharp‐force trauma may suggest non‐nutritive and non‐violent practices that may have included the consumption of small amounts of human flesh. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Investigating Dietary Patterns with Stable Isotope Ratios of Collagen and Starch Grain Analysis of Dental Calculus at the Iron Age Cemetery Site of Heigouliang,Xinjiang, China

Here, we present δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N results for the dietary reconstruction of nomadic pastoralists from the Iron Age (ca. 1000 bc –8 ad ) site of Heigouliang. The human (n = 27) δ¹³C values range from −19.6‰ to −17.0‰ with a mean value of −18.5 ± 0.5‰, and the δ¹⁵N results range from 11.5‰ to 13.8‰ with a mean value of 12.4 ± 0.6‰. The results indicated that animals, like sheep, were part of the predominately C₃ terrestrial diet, but two individuals have values greater than −18‰ that is indicative of some input of C₄ foods in their diets. Because of a lack of faunal samples and to supply complementary information concerning plant consumption, teeth from four individuals were analysed for dental calculus microfossils. Starch grains were found to correspond to Triticeae and Poaceae, possibly including wheat (Triticum aestivum), barley (Hordeum vulgare), highland barley (H. vulgare L var. nudum), foxtail millet (Setaria italica) and/or common millet (Panicum miliaceum). At the population level, no dietary differences were detected between burial owners and sacrificial victims, but variations were found when specific tombs were analysed. In particular, individuals with bone trauma associated with armed conflict also had distinct isotopic signatures possibly suggesting that some of the sacrificial victims could have been captured warriors that were sacrificed for the burial owners. While limited, the results are some of the first from an Iron Age population from Xinjiang and contribute to our understanding of the dietary patterns of this region. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The Use of Copper and Lead Sheathing in VOC Shipbuilding

Much has been written on the use of lead and copper sheathing in post mediaeval shipbuilding, yet evidence for such hull protection by Dutch shipwrights in the 17th and 18th centuries has received little attention. A discussion of the archaeological and historical evidence pertaining to the application of copper and lead sheathing by the Dutch long‐distance trading companies outlines the argument for the innovative character, experimental use—on ships’ hulls—and standardization—on sternposts—as early as 1602. Archaeological evidence presented mainly comes from the Dutch East Indiamen Nassau (1606), Mauritius (1609), Batavia (1629), Vergulde Draak (1656), and Buitenzorg (1760).     

A Portuguese East Indiaman from the 1502–1503 Fleet of Vasco da Gama off Al Hallaniyah Island,Oman: an interim report

Two Portuguese naus from Vasco da Gama's second voyage to India, left behind to disrupt maritime trade between India and the Red Sea, were wrecked in May 1503 off the north‐eastern coast of Al Hallaniyah Island, Oman. The ships, Esmeralda and São Pedro, had been commanded by da Gama's maternal uncles, Vicente and Brás Sodré, respectively. A detailed study and scientific analysis of an artefact assemblage recovered during archaeological excavations conducted in Al Hallaniyah in 2013 and 2014 confirms the location of an early 16th‐century Portuguese wreck‐site, initially discovered in 1998. Esmeralda is proposed as the probable source of the remaining, un‐salved wreckage.     

Craniofacial trauma in the Prehispanic Canary Islands

The current project is a study of craniofacial trauma in a large sample (n = 896) of Prehispanic Canary Islanders (PCIs). The possible causes and social implications of the trauma found are considered, with reference to archaeological and historical data. Variables include the island, period and ecology, the sex and age of the individuals, the distribution of lesions across the skull (by side and by individual bone) and ante‐mortem tooth loss. The results show a fairly high trauma rate (16%), a low prevalence of peri‐mortem trauma (3.8% of all lesions), higher prevalence of trauma in males than in females (25% vs. 13% of all individuals), more cranial than facial lesions (8.9% vs. 3.5% of all elements) and more lesions on the left side of the skull (6.7% vs. 4.5% of all elements) which suggests that the lesions were sustained through intentional rather than accidental agency. There was no correspondence between trauma prevalence and ecology. The archaeological and historical data support the assertion that the lesions may be the result of skirmishing between groups, using weapons such as slingshots, stones and staves. The presence of edged‐weapon lesions on some individuals suggests that these may have been the victims of contact‐period European groups. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

(de)Constructing Place-Myth: Pitcairn Island and the “Bounty” Story

Abstract

This paper is concerned with the relationship between literature and the construction of place-myth relating to the story Mutiny on the Bounty. In 1790, nine British mutineers together with their Tahitian companions settled on Pitcairn Island where they remained hidden for nearly 20 years. The story of the mutiny is not myth but has served to mythologize Pitcairn through the various tropes of literature written about the Bounty saga. As literary place Pitcairn represented the image of a ‘utopian paradise’. This discussion, through qualitative literary analysis and the process of textualization, evokes the idea of mapping, naming, and imagining islands. It identifies how the utopia/paradise place-myth of Pitcairn has persisted through time and become ultimately inseparable from its textual topography. But conversely, discussion exposes the paradoxical problem between myth and reality of islands and their representations. It highlights complex internal and external boundaries of identification that arise in the host visitor experience. Literary place-myth is rendered as powerful, persistent, mutable, and historically-rooted.     

BRONZE AGE CHILDHOOD MIGRATION OF INDIVIDUALS NEAR STONEHENGE,REVEALED BY STRONTIUM AND OXYGEN ISOTOPE TOOTH ENAMEL ANALYSIS*

Contrasting lifestyles are recorded by the isotope composition of Bronze Age Beaker people (c. 2500–2000 bc ) from three burial sites (Boscombe Down, Normanton Down and the ditch around Stonehenge) at or near to the Stonehenge monument in Wiltshire, southern England. Seven individuals (three adults, a sub‐adult, two juveniles and an infant) were recovered from a single grave at Boscombe Down. Strontium and oxygen isotope analysis of tooth enamel from two teeth (a premolar and third molar) from each of three of the adults in this grave (referred to as Boscombe Bowmen) show that they had all shared a pattern of mobility and migration during their lives. The three adult males spent their early childhood (as represented by data from the premolar teeth) in an area with a radiogenic ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr isotope signature of around 0.7135. They each then moved, during early adolescence (as represented by the third molar results), to a less radiogenic area, where they acquired an ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr signature of around 0.7112. This implies that they must then have travelled to the Stonehenge area of Wiltshire at a later time in their lives. Wales provides the closest area with rocks that supply suitable ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios and δ¹⁸O isotope compositions for these individuals, although other areas of Palaeozoic rock, such as Scotland and parts of Europe, cannot be ruled out. Enamel from the two juveniles from the Boscombe Down burial yields ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios of 0.7098 and 0.7099, and strontium concentrations for both of 55 ppm. The very close match of the data for the two juveniles supports the possibility that they were raised in the same environment. The difference in strontium isotope data between the juveniles and three adult males described above shows that the children did not come from the same homeland as the adults with whom they share a grave. The two adult males from the single burials at Normanton Down, and from Stonehenge itself, had static lifestyles and show no evidence of migration, in contrast to the Boscombe Bowmen. Their oxygen and strontium data are consistent with a childhood in the Stonehenge area.     

Weapon‐related Cranial Lesions from Medieval and Renaissance Turin,Italy

Archaeological excavations carried out in the square around the Cathedral of S. Giovanni in Turin brought to light burials referable to the medieval and Renaissance periods. The anthropological examination of the skeletal remains allowed to identify two skeletons from the medieval period (10th–11th centuries) and four skeletons from the Renaissance age (15th century) showing weapon‐related cranial injuries. These peri mortem lesions are indicators of interpersonal aggression and in particular of armed conflicts. The two individuals from the early medieval period presented three traumas consisting in sharp force lesions caused by bladed weapons. As regards the Renaissance sample, the majority of the nine peri mortem injuries were sharp force wounds, followed by a blunt force trauma. These distribution patterns might reflect different fighting techniques, whereas the side distribution and location of the skull trauma provide further indications on the fighting modalities. Identification of the weapons that caused these traumas is suggested. The lack of post‐cranial wounds at Piazza S. Giovanni might be explained by the greater attention paid to the head, which was the main target of attack, or by adequate protection of the body through medieval and Renaissance armours. Otherwise, the wounds in the body would have been found only in the soft tissues, with no involvement of the bones. Despite the presence of weapon injuries, the results obtained from the study of the Renaissance sample are different from the findings of other contemporary battlefields. It is highly likely that the individuals of the Renaissance age were not young soldiers employed in war episodes and brought back for burial in Turin after battles that had taken place elsewhere. Instead, they were probably individuals who had died in riots or in other violent city episodes, as the historical records for the Renaissance age seem to confirm. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A Case of the Execution of Swedish Soldiers at the Market Square in Cracow (17th c.)

Creating a more complete image of our past requires cooperation among many branches of science. A joint effort by archaeologists, anthropologists and historians allowed us to establish the origin and cause of death of four individuals found in a layer dating to the early modern period ina medieval burial ground in the Market Square in Cracow. In the course of interdisciplinary analyses, it was found that the skeletons were the remains of four males aged between 30 and 50, who probably were soldiers of a Swedish garrison occupying Cracow in the mid‐17th century. The finding was confirmed by archaeological evidence parts of protective codpieces (Lat.suspensus) and burial stratigraphy typical of this period) and specific changes in the skeletons attributable to warfare. At the same time, characteristic traumatic lesions of the cervical vertebrae and traces of binding of the upper and lower limbs indicate that the soldiers had been condemned to death by beheading. Historical sources confirm that Swedish soldiers were executed in Cracow's Market Square in 1657. Copyright © 2011 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.     

Lead Isotope Analysis of Tooth Enamel from a Viking Age Mass Grave in Southern Britain and the Constraints it Places on the Origin of the Individuals

Lead analysis of tooth enamel from individuals recovered from a Viking Age burial pit in southern England provides further evidence for their childhood origins outside Britain. All except one of the men have very low Pb concentrations that exclude anthropogenic Pb exposure. Strontium and oxygen isotope compositions identify a core group of men who have Pb isotope compositions of ²⁰⁸Pb/²⁰⁶Pb = 2.065 ± 0.021 (n = 20, 2SD) that, when compared with data from European soils, appear to exclude a childhood in the Scandinavian countries of Norway, Sweden and Finland, whereas areas of Northern continental Europe cannot be excluded.     

河南灵宝市晓坞遗址仰韶文化遗存的试掘

2007年,河南省文物考古研究所调查并试掘了河南灵宝市晓坞遗址,清理出两座仰韶文化早期墓葬。两墓均为长方形竖穴土坑墓,多人二次葬。其中M1内残存79具个体,M2残存17具个体。三门峡地区很少发现仰韶文化的二次葬墓,晓坞遗址墓葬是该地区首次发现的仰韶文化早期的二次葬,具有重要学术价值。     

Osteological and paleodietary investigation of burials from Cova de la Pastora,Alicante, Spain

We present results of osteological and isotopic analyses of human remains from Cova de la Pastora (Alcoi, Alicante, Spain) and discuss the implications in light of a new sequence of radiocarbon dates indicating that the cave was used as a burial site in the Late Neolithic (ca. 3800–3000 cal BC), Chalcolithic (ca. 3000–2500 cal BC), Bell Beaker Transition (Horizonte Campaniforme Transicional - HCT; ca. 2500–2200 cal BC) and the Bronze Age (ca. 2200–1500 cal BC). Similarities in stable isotopic values of C and N indicate little variation in subsistence between men and women, and a similar nutritional base from the Late Neolithic to the Bronze Age. This pattern of stability is augmented by evidence of trauma and disease found on numerous skulls in the collection. Since no clear associations of specific grave goods with certain individuals based on sex or age could be determined, the only suggestion of social inequality lies in the burial practice itself, where certain individuals were interred in caves while others were not.     

Alcohol Studies and Anthropology: Broadening the Venture

Caplan, Pat, ed. The Cultural Construction of Sexuality. London: Tav‐istock, 1987. xi + 304 pp. including name and subject indexes. $44.00 cloth; $16.95 paper.

Williams, Walter L. The Spirit and the Flesh: Sexual Diversity in American Indian Culture. Boston: Beacon Press, 1986. xi + 344 pp. including 16 black‐and‐white plates, bibliography, and index. $21.95 cloth.