The selection of bird bones for artefact production at Dutch neolithic sites

The bird bones used for artefacts at the Dutch neolithic site of Aartswoud were from birds that were not represented among the food remains. Studies at other contemporary sites show that this was also the case at some other sites. The bones seem to have been selected from birds of particularly large size. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Radio – Ulnar Weight Index — is it a Useful Criterion for Sex Identification of the Human Skeleton?

Sex identification of human long bones has been studied by several investigators. Measurements of the radius and the ulna have also been reported as an indicator of sex by reference to separate parameters and/or to combinations of the parameters of a single bone. This study was designed to determine whether the radius and the ulna can provide reliable information for the sexing of human bones, as can the lower leg bones, if the forearm measurements include the weight index of the two bones as a parameter. The materials consisted of the dried radii and ulnae of 20 recently deceased Japanese males and 20 similar females. Almost all the dimensions exhibited statistically significant sex differences. The radio–ulnar weight index did not, however, differ between the sexes. In discriminant analysis, the rate of correct sex discrimination based on distances between various pairs of points was not improved by the inclusion of the radio–ulnar weight index. Therefore, the radio–ulnar weight index cannot be recommended as a parameter for the sexing of human bones.     

Growth curves of immature bones from a Scottish island population of sixteenth to mid-nineteenth century: Limb-bone diaphyses and some bones of the hand and foot

Growth curves were prepared for length of the diaphyses of the six major long bones of the limbs and for length of the calcaneus, talus, cuboid and the first metacarpals and metatarsals, of ages up to 20 years including several immature and many full-term fetuses. Most curves showed what appears to be a consistent adolescent growth spurt at about 17 years, but the number of specimens supporting these parts of the curves is too small for the validity of this spurt to be beyond doubt. The fetal diaphysis lengths were similar to those of Fazekas and Kósa and other recent populations but, compared with curves prepared from the Maresh radiographic data for recent caucasoids, the island diaphyseal growth rate, starting at about 4 months after birth, fell progressively behind so that, by 18 years for example, the femur was 90 mm shorter and the humerus 60 mm shorter than the Maresh equivalents. These findings accord with the short stature of the island adults (male mean 166.2 cm). The growth curves were closer to those of some ancient peoples, Amerindian, caucasoid and negroid, than to contemporary caucasoid. There is evidence of a secular change in growth in this island region because the calculated mean height at 18 years of this earlier island population is at the present time achieved by boys by about 14 years of age. Thus it is argued that the earlier population was affected by stunting factors. Although there is no skeletal evidence of malnutrition, there is plenty of evidence that the way of life was full of hardship in which the children shared. They took a full part in the arduous work involved in farming marginal-quality land; the houses were damp, cold, smoky and dark; they were overcrowded although, mainly because of the high infant-mortality rate, families were not large.     

The age of the Drake Passage

The distribution of benthic foraminifera in Miocene deposits of the continental margin of southeastern South America is compared with that in the Recent. The comparison indicates that Miocene zoogeographic boundaries were located in higher latitudes than at present, suggesting that the climate at that time was warmer than now. In the Pliocene, temperatures were lower than at present. This signifies that a considerable decrease in water temperature took place in the latest Miocene or at the Miocene/Pliocene boundary in the southwestern Atlantic. The main reason for this drop in temperature was the opening of the Drake Passage and the establishment of the Circumpolar Antarctic Current and a branch — the Malvin Current. The opening resulted from strong orogenic movements, in the latest Miocene, which created the main part of the Andes. Prior to the opening of the passage, the anticyclonic (counterclockwise) gyre of surface currents in the South Atlantic was much larger and warm Brazilian waters reached higher latitudes. The Austral Strait, connecting the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, may have existed from the Cretaceous in the southern part of South America, but its location and character did not permit the establishment of the true Circumpolar Antarctic Current. The Austral Strait was closed simultaneously with the opening of the Drake Passage.     

Burnt bones and teeth: an experimental study of color,morphology, crystal structure and shrinkage

Burnt osteological materials are one focus of interest in forensic, archaeological, and palaeontological studies. We document the effects of experimental, controlled heating on a sample of modern bones and teeth from sheep and goats. Four aspects of heating specimens to between 20 and 940°C were considered: color, microscopic morphology, crystalline structure and shrinkage. Our results show that changes in both color and microscopic morphology of burnt bones and teeth can be divided into five stages each of which is typical of a particular temperature range, although the stages based on color do not correlate exactly with those based on micromorphology. These stages can be used to determine (1) if specimens of unknown taphonomic history were burnt, and (2) the maximum temperature reached by those specimens. In addition, powder X-ray diffraction studies show that heating causes an increase in the crystal size of hydroxyapatite, the major inorganic component of bones and teeth. This fact in conjunction with the microscopic morphology can be used to confirm deduced heating to 645°C or more. The data on shrinkage are analyzed to yield a polynomial expression that summarizes percentage shrinkage as a function of the maximum temperature reached by bones. Thus, the original size of specimens can be reconstructed within limits since the maximum temperature reached by the bones can be deduced on the basis of color, microscopic morphology and/or powder X-ray diffraction patterns. Finally, because there is a discrepancy between the maximum heating device temperature and the maximum specimen temperature, caution must be exercised in distinguishing between the effects of man made and natural fires.     

Growth curves of immature bones from a Scottish island population of sixteenth to mid-nineteenth century: Shoulder girdle,ilium, pubis and ischium

Growth curves were prepared for length and various other dimensions, including some innovative ones, of the scapula, clavicle, first rib, ilium, pubis and ischium of ages up to 20 years including several immature and many full-term fetuses. Most curves showed, like the previously reported diaphyses of the limb bones, what appears to be a consistent adolescent growth spurt at about 17 years, but the number of specimens supporting these parts of the curves is too small for the validity of this growth spurt to be beyond doubt. The fetal dimensions were similar to those of Fazekas and Kósa and of other recent populations. For the post-natal stages of growth, no data are available for comparison but there was close correspondence with the growth curves of some ancient peoples, Amerindian, caucasoid and negroid, whose limb-bone growth rates had also been shown previously to be well below those of contemporary caucasoids. Thus it is argued that the shoulder-girdle and hip-bone data provided further evidence that this Scottish island population was affected by stunting factors. Although there is no skeletal evidence of malnutrition, there is plenty of evidence that the way of life was full of hardship in which the children shared. They took a full part in the arduous work involved in farming marginal-quality land; the houses were damp, cold, smoky and dark; they were overcrowded although, mainly because of the high infantmortality rate, families were not large.