Skeletal correlates of human behavior in the americas

A review of recent anthropological research deriving behavioral inferences from analyses of human skeletal remains focuses on interpretations of diet, social organization, population structure and migration, activities, activity levels and occupation, and warfare, violence, and death in the prehistoric and historic Americas. Critical evaluation of these inferences shows that some of them suffer from inadequate supporting evidence, lack of consideration of alternative hypotheses, or absence of clear methods for deriving and testing these inferences. Overall, however, the potential for behavioral reconstruction from skeletal analysis is great. Behaviors leaving more direct effects on bone such as dietary preference, warfare, and some activities produced the most secure inferences when derived from populational samples and supported by supplementary evidence. Human skeletal remains represent important resources for the reconstruction of behavior.     

A Spanish Man‐o‐War in New Zealand? The 1864 wreck of Grafton and its lessons for pre‐Cook shipwreck claims

This paper considers the 1864 wreck of Grafton in the Auckland Islands, and its implications for wreck analysis and pre‐Cook exploration claims. The captain of Grafton, Thomas Musgrave, stated that the schooner was built from the wreck of a Spanish man‐o‐war, and archaeological analysis of the wreck found that the timbers are a tropical South American species, and had possibly been reused. The implications of this are clear; it is possible that timbers that originated in pre‐Cook (1769) ships lie in New Zealand, but without a full understanding of the historical and archaeological context of any such timbers, including their reuse in later ships, it is not possible to claim proof of pre‐Cook European exploration of New Zealand.     

The social status and economic interests of Richer de Refham,Lord Mayor of London

Richer de Refham came to London during the 1290s and quickly established himself as a successful mercer. He expanded his initial business interests to include money-lending and property holdings, and became a leading landowner in London by acquiring the property of old families who had dominated the city's business and political life, and of some of his political enemies. His acquisitions led him into constant litigation and, undoubtedly, are connected to his political affiliations and conflicts.De Refham, who came from a family of East Anglian knights, was eventually enfeoffed with lands in Norfolk and Essex. The grants raise questions as to the identity of the grantors, the political and social relationships which existed between the grantors and grantee, and the significance of the enfeoffments to de Refham's social and economic position.With close ties to the mercantile class and rural knights, de Refham may have had a significant influence on the formation of those bonds which brought together the diverse and often conflicting interests of the knights and burgesses in the emerging House of Commons.     

BURNING BONES AT BETHEL: A CLOSER LOOK AT 2 KINGS 23,16a

2 Kgs 23,16a reports that Josiah defiled an altar at Bethel by burning human bones upon it, an act unparalleled in biblical legislation or literature. Since the remains of the deceased persons defile through physical contact alone (Lev 21,1-4.10-12; etc.), the burning of the bones seems gratuitous. The osteological and technological realities of cremation invalidate M. Haran's surmise that the burning made the defilement irreversible because ''the ashes penetrates into the ruins.'' The bones used by Josiah were obtained from nearby tombs, and tomb-robbing and the desecration of human corpses is well documented throughout the biblical world (cf Jer 8,1-2). In this context, the burning of these deceased persons, perhaps the ultimate such desecration, constituted an attack on them as ''despisers of Yahweh'' (cf Num 16) and on the living descendants who opposed the regime.     

Pagan: the archaeology of a WWII battle never fought in the Northern Mariana Islands

Archaeological and historical investigation of WWII battles fought in the Micronesian archipelago of the Mariana Islands has generally concentrated on the fierce struggles for Saipan, Tinian, and Guam. Smaller islands that were neutralised during the U.S. thrust to establish air bases for the bombing campaign over Japan beginning in 1944 have received less attention, but were a strategic link in the Absolute National Defence Sphere. This paper examines the archaeological evidence of Japanese military planning for the defence of the island of Pagan situated north of Saipan, a battle that was never fought. The strategy based on an analysis of fixed weaponry emplacement appears to have been conceived in terms of engagement evolving from a ‘defence-at-the-waters-edge’ tactic in the southern Mariana Islands towards a ‘defence-in-depth’ posture faced in Iwo Jima and Okinawa.