Lapita subsistence strategies and food consumption patterns in the community of Teouma (Efate,Vanuatu)

The subsistence strategies of the Lapita populations (3100–2800 BP), the first colonisers of the pristine environments of the islands of Eastern Melanesia and Western Polynesia, have been a matter of ongoing debate for decades. Opinions have ranged between the two extremes of Lapita colonisers being either characterised as highly mobile foragers to fully horticultural communities. To further address the question, this paper presents stable carbon and nitrogen isotopic data obtained from analyses of human and animal collagen samples from the site of Teouma (Efate, Vanuatu) dated to between c. 3000–2500 BP. The isotopic signatures obtained from 28 samples (23 human and 5 animal), interpreted in combination with isotopic information from several coastal and insular environments, suggest a diet primarily made up of terrestrially derived animal protein with lesser contributions from vegetable produce and inshore marine species. Comparisons linking the isotopic data gleaned from the Teouma individuals and Lapita subsistence patterns reconstructed through archaeozoological and archaeobotanical remains support the hypothesis of a mixed economy, that included terrestrial foraging, inshore marine exploitation and a low level of food production for at least some of the earliest Lapita colonists in Vanuatu.     

Approximating the Face of ‘Aunty’: A Question of Likeness

This paper describes two approaches to the facial approximation of three individuals from the Wairau Bar burial site (New Zealand). Two individuals were approximated working in direct reference to the remains and incorporated manual drafting. The third individual, ‘Aunty’ (the respectful title given by the iwi Rangitane elders) was approximated from CT scans and using computer graphics. The computer graphic approach enabled a greater level of precision in the application of the research and recommendations that inform a facial approximation, and facilitated collaboration with appropriate expertise. The computer-graphic approach, however, also resulted in a more photographic facial appearance, which can imply a greater level of knowledge about hard/soft tissue relationships than is currently available.     

Using Enthesis Robusticity to Infer Activity in the Past: A Review

In bioarchaeological studies, entheseal change is commonly used to infer patterns of activity in past populations. This category of skeletal modification includes both pathological changes (enthesopathies) and changes in size, shape and surface complexity (robusticity). Despite the recent impetus to reassess the use of enthesopathies as markers of activity, robusticity has received little critical attention. In this review, we reassess key assumptions that underpin the use of robusticity in activity studies, drawing on anatomical, physiological, biomechanical and sports medicine literature sources. We find that, whilst there is some evidence to support the assumption that variation in enthesis robusticity reflects different activity patterns, little is known about the process through which this variation is produced. Presently, the stimuli (dynamics of muscle use or muscle size) for entheseal adaptation are ill-defined, a situation that limits our interpretive abilities. Consideration of bone functional adaptation principles and of the relationship of entheses to soft tissue also highlights how other factors, such as age, sex and genetic background, may influence enthesis robusticity and obscure activity-related adaptation. Understanding how these factors influence enthesis robusticity helps define how robusticity studies should be controlled, but further research is required to clarify how these factors interact with activity in robusticity development and the precise relationship between activity and robusticity. Ultimately, this review emphasises the complexity of entheseal structures and their morphological development. Any interpretation of activity from enthesis robusticity should be approached with caution, but in some circumstances, the endeavour may be ill-advised.     

Selling Maize in Mexico: The Persistence of Peasant Farming in an Era of Global Markets

The last decade of the twentieth century was heralded as the ‘end of agrarian reform’ in Mexico and the initiation of a new era of market‐led agricultural policy and practice. The impact of neoliberalism and the North American Free Trade Agreement on smallholder maize production has been widely conceived as negative, associated with ecological degradation, rural emigration and cultural erosion. Yet, some twenty years later, all evidence suggests that smallholder maize production is continuing in Mexico, albeit in evolving structures and forms. This article uses a farm‐level survey implemented in three Mexican states to assess the current condition of maize farming in Mexico. The authors revisit past categorizations of Mexican farmers and apply similar approaches to explore what maize‐producing households are doing with their maize, and what current patterns of production imply for future Mexican maize policy. They find evidence of greater persistence and adaptability in Mexican maize farming than is often presented. On the basis of their analysis, they advocate for a reconsideration of the underlying assumptions of public policy, highlighting the heterogeneity of the maize landscape and the unrealized and generally unrecognized potential this heterogeneity represents.     

Prehistoric migration at Nebira, South Coast of Papua New Guinea: New insights into interaction using isotope and trace element concentration analyses

Migration is a commonly used explanation for cultural change in world prehistory, and is also a central theme in the prehistory of the Pacific Islands. However it is rarely subject to direct archaeological research. This paper applies strontium and oxygen radiogenic/stable isotope (⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr, δ¹⁸O), and trace element concentration (Ba/Sr) analyses to 27 individuals buried at the archaeological site of Nebira (ca.720–300 BP), located inland on the South Coast of Papua New Guinea. The analyses seek to identify non-local individuals within the population and provide a more in-depth understanding about the social identity of the possible migrants in this community.The strontium isotope data indicates that five individuals were non-local to Nebira, having possibly come from a coastal location. Correlation with biological data, such as age and sex, also indicates that the pattern of migration at Nebira was not sex or age specific. The results support the archaeological findings that suggest the inhabitants from Nebira were in contact with coastal communities during a period in prehistory of increased cultural interaction. However, despite the considerable isotopic variation identified in the Nebira sample, it is also demonstrated that more research is needed to identify the possible origins of these non-local individuals.     

Hair today,gone tomorrow: Analysing potential mercury exposure in 19th-century New Zealand gold miners using Laser Ablation-Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometry

Toxic metal or element exposure has the potential to cause significant negative health effects in human populations. During the goldrushes of the colonial period, mercury amalgamation was one of the most common methods of extracting gold from alluvial deposits or crushed ore, and exposure to mercury was an occupational health hazard. In this study we examine mercury exposure in mining populations from New Zealand’s first major goldrush, which began in Central Otago in 1861. We explore mercury toxicity through laser ablation inductively coupled mass spectrometric analysis of archaeological hair and sediment samples associated with the Tuapeka goldfields. Our analysis highlights ubiquitous low-level mercury exposure on the goldfields, as well as one individual with such high mercury concentrations in their hair that we suspect direct mercury intake, perhaps medicinally, rather than from environmental contamination.     

A possible fatal wounding in the prehistoric Pacific Islands

This paper reports two cases of prehistoric interpersonal violence from Taumako Island, southeast Solomon Islands. The first case is a young child with a bone point found in situ in a lower lumbar vertebra. It is concluded that this child most likely died as the result of the injury. The second case is a male of advanced age with a well‐remodelled depression fracture on the frontal bone of the skull. This individual also has a remodelled penetrating wound to the left iliac crest of the pelvis. Warfare is thought to have been endemic in much of the Solomon Islands before European arrival. However, besides the two cases reported here there is little other evidence of trauma in the Taumako population. The young child is the first case of an in situ weapon reported from the prehistoric Pacific Islands. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The distribution of skeletal lesions in treponemal disease: is the lymphatic system responsible?

The differential diagnosis of bone lesions in treponemal disease is well established in palaeopathology. However, the actual mechanism responsible for the characteristic distribution of bone involvement is not as clear. Two mechanisms are proposed in the literature. Firstly, that bone lesions are the result of direct extension from the skin rash of the secondary stage of disease. Secondly, that bones situated closer to the skin are more vulnerable to local trauma and therefore more likely to elicit a subperiosteal bone response. We propose an alternative explanation for the characteristic distribution of bone lesions in treponemal disease. This explanation is based on the close association between the lymphatic and skeletal systems and the pathogenesis of treponemal disease. This paper argues that the position of the lymphatic nodes and vessels, with little soft tissue intervention between bone tissue, mirrors the characteristic pattern of skeletal involvement in treponemal disease. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Exploring subsistence and cultural complexes on the south coast of Papua New Guinea using palaeodietary analyses

We present the results of a palaeodietary study of a skeletal sample (～800–300 BP) from the south coast of Papua New Guinea (Nebira, site ACJ) using multiple stable isotope analysis of bone collagen. The carbon, nitrogen and sulphur stable isotope ratios of 28 individuals (n = 12 males, n = 13 females and n = 3 subadults) suggested the diet at Nebira was based on C₃ plants (likely starchy vegetable staples) and included protein resources from the surrounding forested areas and C₃/C₄ savannah grasslands such as wallaby and other wild animals. Domestic species (e.g. Sus scrofa, Canis familiaris and Gallus gallus) may also have been consumed but could not be differentiated from wild species by stable isotope analysis. There were no significant differences in stable isotope values between males and females, but the δ³⁴S values of the juveniles suggest they may have consumed varied protein resources. The sulphur stable isotope ratios indicate there was no discernable marine component in the diet of any of the individuals from Nebira. The stable isotope results are interpreted within a wider context of Papuan south coast trade and exchange systems in an attempt to understand local interaction in the region.