CHALLENGES IN APPROACHES TO SKELETAL STATURE ESTIMATION: AN EXAMPLE FROM PREHISTORIC EASTERN MISSISSIPPI AND WESTERN ALABAMA

Abstract

Although stature is used widely as a bioarchaeological health indicator, its determination and subsequent interpretation are not always straightforward. A study of 77 individuals from eight prehistoric populations from the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway illustrates this issue. Application of three common stature estimation formulae to five Middle/Late Woodland and four Mississippian groups strongly suggests that use of partial versus whole bone, choice of element, and stature estimation method can create disparate patterns in health interpretation, not only for the direction of differences but particularly regarding the degree of differences among groups.