Marie Elaine Danforth

Early Agriculture In The Maya Lowlands

Wetland research in northern Belize provides the earliest evidence for development of agriculture in the Maya Lowlands. Pollen data confirm the introduction of maize and manioc before 3000 B.C. Dramatic deforestation, beginning ca. 2500 B.C. and intensifying in wetland environments ca. 1500-1300 B.C., marks an expansion of agriculture, which occurred in the context of a mixed foraging economy. By 1000 B.C. a rise in groundwater levels led farmers to construct drainage ditches coeval with the emergence of Maya complex society ca. 1000-400 B.C. Field manipulations often involved minor modifications of natural hummocks. Canal systems are not as extensive in northern Belize as previously reported, nor is there evidence of artificially raised planting platforms. By the Classic period, wetland fields were flooded and mostly abandoned.

Bones of the Maya: Studies of Ancient Skeletons

Includes an indexed bibliography of the first 150 years of Maya osteology. This volume pulls together a spectrum of bioarchaeologists that reveal remarkable data on Maya genetic relationship, demography, and diseases.

An Analysis of Secular Change in the Human Mandible over the Last Century

In light of several recent investigations that have identified notable secular change in cranial size and morphology over the last century, the present study addresses its possible effects in the mandible in U.S. populations. Standard measurements of 407 mandibles from the Terry (Smithsonian) and Hamann‐Todd (Cleveland Museum of Natural History) Collections, which are primarily composed of individuals living in the early 20th century, were compared with those of 595 mandibles from the Forensic Anthropology Database (Tennessee), which is primarily composed of individuals living from the later part of the century. The t‐tests between the two temporally‐different samples by sex and race showed statistically significant decreases in mandibular body width and bigonial breadth as well as significant increases in mandibular body length in nearly all subgroups. White males showed the greatest amount of change, and Black females, the least. Overall, these findings support the conclusion that the mandible is transforming into a longer, narrower, more gracile bone, paralleling many of the morphological shifts seen in the cranium. Factors involved likely include changes in diet, medical care, and dental practices. Am. J. Hum. Biol., 2009.

ESTIMATING SEX OF MAYA SKELETONS BY DISCRIMINANT FUNCTION ANALYSIS OF LONG-BONE MEASUREMENTS FROM THE PROTOHISTORIC MAYA SITE OF TIPU, BELIZE

Discriminant functions were developed using long-bone robusticity measurements of 82 individuals from the protohistoric Maya site of Tipu, Belize. All individuals were sexed using nonmetric morphological indicators, particularly those of the pelvis. These functions are designed to provide a means of determining the sex of fragmentary prehistoric Maya skeletons. The equations ranged in accuracy from 77.5% to 100%. The reliability of these equations was tested using a jackknife method on the Tipu sample and by applying the equations to small samples of prehistoric skeletons from the sites of Seibal, KOB Swamp, Laguna de On, and Chau Hiix. The vast majority of the equations applied to the test cases succeeded in correctly estimating the sex based on pelvic and cranial features. A more reliable technique for sex determination of poorly preserved skeletal remains will allow a whole new range of archaeological and bioanthropological hypotheses concerning sex and gender among the ancient Maya to be investigated and considered.

Stature Change in Prehistoric Maya of the Southern Lowlands

Since the 1950s, a decline in stature has been offered as evidence of increasing nutritional stress in prehistoric Maya populations, particularly during the Late Classic collapse. A review of the extant skeletal data, however, reveals very inconsistent support for such a decline. The primary explanation for the variation may reside in the small number of skeletal series that have representatives of more than one time period. Other possible explanations include methodological problems associated with stature reconstruction, reliability in sex determination, and variation in health response according to site size and location.

An Evaluation of Determination of Handedness Using Standard Osteological Measurements

Abstract:  Numerous studies have assessed side dominance assuming arm bones on the side of handedness will be larger, but concerns over sample size or replicability of measurements usually emerged. Attempting to improve upon these limitations, this investigation analyzes patterns of side difference for standard length and transverse dimensions of the scapula, clavicle, humerus, ulna, and radius for 137 individuals of known handedness. The results showed that with few exceptions, the right side of the skeleton was consistently larger in most individuals regardless of side dominance. Combinations of other measurements previously suggested to be indicative of handedness as well as the use of discriminant analysis also failed to provide reliable estimators. These findings are likely related to the fact that activities of modern individuals are generally not sufficiently unilateral in their stresses to cause asymmetrical development in the arm bones. Therefore, it is recommended that other means be developed to assess side dominance.

Gender and Health Among the Colonial Maya of Tipu, Belize

The health of the Colonial-period Maya from Tipu, Belize, was evaluated using a skeletal series to explore differential effects of European contact by sex. Variables addressed were nutrition and disease patterns, reproductive patterns, and occupational stress. Results suggest that females enjoyed fewer childhood health disruptions, likely as a result of greater genetic buffering. No evidence of male preferential treatment was observed. Frequencies of indicators were similar to those reported for precontact Maya. Markers of adult activity patterns, including timing of parity, were also comparable to those of earlier groups. These findings support the cultural continuity with the Postclassic suggested by the archaeological and ethnohistorical records at Tipu.

Juvenile Age Estimation Using Diaphyseal Long Bone Lengths Among Ancient Maya Populations

LAQ20(1) danforth 2:59 PM Page 3 JUVENILE AGE ESTIMATION USING DIAPHYSEAL LONG BONE LENGTHS AMONG ANCIENT MAYA POPULATIONS Marie Elaine Danforth, Gabriel D. Wrobel, Carl W. Armstrong, and David Swanson Standards for diaphyseal lengths of the femur, humerus, and tibia that can be used in juvenile age estimation for the ancient Maya are presented. It is argued that these new standards are necessary given differences in stature and limb proportion in Mesoamerican groups compared to the prehistoric North American groups upon whom the current available standards have been developed. Using data from 96 juveniles in the protohistoric Maya series from Tipu, Belize, regression equations were developed to predict age of dental development using diaphyseal lengths; all had excellent fit and statistical signifi- cance. When the equations were tested with diaphyseal lengths from other Mesoamerican populations, the results were sup- portive of such application. Se presentan los estandares de las longitudes de los diafises del humero, femur, y tibia, las cuales seran usadas en la esti- macion de las edades juveniles en poblaciones mayas prehistoricas. Se propone que estos estandares nuevos son necesarios ya que los estandares empleados actualmente fueron desarollados en poblaciones norteamericanas y existen diferencias en estatura y las proporciones de los miembros entre estas poblaciones prehistoricas y las poblaciones prehistoricas Mayas. Usando datos de 75 jovenes en la serie Maya protohistorica de Tipu, Belice, se produjeron ecuaciones de regresion para pre- decir la edad de desarrollo dental basada en las longitudes de los diafises; todas tenian la bondad excelente de ajuste y la sig- nificacion estadistica. Cuando estas ecuaciones fueron comparadas con datos tomados de otras poblaciones mesoamericanas, las curvas parecen ser bastante coherentes. A ccurate aging of juveniles is important for interpretation of findings in a number of areas of research in archaeology and bioar- chaeology. Its most obvious value is in recon- struction of paleodemographic profiles, such as might be used in the determination of life expectan- cies, but it also plays an essential role in analysis of health patterns. For example, high mortality rates of neonates may indicate high levels of maternal stress (Storey 1992), or increased mortality at cer- tain ages may be tied to practices such as weaning, which in turn is often reflective of subsistence (Larsen 1995). In a more recent study, Reyes Gutierrez and colleagues (2006) compared long bone age to dental age in juveniles from the Clas- sic Maya site of Xcambo,Yucatan, arguing that the shorter-than-expected long bone lengths seen were suggestive of nutritional and disease stress. More purely cultural questions can be addressed as well. The presence of particular burial goods, such as food-procurement tools, with specific age cohorts potentially suggests when youngsters started assuming adult activities. In turn, the absence of juveniles younger than a certain age within a ceme- tery may reveal when rites of passage, such as bap- tism, took place within a society (e.g., Cohen et al. Determination of age becomes problematic, however, when the skeletal material is badly pre- served or fragmentary, and juvenile remains are Marie Elaine Danforth n Department of Anthropology and Sociology, University of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg, MS 39406-5074 (m.danforth@usm.edu) Gabriel D. Wrobel n Department of Sociology and Anthropology, University of Mississippi, Oxford, MS 38677 (gwrobel@olemiss.edu) Carl W. Armstrong n Department of Anthropology, State University of New York, Plattsburgh, NY 12901 (carlwa@aol.com) David Swanson n Department of Sociology and Anthropology, University of Mississippi, Oxford, MS 38677 (dswanson@olemiss.edu) Latin American Antiquity 20(1), 2009, pp. 3–13 Copyright ©2009 by the Society for American Archaeology

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.

Upper limb entheseal change with the transition to agriculture in the southeastern United States: A view from Moundville and the central Tombigbee River valley

We analyzed entheseal change in 159 skeletons from Moundville and surrounding settlements using primary fibrocartilaginous attachments of the upper limbs. Risk of entheseal change did not differ bilaterally, suggesting a wide variety of activities were used to exploit a diverse ecosystem. Consistent with predictions, Mississippian (1000-1500 CE) agriculturalists experienced greater risk of entheseal change than did Late Woodland (500-900 CE) hunter-gatherers. Attachments used in arm flexion were most affected, while rotator cuff entheses remained consistent over time. A temporal increase in muscular changes in males in concert with faunal evidence for resurgence of larger game (e.g., deer) is consistent with continued reliance on hunting alongside domestication of maize. Among Mississippians, younger males appear to have been carrying out the most strenuous tasks, contrary to earlier studies that suggested a decline in male activities with domestication. Mound centers consistently experienced the greatest upper body changes, in spite of faunal and botanical data supporting provisioning of elites by outlying sites. Center males, respectively, experienced more than 26 and 12 times greater changes at elbow extensors and brachialis than those from outlying settlements, with a significant decline from young to middle age among adults. Center females experienced increased risk at biceps insertions and common extensors of the humeri - trends that disappeared with age. Overall findings suggest increased upper body demands and shifting sex and age-dependent divisions of labor with maize intensification, but trends across settlements point to significant status-related body size selection in center males, with fewer differences among females.