P. Willey

Maxillary Suture Obliteration: A Visual Method for Estimating Skeletal Age

The purpose of this study was to develop a method of estimating the age of an individual based on obliteration of the four maxillary (palatal) sutures. A sample of 186 individuals of known age, race, and sex were examined. It was found that males of both races (black and white) exhibit more suture obliteration than females at the same age. During the early adult years, maxillary suture obliteration progresses at nearly the same rate in both sexes; however, the age of old individuals may be greatly overestimated using this method. Although this method cannot be used for exact estimates of individual age, it is valuable in establishing the age range, sorting commingled remains, and estimating skeletal age when only the maxilla is present.

Skeleton of an Elderly Woman from the Crow Creek Site and Its Implications for Paleodemography

The skeleton of an elderly woman, excavated from a mound near the Crow Creek Village (39BF11), is described. From all indications, the skeleton is the oldest individual reported of the thousands of skeletons recovered from archaeological sites in the Middle Missouri region. Based on this skeleton, and ethnohistoric and other evidence, it appears that elderly individuals have either not been recovered archae ologically, hence are under-enumerated, or have been recovered but under-aged. The results of under enumeration and under-ageing of these elderly in dividuals on the life table approach to paleodemography are explored. Under-ageing has relatively little influence on the resulting life table, but under-enumeration may have a pronounced effect.

Temporal and Geographic Patterning of Relative Head Height In the Central Plains and Middle Missouri Areas

Temporal and geographic patterning of vault height evaluated as the Auricular Mean Height Index is exam ined in samples of crania from the Central and Northern Plains. Crania are placed into two large categories: one consisting of historic Caddoan speakers and their ances tors, the other of Mandan speakers and their ancestors. Woodland crania from the Central Plains and Middle Mis souri areas are added to their respective groups for part of the analysis. Time consistently shows a strong rela tionship to Auricular Mean Height Index; geographical latitude is equivocal but does exhibit a relationship to the vault height index in Central Plains-Caddoan without Woodland. Auricular height decreases with the passage of time and increases as one proceeds northward. The analysis further shows that Central Plains Caddoan groups have higher vaults than Middle Missouri-Mandan crania at a given point in time and space. That cranial morphology is different in the groups supports the no tion that gene pool differences are responsible. The causes of decreasing head height through time are un known.

CRANIOMETRIC VARIATION IN THE NORTHERN AND CENTRAL PLAINS

Cranial measurements of 13 male and 12 female samples from the Central and Northern Plains region were subjected to canonical analysis. The samples include historic or protohistoric crania that can be ascribed to the Arikara, Mandan, Pawnee, Ponca and Omaha tribes. In addition, two samples belong to the archaeologically defined St. Helena Focus. Both sexes yielded five significant canonical variates, although only four were readily interpretable. The first canonical variate is clearly a Siouan-Caddoan discrim inator and reflects variation in cranial vault height. St. Helena sites associate with the Arikara on this axis, supporting previous craniometric analyses which suggest a relationship between these two groups. Subsequent canonical variates deal with more particular aspects of craniometric variation among groups, but are still interpretable in historic or evolutionary terms. The classificatory analysis shows that the Arikara sites are closely related. A major exception to this is the Sully site, which frequently misclassifies with non-Arikara groups. This suggests that the Sully crania have little collective reality; and that there may be non-Arikara components represent ed at the Sully Site.

Footprints preserve terminal Pleistocene hunt? Human-sloth interactions in North America

Contemporaneous sloth and human footprints from the terminal Pleistocene at White Sands National Monument suggest stalking. Predator-prey interactions revealed by vertebrate trace fossils are extremely rare. We present footprint evidence from White Sands National Monument in New Mexico for the association of sloth and human trackways. Geologically, the sloth and human trackways were made contemporaneously, and the sloth trackways show evidence of evasion and defensive behavior when associated with human tracks. Behavioral inferences from these trackways indicate prey selection and suggest that humans were harassing, stalking, and/or hunting the now-extinct giant ground sloth in the terminal Pleistocene.

Who's Buried in Custer's Grave?

On 10 October 1877, the year after the Battle of the Little Bighorn, General George A. Custers coffin was transported from a temporary grave in Poughkeepsie, NY, by steamer and cortege to permanent interment in the U.S. Military Academys Post Cemetery. The ceremony included the appropriate military and funerary rituals. There were, nevertheless, reasons to believe that Custers skeleton may not have been in the coffin—thus, he may have missed his own funeral. Custers remains, or part of them, may have been overlooked during the exhumation and left on the battle-field, only to be recovered around 1940. These bones, as well as those of another individual, were unceremoniously buried in a grave which is now marked “Two Unknown U.S. Soldiers” in the National Cemetery adjacent to the Little Bighorn Battlefield in Montana. That cemetery, perhaps appropriately enough, is named the Custer National Cemetery. This paper presents information concerning Custers original interment on the Little Bighorn Battlefield, his supposed disinterment, and the osteological evidence that his remains, or at least part of them, were left on the Little Bighorn Battlefield.

William R. Maples and the Development of the American Board of Forensic Anthropology

If a persons death is marked by the good he has done, then William R. Mapless passing will be remembered long and well. One of Bills professional bestowals was serving on many forensic sciences committees and boards. This paper examines his contribution to forensic anthropology through his activities in the American Board of Forensic Anthropology as a diplomate, director, treasurer, and president.