Rona Ikehara-Quebral

An assessment of health and disease in the prehistoric inhabitants of the Mariana Islands

Using a variety of skeletal and dental stress indicators, an assessment of the health and disease of the indigenous inhabitants of the Mariana Islands, the Chamorro, is made. The major hypothesis to be tested is that the Chamorro were relatively healthy and that deviations from the expected, as well as inter-island variation, may reflect environmental, ecological, and cultural differences. The major skeletal series surveyed include sites on Guam (N = 247 individuals), Rota (N = 14), Tinian (N = 20), and Saipan (N = 102). The majority of the specimens are from the transitional pre-Latte (AD 1-1000) and Latte (AD 1000-1521) periods. These data derive primarily from unpublished osteological reports. The indicators of health and disease surveyed include mortality and paleodemographic data, stature, dental paleopathology, cribra orbitalia, limb bone fractures, degenerative osteoarthritis, and infectious disease (including treponemal infection). Where appropriate, tests of significance are calculated to determine the presence of any patterning in the differences observed within and between the skeletal series. Information recorded in prehistoric Hawaiians provides a standard for external comparisons. Several of the larger skeletal series surveyed have paleodemographic features that are consistent with long-term cemetery populations. Females and subadults are typically underrepresented. Most subadult deaths occur in the 2-5 year age interval. Life expectancy at birth ranges from 26.4 to 33.7 years. A healthy fertility rate is indicated for these series. The prehistoric inhabitants of the Mariana Islands were relatively tall, exceeding living Chamorros measured in the early part of the present century. The greater prevalence of developmental defects in the enamel suggests that the Chamorro were exposed to more stress than prehistoric Hawaiians. The low frequency of cribra orbitalia further indicates iron deficiency anemia was not a problem. There are generally low frequencies of dental pathology in the remains from the Mariana Islands. Betel-nut staining is relatively common in all series which may help to explain the relatively low prevalence of dental pathology. Healed limb bone fractures are rare in these skeletal series; the frequency and patterns of fractures suggest accidental injury as the main cause. Greater physical demands involving the lower back region are indicated by a high frequency of spondylolysis, or stress fracture in the lumbar vertebrae in the Chamorro. Likewise, advanced degenerative bone changes, while of low occurrence, are significantly greater in the Chamorro than Hawaiians. The prevalence of skeletal and dental indicators of stress was generally higher in the smaller islands of the Mariansas chain (e.g., Rota), islands with fewer resources to buffer environmental catastrophe. Bony changes suggestive of treponemal (probably yaws) disease are common in most of these Marianas Islands skeletal series.

Skeletal biology of Apurguan: A precontact Chamorro site on Guam

The human skeletal remains of a minimum of 152 individuals from the precontact Latte Period (AD 1000-1521) on Guam, Mariana Islands, are described. The sample, recovered at Apurguan, in the Tamuning District, is one of the largest series of well-provenienced Chamorro skeletal remains to be analyzed in recent years. The size and systematic nature of this database are a major contribution to the human biology of the region. Paleodemographic characteristics, dental and skeletal morphology, and paleopathology are presented, along with a limited examination of sex differences in frequencies of nonmetric variation. The mortuary sample, consisting of 51 subadults and 101 adults, exhibits underrepresentation of females, highest subadult mortality between 2 and 10 years, and an adult average age-at-death of 43.5 years. Cranial and infracranial indices and nonmetric variation are consistent with the Chamorros Southeast Asian origins. There are few statistically significant sex differences in nonmetric variation which suggests close genetic affinity. The frequency of dental pathology overall is low, reflecting a well-balanced, varied diet, and consistent with preagricultural subsistence; however statistically significant sex differences suggest the influence of differential cultural behaviors or resource access. Paleopathological observations include healed fractures (more common in males), little advanced osteoarthritis, evidence for gouty arthritis, and treponemal disease (yaws). One individual, a young adult male, was interred with 10 human bone spear points in situ. Twenty percent of the primary burials exhibit evidence of postdepositional removal of selected skeletal elements for cultural purposes such as keepsakes or raw material.

Cultural alteration of human teeth in the Mariana Islands

Evidence of cultural dental modification in a precontact (pre-1521) skeletal sample from the Academy of Our Lady of Guam gymnasium site in Agana, Guam, is documented. Two of the four individuals recovered at the Academy Gym site exhibit modification of the maxillary teeth. One individual displays vertical incising of a single tooth, and the other exhibits horizontal abrading of the anterior teeth which may be a purposeful or an incidental alteration. Although deliberate alteration of the dentition, including tooth extraction, notching, filing, and drilling, has been documented in human groups worldwide, little has been written about these cultural practices in the Mariana Islands. Examination of the available literature on precontact human remains from the region reveals at least three patterns of dental incising and similar cases of dental abrasion. While the origins of these practices are not known, the presence and style of these cultural alterations may be sex-specific, cosmetic in nature, or an indication of status in a ranked society. Alternatively, they may signify membership in a particular group or lineage, or mark a rite of passage. Because the comparative samples are limited in number and small, and the provenience of many of the skeletons is obscure, temporal variation cannot be ruled out.

Biocultural Practices during the Transition to History at the Vat Komnou Cemetery, Angkor Borei, Cambodia

Mainland Southeast Asia underwent dramatic changes after the mid-first millennium b.c.e., as its populations embraced new metallurgical and agricultural technologies. Southeast Asians transformed their physical and social environments further through their participation in international maritime trade networks. Early state formation characterized much of the mainland by the mid-first millennium c.e. We examined a protohistoric (200 b.c.e.–200 c.e.) skeletal sample from the Vat Komnou cemetery at Angkor Borei in the Mekong Delta (southern Cambodia) to understand the health impacts of this changing environment. Degenerative joint disease patterns indicate a distinct sexual division of labor. Although intentional dental filing was practiced, its impact on oral-dental health could not be determined. Dental pathologies suggest a mixed diet with more fibrous foods and a lower reliance on soft, processed agricultural foods. A broad-spectrum diet and varied use of the local environment are inferred from the faunal evidence. Stable isotope ratios indicate a relatively greater reliance on fish and estuarine dietary resources than on terrestrial protein. Affinities with other groups in the region are suggested by the cultural practices of the relatively tall, healthy inhabitants from Vat Komnou.

The Search for Don Francisco de Paula Marin: Servant, Friend, and Advisor to King Kamehameha I, Kingdom of Hawai'i

Don Francisco de Paula Marin was born in Spain in 1774. After briefly serving in the Spanish Navy, Marin took up residence in Hawaii at the age of 19 or 20. He had several Hawaiian wives and many children. In addition to being a keen horticulturalist, distiller, and entrepreneur, Marin was an interpreter, doctor, advisor, and confidant to King Kamehameha I. Marin built his house and other structures on land granted to him by Kamehameha I in downtown Honolulu around 1810, where he lived until his death in 1837, at the age of 63. Prior to the construction of a 28-story high-rise building (Marin Tower) and parking structure in 1994, archaeological survey and excavation identified 15 historic coffin burials representing ten adults, 3 children, and two fetuses, from the Marin property. Using historical, archaeological, and forensic/osteological evidence, I outline how we tentatively identified Marin’s skeletal remains. Other burials may represent two of Marin’s wives and any of his eight children who were likely to have been buried on the property.