Susan Guise Sheridan

Sex Determination in Subadults Using Auricular Surface Morphology: A Forensic Science Perspective

The determination of sex in subadult skeletons remains a problem for several areas of biological anthropology. To date, univariate and multivariate assessments of sex in the young using adult indicators have failed to produce reliable results. However, research in this area continues. In 1980, Weaver proposed a modification of adult differences in auricular surface morphology as an effective means for sex determination in subadult remains. His method was indirectly evaluated by Hunt through a comparison of the sex ratios produced by this technique and the expected 1:1 ratio. The present investigation expands upon both studies by using a sample of subadults of known sex, and by evaluating Weavers method from two perspectives: 1) what percentage of individuals can be correctly sexed using Weavers criteria? and 2) what is the probability that an individual case will be correctly sexed based on the presence or absence of auricular surface elevation? The first is of interest to those reconstructing population patterns, while the second is critical to the forensic investigator faced with the diagnosis of an individual case. The sample used in this study consisted of 58 ilia from subadults of known sex ranging in age from birth through 18. In each case, sufficient soft tissues were present to allow absolute sex diagnosis. Each ilium was subjected to a blind examination using Weavers criteria for auricular surface elevation. Weavers technique proved most effective on the males in our sample, with an overall accuracy of 85.3%; however, accuracy in sexing females was only slightly better than chance at 58.3%. Our results corresponded closely to Weavers own values of 85.4 and 57.7% respectively.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Female biological resiliency: Differential stress response by sex in human remains from ancient Nubia

This research presents male-female differences in stress response evidenced in human remains from the Medieval site of Kulubnarti in Sudanese Nubia. This analysis is unique in that a direct comparison of subadult males and females is rarely possible using archaeological remains. Rather, such analyses invariably rely on evidence of subadult differences retained in adult (sexable) skeletons. In the case of Kulubnarti, natural mummification has made it possible to measure sex-specific differences among subadults as well as adults following five avenues of investigation: 1) mortality, 2) growth and development, 3) enamel hypoplasia, 4) cribra orbitalia, and 5) cortical bone maintenance.A comparison of mean life expectancy (eox) values for males and females aged 10–55+ years revealed a consistent pattern of greater female survivorship, particularly in childhood (age 10 category) where female life expectancy exceeds that of males by 19%. Measures of growth and development, enamel hypoplasia, cribra orbitalia, and cortical bone loss were subsequently used to test a hypothesis of greater female resiliency based on the mortality data.Male-female differences in skeletal maturation are pronounced with male skeletal ages averaging a significant 2.9 years below their dental age. Females show no significant differences with an average skeletal age 0.75 years ahead of dental age. Males begin hypoplasia formation one year earlier than females and, prior to age four, average 18% more hypoplasias (p<0.05). Also, by age 8, males have on average more than twice the frequency of cribra orbitalia (p<0.05).In contrast to their consistent pattern of reduced childhood stress, adult females lose significantly more cortical bone than their male counterparts and have less cortical bone across the adult age range. Nevertheless, females outnumber males of all ages with a sex-ratio below but parallel to that observed in modern populations. The rapid age-related reduction in males relative to females, even in old age, suggests a continuing female resiliency in spite of their greater rate of osteopenia and may reflect a reproductive advantage to the population through heightened female survival and adaptability.

Monks on the move: Evaluating pilgrimage to byzantine St. Stephen's monastery using strontium isotopes

OBJECTIVES Written and archaeological evidence indicates that migration, in the form of pilgrimage to Byzantine Palestine, was a major social phenomenon between the 5th and 7th centuries CE. Monasteries saw record growth at this time as pilgrims chose to stay in the region and take up religious life. A major influx of people to the region, with a corresponding growth in monastic vocations that led travelers to stay in the area, is not in question; however, the distant origins of pilgrims reflected in surviving texts may be an artifact of preservation, biased towards an elite minority. The Byzantine monastery of St. Stephens provides an opportunity to study this question from a bioarchaeological perspective, given the excellent preservation of the human skeletal assemblage, a wealth of written works about the community as well as daily life in Byzantine Palestine, and a rich archaeological record for the site and region. MATERIALS AND METHODS An analysis of radiogenic strontium isotope values from the third molars of 22 individuals recovered from the St. Stephens crypt complex was conducted to test whether those interred at the monastery were of local origin. RESULTS Of those examined ( x¯= 0.7084 ± 0.0007, 1σ), 8 out of 22 (36%) exhibited (87) Sr/(86) Sr ratios that fell outside of local ranges. DISCUSSION These results confirmed the sizeable presence of nonlocals at St. Stephens Monastery. While most of these migrants likely traveled to Jerusalem from different areas of the Levant as pilgrims, others may have hailed from further afield, including Europe.

Case of Late Prehistoric Mutilation On the Northwest Plains

Questions concerning the origin and antiquity of Plains culture continue to be of interest to anthropologists. The suggestion that tmly violent waifare practices involving mutilation, scalping, and...

Bioarchaeology in the ancient Near East: Challenges and future directions for the southern Levant

The synthesis of biological anthropology, archaeology, and social theory provides a bioarchaeological model to reconstruct nuanced aspects of demography, diet, disease, death, daily activities, and biodistance, even in the absence of discrete burials. Numerous skeletal assemblages in the southern Levant are composed of mixed and fragmented bones resulting from generational use of cemeteries, mass burial, and additional communal burial practices. Others become commingled due to taphonomic processes such as flooding, geological events, or human mediated mechanisms like looting, improper excavation, and poor curation. Such collections require one to ask broader questions of human adaptability, exercise a holistic approach, use broad demographic categories, and remain cognizant of the limitations posed by fragmentation. Expanded research questions and ethical considerations, the use of centralized databases and understudied collections, as well as the application of social media, citizen science, and crowd sourcing provide new tools for bioarchaeological analyses of the many commingled ancient Near Eastern collections in the southern Levant.

Bone Color Changes in a Burned Burial Structure from Early Bronze Age Bab adh-Dhra’, Jordan

A large burial structure (A22) from the site of Bab adh-Dhra’1 dating to the Early Bronze Age II–III (EB II–III; 3100–2300 bce ) in Jordan underwent a significant burning event that resulted in damage to the building and entombed skeletons. A large piece of linen recovered near the doorway suggested that the fire may have been started intentionally. At least 224 people were buried in the tomb, based on the number of left tali recovered. However, MLNI (most likely number of individuals) estimates indicated that more than 1100 people possibly were interred in the charnel house. The purpose of this project was to examine the spatial distribution of bone colour changes in A22 to reconstruct the burning event. Munsell soil colours and a CIELAB-system spectrophotometer were used. Colours varied by bone type (humerus, frontal and ilium) and between the core and periphery of the burial structure.

Population is the main driver of war group size and conflict casualties

Significance Recent views on violence emphasize the decline in proportions of war groups and casualties to populations over time and conclude that past small-scale societies were more violent than contemporary states. In this paper, we argue that these trends are better explained through scaling relationships between population and war group size and between war group size and conflict casualties. We test these relationships and develop measures of conflict investment and lethality that are applicable to societies across space and time. When scaling is accounted for, we find no difference in conflict investment or lethality between small-scale and state societies. Given the lack of population data for past societies, we caution against using archaeological cases of episodic conflicts to measure past violence. The proportions of individuals involved in intergroup coalitional conflict, measured by war group size (W), conflict casualties (C), and overall group conflict deaths (G), have declined with respect to growing populations, implying that states are less violent than small-scale societies. We argue that these trends are better explained by scaling laws shared by both past and contemporary societies regardless of social organization, where group population (P) directly determines W and indirectly determines C and G. W is shown to be a power law function of P with scaling exponent X [demographic conflict investment (DCI)]. C is shown to be a power law function of W with scaling exponent Y [conflict lethality (CL)]. G is shown to be a power law function of P with scaling exponent Z [group conflict mortality (GCM)]. Results show that, while W/P and G/P decrease as expected with increasing P, C/W increases with growing W. Small-scale societies show higher but more variance in DCI and CL than contemporary states. We find no significant differences in DCI or CL between small-scale societies and contemporary states undergoing drafts or conflict, after accounting for variance and scale. We calculate relative measures of DCI and CL applicable to all societies that can be tracked over time for one or multiple actors. In light of the recent global emergence of populist, nationalist, and sectarian violence, our comparison-focused approach to DCI and CL will enable better models and analysis of the landscapes of violence in the 21st century.