Ventura R. Pérez

The taphonomy of violence: Recognizing variation in disarticulated skeletal assemblages

The identification of violence and trauma in an archaeological context requires a nuanced and detailed analysis of material culture and human remains. This paper focuses on sharp-force trauma data from individual skeletal elements for the Ancestral Pueblo site Peñasco Blanco (n=1301) and the epiclassic site La Quemada (n=800). The material from these assemblages exhibits examples of bone damage and modification including blunt and sharp force trauma, pre- and peri-mortem modification, breakage, chopping, burning, and dismemberment. Using a methodology that combines microscopy of cutmarks (Peñasco Blanco [n=29] and La Quemada [n=623]) with taphonomic reconstruction of each category of bone damage, the combined empirical datasets suggest several of the current explanatory hypotheses cannot be accepted, e.g., cannibalism for the Ancestral Pueblo and violent trauma for all of the La Quemada remains. By examining the maximum width and depth of each cutmark in cross-section along with tool use and pattern recognition of the trauma, I suggest a series of alternative hypotheses (postmortem processing for Peñasco Blanco; ancestor veneration and mutilation at La Quemada). It is highly possible that some of the disarticulated remains have nothing to do with violence and everything to do with burial rites, veneration, or consecration.

The Practice of Bioarchaeology

This chapter introduces the reader to the discipline and practice of modern bioarchaeology. Bioarchaeology is the study of ancient and historic human remains in a richly configured context. Situated within the parent discipline of anthropology, bioarchaeology shares the major goal of anthropology—to explain human behavior. Bioarchaeology is inherently interdisciplinary, and it seeks to frame research questions in a way that link the past to the present. Bioarchaeology is integrative (relies on multiple and cross-disciplinary data sets), engaged (uses robust theories to explore human problems in the past and the present), and ethical (considers all of the implications of scientific research using human remains). One invaluable tool to bioarchaeologists is the biocultural model that integrates environmental, cultural, biological, and ideological factors in a way that clarifies causal relationships.

An Ethos for Bioarchaeologists

This chapter advocates for the development of an ethos (worldview) for bioarchaeologists that embraces an engagement at every level with the larger context within which the human remains and artifacts are connected. This includes descendant populations, local communities, county, state and national legislation, government and local statutes, and repositories and museums that house skeletal collections and related materials. Understanding the historical development of physical anthropology forms a backdrop for the changes that have occurred as the emphasis on descriptive osteological studies shifted to fully realized population-level analyses of processes affecting human adaptation. Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) and NAGPRA-like legislation is not perfect, and it is important that bioarchaeologists develop an ethos that guides responsible and ethical research instead of relying on laws.

Early Holocene human presence in Madagascar evidenced by exploitation of avian megafauna

Radiocarbon dates of perimortem tool marks reveal human presence in Madagascar 6000 years earlier than previously thought. Previous research suggests that people first arrived on Madagascar by ~2500 years before present (years B.P.). This hypothesis is consistent with butchery marks on extinct lemur bones from ~2400 years B.P. and perhaps with archaeological evidence of human presence from ~4000 years B.P. We report >10,500-year-old human-modified bones for the extinct elephant birds Aepyornis and Mullerornis, which show perimortem chop marks, cut marks, and depression fractures consistent with immobilization and dismemberment. Our evidence for anthropogenic perimortem modification of directly dated bones represents the earliest indication of humans in Madagascar, predating all other archaeological and genetic evidence by >6000 years and changing our understanding of the history of human colonization of Madagascar. This revision of Madagascar’s prehistory suggests prolonged human-faunal coexistence with limited biodiversity loss.

The Mortuary Component and Human Remains

This chapter reviews the mortuary component in bioarchaeological research. Bioarchaeologists who incorporate mortuary archaeology into their analyses are able to broaden their interpretations. The practice of bioarchaeology remedies the decoupling of biological remains from their archaeological (and cultural) context, but it also means that bioarchaeologists need to have a great deal of archaeological training or be in close collaboration with archaeologists. Humans have not always buried their dead, and so the appearance of this practice approximately 10,000 years ago signaled a shift in how people were thinking about the significance of dying. Analysis of burial ritual and mortuary sites has revealed a great deal about social ranking, variability in location and positioning, social organization, and treatment of elites.

Bioarchaeology of Individuals: Identity, Social Theory, and Skeletal Analysis

There are many methods for the analysis of human remains that are regularly used by bioarchaeologists and forensic anthropologists. Standard analytical procedures involve the assignment of age at death and sex, the diagnosis of diseases, the reconstruction of height and body robusticity, and the determination of antemortem (premortem) and perimortem trauma. These basic analyses provide the identity of individuals. More importantly however is the use of these empirically based bone attributes to be used in the service of answering questions about human behavior. Social theory can be used to frame interesting questions that can be answered using bone data.

Bioarchaeology of Populations: Understanding Adaptation and Resilience

Analysis of individual skeletal remains can reveal much about that individual’s biocultural life history, while the context of the burial can reveal how the living dealt with the dead. When bioarchaeologists have access to larger collections of human remains that represent a group that is part of a culturally distinctive community, then a population-level analysis can be undertaken. Populations offer quantitative data that provides information on how well a group or society is adapting to local and regional conditions, how well they have adapted over time, and frequencies of disease or trauma in one group compared across regions. Examples are provided that illuminate different aspects of adaptation and resilience that can be explored at the population level.

Relevance, Education, and the Future

While not covering every aspect of bioarchaeology, this chapter presents a broad overview of the possibilities within the field for answering important questions about the human condition, for engaging with people outside of academia, for developing an ethos (and set of ethical protocols) that are not shaped solely by laws and public perceptions, and for inviting students and others to take bioarchaeological approaches into new areas with innovation and creativity. The relevance of bioarchaeology is demonstrated with examples of its potential to infuse college curricula and teaching with innovation in pedagogy and hands-on experiences for students. Examples are provided of the large number of examples of employment opportunities for bioarchaeologists and for the kinds of research projects based on human remains that are being carried out by bioarchaeologists in the United States.

Body as Material Culture

Viewing the body in ways that go beyond age, sex, stature, and presence or absence of nutritional deficiencies, disease, and trauma requires researcher to consider the life history of the individual. It is critical for researchers to remember that individuals assumed multiple identities throughout their lifetime and that they lived in dynamic and relational social environments that continually influenced their body. Ritual and ceremonial activities that involve the body and that can be seen on human remains include cultural modifications of the body, warfare, cannibalism, torture, and captivity.

Special Applications in Bioarchaeology: Taking a Closer Look

Techniques for the analysis of bone and teeth that get below the anatomical surface to utilize preserved collagen and apatite have become central to understanding aspects of ancestry, kinship, health, diet, disease, growth, and development for ancient and historic groups. Ethical issues abound in this area because it entails genetic and biomedical research using tissues from human remains, and this comes with all the attendant complexities of informed consent and weighing the costs and benefits. A very brief synopsis of what some of these special applications can provide in terms of additional information about identity, ancestry, and migration is provided.