1
|
Betsinger TK, DeWitte SN. Toward a bioarchaeology of urbanization: Demography, health, and behavior in cities in the past. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2021; 175 Suppl 72:79-118. [PMID: 33619721 DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.24249] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/07/2020] [Revised: 11/25/2020] [Accepted: 01/22/2021] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Abstract
Urbanization is one of the most important settlement shifts in human history and has been the focus of research within bioarchaeology for decades. However, there have been limited attempts to synthesize the results of these studies in order to gain a broader perspective on whether or how urbanization affects the biology, demography, and behavior of humans, and how these potential effects are embodied in the human skeleton. This paper outlines how bioarchaeology is well-suited to examine urbanization in the past, and we provide an overview and examples of three main ways in which urbanization is studied in bioarchaeological research: comparison of (often contemporaneous) urban and rural sites, synchronic studies of the variation that exists within and between urban sites, and investigations of changes that occur within urban sites over time. Studies of urbanization, both within bioarchaeology and in other fields of study, face a number of limitations, including a lack of a consensus regarding what urban and urbanization mean, the assumed dichotomous nature of urban versus rural settlements, the supposition that urbanization is universally bad for people, and the assumption (at least in practice) of homogeneity within urban and rural populations. Bioarchaeologists can address these limitations by utilizing a wide array of data and methods, and the studies described here collectively demonstrate the complex, nuanced, and highly variable effects of urbanization.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | - Sharon N DeWitte
- Department of Anthropology, University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina, USA
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Robbins Schug G. Ritual, Urbanism, and the Everyday: Mortuary Behavior in the Indus Civilization. BIOARCHAEOLOGY AND SOCIAL THEORY 2020. [DOI: 10.1007/978-3-030-53417-2_3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/03/2022]
|
3
|
Lee WJ, Shinde V, Kim YJ, Woo EJ, Jadhav N, Waghmare P, Yadav Y, Munshi A, Panyam A, Chatterjee M, Oh CS, Hong JH, Wilkinson CM, Rynn C, Shin DH. Craniofacial reconstruction of the Indus Valley Civilization individuals found at 4500-year-old Rakhigarhi cemetery. Anat Sci Int 2019; 95:286-292. [PMID: 31578677 DOI: 10.1007/s12565-019-00504-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2019] [Accepted: 09/08/2019] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
Abstract
Despite academic efforts to study the Indus Valley Civilization (IVC), there have as yet been no successful attempts to unveil the IVC people's craniofacial appearance. We investigated the IVC cemetery area of Rakhigarhi site, which was estimated to be of 2273 ± 38 and 2616 ± 73 years BCE. By craniofacial reconstruction (CFR) procedure using computed tomography (CT) data of two Rakhigarhi skulls (A1 BR02 and A2 BR36), we successfully reconstructed the faces of the IVC individuals who were buried about 4500 years ago. This is the first attempt to unveil scientifically accurate representations of IVC people's actual facial morphology.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Won Joon Lee
- National Forensic Service Seoul Institute, Seoul, South Korea
| | - Vasant Shinde
- Deccan College Post-Graduate and Research Institute, Deemed University, Pune, 411006, India.
| | - Yong Jun Kim
- Department of Anatomy, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Daehak-ro 103, Chongno-gu, Seoul, 03080, South Korea
| | - Eun Jin Woo
- Department of History, Sejong University, Seoul, South Korea
| | - Nilesh Jadhav
- Deccan College Post-Graduate and Research Institute, Deemed University, Pune, 411006, India
| | - Pranjali Waghmare
- Deccan College Post-Graduate and Research Institute, Deemed University, Pune, 411006, India
| | - Yogesh Yadav
- Deccan College Post-Graduate and Research Institute, Deemed University, Pune, 411006, India
| | - Avradeep Munshi
- Deccan College Post-Graduate and Research Institute, Deemed University, Pune, 411006, India
| | - Amrithavalli Panyam
- Deccan College Post-Graduate and Research Institute, Deemed University, Pune, 411006, India
| | - Malavika Chatterjee
- Deccan College Post-Graduate and Research Institute, Deemed University, Pune, 411006, India
| | - Chang Seok Oh
- Department of Anatomy, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Daehak-ro 103, Chongno-gu, Seoul, 03080, South Korea
| | - Jong Ha Hong
- Department of Anatomy, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Daehak-ro 103, Chongno-gu, Seoul, 03080, South Korea
| | | | - Christopher Rynn
- Centre for Anatomy and Human Identification, University of Dundee, Dundee, UK
| | - Dong Hoon Shin
- Department of Anatomy, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Daehak-ro 103, Chongno-gu, Seoul, 03080, South Korea.
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Marklein KE, Torres-Rouff C, King LM, Hubbe M. The Precarious State of Subsistence: Reevaluating Dental Pathological Lesions Associated with Agricultural and Hunter-Gatherer Lifeways. CURRENT ANTHROPOLOGY 2019. [DOI: 10.1086/703376] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
|
5
|
Pfeiffer S, Harrington L, Lombard M. The people behind the samples: Biographical features of Past Hunter-Gatherers from KwaZulu-Natal who yielded aDNA. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PALEOPATHOLOGY 2019; 24:158-164. [PMID: 30399480 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpp.2018.10.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/27/2018] [Revised: 10/18/2018] [Accepted: 10/25/2018] [Indexed: 05/25/2023]
Abstract
PURPOSE Skeletons sampled for ancient human DNA analysis are sometimes complete enough to provide information about the lives of the people they represent. We focus on three Later Stone Age skeletons, ca. 2000 B.P., from coastal KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, whose ancient genomes have been sequenced (Schlebusch et al., 2017). METHODS Bioarchaeological approaches are integrated with aDNA information. RESULTS All skeletons are male. Dental development shows that the boy, with prominent cribra orbitalia, died at age 6-7 years. Two men show cranial and spinal trauma, extensive tooth wear, plus mild cribra orbitalia in one. CONCLUSIONS Dental wear and trauma of the adults are consistent with hunter-gatherer lives. Even partial aDNA evidence contributes to sex determination. Parasitic infection such as schistosomiasis is the best-fit cause for the child's anemia in this case. CONTRIBUTION TO KNOWLEDGE The convergence of genomic and bioarchaeological approaches expands our knowledge of the past lives of a boy and two men whose lives as hunter-gatherers included episodes of trauma and disease. LIMITATIONS The skeletons are incomplete, in variable condition, and from poorly characterized local cultural contexts. SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH Thorough osteobiographic analysis should accompany paleogenomic investigations. Such disciplinary collaboration enriches our understanding of the human past.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Susan Pfeiffer
- Department of Anthropology, University of Toronto, 19 Russell Street, Toronto, M5S 2S2, Canada; Department of Archaeology, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch 7701, South Africa; Department of Anthropology, George Washington University, D.C., USA.
| | - Lesley Harrington
- Department of Anthropology, University of Alberta, 13-15 H.M. Tory Building, Edmonton, T6G 2H4, Canada
| | - Marlize Lombard
- Centre for Anthropological Research, University of Johannesburg, P.O. Box 524, Auckland Park, 2006, South Africa
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
Shinde VS, Kim YJ, Woo EJ, Jadhav N, Waghmare P, Yadav Y, Munshi A, Chatterjee M, Panyam A, Hong JH, Oh CS, Shin DH. Archaeological and anthropological studies on the Harappan cemetery of Rakhigarhi, India. PLoS One 2018; 13:e0192299. [PMID: 29466426 PMCID: PMC5821334 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0192299] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/01/2017] [Accepted: 01/22/2018] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
An insufficient number of archaeological surveys has been carried out to date on Harappan Civilization cemeteries. One case in point is the necropolis at Rakhigarhi site (Haryana, India), one of the largest cities of the Harappan Civilization, where most burials within the cemetery remained uninvestigated. Over the course of the past three seasons (2013 to 2016), we therefore conducted excavations in an attempt to remedy this data shortfall. In brief, we found different kinds of graves co-existing within the Rakhigarhi cemetery in varying proportions. Primary interment was most common, followed by the use of secondary, symbolic, and unused (empty) graves. Within the first category, the atypical burials appear to have been elaborately prepared. Prone-positioned internments also attracted our attention. Since those individuals are not likely to have been social deviants, it is necessary to reconsider our pre-conceptions about such prone-position burials in archaeology, at least in the context of the Harappan Civilization. The data presented in this report, albeit insufficient to provide a complete understanding of Harappan Civilization cemeteries, nevertheless does present new and significant information on the mortuary practices and anthropological features at that time. Indeed, the range of different kinds of burials at the Rakhigarhi cemetery do appear indicative of the differences in mortuary rituals seen within Harappan societies, therefore providing a vivid glimpse of how these people respected their dead.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Vasant S. Shinde
- Department of Archaeology, Deccan College Post-Graduate and Research Institute, Pune, India
| | - Yong Jun Kim
- Lab of Bioanthropology, Paleopathology and History of Diseases, Institute of Forensic Science/ Department of Anatomy, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea
| | - Eun Jin Woo
- Department of Oral Biology, Division in Anatomy & Developmental Biology, BK21 PLUS Project, Yonsei University College of Dentistry, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Nilesh Jadhav
- Department of Archaeology, Deccan College Post-Graduate and Research Institute, Pune, India
| | - Pranjali Waghmare
- Department of Archaeology, Deccan College Post-Graduate and Research Institute, Pune, India
| | - Yogesh Yadav
- Department of Archaeology, Deccan College Post-Graduate and Research Institute, Pune, India
| | - Avradeep Munshi
- Department of Archaeology, Deccan College Post-Graduate and Research Institute, Pune, India
| | - Malavika Chatterjee
- Department of Archaeology, Deccan College Post-Graduate and Research Institute, Pune, India
| | - Amrithavalli Panyam
- Department of Archaeology, Deccan College Post-Graduate and Research Institute, Pune, India
| | - Jong Ha Hong
- Lab of Bioanthropology, Paleopathology and History of Diseases, Institute of Forensic Science/ Department of Anatomy, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea
| | - Chang Seok Oh
- Lab of Bioanthropology, Paleopathology and History of Diseases, Institute of Forensic Science/ Department of Anatomy, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea
| | - Dong Hoon Shin
- Lab of Bioanthropology, Paleopathology and History of Diseases, Institute of Forensic Science/ Department of Anatomy, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea
| |
Collapse
|
7
|
WOO EUNJIN, WAGHMARE PRANJALI, KIM YONGJUN, JADHAV NILESH, JUNG GOUN, LEE WONJOON, YADAV YOGESH, MUNSHI AVRADEEP, CHATTERJEE MALAVIKA, PANYAM AMRITHAVALLI, HONG JONGHA, OH CHANGSEOK, SHIN DONGHOON, SHINDE VASANT. Assessing the physical and pathological traits of human skeletal remains from cemetery localities at the Rakhigarhi site of the Harappan Civilization. ANTHROPOL SCI 2018. [DOI: 10.1537/ase.180612] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/01/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- EUN JIN WOO
- Department of History, Sejong University, Seoul
| | - PRANJALI WAGHMARE
- Department of Archaeology, Deccan College Post-Graduate and Research Institute, Pune
| | - YONGJUN KIM
- Lab of Bioanthropology, Paleopathology, and History of Diseases, Department of Anatomy/Institute of Forensic Science, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul
| | - NILESH JADHAV
- Department of Archaeology, Deccan College Post-Graduate and Research Institute, Pune
| | - GO-UN JUNG
- Health System Data Mining Lab, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul
| | - WON JOON LEE
- National Forensic Service Seoul Institute, Seoul
| | - YOGESH YADAV
- Department of Archaeology, Deccan College Post-Graduate and Research Institute, Pune
| | - AVRADEEP MUNSHI
- Department of Archaeology, Deccan College Post-Graduate and Research Institute, Pune
| | - MALAVIKA CHATTERJEE
- Department of Archaeology, Deccan College Post-Graduate and Research Institute, Pune
| | - AMRITHAVALLI PANYAM
- Department of Archaeology, Deccan College Post-Graduate and Research Institute, Pune
| | - JONG HA HONG
- Lab of Bioanthropology, Paleopathology, and History of Diseases, Department of Anatomy/Institute of Forensic Science, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul
| | - CHANG SEOK OH
- Lab of Bioanthropology, Paleopathology, and History of Diseases, Department of Anatomy/Institute of Forensic Science, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul
| | - DONG HOON SHIN
- Lab of Bioanthropology, Paleopathology, and History of Diseases, Department of Anatomy/Institute of Forensic Science, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul
| | - VASANT SHINDE
- Department of Archaeology, Deccan College Post-Graduate and Research Institute, Pune
| |
Collapse
|