Osteobiography: A Platform for Bioarchaeological Research

"Feeling at home in Vanuatu": Integration of newcomers from the East during the last millennium

Several localities across the Vanuatu archipelago (Melanesia), so-called 'Polynesian Outliers', are inhabited by communities that display Polynesian linguistic and cultural features although being located outside the Polynesian Triangle. Several introductions of Polynesian genetic components to Central and Southern Vanuatu during the last millenium have resulted in the cultural distinctiveness observed among the Polynesian Outliers in Vanuatu. However, social, political or economic process surrounding the exchange of genes between Polynesian and local individuals remain unidentified. Recent bioanthropological studies suggest the existence of female mobilities from neighboring regions to Vanuatu but also to the Polynesian Outliers of Taumako (Solomon Islands) within patrilocal societies. We aim to examine the hypothesis that Polynesian biological affinities observed in ancient individuals from Vanuatu are gendered or sex-specific, and that some of the Polynesian migrations during the last millennium may have involved practices of exogamy. By reconstructing phenotypes and biological identities from 13 archaeologically-recovered human skulls (400-300 years ago) from "Polynesian-related" regions of Vanuatu, we provide new insights to better contextualize the settlement patterns of Polynesian individuals. Eastern-Pacific associated phenotype are observable in 4 women from the Eretok burial complex (Efate region) and the Polynesian Outlier of Futuna, who were buried in close proximity to individuals with Western-Pacific associated phenotype. We suggest that close integration of individuals from the East into the local Vanuatu society, as well as the practice of exogamy, might have been key processes contributing to the preservation of Polynesian cultural features in Vanuatu over the past millennium. Our finding are cross-referenced with oral records from these two areas, as well as the known genetic makeup of the Vanuatu Polynesian Outliers.

Comparing Walker's (2008) skull trait sex estimation standard to proteomic sex estimation for a group of South Asian individuals

This research assesses the potential for misidentification of sex in individuals of South Asian ancestry using the Walker (2008) morphological skull sex estimation standard [1]. Chromosomal sex was assessed using proteomic analysis targeting sex chromosome-specific amylogenic peptides. Results showed that the Walker method produced incorrect classification for 36.7 % of individuals. Overwhelmingly, those incorrectly assigned were chromosomally male. Misidentification was due to males within the group having lower trait scores (i.e., more gracile traits) than the standard would predict. There was also a high level of overlap in trait scores between male and females indicating reduced expression of sexual dimorphism. The use of established multivariate statistical techniques improved accuracy of sex estimation in some cases, but larger osteological data sets from South Asian individuals are required to develop population-specific standards. We suggest that peptide analysis may provide a useful tool for the forensic anthropologist when assessing sex in populations without population specific osteological standards.

Effect of Geographic Variation in Bioarcheology: A Forensic Odontology Perspective

How to cite this article: Yukta HN, Augustine D, SV Sowmya. Effect of Geographic Variation in Bioarcheology: A Forensic Odontology Perspective. J Contemp Dent Pract 2024;25(1):1-2.

Extracting the truth through chemical analyses: Early life histories of Victorian-era dental patients in Aotearoa New Zealand

OBJECTIVES

There are few bioarcheological analyses of life experiences in colonial period Aotearoa New Zealand, despite this being a time of major adaptation and social change. In our study, early life histories are constructed from multi-isotope and enamel peptide analysis of permanent first molars associated with Victorian era dental practices operating between AD 1881 and 1905 in Invercargill. Chemical analyses of the teeth provide insight into the childhood feeding practices, diet, and mobility of the people who had their teeth extracted.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Four permanent left mandibular first molars were analyzed from a cache of teeth discovered at the Leviathan Gift Depot site during excavations in 2019. The methods used were: (1) enamel peptide analysis to assess chromosomal sex; (2) bulk (δ13 Ccarbonate ) and incremental (δ13 Ccollagen and δ15 N) isotope analysis of dentin to assess childhood diet; and (3) strontium (87 Sr/86 Sr) and oxygen (δ18 O) isotope analysis of enamel to assess childhood residency. Two modern permanent first molars from known individuals were analyzed as controls.

RESULTS

The archaeological teeth were from three chromosomal males and one female. The protein and whole diets were predominately based on C3 -plants and domestic animal products (meat and milk). A breastfeeding signal was only identified in one historic male. All individuals likely had childhood residences in Aotearoa.

DISCUSSION

Unlike most bioarcheological studies that rely on the remains of the dead, the teeth analysed in this study were extracted from living people. We suggest that the dental patients were likely second or third generation colonists to Aotearoa, with fairly similar childhood diets. They were potentially lower-class individuals either living in, or passing through, the growing colonial center of Invercargill.

Specimens as individuals: Four interventions and recommendations for great ape skeletal collections research and curation

Extensive discourse surrounds the ethics of human skeletal research and curation, but there has yet to be a similar discussion of the treatment of great ape skeletal remains, despite the clear interest in their ethical treatment when alive. Here we trace the history of apes who were killed and collected for natural history museums during the early 20th century and showcase how the guiding research questions of the colonial era continue to influence scholarship. We discuss best practices for improving industry and academic standards of research on, and the curation of, ape remains. The suggested interventions involve restoring individual identity and narrative to great apes while engaging with contextual reflexivity and decolonial theory. The resulting recommendations include contextualizing the individual, piecing individuals back together, challenging/questioning the captive-wild dichotomy, and collaborative international conversations. Our objective is to encourage a conversation regarding ethical and theoretical considerations in great ape skeletal remains research.

Confronting historical legacies of biological anthropology in South Africa-Restitution, redress and community-centered science: The Sutherland Nine

We describe a process of restitution of nine unethically acquired human skeletons to their families, together with attempts at redress. Between 1925-1927 C.E., the skeletonised remains of nine San or Khoekhoe people, eight of them known-in-life, were removed from their graves on the farm Kruisrivier, near Sutherland in the Northern Cape Province of South Africa. They were donated to the Anatomy Department at the University of Cape Town. This was done without the knowledge or permission of their families. The donor was a medical student who removed the remains from the labourers' cemetery on his family farm. Nearly 100 years later, the remains are being returned to their community, accompanied by a range of community-driven interdisciplinary historical, archaeological and analytical (osteobiographic, craniofacial, ancient DNA, stable isotope) studies to document, as far as possible, their lives and deaths. The restitution process began by contacting families living in the same area with the same surnames as the deceased. The restitution and redress process prioritises the descendant families' memories, wishes and desire to understand the situation, and learn more about their ancestors. The descendant families have described the process as helping them to reconnect with their ancestors. A richer appreciation of their ancestors' lives, gained in part from scientific analyses, culminating with reburial, is hoped to aid the descendant families and wider community in [re-]connecting with their heritage and culture, and contribute to restorative justice, reconciliation and healing while confronting a traumatic historical moment. While these nine individuals were exhumed as specimens, they will be reburied as people.

Forgotten and found: A case of childhood rickets in the 19th-century settler village of Heuvelton, New York

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate pathological lesions suggesting the presence of rickets and to place the diagnosis into bioarchaeological and historical context.

MATERIALS

The remains of a 3-year ± 12-month-old child discovered during a rescue excavation in Heuvelton, New York.

METHODS

We examined the individual macroscopically and conducted a differential diagnosis following established protocols in the palaeopathological literature.

RESULTS

Bony change on the orbits, mandible, ribs, clavicles, left scapula, humerii, radii, ulnae, femora, tibiae, fibulae (e.g., porosity, diaphyseal thickening, flaring, bowing), and dental lesions were recorded.

CONCLUSIONS

We demonstrate that the child likely presented with vitamin D deficiency rickets during crawling and as they learned to walk.

SIGNIFICANCE

This example offers an important contribution to the bioarchaeological literature, as few cases of rickets have been recorded in rural North America using updated diagnostic criteria and little is known of the health and lifeways of early settlers in 19th-century upstate New York.

LIMITATIONS

It is not possible to ascertain the precise aetiology of this child's rachitic state and to compare this individual with others in the population.

SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH

Examination (and re-assessment) of other North and South American skeletal assemblages for signs of vitamin D deficiency rickets following current bioarchaeological standards.

Beyond the report: Prospects and challenges in forensic anthropological investigations of structural vulnerability

Forensic anthropologists are increasingly interested in accounting for embodied marginalization in addition to the biological profile. A structural vulnerability framework, which assesses biomarkers of social marginalization in individuals within forensic casework, is worthwhile but its application must be informed by ethical, interdisciplinary perspectives that reject categorizing suffering within the pages of a case report. Drawing from anthropological perspectives, we explore prospects and challenges of evaluating embodied experience in forensic work. Particular attention is paid to how forensic practitioners and stakeholders utilize a structural vulnerability profile within and beyond the written report. We argue that any investigation of forensic vulnerability must: (1) integrate rich contextual data, (2) be evaluated for potential to perpetuate harm, and (3) serve the needs of a diverse array of stakeholders. We call for a community-oriented forensic practice, wherein anthropologists may act as advocates for policy change to disrupt power structures driving vulnerability trends in their region.

Exploring adolescence as a key life history stage in bioarchaeology

Adolescence is a unique period in the life history of an individual. It is characterized by a myriad of changes that bioarchaeologists are only just coming to appreciate, related to sexual maturation, linear growth, immunological transformation, and emotional and cognitive development. New methods allow us to measure this age of transition through the stages of the adolescent growth, as a proxy for the physical development associated with sexual maturation (puberty). This review outlines ways bioarchaeologists may draw on research developments from the fields of human biology, evolutionary theory and neurobiology to advance a more holistic approach to the study of adolescence in the past. It considers current theoretical and analytical approaches to highlight the research potential of this critical stage of life history. This synthesis integrates the most recent research in the medical sciences concerned with body and brain development, and outlines the biological processes involved with sexual and physical maturation of the adolescent. The goal of this review is to help inform potentially rewarding areas of research that bioarchaeologists can contribute to and draw from, as well as the challenges and limitations, theoretical and methodological questions, and ways in which we can develop the study of adolescence in the discipline going forward.

Remembering St. Louis individual-structural violence and acute bacterial infections in a historical anatomical collection

Incomplete documentary evidence, variable biomolecular preservation, and limited skeletal responses have hindered assessment of acute infections in the past. This study was initially developed to explore the diagnostic potential of dental calculus to identify infectious diseases, however, the breadth and depth of information gained from a particular individual, St. Louis Individual (St.LI), enabled an individualized assessment and demanded broader disciplinary introspection of ethical research conduct. Here, we document the embodiment of structural violence in a 23-year-old Black and/or African American male, who died of lobar pneumonia in 1930s St. Louis, Missouri. St.LI exhibits evidence of systemic poor health, including chronic oral infections and a probable tuberculosis infection. Metagenomic sequencing of dental calculus recovered three pre-antibiotic era pathogen genomes, which likely contributed to the lobar pneumonia cause of death (CoD): Klebsiella pneumoniae (13.8X); Acinetobacter nosocomialis (28.4X); and Acinetobacter junii (30.1X). Ante- and perimortem evidence of St.LI’s lived experiences chronicle the poverty, systemic racism, and race-based structural violence experienced by marginalized communities in St. Louis, which contributed to St.LI’s poor health, CoD, anatomization, and inclusion in the Robert J. Terry Anatomical Collection. These same embodied inequalities continue to manifest as health disparities affecting many contemporary communities in the United States.

An investigation into the cause of death of St. Louis Individual, a 23-year old Black or African American male who died in the 1930s, reveals evidence of structural violence and the impact of systemic racism in historically marginalized communities.

Zooarchaeology of the Modern Era: An Introduction

The last 500 years is characterized by immense socioeconomic and environmental transformations on a global scale. Animals were significantly affected by these processes but were also central to many of the transformations that shaped the modern world. While there has been a growing number of researchers investigating animal bones from archaeological sites from this period, the "Zooarchaeology of the Modern Era" working group provides the first dedicated forum for these scholars to meet. This paper introduces a special collection of studies which resulted from the first meeting of this research group and explores how these investigations help us understand our modern world.

Twenty-first century bioarchaeology: Taking stock and moving forward

This article presents outcomes from a Workshop entitled "Bioarchaeology: Taking Stock and Moving Forward," which was held at Arizona State University (ASU) on March 6-8, 2020. Funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF), the School of Human Evolution and Social Change (ASU), and the Center for Bioarchaeological Research (CBR, ASU), the Workshop's overall goal was to explore reasons why research proposals submitted by bioarchaeologists, both graduate students and established scholars, fared disproportionately poorly within recent NSF Anthropology Program competitions and to offer advice for increasing success. Therefore, this Workshop comprised 43 international scholars and four advanced graduate students with a history of successful grant acquisition, primarily from the United States. Ultimately, we focused on two related aims: (1) best practices for improving research designs and training and (2) evaluating topics of contemporary significance that reverberate through history and beyond as promising trajectories for bioarchaeological research. Among the former were contextual grounding, research question/hypothesis generation, statistical procedures appropriate for small samples and mixed qualitative/quantitative data, the salience of Bayesian methods, and training program content. Topical foci included ethics, social inequality, identity (including intersectionality), climate change, migration, violence, epidemic disease, adaptability/plasticity, the osteological paradox, and the developmental origins of health and disease. Given the profound changes required globally to address decolonization in the 21st century, this concern also entered many formal and informal discussions.

Paleodemography: From archaeology and skeletal age estimation to life in the past

Much of paleodemography, an interdisciplinary field with strong ties to archaeology, among other disciplines, is oriented toward clarifying the life experiences of past people and why they changed over time. We focus on how human skeletons contribute to our understanding of preindustrial demographic regimes, including when changes took place that led to the world as we know it today. Problems with existing paleodemographic practices are highlighted, as are promising directions for future work. The latter requires both better age estimates and innovative methods to handle data appropriately. Age-at-death estimates for adult skeletons are a particular problem, especially for adults over 50 years that undoubtedly are mistakenly underrepresented in published studies of archaeological skeletons. Better age estimates for the entirety of the lifespan are essential to generate realistic distributions of age at death. There are currently encouraging signs that after about a half-century of intensive, and sometimes contentious, research, paleodemography is poised to contribute much to understandings of evolutionary processes, the structure of past populations, and human-disease interaction, among other topics.

The Puppy in the Pit: Osteobiography of an Eighteenth-Century Dog at the Three Cranes Tavern, Massachusetts

Boston's "Big Dig" construction project resulted in the excavation of multiple archaeological sites dating from the seventeenth to nineteenth centuries, including the Great House/Three Cranes Tavern in Charlestown, Massachusetts (USA). An otherwise unremarkable pit below the tavern foundation contained bones originally identified as a cat skeleton, which has subsequently been reidentified as a dog. This paper discusses site context, osteological evidence for the dog's reclassification, and the shifts in cultural meaning this may indicate. Employing an osteobiographical approach, it draws together points of connection between the modern skeletal assessment, a series of 1980s excavations, and the motivations of eighteenth-century tavern inhabitants.

Scottish soldiers from the Battle of Dunbar 1650: A prosopographical approach to a skeletal assemblage

After the Battle Dunbar between English and Scottish forces in 1650, captured Scottish soldiers were imprisoned in Durham and many hundreds died there within a few weeks. The partial skeletal remains of 28 of these men were discovered in 2013. Building on previous osteological work, here we report wide-ranging scientific studies of the remains to address the following questions: Did they have comparable diet, health and disease throughout their lives? Did they have common histories of movement (or lack of movement) during their childhoods? Can we create a collective biography of these men? Strontium and oxygen isotope analysis of tooth enamel investigated childhood movement. Carbon and nitrogen isotope analysis of incrementally sampled dentine addressed childhood diet and nutrition. Metaproteomic analysis of dental calculus investigated oral microbiomes and food residues; this was complemented by microscopic analysis of debris in calculus from ingested materials. Selected individuals were examined for dental microwear. The extent of hydroxylation of proline in collagen was examined as a potential biomarker for scurvy. An osteobiography for each man was created using the full range of data generated about him, and these were synthesised using an approach based on the historical method for a collective biography or prosopography. The childhood residences of the men were primarily within the Midland Valley of Scotland, though some spent parts of their childhood outside the British Isles. This is concordant with the known recruitment areas of the Scottish army in 1650. Their diets included oats, brassicas and milk but little seafood, as expected for lowland rather than highland diets of the period. Childhood periods of starvation or illness were almost ubiquitous, but not simultaneous, suggesting regionally variable food shortages in the 1620s and 1630s. It is likely there was widespread low-level scurvy, ameliorating in later years of life, which suggests historically unrecorded shortages of fruit and vegetables in the early 1640s. Almost all men were exposed to burnt plant matter, probably as inhaled soot, and this may relate to the high proportion of them with of sinusitis. Interpersonal violence causing skeletal trauma was rare. Based on commonalities in their osteobiographies, we argue that these men were drawn from the same stratum of society. This study is perhaps the most extensive to date of individuals from 17^th century Scotland. Combined with a precise historical context it allows the lives of these men to be investigated and compared to the historical record with unprecedented precision. It illustrates the power of archaeological science methods to confirm, challenge and complement historical evidence.

Ancestry, health, and lived experiences of enslaved Africans in 18th century Charleston: An osteobiographical analysis

OBJECTIVES

In 2013, the burials of 36 individuals of putative African ancestry were discovered during renovation of the Gaillard Center in downtown Charleston, South Carolina. The Charleston community facilitated a bioarchaeological and mitogenomic study to gain insights into the lives of these unknown persons, referred to as the Anson Street Ancestors, including their ancestry, health, and lived experiences in the 18th century.

METHODS

Metric and morphological assessments of skeletal and dental characteristics were recorded, and enamel and cortical bone strontium stable isotope values generated. Whole mitochondrial genomes were sequenced and analyzed.

RESULTS

Osteological analysis identified adults, both females and males, and subadults at the site, and estimated African ancestry for most individuals. Skeletal trauma and pathology were infrequent, but many individuals exhibited dental decay and abscesses. Strontium isotope data suggested these individuals mostly originated in Charleston or sub-Saharan Africa, with many being long-term residents of Charleston. Nearly all had mitochondrial lineages belonging to African haplogroups (L0-L3, H1cb1a), with two individuals sharing the same L3e2a haplotype, while one had a Native American A2 mtDNA.

DISCUSSION

This study generated detailed osteobiographies of the Anson Street Ancestors, who were likely of enslaved status. Our results indicate that the Ancestors have diverse maternal African ancestries and are largely unrelated, with most being born locally. These details reveal the demographic impact of the trans-Atlantic slave trade. Our analysis further illuminates the lived experiences of individuals buried at Anson Street, and expands our understanding of 18th century African history in Charleston.

Care of Infants in the Past: Bridging evolutionary anthropological and bioarchaeological approaches

The importance of care of infants and children in palaeoanthropological and human behavioural ecological research on the evolution of our species is evident in the diversity of research on human development, alloparental care, and learning and social interaction. There has been a recent surge of interest in modelling the social implications of care provision for people with serious disabilities in bioarchaeology. However, there is a lack of acknowledgement of infant and child care in bioarchaeology, despite the significant labour and resources that are required, and the implications this has for health outcomes within societies. Drawing on the recent proliferation of studies on infancy and childhood in evolutionary anthropology and bioarchaeology, this paper presents ways the subdisciplines may draw on research developments from each field to advance a more holistic understanding of the evolutionary, social and health significance of infant and children care in the past.

Child development, physiological stress and survival expectancy in prehistoric fisher-hunter-gatherers from the Jabuticabeira II shell mound, South Coast of Brazil

In this study, we shed light on the interdependency of child growth, morbidity and life expectancy in the fisher-hunter-gatherers of the Jabuticabeira II shell mound (1214-830 cal B.C.E. - 118-413 cal C.E.) located at the South Coast of Brazil. We test the underlying causes of heterogeneity in frailty and selective mortality in a population that inhabits a plentiful environment in sedentary settlements. We reconstruct osteobiographies of 41 individuals (23 adults and 18 subadults) using 8 variables, including age-at-death, stature, non-specific stress markers (cribra orbitalia, porotic hyperostosis, periosteal reactions, periapical lesions and linear enamel hypoplasia), as well as weaning patterns based on stable isotope data to examine how stress factors module growth and survival. Our results show that shorter adult statures were linked to higher morbidity around weaning age and higher chances of dying earlier (before 35 years) than taller adult statures. In addition, short juvenile stature was related to physiological stressors and mortality. The adult "survivors" experienced recurrent periods of morbidity during childhood and adulthood, possibly associated with the high parasite load of the ecosystem and dense settlement rather than to malnourishment. An association between early-stress exposure and premature death was not demonstrated in our sample. To explain our data, we propose a new model called "intermittent stress of low lethality". According to this model, individuals are exposed to recurrent stress during the juvenile and adult stages of life, and, nevertheless survive until reproductive age or later with relative success.