摘要:

AbstractA simple process‐functional model is developed to explore some of the main stages in the utilization of a mammal carcass by people aiming to maximize the use of the carcass. The model predicts the potential deposition of many different and distinctive bone assemblages, some of which would be archaeologically recoverable. Explicit terminology is needed in order to distinguish assemblages of waste material from the intended product of a particular process, and to distinguish between assemblages characterized by depletion of certain elements and those in which parts of the carcass have been supplemente

ISSN:1047-482X    

DOI:10.1002/oa.1390030202

出版商:John Wiley&Sons, Ltd.    

年代:1993

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

AbstractTraction work by oxen has been well documented in various pictorial and written sources throughout human history. Analysis of metapodial dimensions has been carried out with the aim of quantifying asymmetry related to sexual dimorphism, body size and possibly heavy duty traction work. A modern reference sample of 103 animals from Hungary and Rumania has been used for this purpose. Bone measurements were correlated with bone density and morphological characteristics in order to make the results applicable for the identification of remains from draft cattle in archaeozoological assemblages. Asymmetry is more pronounced in the thoracic extremity and metacarpals of older or heavier animals, sometimes showing excessive widening of the third, medial ray within the fused bone. Relative broadening is also intensive in the distal end of medial metatarsals of cows and oxen. The bone mineral content of the medial carpal region attains mature density first. The weight of phalanges increases for a longer time in the laterally located toes.

ISSN:1047-482X    

DOI:10.1002/oa.1390030203

出版商:John Wiley&Sons, Ltd.    

年代:1993

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

AbstractBy means of scanning electron microscopy, four out of a series of twelve inhumations from the Hellenistic Period were examined for traces of the decay process. The changes represented the result of erosion and biological decomposition of human bones on a small island in the northern part of the Persian Gulf over a period of ca. 2200 years. Special emphasis was given to bone preservation and blood cell survival, and to bone changes due to physicochemical erosion and fungus, bacterium, insect and plant‐root activity. Related soil and climatic conditions were taken into consideration. The observations should be evaluated to understand the unusual state of preservation of the bones and to avoid possible misinterpretation of pseudo‐pathological bone changes as ante‐mortem path

ISSN:1047-482X    

DOI:10.1002/oa.1390030204

出版商:John Wiley&Sons, Ltd.    

年代:1993

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

AbstractAn investigation was carried out into the practice of artificial cranial deformation (ACD) among the Pre‐Columbian inhabitants of northern Chile. Four hundred and fifteen skulls, representing a period of 7000 years, were examined of which 88.9 per cent were deformed. The practice was carried out equally between men and women. The techniques used in head deforming varied over time among the different cultural groups that inhabited the region. By analysis of the methods used in ACD, it can be demonstrated that head deforming may yield information significant to the study of the political and cultural changes that occurred throughout the prehistory of the region. As a form of stylistic behaviour, which may be viewed as a strategy of information exchange, ACD was found to be a significant cultural artifact that may serve to mark territory or social boundaries, reaffirm ethnicity, and maintain and strengthen exchange networks. Certain pathological consequences were found to be the result of ACD, including an increase in the prevalence of wormian bones, occipital bone necrosis, and an abnormal closing pattern of the cranial sutures. No evidence was found that ACD is associated with a deviated nasal septum or osteomas of the external auditory cana

ISSN:1047-482X    

DOI:10.1002/oa.1390030205

出版商:John Wiley&Sons, Ltd.    

年代:1993

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

AbstractDuring archaeological excavation of St George's church, Canterbury, 269 skeletons ranging from early medieval to late nineteenth century were recovered. A medieval female aged ca. 23–28 years displayed an unusual dental anomaly, an odontome. Odontomes are infrequent in clinical dentistry. A search of the literature suggests that very few archaeological examples have been published and our specimen is the first excavated case reported from Britain. Archaeological material, if subject to radiographic examination, provides a unique source of information for the prevalence of odontomes from prehistoric to modern time

ISSN:1047-482X    

DOI:10.1002/oa.1390030206

出版商:John Wiley&Sons, Ltd.    

年代:1993

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

AbstractSome previous studies of activity‐related change in the human skeleton have been of doubtful validity because specific changes have been related to particular tasks. Claims to establish such relationships have often concentrated on the development of entheses. Such work is marred by the incorrect assumption that muscles work in isolation in the performance of a single activity. In addition, normal skeletal asymmetry is often ignored, as is age and sex.In the present work, paired humeri of males from two medieval British sites, Norwich and Henry VIII's flagship, theMary Rose, were compared using a series of measurements. Comparison of left and right sides demonstrated that humeral asymmetry decreases with age. Comparison of the sites showed that the Norwich males were more asymmetric than those from theMary Rose. All asymmetries exhibited a right‐sided dominance. The majority of the species is right‐handed: the Norwich males followed this trend. The general lack of asymmetry in theMary Rosemales suggests that they were using their arms more equally. When left and right sides were compared directly, a new measurement of the greater tubercle (where three muscles insert) and measurement of the diameter of the head demonstrated that theMary Rosemales had significantly larger dimensions of the left shoulder than the Norwich males. These results extend earlier work, which had suggested a correlation between the use of heavy medieval longbows andos acromiale. Statistical comparison of the sites demonstrated that such work can indicatepatternsof activity but not individual occupa

ISSN:1047-482X    

DOI:10.1002/oa.1390030207

出版商:John Wiley&Sons, Ltd.    

年代:1993

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

AbstractCremation was a frequent practice during the Bronze and Iron Ages in Europe. The destruction caused by this rite has meant that there are few anthropological studies of this period and that the amount of information that has been obtained is limited. Most studies deal with the number of individuals and the temperature of cremation. At present, however, studies are under way to determine the possibility of carrying out analyses of trace elements on cremated individuals in order to determine their diet. The present study, carried out at a necropolis with two kinds of burial (S'Illot des Porros, Mallorca, Iron Age), presents new data regarding the diagenetic effects differentiating cremated from buried bones. The levels of Sr, Ca, Ba, Zn, Cu and Mg in the spongy and cortical tissue of 197 femurs are analysed. The results obtained at this necropolis demonstrate that only the levels of calcium and magnesium in the cortical tissue of cremated bones increase, so diagenesis acts in the same way in cremated and non‐cremated bones in this necropoli

ISSN:1047-482X    

DOI:10.1002/oa.1390030208

出版商:John Wiley&Sons, Ltd.    

年代:1993

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

AbstractAn evaluation is given of the value for seasonality studies of incremental growth in the pectoral spines of the Nile catfishClarias gariepinus. The subfossil spines used for this study are from a Byzantino‐Islamic site in Syria, and probably all derive from animals captured on the floodplain during the yearly inundation of the nearby Orontes river, although only 45 per cent of the spines could be recognized as deriving from fish captured during that period. It is believed that the inability to date accurately the season of capture of the other specimens is due to disadvantages inherent in the growth cycle of the fish. For the moment it is possible to determine the season of death only of individuals that were taken during a period of rapid growt

ISSN:1047-482X    

DOI:10.1002/oa.1390030209

出版商:John Wiley&Sons, Ltd.    

年代:1993

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

AbstractThe skeleton of a young to middle‐aged adult excavated at the base of the Pre‐Incaic pyramid of Huaca Las Ventanas, northern coast of Peru, shows an osteoplastic formation on the fifth lumbar vertebra compatible with a diagnosis of metastatic carcinoma, possibly from the prostate gl

ISSN:1047-482X    

DOI:10.1002/oa.1390030210

出版商:John Wiley&Sons, Ltd.    

年代:1993

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

AbstractThe polymerase chain reaction has been used to extract ancient DNA from a wide range of different types of material. We have considered the possibility of finding residual bacterial DNA in bone that may have been infected withMycobacterium tuberculosisusing this technique. We propose a method of collecting samples and testing for the presence of degraded genetic material in ancient bone. The steps of the polymerase chain reaction are detailed and discussed, as are those for the preparation of the bone sample. Results obtained would suggest that this technique could have wide application in osteoarchaeological research by giving us new information on diseases of antiquity. Future avenues for the investigation of bacterial DNA in ancient bone are suggested.

ISSN:1047-482X    

DOI:10.1002/oa.1390030211

出版商:John Wiley&Sons, Ltd.    

年代:1993

数据来源: WILEY