International Journal of Osteoarchaeology最新文献

The interactions between mobile pastoralists and semi-sedentary Nilotic foraging groups in the Middle Nile Valley had long-term implications for the development of social complexity as seen in the ancient African kingdom of Kerma. This study presents the results of the zooarcheological analysis of animal remains from two sites in the 4th cataract of the Nile valley, El Ginefab and Shemkhiya, and compares findings to other published sites in the region during a period of significant climatic change. Results indicate that the communities living at Shemkhiya and El Ginefab differed in terms of their meat preferences and their primary modes of bovid acquisition, and that pastoralist practices changed at El Ginefab through time. Hunting remained an important feature of subsistence practices, and regional comparisons indicate that the acquisition of wild bovids did not disappear with incorporation of domesticated livestock; however, pastoralists limited their hunting practices to smaller wild bovids in contrast to neighboring forager populations. A clear chronological overlap is documented between communities reliant on pastoralism and those reliant on hunting as a subsistence practice for several millennia. This highlights the need to more explicitly characterize and understand the dynamics of coexistence for the spread and establishment of pastoralism regionally, as well as how social ties, subsistence practices, and land use practices overlapped during periods of critical environmental changes and their implications for emerging social complexity.

Stable isotope analysis of ancient bone collagen is a powerful technique for studying diet, migration, and ecology in archeological contexts. These analyses are, however, limited by collagen preservation and prohibitively low collagen yields. Harsh chemical demineralization is required to isolate the collagen from the mineral component of the bone, which in turn reduces the yield of material available for analysis. Demineralization is typically performed using hydrochloric acid (HCl), which reduces collagen yield via acid hydrolysis of peptide bonds. An alternative to a strong acid (HCl) treatment is the neutral chelating agent ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA). To our knowledge, it has never been empirically tested whether EDTA treatment reduces collagen loss relative to HCl in samples that are known to be poorly preserved (i.e., low yields and/or collagen extracts failing other collagen quality control [QC] criteria). We tested the effect of the demineralization agent on collagen yield, stable isotope, and elemental composition of poorly preserved ancient bone samples. Collagen yield was significantly higher in EDTA-treated samples; however, this did not translate into a greater number of samples passing relevant quality control criteria. Stable isotope compositions (SIC) were also not significantly different between treatments. The atomic C:N ratio of samples treated with EDTA was significantly lower than equivalent samples treated with HCl, which is likely a product of increased deamidation of asparagine and glutamine residues when collagen is demineralized with HCl relative to EDTA. We conclude that although EDTA treatment may reduce collagen loss relative to HCl treatment, this does not necessarily increase the probability of producing reliable–stable isotope data from bone samples yielding low amounts of collagen. Based on our isotopic data, we suggest the following provisional collagen QC criteria for EDTA-demineralized samples: collagen yield > 2%, wt% C > 4%, wt% N > 2%, and atomic C:N ratio between 2.80 and 3.25.

Accurate population-specific sex estimation standards do not exist for southern African Holocene San and Khoekhoe populations. Due to markedly small stature, skeletal gracility, and physically active lifestyle, this population exhibits reduced sexual dimorphism, complicating application of standards developed elsewhere. The effectiveness of common sex estimation approaches were assessed and optimized for San and Khoekhoe populations. One-hundred seventy-five adult archaeological San and Khoekhoe skeletons were studied. Sex estimates from seven morphological traits (cranial and mandibular) and six metrical parameters (mandibular, humeral, and femoral) were compared with pelvic (Phenice) sex estimates to assess agreement. Results were analyzed using chi-squared tests, univariate statistics, and cross-validated discriminant function analysis. The effectiveness of individual cranial and mandibular traits varied: The mastoid process and mandibular shape produced the highest agreement rates with pelvic sex estimates (73% and 72%, respectively), while mental eminence and nuchal crest produced the lowest (both 53%). The nuchal crest exhibited a strong sex bias. All mandibular and long-bone metrical parameters were sexually dimorphic; femoral and humeral vertical head diameter (FHD and HVHD) were the most discriminatory. The discriminant function equations showing the highest agreement with pelvic sex estimates were direct multivariate bicondylar breadth, FHD and HVHD (77%), univariate FHD (75%), and stepwise multivariate FHD and HVHD (73%). All variables were sexually dimorphic, but the reduced sexual dimorphism in this population necessitates careful choice of traits. Trait scores considered diagnostic of males and females may require adjustment to improve discriminating power. This study identified the most accurate areas to target for sex estimation and generated the first discriminant functions specific to archaeological San and Khoekhoe people.

Xinjiang sits in the northwesternmost part of China and played an active role in facilitating the flow of technologies, cultivars, and livestock long before the Silk Road. While mixed pastoralism was developed in neighboring Central Asia, the local lifeways in Xinjiang, as well as the possible interactions in-between these regions, have still not been fully understood. Here, we conduct zooarchaeological analyses at two Iron Age sites of Quanshuigou and Dumuduebudege in western Xinjiang, to clarify the local subsistence and animal management strategies. Our results reveal that sheep/goats were the most exploited animals in this region, followed by horses and cattle in the managed herd. Apart from meat and marrow, renewable secondary products such as wool and milk might also be used, suggesting an intensive livestock exploitation managed by the local pastoral communities. Such mixed pastoralism not only continues throughout the Iron Age but also is visible today in Xinjiang, demonstrating its profound and lasting influence for nomadic groups in this region.

During the Pleistocene, the Yucatán Peninsula reached its greatest geographic extension, with 457,650 km², but the rise of sea level after the Last Glacial Maximum (ca. 20,000–12,000 years ago) reduced its area to 225,182 km² (50.8% reduction). These geographic extension changes likely modified the extension of different habitats throughout the peninsula, which may have also promoted morphological changes in the species that inhabit this region. Here, we tested if the reduction of the geographic size of the Yucatán Peninsula may have promoted changes in the body size of three fossil bird species and two modern bird species. We compared Late Pleistocene bird fossils specimens from Loltún, Yucatán, Mexico (ca. 28,000–11,700 ya), San Josecito Cave and Tlapacoya, and study skins of collected specimens. To assess the area-scale ratio and to establish if body size changes occurred over time from a large to a small body size, we relied on the “island rule” as a framework; we also relied on Bergmann's rule, which postulates a decreasing in size from north to south in homeothermic species to recognize if these birds show a north to south cline. Based on body mass and measurements of the tarsometatarsi, a reliable proxy for the estimation of body size, we performed statistical analyses to test for differences between fossil and non-fossil birds, as well as to test a gradient in body mass north to south. We found a statistically significant trend in body size changes through time, from small body sizes in fossil birds to larger body sizes in non-fossil birds. These results suggest that relatively recent ecological factors related to the environmental carrying capacity may have promoted body size variations in birds from the Yucatán Peninsula. We also found that modern population of bird species follow Bergmann's rule.

Bioarchaeological research of bone growth patterns provides information on the health status and disease of past populations. Recent studies have pointed out the potential of metric analysis of nonadult vertebrae as indicators of stress during different stages of ontogeny, highlighting that most vertebral measurements present low sexual dimorphism, a stable and known pattern of growth and give useful information even in incomplete spines. The aims of this paper are first, to construct a vertebral growth profile for nonadults of a skeletal series of Patagonian Late Holocene hunter-gatherers from Salitroso Lake (SAC); second, to compare it to the ones obtained in other archaeological and modern populations with different stress experiences; and third, building on this, to assess whether individuals with evidence of stress experienced in early development demonstrate different patterns in vertebral growth than those without. Two spinal dimensions are used: vertebral body height (VBH) and transverse diameter of the neural canal (TDNC) in a sample of 23 nonadult skeletons with ages previously estimated from dental and bone indicators. The vertebral dimensions of 20 adults between 18 and 35 years of age were also measured as reference information. Results show that the growth of the VBH is steady over the years and reaches adulthood size by approximately 16 years of age whereas TDNC dimensions do not experience marked fluctuations in size throughout life and adult dimensions are reached at approximately 4 years of age as expected. The vertebral growth pattern observed in SAC is similar to that obtained in other archaeological samples from very different settings but experiencing relatively high nutritional or pathological stress in early stages of life. However, it is markedly different, and systematically smaller, to the 20th century sample pattern, probably responding to a secular trend in the modern population with a more stable access to resources and medical treatment. Finally, SAC individuals with systemic stress markers do not tend to exhibit smaller vertebral dimensions than those without them.

Bioarcheologists have focused extensively over the past few decades on how to best investigate past activity, often concentrating on data collection protocols and more recently focusing on statistical approaches. Here, we complement ongoing studies focusing on emerging inequality during the Middle Period (AD 400–1000) in the San Pedro de Atacama oases (Chile) by investigating entheseal patterns among individuals (n = 210) interred in four cemeteries. This period represents a time of demographic expansion and the development of interregional networks and formalized social inequalities, all of which would have shaped the lived experiences of local inhabitants. The four cemeteries studied here allow investigations of potential differences between individuals living in a close geographic area: Solcor 3 and Casa Parroquial represent “elite” sites connected with the Tiwanaku state, the somewhat later site of Coyo 3 is associated with mining activities, and Quitor 6 Tardío represents individuals from relatively lower status. Using two complementary multifactorial tests, factorial ANOVA and ANCOVA, we identified differences in entheseal scores in several joints as a proxy for activity patterns among the cemeteries (left and right shoulders and wrists, and left elbow and hip; p < 0.05), with individuals from Casa Parroquial demonstrating lower entheseal scores in most joints. Results highlight how we can infer differences in entheseal patterns among individuals interred in cemeteries that were in close geographic proximity and in use over similar periods, highlighting possible differences in lived experiences in the sites categorized as “elite” as well as the effects of cemetery location, either within the core oases or outside them. Our analyses further suggest that ANCOVA and factorial ANOVA can identify more nuanced differences among the cemeteries while accounting for covariates in a single test, making them more robust inferential statistical approaches for this type of study.

The New Coimbra Method is the most recently proposed standardized method to assess entheseal changes (EC). However, the method's developers acknowledge the inadequacy of their guidelines and state that those who will use the method need in-person training from them. This study aims to determine the applicability of the method's guideline by testing the interobserver agreement (IOA) with observers who were not trained by the developers. The second objective of this study is to apply the New Coimbra Method to a relatively small archeological sample, in this case a Bronze Age population from Kültepe-Kanesh, Türkiye. Four observers (the authors) scored EC in three entheses of the right upper limb of 52 adults. IOA was analyzed via Fleiss' kappa (FK) and percentage of agreement (PA) tests. FK test results indicate moderate overall agreement (0.458), while PA implies significantly high agreement (95%). The results of the FK and PA tests contradict each other due to the known limitations of the latter. However, FK values among features vary broadly; some of the features indicate substantial agreement and surpass the required benchmark, while the rest remains moderate or lower. The features that revealed substantial agreement indicate the sufficiency of the method's guidelines. However, the guidelines for the other features appear to be inadequate. Further revision of the guidelines could make the method more applicable for all researchers with no requirement of in-person training.

This research examines the diets and mobility of higher status individuals buried in the St. Mary's (Mariakirken) churchyard (1140 and 1248 AD), located in Bergen, Norway. Stable isotope data are used to explore the role that diets (preferential access, choice of foods) may have played in mitigating the negative impacts of rapid urbanization. Dietary reconstruction involved analysis of carbon (δ¹³C) and nitrogen (δ¹⁵N) stable isotope ratios from paired bone and tooth samples from St. Mary's individuals (N = 25). Oxygen isotope ratios (δ¹⁸O) were derived from analyses of tooth enamel carbonate to comment on individuals' origins and mobility (N = 26). Individual δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N collagen values indicate that St. Mary's individuals consumed variable diets, with some relying on marine animal protein almost exclusively, while others primarily consumed C₃ plants or animals that consumed C₃ plants as the main source of their dietary protein. δ¹⁸O ratios showed that some individuals originated outside of Bergen. Thus, the stable isotope evidence (δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N) indicates that diets of St. Mary's individuals were more varied, and in some cases, relied primarily on imported trade goods such as grain/grain fed animals, and marine resources. This reinforces the view that St. Mary's represented an affluent segment of the growing Bergen population, and that its members were heavily involved in trade. Oxygen isotopes show that some individuals spent time living outside of Bergen during childhood. These data suggest that diets were more variable within the St. Mary's sample than at contemporary Norwegian sites, and that the process of urbanization did not impact the people of Bergen in a unified way.

The Nenjiang River Basin, located in the northern part of Northeast China, is an important cultural region that has attracted much attention from academic communities. Previous studies demonstrated that hunting and gathering always dominate the subsistence for prehistoric populations in this region. Herein, we further investigate the evolution of dietary and economic strategies in the Late Neolithic and Bronze Age occupations at the recently excavated Honghe site of the Nenjiang River Basin by means of a multidisciplinary approach incorporating zooarchaeological and stable isotope analysis. The results of zooarchaeological approaches indicate that the Honghe populations rely extensively on hunting and fishing during the Late Neolithic (4500–4000 cal BP), consistent with the results of previous studies. Interestingly, by the Bronze Age (3100–2400 cal BP), animal husbandry develops as one main economic strategy, corresponding to the probable decline of hunting and fishing, which is different from the previous reports. In addition, based on the results of stable isotopic approaches, C₃ plants are always prominent diets for animals and humans from the Late Neolithic to the Bronze Age, which signifies that crop agriculture does not appear to have been of primary importance during either of these eras, in contrast to the C₄ agricultural tradition formed in the Neolithic Age of the southern part of Northeast China. The findings of this paper shed some more light on the evolution of human subsistence strategies in the Nenjiang River Basin.