International Journal of Osteoarchaeology This is an RSS file. You can use it to subscribe to this data in your favourite RSS reader or to display this data on your own website or blog.

The effect of age on entheseal changes: a study of modifications at appendicular attachment sites in a large sample of identified human skeletons
AbstractEntheseal changes (EC) are frequent in older individuals, and age-at-death is the main variable explaining the distribution of EC stages in adult skeletal samples. While this is already well known, the underlying process has not been studied in biological anthropology to date. The aim of the article is to describe the relationship between age and stages of EC in detail for 30 appendicular entheses in a large sample of adult skeletons (N=721) with known age-at-death and sex, using several statistical tools (such as Spearman ’s rank correlation coefficients, logistic regression models, adjusted standardized residua...
Source: International Journal of Osteoarchaeology - December 25, 2022 Category: Science Authors: S ébastien Villotte, Frédéric Santos Tags: SPECIAL ISSUE PAPER Source Type: research

Bird remains from Vilnius Lower Castle, Lithuania (13th –19th centuries) reveal changes in social status and unusual bird pathologies
AbstractThis paper focuses on the 1224 bird remains found during the excavations of 1990 –2015 in the Vilnius Lower Castle, Lithuania. The faunal material originates from a wide time span of the 13th to the 19th centuries. To explore the bird consumption in different periods of occupation of the castle and between different social strata, we analysed the bird specimens by morphologica l characteristics. The study included taxonomical identification, recording the taphonomic features and pathologies, and assessing age and sex. As expected, the majority of the bones belong to the domestic chicken, but it is mostly the pres...
Source: International Journal of Osteoarchaeology - December 15, 2022 Category: Science Authors: Freydis Ehrlich, Giedr ė Piličiauskienė, Povilas Blaževičius Tags: SPECIAL ISSUE PAPER Source Type: research

A handful of duck radiuses: Peculiarities of the avifaunal exploitation at the Gravettian site of Maisi ères‐Canal (Belgium)
AbstractThe early Gravettian site of Maisi ères-Canal (Belgium) was discovered in 1966, during the widening of the Canal du Centre. Emergency excavation allowed the discovery of an open-air human occupation which yielded abundant archaeological material. A re-examination of the well-preserved faunal collections has expanded the bird assembl age from the 29 bones initially recognized to 78, which have been studied from an archaeozoological point of view. Six taxa were identified, including species regularly encountered in Upper Paleolithic sites, such as the snowy owl (Bubo scandiacus), the northern raven (Corvus corax) an...
Source: International Journal of Osteoarchaeology - December 15, 2022 Category: Science Authors: Quentin Goffette, Christian Lepers, Ivan Jadin, Veerle Rots Tags: SPECIAL ISSUE PAPER Source Type: research

What Can Osteometric Analyses Tell Us about Domestic Dogs Recovered from a Multicomponent Indigenous Site in Vermont?
AbstractOsteometric data from archaeological remains are fundamental in zooarchaeological analyses of domestic dogs. We apply recently developed methods to a small sample of dog remains recovered from the Ewing site, a multicomponent precontact Native American site in Vermont, northeastern North America. We measure dimensions of limb bone ends and pulp-width ratios from dental radiographs to estimate dog body mass and age at death based on published regression equations. Our analysis estimates the body mass of the Ewing dogs and demonstrates adult size differences characterized dogs in the precontact Northeast. Their range...
Source: International Journal of Osteoarchaeology - December 13, 2022 Category: Science Authors: Nanny Carder, John G. Crock, Audra Pinto Tags: RESEARCH ARTICLE Source Type: research

Why did the chicken cross the Wallace Line? Archaeological evidence suggests human ‐mediated dispersal of Gallus to Flores first occurred at least ~2.25 ka cal. BP
AbstractDomesticated chickens (Gallus gallus domesticus) are a dominant part of the global human diet. Although the early domestication history of this species remains disputed, Mainland Southeast Asia (MSEA) is assumed to have been the initial domestication center. The eastward spread of chickens into Island Southeast Asia (ISEA) and the Pacific is typically attributed to human-mediated dispersals. Chicken remains are relatively common at Pacific Neolithic sites but are extremely rare in the archaeological records of MSEA and ISEA. Therefore, the exact routes and timing of the human-mediated spread of chickens from their ...
Source: International Journal of Osteoarchaeology - December 12, 2022 Category: Science Authors: Hanneke J. M. Meijer, Samuel J. Walker, Thomas Sutikna, E. Wahyu Saptomo, Matthew W. Tocheri Tags: RESEARCH ARTICLE Source Type: research

An Elusive Ghost: Searching for the Eagle Owl (Bubo bubo) in the Past of Britain
AbstractThe Eagle Owl (Bubo bubo) is currently absent as a regular breeder in Britain and its status as a native species has been debated. Its occurrence in the Pleistocene of Britain is sparse but uncontroversial, while its Holocene presence rests on very few ambiguous findings. Of these, a specimen from Demen ’s Dale (Derbyshire) originally attributed to the Mesolithic period is the most important. A re-evaluation of this bone (tarsometatarsus) is presented in this paper. While its identification as an Eagle Owl is confirmed, radiocarbon dating suggests that the bird rather lived in the Late Pleistocen e. On the basis ...
Source: International Journal of Osteoarchaeology - December 12, 2022 Category: Science Authors: Umberto Albarella, Tom Higham, Alistair McLean Tags: RESEARCH ARTICLE Source Type: research

First evidence of hunting a tiger in the Early Eneolithic of the foothill zone of the Kopet Dagh
AbstractDuring excavations of the settlement-site Ilgynly-Depe in Southeastern Turkmenistan, for the first time, since investigations began in 1986, the remains of tiger were found. Two bones of this large predator were found in layers dated to the beginning of the third millennium BC. Among the bones that were found are the proximal part of third hind metapodium and second hind phalanx, possibly from the third digit of the hind leg.Characteristic cuts from skinning of an animal are on the second phalanx. This is the first evidence of hunting of large felid predators in the Chalcolithic time in South Turkmenistan. (Source:...
Source: International Journal of Osteoarchaeology - December 11, 2022 Category: Science Authors: Aleksei K. Kasparov, Natalia F. Solov'yova Tags: SHORT REPORT Source Type: research

Toward standardization of statistical reporting in studies on entheseal changes
AbstractStatistical analysis, while at first glance an objective way to extract insights from data, remains at its core a human endeavor. Elements of subjectivity are introduced by the many decisions that go into the selection of a statistical method. Such subjectivity may harm the evidentiary value of results from statistical analyses. Standardization of statistical methods decreases the degrees of freedom available to researchers and may thus be seen as a way to increase the objectivity of the analysis. Here, we argue that standardization of methods is not only impossible because statistical methods rely on assumptions t...
Source: International Journal of Osteoarchaeology - December 10, 2022 Category: Science Authors: St éphanie Pas, Sarah Schrader Tags: SPECIAL ISSUE PAPER Source Type: research

Towards standardization of statistical reporting in studies on entheseal changes
AbstractStatistical analysis, while at first glance an objective way to extract insights from data, remains at its core a human endeavor. Elements of subjectivity are introduced by the many decisions that go into the selection of a statistical method. Such subjectivity may harm the evidentiary value of results from statistical analyses. Standardization of statistical methods decreases the degrees of freedom available to researchers and may thus be seen as a way to increase the objectivity of the analysis. Here we argue that standardization of methods is not only impossible because statistical methods rely on assumptions th...
Source: International Journal of Osteoarchaeology - December 2, 2022 Category: Science Authors: St éphanie Pas, Sarah Schrader Tags: SPECIAL ISSUE PAPER Source Type: research

Skeletal Evidence for Two External Auditory Canal Disorder Cases from Medieval China
This study reports on the archaeological skeletal remains of two adults from the medieval period in China that presented with bony destruction in the external auditory canal (EAC). The observed pathological changes were evaluated macroscopic and microscopic, and micro-CT (micro-computed tomography) was used to examine the extent of lesion involvement. The lesions in Case 1 involved the EAC and mastoid process with smooth and regular margins. We, therefore, concluded that EAC cholesteatoma is the most likely diagnosis. In Case 2, the lesion was in the superior and posterior walls of the EAC as well as in the mastoid air cel...
Source: International Journal of Osteoarchaeology - November 30, 2022 Category: Science Authors: Dongyue Zhao, Letian He, Fulai Xing Tags: SHORT REPORT Source Type: research

Occupational patterns in Anglo ‐Saxon and Medieval East Midlands, England: insights from activity‐related skeletal changes
AbstractThis paper examines five assemblages from the East Midlands, England, assessing activity-related skeletal changes with the aim of exploring differences in labour-linked social divisions between the Anglo-Saxon (5th-11th c.) and medieval periods (11th-15th c.). The Anglo-Saxon assemblages come from Empingham and Southwell, while all three medieval assemblages originate from Leicester (St Michael ’s cemetery, St Peter’s cemetery, Austin Friars). The analysis of activity-related skeletal changes encompassed entheseal changes (EC) and cross-sectional geometric properties (CSG) of the upper limb long bones. The resu...
Source: International Journal of Osteoarchaeology - November 27, 2022 Category: Science Authors: Efthymia Nikita, Anita Radini Tags: SPECIAL ISSUE PAPER Source Type: research

Accumulation agents and bird assemblages: the case of the TE9d level at Sima del Elefante (Sierra de Atapuerca, Spain)
AbstractBird assemblages can be found in archaeological sites throughout the Pleistocene. Taphonomy studies are key to understanding how such assemblages were formed. These assemblages can be generated by various agents, including human groups, animals and natural death. In this paper, we analysed the avifaunal assemblage from level TE9d at the Sima del Elefante site, where corvid (Corvidae) remains are the most abundant taxa, as reported in previous studies from that deposit. The remains of smaller birds (Charadriiformes, Rallidae) and large raptors (Aquila cf.heliaca/adalberti,Haliaeetus albicilla) have also been documen...
Source: International Journal of Osteoarchaeology - November 26, 2022 Category: Science Authors: Mario Marqueta, Rosa Huguet, Carmen N úñez‐Lahuerta Tags: SPECIAL ISSUE PAPER Source Type: research

Microcephaly as observed in the late 19th century cemetery of the Meerenberg psychiatric hospital: Diagnostic issues and the value of population ‐specific data
This study aimed to describe the craniometric characteristics of the Meerenberg (MeB) skeletal collection and to identify microcephalic individuals while focusing on the diagnostic criteria and the influence of reference data on the prevalence of the condition. The value of virtual endocasts as a diagnostic tool was also assessed. Forty-eight adults (1891 –1936) excavated from the cemetery of the MeB psychiatric hospital (Bloemendaal, The Netherlands) were investigated. Microcephalic individuals were identified by using the craniometric characteristics of a contemporary Dutch archeological population as reference. In ord...
Source: International Journal of Osteoarchaeology - November 21, 2022 Category: Science Authors: Elise Mank, Hans H. Boer, Judith M. Versluis, Roelof ‐Jan Oostra, Alie E. Merwe Tags: RESEARCH ARTICLE Source Type: research

Hyperostosis frontalis interna: A new perspective in burned individuals' analysis for determining age and sex from archeo ‐anthropological and medicolegal contexts
The objective of this study is to demonstrate the benefit of HFI diagnosis for identifying individuals (estimating their age and determining their sex) in the archeo-anthropological analysis of ancient cremation burial sites and in medicolegal investigations on burned human remains.Our sample consisted of 82 cremated individuals from the Roman Porta Nocera necropolis in Pompeii (1st  century BC–1st century AD). After excluding juveniles under 15 years of age, as HFI primarily affects adult individuals, our sample was reduced to 71 individuals, and the prevalence of HFI was 15.5% (n = 11). A statistically sig...
Source: International Journal of Osteoarchaeology - November 16, 2022 Category: Science Authors: Ana ïs Du Fayet de la Tour, Christine Couture, François Paraf, Henri Duday Tags: RESEARCH ARTICLE Source Type: research

Female skeletal health and socioeconomic status in medieval Norway (11th –16th centuries AD): Analysis of bone mineral density and stature
AbstractLittle is known about the possible impact of socioeconomic status on bone health in medieval Norway. We measured bone mineral density in the skeletal remains of 101 females from five medieval burial sites in Eastern Norway representing distinct socioeconomic groups by comparing results from dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry and osteological analysis. Young adult females of high status were taller than parish population females (5.3  cm,p = 0.01), although their femoral neck bone mineral density did not differ significantly between the two groups (p = 0.127). We found that the parish population females had ...
Source: International Journal of Osteoarchaeology - November 15, 2022 Category: Science Authors: Elin T. Br ødholt, Kaare M. Gautvik, Ole J. Benedictow, Clara‐Cecilie Günther, Torstein Sjøvold, Per Holck Tags: RESEARCH ARTICLE Source Type: research