ANTHROP 1AA3 Lecture Notes - Lecture 4: Rodent, Biological Anthropology, Trepanning
27 Jun 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
Studying The Dead
What is Bioarchaeology?
• The study of the human skeleton in an archaeological context – Health, Diet
(access to what food, and what they ate), Habitual Activities (cultural
activities) and Mobility (how they moved around landscape, why they moved)
• Look for patterns within and between populations based on skeletal material
How do we look at health?
• Palaeopathology – study of health and disease in past populations
• Only those conditions that leave traces on the skeleton
• Patterns of illness and disease – relate to cultural aspects, sex, gender, age,
status and time
Health – nutritional deficiency
• Rickets - Bending and fracture of bones caused by lack of Vitamin D.
Important for urbanization. Called a disease of civilization. Smog, people are
getting less exposure to sun, most of our vitamin D we get through sun,
people are working just at night, inside shifts, poor lighting. Children affected
– child labor during transition to civilization. Talking about chronic, non-
infectious diseases so 2nd ET. If children affected at young age, long age
bones also affected as bones are improperly formed. Vitamin D helps us use
calcium properly, so they will be incompletely mineralized.
• Size of nutritional deficiency – tells us about their diet, place in society,
suitable for old or not, suitable for sex, rich/poor food.
How do we look at diet
• Vitamin D - Primarily get it from sun exposure, but some from die
• Absences of a mandible, heavy tooth wear (nerve and blood vessel are
supposed to be protected, abscesses in root, things like grinding grains on
stone, tells us they made transition to agriculture)
• pH in oral environment, they chew tobacco, they change pH in mouth, people
more likely to develop __ on teeth
Dietary over time
• Cavities – changed over time
• Some populations – increased rates, change in diet, introduction of
agriculture
How do we look at work?
• Evidence of habitual activities
• All behavior in past
• What sorts of work? Other activities done regularly?
• Auditory exocytosis – ear canal, nerve goes in to brain at this place, bony
outgrowth at this place, benign thing, spending time in cold water, see it in
deep sea divers, surfers, among ancient roman, very cold water contact
Squatting facets
• Extensions of articular, distal end of tibia – extra facets, ankles forced
forward, a lot of weight put on it, indication of squatting in this fashion
• Young adult female – changes in skeletal due to activity, inflammation,
trauma to joint, excessive use of joint, arthritis, arthritis associated with
Document Summary
Health nutritional deficiency: rickets - bending and fracture of bones caused by lack of vitamin d. Smog, people are getting less exposure to sun, most of our vitamin d we get through sun, people are working just at night, inside shifts, poor lighting. Talking about chronic, non- infectious diseases so 2nd et. If children affected at young age, long age bones also affected as bones are improperly formed. Vitamin d helps us use calcium properly, so they will be incompletely mineralized: size of nutritional deficiency tells us about their diet, place in society, suitable for old or not, suitable for sex, rich/poor food. Dietary over time: cavities changed over time, some populations increased rates, change in diet, introduction of agriculture. Seen change in young athletes going through intense training when bones are still forming. Risk of behavior, heavy manual labor: blunt trace to a skull.
