Physical Anthropology

The impact of aging on the morphology of the osseous spine is still debated. Clinical studies usually record combined aging effects, as well as age-related degenerative changes. The aim of this study was to determine the impact of (degeneration-independent) aging on the morphology of the osseous human spine during adulthood. Various osseous dimensions of human spinal landmarks at all major vertebral levels have been assessed in macroscopically normal Swiss skeletons (N = 71), with historically known sex and age at death, as well as in larger Central European skeletal samples (N = 277) with anthropologically determined individual age and sex. All measurements were correlated with individual age (or age group) by linear regression and analyzed separately for each sex. Only few osseous spinal dimensions, and only in men, correlate significantly with individual age. Generally, the significant dimensions show an increase in size during adulthood. Similar tendencies, but with significant alterations of spinal measurements in women as well, can be found in the larger samples with anthropologically determined sex and age group. Increase of certain spinal dimensions found in this study may be a reflection of an increase in the robustness of individuals with age. Because of the absence of a significant secular alteration of stature within the well-recorded sample, we exclude secular change in body dimensions as a major bias.

El objetivo del presente estudio es predecir el tamaño del canino permanente a partir de mediciones tomadas en los dientes posteriores (premolares y molares), y utilizar los valores predichos del tamaño del canino para estimar el sexo biológico de restos óseos. El análisis se llevó a cabo en 126 individuos procedentes de la antigua ciudad de Herculano (Nápoles, Italia), víctimas de la erupción del volcán Vesubio la madrugada entre el 24/25 de agosto del año 79 EC. Se tomaron los diámetros mesiodistal y bucolingual de la corona dental y a nivel cervical del diente, y se llevó a cabo el análisis de regresión lineal de Pearson para crear ecuaciones de regresión que permitieran predecir el tamaño del canino basándose en las dimensiones dentales de los dientes posteriores. Se obtuvieron 14 ecuaciones de regresión. Los resultados muestran elevados coeficientes de correlación y determinación (r = 0,709–0,889; r2 = 0,502–0,791; respectivamente), dependiendo de los diámetros de los dientes utilizados. Posteriormente, estas ecuaciones de regresión fueron aplicadas a una muestra de validación para estimar el sexo biológico de los individuos utilizando los valores predichos del tamaño del canino aplicando diversas fórmulas de función discriminantes específicas para la población de Herculano. Los resultados muestran que los valores predichos del tamaño del canino proporcionan elevados porcentajes de correcta asignación del sexo cuando se trabaja con restos óseos fragmentarios procedentes de contextos arqueológicos y el canino no está disponible para su medición.

ABSTRACT. The aim of this study was to investigate the size of the permanent canine from measurements of the posterior teeth (premolars and molars), and to use the predicted values of the canine size to estimate the biological sex of skeletal remains. The analysis was performed on 126 individuals from the ancient city of Herculaneum (Naples, Italy), victims of the eruption of the nearby volcano Vesuvius on 24/25 August, 79 EC. Mesiodistal and buccolingual crown and cervical diameters were measured, and Pearson's linear regression analysis was performed to create regression equations to predict the canine size based on dental measurements of posterior teeth. Fourteen regressions equations were obtained. The results show high correlation and determination coefficients (r = 0,709–0,889; r2 = 0,502–0,791; respectively), depending on the diameters of the teeth used. These regression equations were subsequently applied to a validation sample to estimate the biological sex of the individuals using the predicted values of the canine size based on the application of discriminant function formulae that are specific of the Herculaneum's population. The results show that the predicted values of the canine size provide high percentages of correct assignment of sex when fragmentary skeletal remains are encountered in archaeological samples and the canine is not available for measurement.

In Central Europe, human remains from the Magdalenian are a rare phenomenon. In Central and Western Europe, these remains are usually fragmented and often manipulated. The discovery of 50 human bone fragments from Maszycka Cave in the 19th and mid-20th century is an important source for studying the treatment of bodies in the Late Upper Palaeolithic. Skull fragments are dominating and the re-investigation of the material proves the presence of some cut marks. The re-dating of the remains and the bone artefacts to c. 16,200 cal BC together with the specific treatment of the human remains confirms the typological arguments for an early re-colonisation of Central Europe from the West after the Last Glacial Maximum.

Extreme rituals entail excessive costs without apparent benefits, which raises an evolutionary cost problem (Irons, 2001). It is argued that such intense rituals enhance social cohesion and promote cooperative behaviors (Atran & Henrich, 2010; Durkheim, 1912). However, direct evidence for the relation between ritual intensity and prosociality is lacking. Using economic measures of generosity and contextually relevant indicators of group identity in a real-world setting, we evaluated pro- social effects from naturally occurring rituals that varied in severity.

The analysis of biological parameters such as age and sex is particularly relevant to the interpretation of ancient skeletal assemblages related to abrupt mortality crises, and more particularly epidemics. In such a context, the mechanisms of selection within a population or part of a population differ according to the pathogen involved. They may also vary depending on the period and location in which the population lived. Here, we illustrate the specificity of plague mortality through the study of several European burial sites contemporary with the first and second plague pandemics. The paleodemographic patterns obtained for different plague outbreaks from the 6th to the 16th centuries reveal some constant features over time and space as well as some differences that suggest a possible evolution in the epidemiological characteristics of the disease.

A female skeleton from the Lori Berd archaeological cemetery, located near the city of Stepanavan (Lori Province of Armenia) is described. Palaeopathological analysis revealed a variety pathology (ankylosis of the sacroiliac joints, ankylosis of the vertebrae, syndesmophytes, ankylosed of the costovertebral and costotransverse joint fusions, kyphosis, lordosis, fracture of the anterior inferior iliac spine and traumatic lesions). This paper reports a new case of ankylosing spondylitis in a skeleton and a differential diagnosis performed to determine the etiology of the condition. The vertebral bodies remodel and together with the associated syndesmophytes form a continuous, smooth bone surface that is sometimes referred to as "bamboo spine". In this skeleton changes in the spine, ribs, the sacrum, acetabulum, head of the femur and greater trochanter, as well as the anterior inferior iliac spine are typical of ankylosing spondylitis in advanced stage. Addtionally, there were signs of a traumatic death with injuries sustained to the scapula and vertebra. Using osteological markers in combination with the reconstruction of the archaeological context, the burial pattern suggests that the pathology the female suffered was likely due to her physical deficiencies.