Biodistance (Other Keyword)
1-11 (11 Records)
Variation in cranial and dental non-metric traits provides a unique method for investigating prehistoric biological variability at Paquimé, Chihuahua, Mexico. Previous biodistance analyses have demonstrated patterns of long-distance gene flow with both Southwestern and frontier Mesoamerican groups, while stable isotope analyses have suggested a pattern of immigration into the site. The primary goal of this study is to determine what the pattern of biological variability tells us about social...
A biodistance study of Shang Dynasty human sacrifice (2017)
Ongoing archaeological investigations at the Shang capital of Yin Xu in modern Anyang have contributed much to the understanding of the Shang Dynasty (~1600-1046 BCE) and Bronze Age China. Bioarchaeological investigations of the thousands of sacrificed individuals recovered from the royal cemetery at Yin Xu has historically been somewhat limited, but is becoming an important component of current research at the site. Earlier work focused mainly on collection of craniometric data and the typology...
The Biological Relatedness between the Salinar (400 BC–AD 100) and Other Prehistoric Populations of the North Coast of Peru: A First Approximation Using Nonmetric Dental Traits (2021)
This is an abstract from the "Peering into the Night: Transition, Sociopolitical Organization, and Economic Dynamics after the Dusk of Chavín in the North Central Andes" session, at the 86th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Following the demise of the Early Horizon (800–200 BC) and Chavín influence in the Central Andes, archaeologists—historically—have hypothesized that cultural changes on the north coast of Peru, such as the “White-on-Red” cultural traditions, as well...
The borders of space and time: Biological continuity at Campovalano (2016)
Territorial and cultural boundaries remain some of the most elusive and compelling areas of anthropological study. We examine biological continuity at Campovalano (Teramo, Abruzzo, Italy) to highlight ways that biology can be used to elucidate interpretations of frontiers and borderlands. We test the hypothesis that geographic location strongly influenced biological continuity in Italian history. Eighteen cranial (n=278) and five maxillary dental (n=377) metric traits, and dental morphological...
Dentition, Kinship, and Status in the Mopan-Macal Triangle: Small-Sample Insights into Classic Maya Social Organization in Central Western Belize (2018)
Classic Maya social status is more complex than an elite verses non-elite dichotomy. Research suggests that a "middle" status group exists. However, the social segment from which they arise is unknown. This study focuses on individuals from the urban center of Buenavista del Cayo who are below the ruling elites in the "middle" rungs of social status, and those from the neighboring farming community of Guerra who are recognized as nonelites. Previous research suggested that no biological affinity...
Gene Flow at Paquime: Cranial Non-Metric Approaches to Regional Social Interactions (2016)
The origins of the Casas Grandes phenomenon remain an essential, if elusive pursuit for Southwest/Northwest archaeologists. The explanations are numerous, and include migrations, in-situ development, local emulation of prestigious Mesoamerican traits, and several different combinations therein. In this study, a series of biodistance analyses are conducted using different cranial and dental metric and non-metric traits. Several hypothesized sources of migrants and cultural transmission are...
Horizontality Revisited: Evidence for 3,000 Years of Prehistoric Biocultural Continuity of Fisherfolk at Huanchaco, North Coast of Peru (2019)
This is an abstract from the "SAA 2019: General Sessions" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. The importance and distinctiveness of Peruvian fisherfolk, or pescadores, and their complementary role in coastal valley economies feature prominently in numerous ethnohistoric accounts, while archaeological evidence indicates that large, permanent fishing communities existed for centuries before. What is unclear is the degree to which, if any, these...
Identity, ritual, and violence in the Epiclassic Basin of Mexico (2016)
The practice of human sacrifice has a remarkable time depth within Mesoamerica. However, it is often misunderstood as a social practice. In this project, I investigate an Epiclassic (600-900 CE) shrine site in the northern Basin of Mexico, where over 150 male, human crania showing evidence of decapitation were unearthed. The Epiclassic period in the Basin of Mexico was a period of political fragmentation, migration, and warfare. I explore the identities of the individuals using a combination of...
The Incorporation of the Chicama Valley into the Southern Moche Polity (AD 200 – 900): A Preliminary Biodistance Assessment (2016)
Nascent state formation is often purported involved the incorporation of nonlocal peoples, this question still remains unresolved for the southern Moche (AD 200 – 900) polity thought to be centered at the Pyramids at Moche site. Some archaeologists (Castillo and Uceda 2010) that the southern Moche state's expansion began following the incorporation of the Cao Viejo polity within the Chicama Valley to the north. Further, a recently published reevaluation of radiocarbon dates for Moche ceramics...
Investigation of biological relationships at the Late Woodland/ Mississippian transition in the northern Mississippian hinterlands (2015)
The Mississippian period is exceptional for the fast and wide ranging influence it had on the mid-continent. Processes behind the Mississippianization of the Midwest are often derived from explanations of trade or religion as inferred from the presence of material culture and site organization. It is unknown to what level direct contact occurred. Biological distance investigation using odontometrics and dental discrete trait analysis was conducted on individuals from Late Woodland and...
The origins of pastoralism in Eastern Africa: new human dental evidence from mid-Holocene Pillar Sites in the Turkana Basin (2017)
Herding spread into Eastern Africa ~5000 BP, but mechanisms of spread are still debated (migration, diffusion, or a mix). If herders migrated from desiccating areas of the Sahara, Sahel, or Ethiopian Rift, they would have passed through the Turkana Basin, where the earliest livestock coincides chronologically with the construction of megalithic "pillar sites." Recent excavations at 3 pillar sites revealed extensive human burials, plus caprine remains and zoomorphic artifacts suggesting these...