Auditory Exostoses as Indicators of Mobility and Sexual Divisions of Labor in the Green River Valley, Kentucky

Summary

Auditory Exostoses (AEs), commonly called "surfer’s ear," are benign bony swellings in the external auditory canal and most often occur due to regular exposure of the ear to cold water and wind. Some of the highest frequencies of AEs encountered are found in Archaic Period populations of the Green River Valley, Kentucky. Previous measurements of sample populations have shown a range of 12.6 to 34.9 percent of adults with one or more AE, with even higher percentages existing among the male sub-population (e.g., up to 54.3% at Indian Knoll; Mensforth 2005). Taking a clinical approach to the measurement of AEs, several Archaic skeletal populations from the Green River Valley were analyzed for the presence and severity of these bony growths. Results are discussed with respect to assumptions about mobility and flux among sites located on the Green River and its tributaries, sexual divisions of labor, and water-related subsistence practices.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 81st Annual Meeting, Orlando, FL (2016)

Keywords

Spatial Coverage