Survivorship and Periosteal Lesion Activity at Pueblo Bonito and Hawikku: Examining the Biological Impact of Contact in the Ancestral Pueblo Southwest

Summary

This is an abstract from the "SAA 2019: General Sessions" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

A consideration of periosteal lesion activity and its effect on the likelihood of survival can communicate a deeper understanding of major cultural-ecological transitions by elucidating the effect of heterogeneous frailty on the formation of a skeletal assemblage. This study tests the effects of Spanish contact on the association between survivorship and periosteal reactions in the Ancestral Pueblo Southwest by examining skeletal samples from Pueblo Bonito (AD 800-1200) and Hawikku (AD 1300-1680). The study hypothesizes that survivorship will differ based on lesion activity category – individuals with healed lesions will possess a survival advantage over those with active, mixed, or no lesions. Further, due to similarities in settlement environment and subsistence, the relationship between survivorship and periosteal lesions will not differ between the two sites. The results of the Kaplan-Meier survival analysis documented a significant difference between activity level and survivorship at both Pueblo Bonito and Hawikku. Individuals with healed lesions appear to possess a survival advantage over those with active, mixed, or no lesions. The results suggest that Spanish contact did not have an observable effect on the relationship between activity level and survivorship, potentially reflecting a broader trend between heterogeneous frailty and periosteal reactions in the archaeological record.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 84th Annual Meeting, Albuquerque, NM (2019)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 25610