Who Died Prematurely?: A Demographic Profile of Middle and Late Period San Francisco Bay Area Juveniles

Summary

This is an abstract from the "SAA 2024: Individual Abstracts" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

This study explores the demographic profile of a Middle and Late Period juvenile burial assemblage from a San Francisco Bay Area site, CA-ALA-329 (bearing the Muwekma Ohlone name of Mánni Muwékma Kúksú Hóowok Yatiš Túnnešte-tka, or Place Where the People of the Kúksú (Bighead) Pendants are Buried). Sex-ratio was established using a proteomics method of sex identification. Stress was evaluated based on presence/absence of skeletal indicators. Social status and distribution of wealth were ascertained based on the quantity/type of associated grave goods. The sex-ratio is about equal. Skeletal indicators consistent with nutritional deficiency, disease, and/or metabolic disorder are present, particularly among infants. There is a correlation between age-at-death and quantity and type of artifact, as infants were frequently buried with the elaborate grave goods. Distribution of wealth appears more equal in the Late Period. Each phase of this project was designed with full support of living descendants of Ohlone peoples, to contribute to the scientific record of Bay Area Peoples over thousands of years. Ultimately, we aim to support Ohlone traditional knowledge of cultural continuity in the Bay Area and aid in federal recognition. This study focuses on childhood in the Bay Area, thereby expanding our picture of the past.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• SAA 2024: Individual Abstracts   •
• Society for American Archaeology 89th Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA (2024)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 38962.0