Previous radiographic surveys have shown that, following complete fusion, the way epiphyseal scars obliterate hold a more or less interdependent relationship with chronological age that mainly...Show morePrevious radiographic surveys have shown that, following complete fusion, the way epiphyseal scars obliterate hold a more or less interdependent relationship with chronological age that mainly takes place during the age period between adolescence and mid-twenties. Keeping this in mind, this study was undertaken to design a 'hybrid' plan of successive analysis to determine the extent to which the sequence in which epiphyseal scars obliterate, as enhanced by the addition of radiographic imaging, can be an enriching technique applied for sorting and quantifying commingled assemblages. The underlying goal was to test whether epiphyseal scars can be used as reliable age-at-death indicators and thus assist for detecting subadult remains commingled with accessory subadult or other adult elements. To evaluate this, selected long bones of the MB11S150V0248 largescale commingled bone pit found in the former 19th century Dutch cemetery of Middenbeemster were radiographed. Overall, the findings of this thesis suggest the supporting role of the epiphyseal scars in the sorting process of commingled remains. As analysis showed the maturity status of the humeral, ulnar and the femoral scars of the assemblage was consistent with chronological age and for this their usefulness as reliable age-at-death indicators was verified. The same consistency was also found to exist in the maturity status between the paired femora and the articulated femora and tibiae of the assemblage thus strengthening the degree of their produced by macroscopic and osteometric means associations. However, with a small sample size and the radii and tibiae displaying inconsistent with chronological age patterns of obliteration, caution must be applied, as the findings might not be representative enough. Further research on this topic needs to be undertaken before the association between the maturity status of epiphyseal scars and chronological age can be more clearly understood.Show less
The Late Ceramic Age (LCA) in the Caribbean is known for its’ great cultural diversity. However, Similarity in Variation focusses on illustrating cultural similarities between LCA settlements on...Show moreThe Late Ceramic Age (LCA) in the Caribbean is known for its’ great cultural diversity. However, Similarity in Variation focusses on illustrating cultural similarities between LCA settlements on the basis of grave assemblages. The goal is to mirror the cultural subseries defined on the basis of ceramic typology, and support them with cultural similarities encountered in grave assemblages. In order to demonstrate this similarity a range of variance is designed using grave assemblages from two LCA sites: Maisabel on Puerto Rico, and The Tutu Archaeological Village site on St. Thomas of the US Virgin Islands. The purpose of the range of variance is to show that, when a burial is different from what is generally encountered in the grave assemblage, the type of differentiated treatment corresponds to that encountered at other sites, thus illustrating cultural similarity. The range of variance thus encompasses elements which only rarely occurred in both assemblages of the above-mentioned sites, such as the presence of grave goods or the absence of certain skeletal elements. Next, the range of variance was applied to two contemporary sites on the Lesser Antilles: Kelbey’s Ridge on Saba, and Pointe de Caille on St. Lucia. All the elements in the range of variance found representatives at these two sites. A minority of the buried individuals were thus subject to a differentiated treatment after death. The occurrence of the same variations in treatment illustrates the cultural parallels between sites. Cultural diversity between sites was demonstrated by the presence of an element of variation in mortuary practice seen only at one of the four sites, such as the usage of fire in a funerary context at Kelbey’s Ridge.Show less
This thesis aimed to provide an answer to the question: “What was the Scandinavian influence on the burial rites practised in Britain between 800-1200 AD?” A background has been established by...Show moreThis thesis aimed to provide an answer to the question: “What was the Scandinavian influence on the burial rites practised in Britain between 800-1200 AD?” A background has been established by examining the situation in Anglo-Saxon Britain and Scandinavia alike. The situation was quite complex in the British Isles. The Christian Anglo-Saxons still practised funerary rites outside cemeteries and graves often still contained small amounts of grave goods. The situation in Scandinavia was also very complex because the Scandinavians themselves maintained a large scale of varied burial practices in which local variation and identity played important roles. The answer to the research question is thus not simple to give. While there are several graves in Britain that show a remarkable amount of Scandinavian influence, other graves are more ambiguous. The influence of the Scandinavians seems to be limited to first and maybe second generation of settlers in the ninth and tenth centuries AD. However, the concept of social persona can help us recognize the complex of identities represented in deviant burials and find their place in the funerary record of Britain.Show less
Body mass increases when nutritional status increases and decreases when there is a lack of essential nutrients. Bone is a dynamic organ that continuously undergoes a process involving bone...Show moreBody mass increases when nutritional status increases and decreases when there is a lack of essential nutrients. Bone is a dynamic organ that continuously undergoes a process involving bone absorption and formation. Previous research has focused on average body mass estimations or pathological responses to body mass extremes. However, limited research has been done towards body mass estimation accuracy when body mass falls under an extreme. In the summer of 2011, the laboratory for human osteoarchaeology and the Dutch archaeological company Hollandia excavated a cemetery in Middenbeemster, The Netherlands. This skeletal population is unique since the cemetery could be linked to detailed historical information, including age, sex, and cause of death. The aim of this study was to study the prevalence of body mass extremes in the 19th century skeletal population. Furthermore, it has been studied whether the age related features experience influence from body mass and whether pathological lesions known to be associated with body mass have a correlation with body mass in the Middenbeemster skeletal population as well. Body mass estimations have been made with both the femoral head diameter and stature-bi-iliac breadth (STBIB). The age estimations, to assess the influence of body mass on age related features, have been made with both pubic symphyseal morphology and auricular surface morphology. The age estimations were compared to the true age at death, which were available from historical data. Special care has been taken in interpreting the results, because confounding factors may have caused bias. It appeared that the skeletal population of Middenbeemster was composed of primarily normal and overweight individuals, with a significant difference among males and females. Furthermore, there has not been a significant influence of body mass on age related features in this skeletal sample. The correlation of pathological lesions known to be associated with body mass was not significantly correlated with body mass in this skeletal sample. Together with other research, this study will be part of the enormously detailed historical framework of the population of 19th century Middenbeemster.Show less
Beemster was a rural municipality in the Netherlands which was founded in the 17th century on drained land. The cemetery of Middenbeemster lies in the central village of Beemster and was used from...Show moreBeemster was a rural municipality in the Netherlands which was founded in the 17th century on drained land. The cemetery of Middenbeemster lies in the central village of Beemster and was used from the 17th to 19th century and 450 skeletons were excavated in 2011. Forty nine subadults from the ages of one to fifteen years were examined for rickets. In the 19th century, rickets had become epidemic in most industrialised cities throughout Northern Europe. Crude rickets prevalence in contemporaneous urban populations from the Netherlands varied from 1% to 7%. To identify this disease in the sample of Middenbeemster ten features as described by Ortner and Mays (1998) were scored. Bending deformities of the lower limbs or at least three non-bending features had to be present in order to diagnose rickets. Five individuals displayed evidence of rickets, which is 10.2% of the entire sample. This alone is a high rickets prevalence, but even more for a rural community. In addition, all the affected individuals belonged to the same age category, one to three years (n=25), so the age-specific prevalence becomes much higher at 20.0%. This is an unexpectedly high prevalence of rickets in a community where sunlight was readily available. Specific practices and activities associated with the young age of affected individuals must have diminished sunlight exposure to such a degree that their diet was not sufficient enough to replenish required vitamin D levels to prevent rickets development. Cultural practices including the swaddling of older infants, occlusive clothing for infants and children, keeping the young indoors, and the famine of 1845-1847 likely have contributed to this high rickets prevalence.Show less
