This research has attempted to see if we can distinguish daily activities of a land-focussed population from a sea-focused population based on entheses and material culture. To do this the...Show moreThis research has attempted to see if we can distinguish daily activities of a land-focussed population from a sea-focused population based on entheses and material culture. To do this the perishable material culture of the Yanoama, Yekuana and Warao has been taken as an example by using ethnographic sources from S.M. Wilson, J. Wilbert and W.J. Smole. From the material culture, several daily activities have been derived and based on this an idea was created about muscle activities. To validate the model, the entheses of two Amerindian populations in the Dominican Republic have been studied, namely from the site of El Flaco (13th-15th century) in the north-western part of the island and situated on a mountain slope, and the site of El Atajadizo (8th century), situated in the south-eastern part near the coast. The method used to study the entheses is the method developed by Mariotti and colleagues in 2007. The results of the case study indicated that the population of El Atajadizo most likely did not frequent rowing as much as hypothesised, as their entheseal scores for both rowing related and walking related muscles were on par with the population of El Flaco. Combining the men and the women from both sites and comparing them to each other showed equal entheseal scores, which could suggest that women were responsible for tougher labour in these societies. For further and better research into the daily activities of non-Western populations, more and differently adapted entheseal scoring methods are needed for different muscles. Show less
The aim of this thesis is to determine where individual CM 72B, buried at El Chorro de Maíta, Cuba, originates from. Characteristics as intentional cranial and dental modification, isotopic levels,...Show moreThe aim of this thesis is to determine where individual CM 72B, buried at El Chorro de Maíta, Cuba, originates from. Characteristics as intentional cranial and dental modification, isotopic levels, and burial position indicate a non-local origin. This thesis focuses on cultural characteristics of the osteological remains and the burial of CM 72B. These cultural characteristics are part of the identity of an individual. Thus based on these markers it is possible to find a certain group of people that share these characteristics with CM 72B, and therefore share the same group-identity as this individual. The cranial modification of CM 72B (fronto-occipital parallel modification) occurs on a large scale in Mesoamerica, mainly the Maya lowland region. The dental modification of CM 72B is consistent with types A4 and C2 or C3 of a modification chart made by Romero Molina, that categorizes Mesoamerican dental modification into a standard typology. This type of modification mainly occurs in the coastal areas of the Yucatán peninsula and in Post-Classic Lamanai. The oxygen, carbon, and strontium isotopic values of individual CM 72B fall outside the local range of El Chorro de Maíta. This indicates a non-locale origin. CM 72B is buried prone with flexed legs to the back. This type of burial occurs on a large scale in Lamanai and Ambergris Caye (Both in Belize). By combining the areas where these characteristics occur altogether the possible origin of CM 72B could be Lamanai or on Ambergris Caye. CM 72B was probably taken during Spanish slave raids that occurred along the Belizean coast. The site San Pedro (Ambergris Caye) is the only known place along the Belizean coast where the prone burial practice still occurred during the contact period. San Pedro is located on the Caribbean sea side of Ambergris Caye it would have been an easy target for the Spanish Slave raiders. Therefore it could be that CM 72B was taken from San Pedro by the Spaniards and then taken to Cuba and forced to be part of the encomienda system.Show less
Starch granules have always been an abundant material. These plant products are transported everywhere, influenced by several pre- and post-depositional processes. By doing research on starch and...Show moreStarch granules have always been an abundant material. These plant products are transported everywhere, influenced by several pre- and post-depositional processes. By doing research on starch and how it is affected by natural or anthropogenic processes it is possible to interpret past activities. This thesis focuses on the trajectory of starch from the plant to human dental calculus. Not all complex processes of the biology and preservation of starch and dental calculus are understood yet. This may cause biases when interpreting the result. These knowledge gaps are acknowledged, in contrast to biases possibly caused by the methods used to extract the information starch and dental calculus. The problem is that several methods exist side-by-side in the young field of study, and that there exists no clear evaluation on their quality. The aims of this research project are to 1) compare three starch extraction methods and 2) to improve the skills and knowledge of the author in applying these methods. The relevance of this work lays in detecting and solving problems 1) observed in the background information and 2) caused by the application or deviation from selected extraction methods. The research focuses besides on 3) a comparison of quantitative results and possible influences. The hypothesis was posed that no quantitative differences could be observed. Three distinct extraction protocols and nine teeth from three individuals are selected. The protocols are chosen based on the involvement of different chemicals. The teeth are derived from the 1984 excavation at the St. John cemetery, ‘s Hertogenbosch, the Netherlands. They are selected based on large calculus deposits. Different steps in the methodological process are defined, namely sampling, recovery, recognition and quantification. The protocols are performed and the results evaluated. From the results it appears that the hypothesis can be confirmed, under the defined influences and circumstances. Observed problems after critical assessment on both background information and protocols led to the conclusion that future research focusing on particular problems is necessary in order to increase the reliability of results and their archaeological interpretations.Show less
The colonisation of the New World by the Europeans is a key event in the history of mankind. This colonisation brought about the exchange of goods, ideas, diseases and populations between the New...Show moreThe colonisation of the New World by the Europeans is a key event in the history of mankind. This colonisation brought about the exchange of goods, ideas, diseases and populations between the New World and the Old World. The timing and the progress of this colonisation process is uncertain and has been a heavily debated issue for years. A new research project called NEXUS 1492 aims to shed new light on this colonisation process through a multidisciplinary approach. In June and July 2012 an archaeological excavation took place on a Pre-European site on Anse-Trabaud, Martinique, as part of the research NEXUS 1492 performs in that region. During this excavation many archaeological materials were found, with the recovery of organic plant material being very surprising. This is because organic plant material generally decomposes in tropical areas because of the warm and humid environment. The plant macrofossils from Anse-Trabaud were researched for this thesis. This is important because plant macrofossils are generally not transported very far, enabling accurate local reconstructions of the former environment of the site. Due to the rarity of this type of material there is no extensive modern reference collection which means a number of fossils are described but are as yet unidentified. This thesis will present descriptions with pictures of 19 plant taxa. This data is used to reconstruct the past vegetation and environment at the site as well as determine the age of the sediments that contained the plant macrofossil assemblage.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
This thesis presents the first compilation of almost all of the available information on dogs in the Caribbean in order to provide insight into the social role of the dog in Pre-Columbian Caribbean...Show moreThis thesis presents the first compilation of almost all of the available information on dogs in the Caribbean in order to provide insight into the social role of the dog in Pre-Columbian Caribbean societies. This compilation consists of data from the Caribbean archaeological record (with the Early Ceramic Age component of the site Morel (300 B.C. – A.D. 400), Guadeloupe, as a case study) and is supported by information from Caribbean ethnohistoric accounts and analogous South American ethnographies. From these multidisciplinary sources it becomes evident that while there are many problems associated with the research focused on dogs within Pre-Columbian Caribbean Archaeology, there are some general conclusions that can be made. Remains or representations of the dog have been found in almost every island of the Caribbean, with the oldest dog remains dating to the Archaic Age. The dog’s presence in the archaeological record becomes significant from the Early Ceramic Age onward, when the first burials and ceramic representations are found. Dogs might have been buried as an offering, out of personal reverence of the animal or as a guide for the souls of the dead. Similar ideas of the dog as a protector and mediator of the border between the worlds of the living and the dead exist in many cultures across the world. There are also several parallels between burials of humans and dogs in both the Caribbean and in Europe. In the Caribbean dogs were also totemic and cultural symbols, whose representations and skeletal or dental elements might have been as important as their burials. From the available evidence it can be concluded that the social role of the dog in the Caribbean probably consisted of the dog as a family member, as well as a (hunting) companion or guide (whether in life or in death). The attention commonly lavished on dogs in mortuary contexts suggests that dogs are about as close to being considered a person as a non-human animal can be.Show less
In this research the central question regards: “Are ageing methods based on long bone length measurements and the dentition applicable on the juvenile Caribbean skeletons of Kelbey’s Ridge and...Show moreIn this research the central question regards: “Are ageing methods based on long bone length measurements and the dentition applicable on the juvenile Caribbean skeletons of Kelbey’s Ridge and Manzanilla?”. From this research can be concluded that the methods are applicable on the skeletal material but that there are still a lot of complications. A few problem that can be named are for example the preservation of the material. This ensures that not all skeletons could be used for analysis and that the teeth couldn’t be analyzed in the right way. However, this method could be adjusted so that it could still was usable. The most problematic was the fact that there don’t exist Caribbean standards. Therefor other non-Caribbean standards had to be used. Additionally, it is needed to look at each standard very closely. Sometime a standard is based on only a few individuals which decreases the reliability of the standard. Ideally, all assemblages from the Caribbean region should be analyzed of which a Caribbean standard can be developed. The concerns for example a standard for sexing, ageing and stature. This shows that more research on this topic is need to apply ageing methods in a proper way on Caribbean skeletal material.Show less
Deze scriptie was erop gericht om te onderzoeken of het mogelijk was om met behulp van tandmetingen de biologische sekse te bepalen van begraven individuen van de sites Anse Lavoutte, St. Lucia, en...Show moreDeze scriptie was erop gericht om te onderzoeken of het mogelijk was om met behulp van tandmetingen de biologische sekse te bepalen van begraven individuen van de sites Anse Lavoutte, St. Lucia, en Anse à la Gourde, Guadeloupe. Samples werden genomen van begravingen waarvan het geslacht bekend was en van begravingen waarvan dit nog onduidelijk was, met behulp van dit onderzoek zou worden geprobeerd om deze laatste categorie toe te bedelen tot een geslacht. Er zijn vier metingen genomen van bepaalde aspecten van alle beschikbare tanden, de mesiodistale diameter van de cervix van de tand, de mesiodistale diameter van de kroon van de tand, de buccolinguale diameter van de kroon van de tand, en tenslotte de kroonhoogte van de tand. Deze aspecten zijn gebaseerd op eerder onderzoek. Alleen de tanden van volwassenen zijn opgenomen in dit onderzoek, omdat de tanden van niet-volwassenen nog aan het ontwikkelen zijn en nog niet hun uiteindelijke vorm hebben. De permanente tanden zijn gemeten met behulp van een digitale schuifmaat en zijn gemeten door de auteur, die ze verder geanalyseerd heeft. De tanden zijn statistisch getest op significante verschillen tussen mannen en vrouwen, met behulp van het programma SPSS. T-testen zijn gebruikt om dit te onderzoeken. Een vereiste voor deze test was dat de gekozen sample normaal verdeeld zou zijn, of zou bestaan uit minstens 30 gegevens. Al snel in het onderzoek werd duidelijk dat dit niet noodzakelijk was, omdat ondanks het kleine aantal, de tanden toch verschil toonden tussen de gebitten van mannen en vrouwen.Show less
Paleodemografie is een onderzoeksveld dat binnen de archeologie grootse toepassingen heeft. In deze scriptie zal paleodemografie worden gebruikt om twee sites op het eiland St. Lucia te onderzoeken...Show morePaleodemografie is een onderzoeksveld dat binnen de archeologie grootse toepassingen heeft. In deze scriptie zal paleodemografie worden gebruikt om twee sites op het eiland St. Lucia te onderzoeken. Hierbij zal een toelichting geven worden op de werkwijze van de onderzoekers en een commentaar op voorgaand onderzoek. De twee populaties zullen worden gereconstrueerd aan de hand van hun achtergelaten skeletten, waarna ze zullen worden vergeleken met zowel een theoretisch kader als elkaar. Ook zullen de resultaten een plaats worden gegeven in de Caraibische archeologie. Daarbij zal blijken dat beide sites afwijken van de modellen en dat een van deze afwijkingen gekoppeld kan worden aan fluctuaties terwijl voor de andere geen verklaring gegeven kan worden.Show less
Door gebruik te maken van gebruikssporen-analyse is het mogelijk om aan bepaalde werktuigen, al dan niet gemodificeerd, te kunnen zien waarvoor en hoe ze precies gebruikt zijn. Tweekleppige...Show moreDoor gebruik te maken van gebruikssporen-analyse is het mogelijk om aan bepaalde werktuigen, al dan niet gemodificeerd, te kunnen zien waarvoor en hoe ze precies gebruikt zijn. Tweekleppige schelpen kunnen goed gebruikt worden om bijvoorbeeld huiden, lianen of andere vezelachtige planten mee te schrapen, om incisies mee te maken, als netgewichten, of om iets uit te lepelen. Op de site El Cabo, in het oosten van de Dominicaanse Republiek, zijn enkele complete tweekleppigen en vele andere schelpartefacten gevonden. Voor het onderzoek naar de gebruikssporen op de tweekleppige schelpen van El Cabo zijn 17 tweekleppigen onder een metaal microscoop bekeken. Uit dit onderzoek is gebleken dat op drie van deze schelpen gebruikssporen te zien zijn, welke aangeven dat er silica-houdende planten mee bewerkt zijn. Hierbij kan gedacht worden aan het schrapen van een plant om bruikbare vezels te verkrijgen, of het uitschrapen van een kalebas. Dit zijn activiteiten die men kan verwachten in een Taíno nederzetting. De schelpen ornamenten zijn ook te verwachten voor een site uit deze periode op de Grote Antillen. Hoewel er veel schelpen niet gemodificeerd zijn voor gebruik, is er ook een aantal gemodificeerde gebruiksvoorwerpen gevonden. Het wordt aangeraden om de gehele toolkit die men in El Cabo gebruikt heeft op gebruikssporen te onderzoeken. Ook de toolkits van andere sites op de Grote- en Kleine Antillen moeten worden onderzocht op een grotere tijdschaal, om zo vergelijkingen te kunnen maken en verschillen door de tijd heen te kunnen constateren.Show less
