This thesis will look at the prevalence of cam-type femoroacetabular impingement among three medieval and post-medieval populations from the Netherlands in order to identify a pattern or trend in...Show moreThis thesis will look at the prevalence of cam-type femoroacetabular impingement among three medieval and post-medieval populations from the Netherlands in order to identify a pattern or trend in the said prevalence. These could in turn be linked to biological sex, environment and historical period and offer new insights in the lifestyle, in particular physical activity, of historical populations from the Netherlands. The results of this thesis could in turn also contribute to a better understanding of femoroacetabular impingement in the modern age. The trend that the femoral heads of the males in this sample are significantly less spherical than in females may be related to a sex-based labour division. Males would have done the bulk of the heavy work which put more strain on their lower limbs. The most important takeaway from this thesis is that femoroacetabular impingement, in particular cam-type, is not a new disorder. It is present in a wide range of populations from different environments and historical periods. The activity levels and physical load on the proximal femur of modern professional athletes may be comparable to ancient populations who were involved in physically demanding professions daily. The environment and diet might play a larger role in all of this than anticipated.Show less
In the post-medieval Netherlands (c. 1650 to 1850 CE), large socioeconomic differences within urban centres existed, which appear to correlate with the diet each socioeconomic group had access to....Show moreIn the post-medieval Netherlands (c. 1650 to 1850 CE), large socioeconomic differences within urban centres existed, which appear to correlate with the diet each socioeconomic group had access to. While low socioeconomic status (SES) often evokes the association of low body mass as a result of having little access to food, modern-day studies show that people living in poverty actually have a higher body mass than contemporaries of higher socioeconomic status. This thesis aims to study to what extend the relationship between body mass and socioeconomic status existed in the post-medieval Netherlands, with a focus on the role of diet and lifestyle. This was done by studying two post-medieval urban populations: one with a low SES from the Eusebiuskerk in Arnhem and one with a high SES from the Broerenkerk in Zwolle. Body mass was estimated by applying body mass estimation equations developed by Ruff et al. (2012) to measurements of the femoral head breadth. Statistical analyses were applied to compare the mean body mass between the high- and low SES samples. The males and females were compared separately. The results showed a positive relation between body mass and low SES. However, this relation was only statistically significant between the male samples. As males had more access to food because of their role in the household, the calorie-dense diet of low SES males could have allowed them to consume more calories than their high SES male counterparts who had access to a more varied diet with overall less calories. Low SES males furthermore performed more physically intense labour than the high SES males, increasing their muscle mass. Both female groups likely had less access to food in general, thus it is plausible that bottom line they consumed similar amount of calories. Also, both female groups would have mostly performed similar household tasks leading to no difference in muscle mass. Lastly, the femoral head is less responsive to changes in body mass in females which could attribute to these results. It can thus be concluded that that body mass can change as a result of status-differences in diet and labour. Based on the sites of Zwolle and Arnhem there seems to be a positive relation between low socioeconomic status and body mass in the post-medieval Netherlands.Show less
Estimation of stature is important because it can indicate health trends, diet, and evolution. Pablos et al. (2013) devised a new method using talar bones but has yet to be compared to the well...Show moreEstimation of stature is important because it can indicate health trends, diet, and evolution. Pablos et al. (2013) devised a new method using talar bones but has yet to be compared to the well-used method of Trotter and Gleser or the Fully method. This thesis compares these three methods using a Wilcoxon-signed rank test and descriptive analysis. The comparison shows that the Fully method statistically compares to the Trotter and Gleser method for the female sex, while not for the male sex. When comparing the Pablos et al. (2013) method test shows that the method does not compare statistically to the Trotter and Gleser method or the Fully method. When looking at the standard error range for both sexes the Trotter and Gleser method overlaps with both the Fully method and the Pablos et al. (2013). But the Pablos et al. (2013) method and the Fully method do not overlap.Show less
The purpose of my thesis is to research how individuals from the lower class with severe and visible disabilities were cared for during the Early modern period in the Dutch city of Arnhem. To be...Show moreThe purpose of my thesis is to research how individuals from the lower class with severe and visible disabilities were cared for during the Early modern period in the Dutch city of Arnhem. To be able to say something about care for these individuals I use historic literature, which functions as a historical framework, and I apply a bioarchaeological method known as the Index of Care, in which pathology found on skeletal remains form an important source of information. I will use pathology found on three skeletal individuals, from Arnhem, to say something about the living conditions of these people and what their quality of life might have looked like considering their disability. Based on the historic literature I provide the reader with an image of what care might have looked like for these individuals. And I research what this says about Arnhem’s population of the time and what their perspective was on their disabled and sick community. Arnhem would have different facilities in which people could be provided with care. Guesthouses played a major role in the caring for the city’s poor, sick and disabled community. In these guesthouses people could stay for a certain period of time up until a lifetime, depending on the guesthouses’ regulations. The church offered food, prayers and housing (also through guesthouses) to those in need as well. Additionally there were physicians and apothecaries that took care of the medical aspects of care for those who could afford it. However we must not forget that most of the disabled and sick individuals were most likely cared for by their relatives. The three individuals I analysed, must all have been cared for, for a longer period of time, most likely till their death. Based on these results and the historic framework, it is known that the lower class of Arnhem that was harshly disabled or sick would have been able to receive care if they needed to, and that this was provided by parties from different angles of society such as the church, the individual’s own social circle and the local guesthouses. This means that the early modern Arnhem cared for their disabled and sick population and that these people were seen as individuals that are entitled to housing, food a normal live and (medical)-care.Show less
The many ceremonial and prestigious paraphernalia in both completed and semimanufactured states encountered at Tingi Holo have led researchers to conclude that the inhabitants were heavily involved...Show moreThe many ceremonial and prestigious paraphernalia in both completed and semimanufactured states encountered at Tingi Holo have led researchers to conclude that the inhabitants were heavily involved in crafting (Versteeg 2003). To research if this can also be observed in the part of the skeletal population of Tingi Holo that was excavated in 1963 by Geijskes, entheseal development, osteoarthritis and spondylosis have been studied in this thesis. A selection of studied skeletal elements has been made based on observations done by Becker (2016) on a female craftswomen from the Ch’iji Jawita Site in Tiwanaku, Bolivia. Following Sofaer (2006), the theoretical framework employed in this research is that of ‘the body as material culture’. This theory bridges the Cartesian divide by considering the bones of the human body as a material with a specific characteristic, which is it’s plasticity. This plasticity allows the bones to react to both natural influences, such as age, sex and disease, as well as social influences such as food consumption and activity. It is particularly applicable to this research for it acknowledges the unique way in which humans both shape and are shaped by the creation of their own material culture. To conceptualize the range of crafting activities and the divide of labour between men and women and old and young people, ethnographic and historic sources have been employed. Among the studied communities are the Maroni River Caribs of Suriname, the Barama River Caribs of British Guiana, the Wayana of French Guiana, the Waiwai of northern Brazil and British Guyana and the Xingū of central Brazil. Through their habits regarding crafting, some general trends have been inferred. Although men and women alike craft with all available materials, there is a distinction in the type of objects both are allowed to make. This becomes particularly clear when looking at ceremonial and prestige artefacts, which almost are always done by men. Old age was not observed to increase the status of craftspersons within the studied societies. Combining the results of the ethnographic and osteological data allowed for a meaningful conclusion about the activities of the Tingi Holo population. In accordance with the ethnography, men showed indications of being more involvedShow less
Nutritional and socio-economic status are often considered as being closely related. In skeletal collections, these forms of status are studied using non-specific stress indicators. This research...Show moreNutritional and socio-economic status are often considered as being closely related. In skeletal collections, these forms of status are studied using non-specific stress indicators. This research focusses on one nutritional status. Pelvic inlet morphology is repeatedly suggested to be a good proxy for nutritional status, but this never has been systematically analysed. This thesis examines pelvic inlet morphology together with other indicators, namely cribra orbitalia and maximum femoral length for two samples of different socio-economic status. This to verify the usefulness of the shape of the pelvic inlet as a nutritional status indicator. This research shows that the relationships between the different indicators are not significant, that they differ between subsamples and that they do not all follow the expected pattern. The correlations between pelvic morphology and cribra orbitalia, and between pelvic morphology and maximal femoral length, suggest that if pelvic morphology is influenced by periods of stress, it results of different causes of stress or different periods of stress than the other indicators, since most correlations are quite low and some of them contradict each other within subsamples. Furthermore, sex is found to influence individual measurements of the pelvis, but it has no real effect on the pelvic inlet index. Lastly, the individuals from Arnhem seem to have a slightly lower nutritional status than those from Zwolle, but differences are not pronounced. Even though the results are not significant and confounding factors are numerous, this is the first study that explores pelvic measurements in relation to nutrition for the Northern Europe and the first to provide pelvic data for Dutch samples.Show less
An inclusive model of community-based Indigenous physical anthropological research projects has been conducted by constructing dialogues between researchers and Indigenous descendant communities in...Show moreAn inclusive model of community-based Indigenous physical anthropological research projects has been conducted by constructing dialogues between researchers and Indigenous descendant communities in a global context. Acknowledging the ownership of Indigenous communities over the ancestral human remains, physical anthropologists often support repatriation by closely working with community members. However, in Japan, the repatriation of human remains of the Indigenous Ainu people has not successfully collaborated with physical anthropologists. The relationship between physical anthropologists and Ainu people who are being critical of the use of “stolen”, unethically excavated ancestral human remains on scientific research is in much tension and they are far from an inclusive model. This thesis addresses the issues surrounding the attempts of communication between these parties. By understanding the social and historical background of the situation, as well as comparing occasional dialogues and opinions of stakeholders with successful cases of an inclusive model in global context, I was able to identify the issues. Despite the acknowledgement of the rights of the Ainu over their heritage in the code of ethics, the attempts of making communication are insufficient in terms of the recognition of Ainu kotan (community) with their ownership over the ancestral remains, and there are misconceptions and ignorance between each other. In order to move forward towards an inclusive model, physical anthropologists should approach to the Ainu sincerely to construct dialogue by charanke, a discussion in Ainu manner. Understanding the specific demands and feelings of Ainu kotan and being aware the socio-political impacts of their research outcomes are also essential. Through these efforts, an inclusive model may be achieved in the future, working with the Ainu as sisamu, good neighbour.Show less
Iron Age cremation graveyards are a relatively rare phenomenon in the Netherlands and there is a general lack of understanding of demographic data based on osteological analyses of these graveyards...Show moreIron Age cremation graveyards are a relatively rare phenomenon in the Netherlands and there is a general lack of understanding of demographic data based on osteological analyses of these graveyards. Cremation analysis of these graveyards is not done on a consistent basis and osteological information is generally lacking. In the research, the Middle to Late Iron Age graveyard from Panningen-Loo (Netherlands) has been analysed and compared to other graveyard within the Meuse-Demer-Scheldt (MDS) region in the southern Netherlands. Furthermore, a GIS-analysis has been carried out to analyse locations of graves, grave types and demographics within the graveyard. The osteological analysis was carried out using standard macroscopic methods of analysis for cremated remains. With the help of a literature study and a GIS-analysis, comparisons in and between graveyards have been made. Several statistical calculations were ran to test the significance of weight and fragmentation between demographics and grave types. In total, 31 graves were found which contained 33 individuals. Grave types following the scheme of Hiddink (2003) were proposed: sixteen graves were of type A. Ten were of type B. Seven graves were of type C. The grave types also differed in other terms: weight, fragmentation and location were different for the proposed grave types. The weight of the graves varied between 0,1 to 3241 grams, with an average of 611 grams. The graveyard contained three adult females, three possible females, two indeterminate adults, one possible male, five adult males and six subadults. Fragmentation of the remains was high. Four individuals were found with no or marginal amounts of cranial fragments. In comparison to other graveyards within the MDS area, several graveyards match Panningen-Loo in multiple osteological and archaeological aspects. Panningen Stokx, Weert Laarveld and Weert Molenakkerdreef are all highly matching in most aspects. By carrying out this study, progress had been made in aiding the understanding of Iron Age graveyards and indicating the usefulness of a complete osteological analysis of cremated remains.Show less
This study examines a subadult skeletal sample from the period of AD 1500-1850, excavated from the St. Catherine’s church cemetery in Eindhoven, the Netherlands. The study’s main research question...Show moreThis study examines a subadult skeletal sample from the period of AD 1500-1850, excavated from the St. Catherine’s church cemetery in Eindhoven, the Netherlands. The study’s main research question is whether signs of physiological stress are visible in the subadult remains in Eindhoven, and what these signs may tell us about the health of the population during the sixteenth to nineteenth centuries. The following nonspecific stress markers are examined: dental enamel hypoplasia, Harris lines, cribra orbitalia, porotic hyperostosis, and the cortical index of the humerus and tibia. It is assessed whether and how stress factors relate to each other, as well as whether a difference exists between the two time periods examined (1600-1650 AD, and 1650-1850 AD). For all stress markers, it is also examined whether or not a difference in prevalence per age or per sex (based on ancient DNA results) is present. None of the stress marker prevalences differed significantly between the sexes. There were also no significant differences between the two examined periods, which suggests sociocultural changes between these periods did not affect stress patterns. Infants are mostly unaffected by stress markers. For the Eindhoven population, the age within childhood at which signs of stress first seem to occur is around three to four years. However, it is possible that stress is best visible in this age group, and not necessarily that this age group is more susceptible to stress than others. Overall, most stress markers show a moderate to high prevalence in Eindhoven. Only the prevalence of porotic hyperostosis is quite low. The fact that many individuals showed signs of cribra orbitalia but not of porotic hyperostosis, implies that they either have a different etiology, or that porotic hyperostosis develops in later stages than cribra orbitalia. The correlation between stress markers was different than expected; if all reflect physiological stress then one might expect the stress markers to be strongly correlated. However, only the presence of dental enamel hypoplasia and Harris lines were correlated, yet the lines themselves do not correlate, making it unlikely that they are indicative of the same stress event. The reason that stress markers are not correlated could be due to their different etiologies or different age-related propensities to form, or because one, or several, of the stress markers do not in fact reflect physiological stress. The cortical index pattern of individuals with Harris lines may imply that Harris line formation is in fact a normal part of bone growth. The high prevalence of most stress markers suggests that the population suffered from stress caused by malnourishment or disease, and the presence of these stress markers also indicates survivorship. More research is needed to better understand the health of the population of Eindhoven. Additionally, this research has show that much is still unknown about the relationships between the different stress markers.Show less
The research in this thesis is part of an archaeological study about the excavation of the old graveyard around the St. Plechelmus Basilica in Oldenzaal, The Netherlands. Between 2011 and 2013,...Show moreThe research in this thesis is part of an archaeological study about the excavation of the old graveyard around the St. Plechelmus Basilica in Oldenzaal, The Netherlands. Between 2011 and 2013, 2750 individuals were exhumed from this graveyard, and two atypical mass graves were encountered. A selection of 200 skeletons divided over five matrices , including the individuals from the mass graves, has been studied with advanced scientific methods, including ancient DNA by Forensic Laboratory for DNA Research, Leiden University Medical Center. The meticulously conducted DNA research has resulted in generally very good quality DNA with no indications of contamination and with genetic profiles suitable for genetic kinship testing. Statistical analyses were carried out on the autosomal, Y-chromosomal and mitochondrial DNA data to test for kinship relationships, which resulted in indications of various genetic relationships. This thesis focuses on skeletons from matrix D, including one of the mass graves, consisting of 48 individuals. The DNA research demonstrates no genetic kinship for the six individuals in the mass grave. There were clear indications for kinship for five pairs of individuals from the non-mass grave area of matrix D. This thesis demonstrates the successful use of ancient DNA analyses for reconstructing kinship relationships in an archaeological context.Show less
Humans are adapters. We not only adapt ourselves to the environment, more often than not we adapt the environment itself to suit our needs, our wishes, and our ideas. This urge to change does not...Show moreHumans are adapters. We not only adapt ourselves to the environment, more often than not we adapt the environment itself to suit our needs, our wishes, and our ideas. This urge to change does not stop with the environment. The human body itself is often used as a canvas where we express who we are, where we express our identity. This thesis discussed one type of such expression of identity: artificial cranial modification (often abbreviated as "ACM"). As the modification can only be done successfully on individuals younger than three years old, it does not express individual identity but rather the group identity the individual's parents belonged to. This makes cranial modification an interesting field of research, which can tell archaeologists many things about past populations. The two populations studied in this thesis originate from the Bolivian Andes; an area with a high percentage of modified crania but a low percentage of research. The aim of this work is thus to add to the information of cranial modification in the Bolivian Andes, which was done through the study of 60 mostly Tiwanaku-period (500 - 1000 CE) crania from two different Andean regions: the Altiplano, and the Cochabamba valles. The Cochabamba valles, although emulating the Tiwanaku culture, remained very much independent, a fact which is confirmed in the results of this thesis. The most striking difference turned out to be the influence of sex on modification presence, which was found to be statistically significant in the valles sample and not in the Altiplano crania. Other differences were found as well: annular modification is much more frequent in the Altiplano, with tabular being more popular in the valles. The annular types are mostly cylindrical in the valles whereas the conical variant is more common in the Altiplano. Occipitally curved tabular modifications only occur in the Altiplano, with the lambdoidally flattened variant being most common. Frontally curved tabular modifications, then, only occur in the valles. Lastly, erect modifications occurred relatively more in the Altiplano sample, where it made up half of the tabular subtypes, than in the valles. Osteological effects of ACM on the cranium were studied as well. These did not indicate regional results, showing that, all cultural differences aside, the populations were not too different from each other. The non-metric traits that seemed to be influenced by cranial modification in the sample are the prevalence of the left infraorbital foramen, right pterygo-spinous bridge and left tympanic dehiscence, as well as the metopic suture retention. The results show that although the populations lived near, and were in contact with, each other, regional cultural differences do exist. Extrapolating findings of the Altiplano's Tiwanaku culture to the rest of the Bolivian Andes is thus not correct, something that should be kept in mind for future (much needed) research in the area. This thesis was made possible by the archaeological museum INIAM of the Universidad Mayor de San Simón in Cochabamba and the zooarchaeological laboratory from the Universidad Mayor de San Andres in La Paz, which granted access to their collections.Show less
Estimating the age of individuals becomes increasingly more difficult with advancing age due to the effects of life history, random individual variation and the genetic framework. This makes it...Show moreEstimating the age of individuals becomes increasingly more difficult with advancing age due to the effects of life history, random individual variation and the genetic framework. This makes it also increasingly more complicated to relate chronological and biological age, and thus to estimate age-at-death above approximately 45 years. In 2015 however, Dr. C.G. Falys and Dr. D. Prangle published a newly developed method to estimate age of older adults specifically, based on the sternal end of the clavicle. The method evaluates the degeneration of three distinct features: surface topography, porosity and osteophyte formation. These features are scored individually, after which these scores are added up to form a composite score, which is used to ascribe an age stage to an individual. This thesis has aimed to test this method on a post-medieval Dutch skeletal collection with individuals of known ages-at-death from the 18th-19th century. The collection originates from a cemetery in Middenbeemster, Noord-Holland, and is well-documented due to the availability of a cemetery ledger and military document describing names, ages, sexes, marriages, etc. of many individuals. Out of the 118 individuals listed in these archival records, 57 individuals were suitable for this analysis (98 clavicles). The overall levels of agreement between the three different observers were calculated using Cohen’s kappa (k), which revealed a relatively low agreement, varying from slight to moderate (k = 0.100 to 0.534). Fortunately, these results did not influence the accuracy of the method greatly, which varied between 87% and 94%, depending on the side chosen to estimate age. Unfortunately the age ranges that are used in the method are too large for the method to be deemed precise. Previously existing methods are however not at all capable of subdividing the 45+ category into smaller stages. Although the age stages are large, the method is thus capable of recognizing the older members within a society and place them into a more specific age class than other methods currently can. The method does need more testing and revising, but can currently be concluded to accurately estimate olders adults’ ages-at-death in Dutch post-medieval collections.Show less
