Osteoarchaeology

El objetivo del presente estudio es predecir el tamaño del canino permanente a partir de mediciones tomadas en los dientes posteriores (premolares y molares), y utilizar los valores predichos del tamaño del canino para estimar el sexo biológico de restos óseos. El análisis se llevó a cabo en 126 individuos procedentes de la antigua ciudad de Herculano (Nápoles, Italia), víctimas de la erupción del volcán Vesubio la madrugada entre el 24/25 de agosto del año 79 EC. Se tomaron los diámetros mesiodistal y bucolingual de la corona dental y a nivel cervical del diente, y se llevó a cabo el análisis de regresión lineal de Pearson para crear ecuaciones de regresión que permitieran predecir el tamaño del canino basándose en las dimensiones dentales de los dientes posteriores. Se obtuvieron 14 ecuaciones de regresión. Los resultados muestran elevados coeficientes de correlación y determinación (r = 0,709–0,889; r2 = 0,502–0,791; respectivamente), dependiendo de los diámetros de los dientes utilizados. Posteriormente, estas ecuaciones de regresión fueron aplicadas a una muestra de validación para estimar el sexo biológico de los individuos utilizando los valores predichos del tamaño del canino aplicando diversas fórmulas de función discriminantes específicas para la población de Herculano. Los resultados muestran que los valores predichos del tamaño del canino proporcionan elevados porcentajes de correcta asignación del sexo cuando se trabaja con restos óseos fragmentarios procedentes de contextos arqueológicos y el canino no está disponible para su medición.

ABSTRACT. The aim of this study was to investigate the size of the permanent canine from measurements of the posterior teeth (premolars and molars), and to use the predicted values of the canine size to estimate the biological sex of skeletal remains. The analysis was performed on 126 individuals from the ancient city of Herculaneum (Naples, Italy), victims of the eruption of the nearby volcano Vesuvius on 24/25 August, 79 EC. Mesiodistal and buccolingual crown and cervical diameters were measured, and Pearson's linear regression analysis was performed to create regression equations to predict the canine size based on dental measurements of posterior teeth. Fourteen regressions equations were obtained. The results show high correlation and determination coefficients (r = 0,709–0,889; r2 = 0,502–0,791; respectively), depending on the diameters of the teeth used. These regression equations were subsequently applied to a validation sample to estimate the biological sex of the individuals using the predicted values of the canine size based on the application of discriminant function formulae that are specific of the Herculaneum's population. The results show that the predicted values of the canine size provide high percentages of correct assignment of sex when fragmentary skeletal remains are encountered in archaeological samples and the canine is not available for measurement.

Aged 10,000 and Changing Gender – a Portrait of the ‘Birthday Boy’ From Koelbjerg


Seventy-five years ago, Svend Andersen found a human skull while digging peat in Grøftebjerg Bog at Koelbjerg near Vissenbjerg on western Funen (fig. 1). Seventy-five is no age to speak of and the Koelbjerg skull eventually turned out to be much older. It is, in fact, approx. 10,000 years old and the skull and the remaining skeletal parts that soon emerged from the bog are actually the oldest find of human remains in Scandinavia.
The skeleton is generally known as the Koelbjerg woman, whereas, in fact, analyses determining its gender and linkage have been an issue for debate since 1943 when the find was first presented in scientific journals. The debate rests on the assumption that the skeletal remains discovered are from one individual, which – despite uncertainties regarding the circumstances of the find – is corroborated by the composition of the skeletal remains: a skull inclusive of the lower jaw, a bone derived from an upper arm, and three bones from right and left lower arms, respectively, six bones from the right and left leg, parts of a pelvic girdle, as well as a lumbar vertebra. Only one of each bone was found and, finally, the proportions of bones match perfectly.
The Koelbjerg skeleton find has garnered much interest from both Danish and foreign scientists. As an authorised museum institution, Odense City Museums are bound by the provisions of the Museum Act and the institution is thus obliged to keep and handle the collection of archaeological and culture-historical artefacts in a satisfactory manner. With this in mind, we need to always carefully consider whether we can justify the extraction of samples that will mean the destruction of even a minor part of an artefact.
In the autumn of 2015, there was yet another formal request for material from the Koelbjerg skeleton to undergo analysis. This time from a group of researchers headed by Morten Erik Allentoft, the Centre for Geogenetics at the University of Copenhagen and, having considered the proposed research perspective as well as the new analysis techniques, the museum decided to cooperate, seeing an opportunity to settle the ongoing issue of the gender of the skeleton once and for all. Under intense media attention, the hindmost molar from the right upper jaw was then carefully extracted (fig. 3). The roots of this tooth were gently cut off so that the root strata containing DNA could be subjected to analysis while the crown itself was duly put back into the skull. The analytical process is time-consuming and was not yet complete by the turn of 2016/2017, but preliminary results concluded beyond doubt that the Koelbjerg skeleton is that of a man and not a woman! On his death, the Koelbjerg man was fully grown and likely to have been in his late twenties. He was approx. 155 cm tall, which is below average, but not noticeably so at that time. The face had the typical male characteristics of a marked brow (supraorbital) ridge, strong muscular attachments, and a reclining forehead. While the skull showed classic male features, his general build had been slight and the Koelbjerg man is probably best described as a relatively small and delicately built man in the prime of life.
In the spring of 2016 and in continuation of the DNA examinations, Karin Margarita Frei, research professor at the National Museum of Denmark, conducted analyses of strontium isotopes from the skull. The measurements were made in a fragment of enamel already chipped off from the last preserved molar in the upper left-hand jaw and did not require new further surgical measures. The analyses of strontium will reveal the specific geographical whereabouts of a person at the time the analysed material was formed. In the case of the Koelbjerg man, this was a tooth that would have been fully developed at the age of 3-4. The result of the strontium analysis indicates that the Koelbjerg man is a native, born and raised in a landscape identical to present-day Funen. It was thus very likely in present-day Funen that the Koelbjerg boy grew into the Koelbjerg man: the boy grew up to be a light-footed huntsman in pursuit of big game.

Throughout England and Wales, deposition in burial vaults beneath churches generally came to a halt in the 19th century, though burial continues in many churchyards, either in the historic portion or in new extensions. This paper is concerned with providing guidance on the archaeological implications associated with vaults, from c.1650 to 1900, concentrating on the special characteristics and challenges of vault excavation. This document will be of interest and use to curators, contractors and all those who work in this field, and to assist developers in understanding the value of vault archaeology.