Samanti Kulatilake

Over the last three decades, Sri Lanka has risen to international prominence as a key area for exploring past forager adaptations. Much of this discussion has focused on the lowland rainforests of the Wet Zone of the island, and their preservation of the earliest fossils of our species, bone tools, and microlithic technologies in the region ca. 45,000 years ago. It has been recognized that the northern and southern coasts of Sri Lanka represent crucial locales for studying human occupation and adaptation through the Pleistocene and Holocene. Here, we revisit the important shell midden site of Mini-athiliya (dating to ca. 4,000 cal. years BP), on the southern coast of Sri Lanka, which has yielded human remains alongside microlithic stone tools and animal remains. We present a comparative analysis of body size variation of the human remains belonging to the HMA 6 adult skeleton from Mini-athiliya with a wider database of foragers to investigate local adaptations. We also apply stable carbon and oxygen isotope analysis to the tooth enamel of four other individuals documented at Mini-athiliya in order to determine their dietary reliance on forest, grassland, or coastal resources. Together, our results highlight that, rather than a clear distinction between earlier forest adaptations and later coastal specialisation, the Mini-athiliya individuals provide evidence for a plastic spectrum of ecological adaptation. We argue for continued research on how human populations in different parts of the island interacted and adapted to its diverse tropical settings across space and time.

Abstract:

The skeletal evidence for early modern human occupation of South Asia is sparse. Sri Lanka has been occupied by modern humans from the terminal Pleistocene, with a skeletal record indicating continuity of occupation and settlement into the late Holocene. This study focuses on the analysis of fragmented human remains dated to the mid-Holocene recovered from a salvage archaeology operation conducted at a shell midden in the coastal village of Mini-athiliya in southern Sri Lanka. The Mini-athiliya site has been radiocarbon dated to ca. 3600 b.p. Large quantities of estuarine, marine, and terrestrial shells, stone tools, lithic debris, and animal bones were associated with the human skeletal remains recovered from this shell midden. The skeletal remains, faunal remains, and stone tools from this site have been greatly disturbed by recent shell mining activities. Much of the material collected from the piles of debris was mixed, fragmented, and out of context.Our study refers to associations we make to the cultural assemblage from this site to make inferences on the context of skeletal remains found. The minimum number of individuals (MNI) identified from commingled remains is five. In addition, another individual from an undisturbed context from this site was previously reported. Based on tooth eruption and the presence and level of dental attrition, the estimated age at death for these individuals ranges from 5 to 45 years. Heavy attrition in the adult dentition indicates a highly abrasive diet with a marked absence of caries among these relatively robust people. This study contributes to the understanding of the bioarchaeological aspects of mid-Holocene aquatic foragers who were contemporaries of early agricultural people of South Asia, while describing a framework for managing a skeletal sample from a disturbed context.

The Galle Fort, a World Heritage site located on a peninsula jutting out of the southwestern coast of Sri Lanka was first fortified on the land front by the Portuguese in the 1500s. The Dutch captured it in 1640 and built extensive fortifications upon existing ramparts, bastions and on the sea fronts, making it one of the largest Dutch Forts in South Asia. It was later taken over by the British. The objectives of the archaeological project undertaken in 2019-2020 were to distinguish the original structural plans and phases of the constructional features, as a precursor to conservation, and to recover archaeological evidence of the activities and subsistence pattern during the late Historic period of intense European colonial intervention. We report the bioarchaeological remains recovered from the transported backfill of sandy clay and rubble excavated from the space between the two retaining walls of the ramparts. These remains are associated with bastions and landmarks such as the Star Bastion, Sun Bastion, Moon Bastion, Lighthouse and Black Fort. Within this mixed backfill, highly fragmented human and animal remains commingled with artifacts from numerous cultural phases were recovered. The faunal assemblage included bones and teeth of domesticated animals such as pigs (Sus domesticus), goats (Capra hircus), cows (Bos indicus), water buffalo (Bubalus bubalis), chickens (Gallus domesticus) and dogs (Canis familiaris). Bones of large fish, bivalves, cowries and conch shells were also identified. Fragmented human skeletal and dental remains were also prominently present within this backfill. Pending further detailed analysis, preliminary observations revealed cut marks on both animal and human bones recovered from the Galle Fort ramparts. These bioarchaeological finds and observations offer insights into colonial era activities and subsistence within this administrative, military and economic coastal hub, while corroborating historical records that refer to the violence and disruption faced by the colonized.

The objective of this paper is to highlight the threats posed by human and environmental processes leading to the loss of bioarchaeological heritage embedded in prehistoric coastal sites in southern Sri Lanka. We refer to two hunter-gatherer-fisher campsites at Mini-athiliya and Godavaya, where rescue operations were conducted to salvage bioarchaeological data. Mini-athiliya is a mid-Holocene shell midden site located on a coastal embayment and Godavaya is situated on a rocky coastal hillock comprising two distinct geo-cultural phases-the Late Pleistocene and Middle Holocene. While the Mini-athiliya site and surrounding areas are threatened by commercial shell mining, Godavaya is adversely affected by gravel mining and granite quarrying. Sri Lanka's southern coast was subjected to episodes of marine transgression and regression during the Middle Holocene, where tidal action driven shell valves accumulated along embayments at times of transgression. Mid-Holocene shorelines with such natural shell beds are also dotted with shell midden campsites. Mini-athiliya is one such site, which was discovered accidentally during a commercial shell mining operation. From the archaeological rescue operation there, skeletal and dental remains of six individuals along with faunal remains and stone tools were salvaged. Rescue operations at Godavaya yielded human, faunal and cultural remains contemporaneous with the Mini-athiliya deposits. At Godavaya, a large expanse of land has been destroyed by indiscriminate mining and quarrying, exacerbating coastal erosion and impeding the reading of prehistoric geomorphology and cultural deposition sequences. Extracting coastal resources are often conducted on the whims of local authorities and politicians. Due to a lack of understanding of the cultural significance of these sites and inadequate communication between coastal conservation agencies and government departments, such haphazard destructive activities continue, resulting in the loss of bioarchaeological heritage. We emphasize the importance of protecting valuable coastal bio archives within the context of challenging socioeconomic and political conditions.

By Samanti Kulatilake & Patrick Carmichael
The Nasca people of the southern coast of Peru (A.D. 100-600) are famous for their stunning polychrome pottery and giant ground drawings - Nazca Lines - carved into the desert landscape. Nasca skeletal biology and genetics however, have received relatively little attention in the literature. Through stable isotope analysis, the Nasca dietary pattern is assessed as agrarian-based, where marine resources played a relatively minor role (Carmichael et al. 2014). This study was designed to enhance the knowledge about the genetics of the Nasca from the Early Intermediate Period of coastal Peru, by studying ancient DNA (aDNA) obtained from several mummies buried at the great ceremonial site of Cahuachi and two adjacent sites (Soisongo and Majoro Chico). Paleogenomic studies on ancient South Americans have addressed broad questions of population dynamics, demographic changes and high altitude adaptations (Brandini et al. 2018; Fehren-Schmitz et al. 2010; Gomez-Carballa et al. 2018; Llamas et al. 2016; Kemp, et al. 2009; Sandoval et al. 2013; Shinoda et al. 2006), while some studies have used bioarchaeological data to make inferences on their internal social structure (Baca et al. 2012; Mendisco et al. 2018; Russo et al. 2016; Velasco 2018; Nagaoka et al. 2020). Through the extraction and analysis of mitochondrial DNA from ten mummified Nasca individuals, we assess available genetic signatures, while identifying the methodological challenges associated with extracting aDNA from highly degraded material. From the DNA sequence data on this sample, we make inferences on broad lineage affiliations and provide context for the Nasca peoples’ biology.

Key words: Peru, ancient DNA, Nasca, mummies, Cahuachi

Notable findings on a complete human burial from the archaeological site of Mini-athiliya in the  southern coast of Sri Lanka are presented in this poster.  Mini-athiliya is primarily a shell-midden site located close to a lagoon in an estuarine environment.  It is dated to the mid-Holocene, ca. 4000BP.  While archaeological excavations yielded fragmentary human remains from several burials within the shell midden, the focus here is on the complete human burial recovered from this site.  The skeleton was removed as block within its matrix from the site and later excavated meticulously.  Initially catalogued as HMA Skeleton #6, it was nicknamed “Menik Hāmy”, giving this prehistoric modern human from Sri Lanka, a unique identity.  This individual was identified as a male of approximately 45 years.  “Menik-Hamy” had been buried in a foetal position with the head placed to the North, and covered with debris including large quantities of shells within a shallow grave.  The burial appeared to have been compressed vertically, crushing and fragmenting many features.  While a high degree of attrition to the molar teeth suggested an extremely abrasive diet, cranial and postcranial features indicated a high degree of robusticity. The burial pattern and associated lithic  and faunal remains exemplify behavioural and cultural aspects of mobile aquatic foragers of the mid- Holocene in coastal Sri Lanka.