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The identification of metabolic diseases is a crucial aspect of osteoarchaeological analysis and of paleopathological studies. This study is specifically concerned with the study of scurvy and its bony manifestation. This investigation considers the recognition of the bony lesions of scurvy in adult skeletons that originate from English archaeological contexts dating to the Post Medieval period. In order to identify scorbutic bony lesions, assemblages were analysed that derived from the Georgian period Navy that were known to suffer from endemic scurvy, namely Haslar hospital near Portsmouth and Stonehouse hospital in Plymouth. These assemblages were complemented by two Non-Naval skeletal collections of a broadly contemporaneous time period, one of which was a prison assemblage from Oxford Castle in Oxford and the other was from Darwen, Lancashire and consisted of a Primitive Methodist cemetery. For the purpose of this study, an extensive literature review was carried out and a specially modified scurvy recording form was created. In total three hundred and fifty-eight skeletons were analysed using the scurvy recording form on which a total of twenty-one potential scorbutic indicators were scored. The data was then subject to statistical analysis and a set of primary and secondary scorbutic indicators was established. The primary scorbutic lesions were femur, sphenoid, posterior maxilla, scapula, endocranial and mandible. Nine secondary lesions were also established and these were lesions of the foot, humerus, ulna, radius, hand, clavicle, innominate, fibula and the ectocranial surface of the skull. In total, 66.7% of the Haslar assemblage was found to have suffered from scurvy, followed by Plymouth with 20.6%, Darwen with 16.4% and Oxford Castle with 7.9%. It was found that scurvy could be identified in adult skeletal material through the recognition of a number of lesions that could not be attributed to any other disease process. The results indicated that scurvy was present in all of the skeletal collections studied but was more common in the Naval assemblages. This is an important development in the detection of scurvy in the archaeological record and is crucial in the reconstruction of past diets and metabolic disease patterns.

A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Science, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in fulfilment of requirements for the degree of Master of Science. Johannesburg, October 29, 2014. / Teeth are the most common element in the fossil record and play a critical role in taxonomic assessments. Size, relative width and cusp arrangements on enamel crown surfaces are used to help assess relationships between specimens. In this exploratory study, a model is developed for the placement of landmarks on images of lower first molars to maximise key information from crown surfaces of molars of African Plio-Pleistocene hominin fossils representing species of Australopithecus, Paranthropus and Homo. Lower first molar data of four extant species (Pan paniscus, Pan troglodytes, Gorilla and Homo sapiens) are visualised in a principal components analysis to detect whether landmark placements are adequate to identify species groupings and overlaps and patterns indicative of sexual dimorphism. The role of size as a differentiator between extant species is visualised using Procrustes Form Space as the basis for the analysis. A series of analyses, including linear diameter plots, Procrustes averaging, principal components analyses, discriminant function analyses and log sem (based on regression analyses) are used to test whether species groupings agree with currently accepted taxonomic classifications of thirty-six African Plio-Pleistocene hominin lower 2 first molars. Specimens in the sample that consistently fail to group with current species designations are flagged as “anomalous”. Six specimens are identified as anomalous and these are ultimately removed from the analyses. The resultant principal components plot of the fossil specimens appears to show distinctions between currently accepted species groups. The statistical regression analyses (log sem) confirm the results from the geometric morphometric analyses, and are associated with an average log sem value of -1.61 for conspecific pairwise comparisons. The log sem value of -1.61 has been proposed by Thackeray (2007a) as an approximation of a biological species constant (T), based on pairwise comparisons of modern vertebrate taxa, using cranial data. The anomalies confirm the hypothesis that certain specimens from the sample may have been misclassified, and that certain species groups as currently defined may comprise more than one morphotype.

A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Science, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science. / The ‘Makapan Mummy’ (A1081), the Makapan Child and human and animal remains with desiccated tissue attached indicate that the environment inside Historic Cave was dry enough to cause mummification. Environmental studies conducted in 1992 and 2011 suggest that dry air in the well-ventilated cave preserved the soft tissue and mummified the corpse. The aim of this study is to examine desiccated tissue sampled from the ‘Makapan Mummy’ (A1081) and from the human remains excavated at Historic Cave using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy-dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) and light microscopy. The morphological features of the naturally desiccated tissue from Historic Cave were recorded and described using the microscopic analyses and were then compared to normal and mummified human tissue. Mummified tissue is hard and dry and often embedded with dust and debris. In its hard and dry state, mummified tissue needs to be prepared differently to normal human tissue. In this study, various methods used to clean, rehydrate and stain the desiccated tissue were investigated and compared. Through this comparative analysis it was possible to determine the most suitable method for examining desiccated tissue from Historic Cave. In the SEM analysis, epidermal keratinocytes and vellus hairs were observed on the surface of the skin tissue. Histological analyses demonstrated the exclusive preservation of collagen fibres in the muscle tissue, the connective tissue and the skin tissue. This suggests that the collagen fibres play an integral part in preserving the structure of desiccated tissue that is devoid of cellular elements. The results are consistent with the histology of desiccated tissue remains from the Republic of Korea, Egypt and the Americas.

This thesis attempts to analyze the osteological material of Markham Parks I and II, two sites from Broward County, Florida from a bioarchaeological perspective in order to understand the possible presence of social stratification that existed between both populations at Markham Park and in line with other Florida populations. The analysis includes a look at the average stature of both populations through the use of estimation formulas, as well as taking note of any features on long bones that could denote the possible presence of injury or nutritional maladies which could be indications of social hardships. It also includes a close look at dentition for the presence of possible nutritional deficiencies such as enamel hypoplasias, as well as an analysis to corroborate findings made in initial reports regarding the cataloging of the remains, particularly in the areas of MNI and ancestry. Such analysis can hopefully bring further insight into the lifestyles of those that occupied Florida before contact. / Includes bibliography. / Thesis (M.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2016. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

The study involved the investigation of ancient dental enamel derived from former inhabitants of Pacific Islands: a population whose movements were necessarily more restricted than their mainland counterparts. Lead and strontium isotope analysis of human teeth were undertaken using TIMS and MC-LAM-ICPMS. Exposure information was obtained from elemental concentrations of lead and strontium using LAM-ICPMS, GFAAS and ASV. Isotopic measurements of lead within the dental enamel of these individuals suggest that the dominant source of biogenic lead exposure in these and other pre-metallurgical societies derived from the local water supply. Data from these ancient populations are compared with measurements made on ‘moderns’ based at Broken Hill, NSW, as well as from other UK-based post Iron Age populations. Results of this study indicate that the concentration of ancient lead within crystalline dental enamel in both ancient and modern populations can in certain circumstances be approximately the same, even when the degree of lead exposure is very high. The study proposes reasons for the discrepancies between these results and those obtained in previous studies, as well as discusses the implications of these analytical results for future studies in lead exposure in human populations. / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)