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<p>[Missing page v]</p> / <p>This thesis reports an attempt to extract DNA from the skeletal remains of five young children who died approximately 1,900 years ago and who were recovered from an Italian archaeological site, Isola Sacra. These skeletons have been tentatively diagnosed as thalassemics based on morphological observations, but alternative diagnoses are also possible. DNA diagnosis was used to attempt to identify thalassemia mutations from the human globin genes extracted from these skeletons.</p> <p>Successful extraction of the human globin genes is largely dependent on two factors: retrieving sufficient amounts of ancient DNA without PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction) inhibitors, and no contamination from modern DNA. To improve the chances of success, a more efficient and rapid method of extracting DNA from ancient skeletons was developed using a silica-based spin column technique to maximize the yield of amplifiable DNA from ancient skeletons and minimize the risk of the contamination with modern DNA. In a single step, the DNA is concentrated and separated from non-DNA substances that could inhibit PCR. This sufficiently removed PCR inhibitors but without an increased risk of contamination. A comparison test proved that this new approach is superior to current commonly used methods.</p> <p>Upon application of the new method, the evidence suggests that ancient human p-globin genes were extracted from three of the five individuals from Isola Sacra. DNA diagnosis for two of the most common Italian thalassemia mutations, IVS 1-11 a and codon 39 (more than 50% of current Italian thalassemia mutations),revealed that these three individuals did not have these two mutations. However, the present results cannot totally exclude the possibility of thalassemia from these specimens since five other untested mutations might occur in these specimens.</p> <p>Precautions were taken to minimize the risk of contamination. Contamination was also monitored by mtDNA analysis of each individual. No systemic contamination took place in this study but a sporadic contamination was identified with one specimen. The further analysis clearly indicated that the contamination came from the author.</p> <p>This thesis has shown that DNA diagnosis of diseases from ancient remains can be a new, powerful approach to the study of health and disease in past human populations. Technical improvements and revised research strategies are expected to advance DNA diagnoses of ancient diseases.</p> / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

<p>Although sharp force trauma is not the most common form of homicide in the United States, it accounts for the majority of violent crimes committed in the United Kingdom, and the frequency of knife related crimes has been increasing over several decades. Despite the prevalence of sharp force trauma in forensic literature, there is still a large gap linking weapons to skeletal injuries. Although there have been forensic studies on the effects of fabric during decomposition, very little data exist on the effects of fabric and bodily coverings on wounds during stabbing events. In a significant number of homicide cases, victims are clothed. Therefore, understanding the effects of bodily coverings is crucial to better understanding a number of forensic contexts. In this thesis, a preliminary pilot study and a skeletal cut mark analysis study with a guided-drop impacting device were used to address this issue by analyzing the effects of fabric resistance during stabbing events. The results indicated that weapon type and fabric type significantly altered kerf mark appearance (p&lt;0.05). Weapon type had a significant effect on kerf wall gradients, marginal distortion, width, and depth (p&lt;0.05). Fabric type significantly altered wall gradients, width, and depth (p&lt;0.05). Finally, low powered standard light microscopy was shown to be an accurate and inexpensive method for examining cut marks on bone. </p>

A study of peripheral cortical bone mineral status, as measured by single-photon absorptiometry, was initiated in Sun City, Arizona, in 1982. Affluent, active white women over age 50 and men over age 60 participated in up to eight annual sessions involving the measurement of the left mid-distal radius and the collection of questionnaire data. The data were retrospectively analyzed with a focus on the relationship between the bone mineral variables (BMVs: mass, areal density, density, width, and second moment of area) and postmature (after age 50) fracture history. Fractures were classified as either retrospective (incurred prior to baseline session) or prospective (incurred during the interval between baseline and final sessions). A distinction was made between hip fractures, which are often debilitating, and non-hip fractures, which, in the case of this sample, were sufficiently "benign" to allow resumption of more or less normal physical activities. The following results were obtained: (1) Women with low baseline bone mass incurred about three times as many retrospective benign fractures as the women with high baseline bone mass. (2) Women with retrospective benign fractures were about three times as likely as nonfracture women to sustain prospective benign fractures; consideration of BMV status did not improve predictive power. (3) Rate of interval bone loss is no different between the prospective fracture women and their nonfracture counterparts; the fracture group, however, shows no evidence of new bone formation via periosteal apposition (as inferred from bone width changes), whereas the nonfracture group is characterized by modest width increases. (4) The men have more massive bones and fewer fractures than the women, with no significant correlations between BMVs and fracture status. These results reaffirm that BMVs, particularly mass, are highly correlated with postmature fracture status in women, but the BMVs are better in "predicting" past fracture than in predicting future first fracture. This would be expected if systemic postfracture remodeling processes either promote resorption or inhibit new bone formation, with the latter response strongly implicated in this study.

<p> Modern and fossil ecological data exist at very different taxonomic, spatial, and temporal scales. For modern ecology, data are typically collected at the species-level, cover square meter quadrats to the entire globe, and span days to decades at most. For fossil assemblages, spatial scale might be comparable to that studied by modern ecologists, but fossil data are taxonomically and temporally much coarser (respectively, order-, family-, genus-level at best, and 104-108 years). Recent research has shown that ecological patterns and the processes affecting them change across scale. Therefore, using modern ecological theory and methods to study fossil data is an incommensurate exercise and potentially produces spurious results. Moreover, scale varies by orders of magnitude even among fossil assemblages, so comparing fossil sites without an appreciation of scale may also lead to ambiguous conclusions. </p><p> I argue that a disregard of scale within paleoanthropology has contributed to its inability to synthesize seemingly disparate paleoecological results into a coherent, unified framework. As a result, paleoanthropology has remained relatively stagnant regarding its understanding of how paleoecological processes drove hominin evolution. With this in mind, I adopt scale as a central theme in my dissertation and attempt to understand how ecological pattern and process change across modern and fossil scales in East African large mammal communities, and if these scale differences can be analytically reconciled. </p><p> The results from my three research chapters show ecological patterns (and the relevant processes driving them) fundamentally change across modern and fossil scales. Thus, modern and paleoecological theory and data are each incomplete: modern ecologists need to analyze fossil data if they want to study ecology at large time scales, and paleoecologists need to examine modern data and theory in order to understand smaller-scale processes; simple extrapolation and interpolation will not do. For paleoanthropologists, that means it is less than straightforward to infer smaller-scale ecological processes (e.g., paleoenvironmental reconstruction, interspecific interactions) from fossil assemblages, and caution should be exercised when attempting to do so. I by no means offer a panacea for this scale issue, but hopefully my research will make paleoanthropologists more cognizant of scale and encourage future research on this topic. Only then can we finally begin to understand what exactly were the important ecological drivers affecting hominin behavior and evolution. </p>

<p> One of the most distinctive forms to come out of the Medio period (AD 1200&ndash;AD 1475) Casas Grandes ceramic tradition were human effigy vessels. These vessels exhibit primary and secondary sexual traits, and the males and the females are seated in different postures. The males are usually seated in a squatted position, whereas the females typically sit with their legs straight out. To see if these vessels reflected real-life habitual postures, Medio period skeletal remains from Paquim&eacute; were examined. Habitual actions leave markers on the skeleton, and one such marker is squatting facets. These facets occur on the tibia and talus, and as the name suggests are indicative of habitual squatting. Given the postures of the male vessels, it was expected that the male skeletal remains would have a higher frequency of squatting facets. This is not the case. Instead, the female remains have a significantly higher frequency of squatting facets. This is likely due to the posture assumed when grinding corn, a traditionally female activity. I suggest that the positions assumed by the vessels are the typical postures for social or ritual activities (not day-to-day activities), and that the ceramic effigy vessels represent specific individuals or specific subsets of the population.</p>

<p> Major changes to lifeways, such as settlement organization and subsistence economy, may have profound and long-lasting effects on the existence and survival of any society. This thesis uses broad-scaled but fine-grained paleopathological analysis to more fully understand a period of substantial cultural, social, and environmental change that occurred during the Late pre-Columbian period (AD 900&ndash;1600) in the Eastern Woodlands of North America. These changes were initiated by the Mississippian cultural phenomenon between AD 1000 and 1600. </p><p> Specifically, this research analyzes a skeletal collection derived from one of the largest Mississippian period communities in the lower Ohio River valley, the Angel site (12Vg1). While large-scale excavations occurred at Angel in the early and mid-20^th century, many aspects of life in this community remain unclear. A novel view of Angel is provided in this work, as it is the first to conduct a full skeletal analysis of the collection. This thesis has the unique ability to provide much-needed data concerning the processes behind the adoption of Mississippian lifeways specific to this region. Angel paralleled the sociocultural complexity of other mounded sites in the Eastern Woodlands but developed in an understudied area with regards to skeletal remains, the lower Ohio River valley. </p><p> This research adds to this body of knowledge. The pathologies examined in this research were specifically selected to explore various aspects of life influenced by the Mississippian culture. This study shed light on the impact of population aggregation, a heavy reliance on maize agriculture, the risk of bodily harm associated with daily activities and violent interactions, and overall levels of biological stress at Angel. </p><p> The broader impact of this research centers on its examination of a skeletal legacy collection that has been curated for over 70 years and is currently in the process of repatriation. This work is the last to directly examine the people who inhabited, created, and experienced the Angel community.</p><p>

<p> The primary theory for the peopling of Japan is the dual origin hypothesis that states there were two separate migrations into Japan separated by more than 10,000 years. The early migration involved the ancestors of the Jomon who in turn were ancestral to the Ainu populations in Hokkaido and Sakhalin. A later migration dating to about 2200 BP was comprised of Neolithic farmers known as the Yayoi. There is debate over the origins of both the Jomon and Yayoi, with the dual origin hypothesis positing that the Jomon are Southeast Asian in origin while the Yayoi are East Asian. Others postulate that Jomon origins could lie in Northeast Asia and the Yayoi in Southeast Asia. To re-examine this debate, dental morphological data were analyzed for Jomon (n=643) Ainu (n=285) individuals categorized by island: Honshu, Hokkaido, and Sakhalin. Trait frequencies were compared to East Asian, Southeast Asian, Polynesian, Micronesian, Melanesian, New Guinea, and Australian samples to explore population relationships. Sinodont/Sundadont traits were analyzed through ANOVA for Jomon, Ainu, East Asian, and Southeast Asian populations to determine which traits showed significant differences among the groups. Analysis shows the modern Japanese are quite distinct from, and not related to, the Jomon and Ainu. The most likely geographic origin for the Jomon is Southeast Asia. Gene flow between East and Southeast Asians from the early Holocene on may contribute to some of the problems of interpreting Jomon and Yayoi origins. A lack of significant differences for UI1 double shoveling, UM1 enamel extensions, UP1 root number, LM1 deflecting wrinkle, and cusp number LM2 shows the possibility of Holocene gene flow between East Asia and Southeast Asia. UI1 shoveling most strongly characterizes the migration patterns in the dual origin hypothesis. UI1 shoveling is a trait associated with the EDAR 370A gene variant as well as Sinodonty, meaning that the gene could aid in characterizing migrations into Japan.</p><p>