Thesis (Ph. D.)--Open University. BLDSC no. DX227302.

This thesis tracks how osteoarthritis appeared among prehistoric human populations, and how it changed through time. By examining these changes, information was provided about food acquisition and preparation activities in northwestern Alabama and northeastern Mississippi, from the Archaic period (B.P. 12650-5600) through the Protohistoric (A.D. 1550-1750) Osteoarthritis was also examined to determine whether a sexual division of labor existed among prehistoric populations from these same areas. Individuals from three specific occupations were analyzed: Dust Cave (1LU496), Lyon’s Bluff (22OK520), and Rolling Hills sites (22OK509, 22OK593, 22OK595). Using the Wilcoxon signed-rank test and logistic regression to find and assess patterns, this study showed that arthritis increased in severity, at a given age, among the Archaic males and the Mississippian/ Protohistoric females. Namely, male individuals from Dust Cave and female individuals from Lyon’s Bluff / Rolling Hills developed osteoarthritis earlier and to a greater degree of severity.

Thesis--Universität Hamburg, 2000. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis--Universität Hamburg, 2000. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Toronto, 2004. / Adviser: Martha A. Latta. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 1997. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves [258]-290).

Thesis (M.A.)--Texas State University-San Marcos, 2006. / Vita. Appendices: leaves 83-122. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 123-136).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 2003. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 292-333).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 2000. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 295-321). Also available on Internet.

This research traces the emergence of wild plant food production during the Late Prehistoric Period (4500 to 200 BP) on the Canadian Plateau. It builds upon ecological-evolutionary perspectives offered by theories of people-plant interactions and models of plant food production. From this, it derives a general model of wild plant food production outlining the components of such systems, the conditions favouring their development, and the consequences and correlates of these activities. This general model is expanded and made specific to the Canadian Plateau through ethnographic, ethnobotanical, ecological and archaeological evidence for root resource use by the Secwepemc (Shuswap) and other Interior Salish peoples. The implications of these findings for reconstructions of Late Prehistoric culture change are discussed. The study has two components. It begins by demonstrating that historically, the Interior Salish peoples were not plant collectors, "adapting to" the environment, but plant food producers who "domesticated" the landscapes of the region. Ethnobotanical evidence indicates the Secwepemc managed. processed and stored a variety of plant resources to increase their productivity and availability. These actions ensured surpluses for overwintering, reducing the threat of recurrent seasonal resource stress. Root foods were particularly important. At least 20 species were regularly harvested and stored. Practices associated with harvesting were essentially horticultural and acted at the species, population and landscape levels to increase the density and distribution of targeted species. The productivity of root resources was also increased through processing in earth ovens. An experimental reconstruction of an Interior Salish ii earth oven found pitcooking increased the energy value of balsamroot (Balsamorhiza sagittata), a former root staple, by 250 percent. Balsamroot contains inulin, a complex carbohydrate indigestible in its raw form. The second component of this study traces the beginnings of these wild plant food production systems through the archaeology of earth ovens. The discussion begins with Komkanetkwa, a traditional root gathering ground of the SeC\\<"epemc located near Kamloops, British Columbia, where investigations identified the remains of 170 earth ovens, II of which were excavated. Similar data from four additional root processing locales, including the Upper Hat Creek Valley, Oregon Jack Creek and Potato Mountain on the Canadian Plateau and the Calispell Valley on the Columbia Plateau, are also presented. Analysis of site types and distributions, the structure and content of earth ovens and radiocarbon age estimates associated with them reveals root food production began approximately 3100 years ago on the Canadian Plateau. The broad pattern of root resource use, consistent with ethnographic expectations, is well-developed after 2500 BP and persists until historic times. Radiocarbon age estimates (n=30) indicate a peak in activity developing between 2250 and 1750 BP. A review of the paleoenvironmental and culture-historical context identified the conditions, consequences and correlates of these processes. The catalyst for the development of these strategies was a dramatic decline in temperatures approximately 3900 years ago. This ushered in a 2000-year period recognized as the coldest and wettest stage of the Holocene, one characterized by long, cold winters. Under these conditions, wild plant food production represents a risk reduction strategy developed by peoples of the Canadian Plaeeau to cope with the uncertainty of seasohnal and annual environmental variation and prolonged periods of resource scarcity. In sum, earth ovens are the archaeological manifestations of fundamental shift in the process of people-plant interactions -- the transition fro foraging to wild plant food production which occurred on the Canadian Plateau at least 3100 years ago. This transition represents the adoption of strategies designed to ensure the productivity and availability of plant resources, particularly storable carbohydrates derived from roots, for overwintering. / Graduate / 0473