Evidence of dental manipulation dates back several centuries and is identifiable through modification of human skeletal remains and the remnants of ancient tools. The act of caring for dental patients, on the other hand, is much more abstract and not as explicitly documented throughout history. Through the analysis of skeletal dentition of individuals from Pre-Hispanic Peru, this research aims to understand possible early forms of dental care practices. Specifically, by calculating the frequency of common dental pathology, I evaluated the possible presence of dental care in Túcume, Peru, during the Late Intermediate Period (1000 to 1500 AD) and what this could mean for those who once lived there. For this investigation, I used observations of the presence of antemortem tooth loss and caries to score the dentition of 57 skeletonized adult individuals. Descriptive and analytical statistics were performed based on the scores to determine the frequency of pathology and the patterns associated with age, sex, and burial context variables. Research on dental paleopathology has been done before; however, it is rarely interpreted using the bioarchaeology of care model. This research could elicit conversation and further investigation into how past civilizations may have cared for individuals in the form of tooth ablation. Additionally, it could demonstrate how current dental care has changed over time and how care is still an important aspect of humanity.

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Fractures, one of the most common findings in paleopathology, can reveal information about behaviour and social identity in the past. A new methodology for assessing the healing stages of fractures has recently been proposed, which could allow for additional data to be gathered from the study of fractures. Trauma, post-traumatic time interval, and injury recidivism were studied in five late Roman (c. 3rd – 4th centuries AD) British and Spanish skeletal samples. The aims of this thesis are: 1) record fractures and their healing stage using new post-traumatic time interval estimation methods; 2) determine how trauma profiles vary in the Romano-British and Spanish samples; 3) employ biocultural and life course approaches in the analysis of the results to reveal information about the culture, social identities, and environmental circumstances in the two Roman provinces under study. The remains of 214 adults from two Romano-British and three Romano-Spanish sites were examined for the presence of long bone and rib fractures. Fracture data was analyzed by age, sex, site, bone element, and fracture type to build a profile of trauma at each of the sites. In addition, cases of multiple injury were assessed using new post-traumatic time interval methods in order to discern cases of injury recidivism. A total of 44 individuals were identified as having 89 fractures across all the skeletal samples. Sixteen individuals had multiple fractures, eight of which were determined to have fractures of different ages using methods for determining post-traumatic time interval. Males and females had similar rates of fractures and multiple injuries. Fractures peaked among economically active young and middle-aged adults. A number of differences between the Romano-British and Spanish sample were observed with regards to trauma patterns and fracture prevalence. The results of this research contribute to our understandings of trauma profiles and injury recidivism in Roman populations, and provide the first comprehensive trauma study of a Romano-Spanish skeletal sample. / Thesis / Master of Arts (MA)

No / Four recently discovered frozen child mummies from two of the highest peaks in the south central Andes now yield tantalizing evidence of the preparatory stages leading to Inca ritual killing as represented by the unique capacocha rite. Our interdisciplinary study examined hair from the mummies to obtain detailed genetic and diachronic isotopic information. This approach has allowed us to reconstruct aspects of individual identity and diet, make inferences concerning social background, and gain insight on the hitherto unknown processes by which victims were selected, elevated in social status, prepared for a high-altitude pilgrimage, and killed. Such direct information amplifies, yet also partly contrasts with, Spanish historical accounts.

Dietary practice during the transition from Early Intermediate Period (200 BC-AD 600) to the Middle Horizon (AD 600-1000) is crucial to understanding Pre-Hispanic life on the southern coast of Peru. The Cerro Del Oro material was excavated in 1925 by Alfred Kroeber and since been biochemically unstudied for almost ninety years; left dormant at The Field Museum in Chicago. Through bioarchaeological reconstruction of diet and health at the site of Cerro Del Oro from a cemetery sample (N=35) in the Cañete Valley, the effects of demographic and subsistence changes can be examined through a combined analysis of osteological and light isotopic data. Stable carbon (13C/12C, or δ13C) and oxygen (18O/16O, or δ18O) isotopic values from tooth enamel carbonate are utilized to reconstruct diet during early childhood of each individual. Results indicate that the majority of the population were consuming a moderately variable terrestrial protein or C3 diet. This is significant due to the close proximity to marine resources.