Osteoarthritis (OA) is the leading cause of disability in North American and has major economic consequences for society. People with knee OA experience the worst quality of life, among musculoskeletal conditions, with function and mobility being influenced by symptoms such as pain and stiffness. However, the impact of OA symptoms varies due to intrinsic and extrinsic factors, leading many researchers to employ biopsychosocial and other population health frameworks to study the disease. These population health approaches have not been adopted when studying knee OA outcomes in bioarchaeology, where a limited biological lens prevails due to the sole reliance on skeletal remains. The purpose of this research was to explore methods for identifying the impairment potential of knee OA in archaeological populations using a clinical sample and population health approaches. Clinical studies have the advantage of assessing not only the biological implications of knee OA but also the functional outcomes. By creating a knee OA grading system applicable for both MRI and dry bone femora samples (Clinical Archaeological Osteoarthritis Score) a link between clinical and archaeological populations was proposed. Using this link to infer functional deficits onto archaeological populations using population health frameworks, a theoretical analysis was performed with two populations; the 17th century Huron and the 19th century Inuit from the Igloolik region of Nunavut. The results demonstrated the increased impairment potential of knee OA in the Inuit population versus the Huron population, produced by contrasting factors captured by the determinants of health, including social and physical environments.

L’industrie osseuse dans la région maya demeure peu comprise à cause de la mauvaise préservation des os. Les fouilles de la structure J-2 et de la place adjacente au site d’Ucanal, situé dans la province de Petén au Guatemala, ont permis de mettre au jour un dépôt daté Classique récent (700-810 DNÈ) contenant des déchets de production osseux. La concentration de déchets produits à Ucanal est l’une des plus élevées de l’aire maya, précédée seulement du dépôt L4-3 à Dos Pilas au Guatemala. Les débris regroupent une quantité importante de restes humains (~20%) mélangés aux restes d’animaux. Le travail des os humains dans la région maya est peu documenté et est principalement connue à travers les représentations artistiques ainsi que par les objets finis découverts dans les tombes de l’élite. Ce mémoire examine les restes humains retrouvés dans le dépôt de déchets de production d’Ucanal. Dans un premier temps, l’analyse des processus de réduction, utilisant le principe de chaîne opératoire, a documenté peu de différences entre le traitement des os humains et des os de mammifères non humains. Dans un second temps, l’organisation de la production semble indiquer que l’élite prenait part au travail de l’os puisque l’ensemble des stades de production ont été retrouvés au sein de leur résidence. Finalement, les isotopes de strontium et d’oxygène montrent que les individus, dont les os ont possiblement été transformés en outils, présentaient des valeurs locales impliquant qu’ils n’aient pas été originaires d’une région suffisamment éloignée du site contrairement à ce qui pourrait être attendu de captifs ou d’étrangers. / The ancient bone industry in the Maya region is currently not well understood due to the poor preservation of bones in the area. The excavations conducted of Structure J-2 and the plaza nearby at the site of Ucanal in Petén, Guatemala unearthed a large deposit dated to the Late Classic period (700-810 AD) containing primarily bone production debris. The number of bone fragments from the production debris deposit at Ucanal is among the highest recorded in the Maya area, second only to the L4-3 deposit found at Dos Pilas, Guatemala. The bone debris included a large quantity of worked human bones (ca. 20%) that were mixed with animal bones. The crafting of bone objects from human remains in the Maya area is poorly documented and primarily identified through artistic representations and finished objects found in elite tombs. This thesis specifically examined the human remains found in the bone production deposit from Ucanal. Firstly, analysis of the production process, using the principle of la chaîne opératoire, documented only small differences between the treatment of human bone and non-human mammal bone. Secondly, analyses of the organization of production indicated that bone working occurred within an elite residence where all stages of production were undertaken in the same context. Finally, strontium and oxygen isotope analyses of human teeth from the deposit revealed that the individuals whose bones may have been worked into tools possessed isotopic values local to the region, suggesting that they were not born at significant distances from the site as one might expect for war captives or foreigners.

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Psychoactive plants have played a significant role in Andean cultures for millennia. Whilst there is evidence of the importance of psychoactive plants in the Andean archaeological record, none of these are direct proof that these culturally significant plants were used by ancient Andean populations. This project utilised liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) to investigate the use of psychoactive plants in individuals from cemetery sites in Chile and Peru by analysing hair specimens for a variety of psychoactive compounds. Hair specimens from 46 individuals buried at cemetery sites in the Azapa Valley (northern Chile) belonging to the Cabuza culture (c AD 300 ¿ 1000) indicated around half of these people ingested coca, as evidenced by the detection of BZE in hair specimens. Two individuals from this population tested positive for bufotenine, the main alkaloid in Anadenanthera snuff. There is a specific material culture associated with snuffing. These findings confirm Anadenanthera was consumed in the Azapa Valley. The 11 individuals from Peru came from the necropolis at Puruchuco-Huaquerones in the Rímac valley near Lima. These individuals belonged to the Ichma culture, but would have been under Inca imperial control during the Late Horizon. Although only a small sample, two-thirds tested positive for BZE, suggestive that access to coca was widespread. This project presents a synthesis of the archaeological evidence for the use of various psychoactive plants in Andes. Also presented is the first report of the detection of bufotenine in ancient hair samples and additional data contributing to the understanding of the use of coca in the Andes. / Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC). Andy Jagger and Francis Raymond Hudson funds at the University of Bradford

In anthropology, elemental analysis of bone and teeth can provide significant details about an individual’s life history, such as diet, toxicity exposure, residency, and migration patterns. Intra-individual comparisons can help to gather information about a single individual’s life, while inter-individual comparisons can help illustrate a community’s life history during these periods. However, current methods of elemental analysis commonly involve the destruction of skeletal samples, which can damage a collection’s integrity and be perceived as disrespectful by descendant communities. Preliminary research has validated handheld x-ray fluorescence spectrometry (HHXRF) as an accurate and reliable method of analysis appropriate for determining the elemental composition of archaeological bone and teeth. In this study, teeth from 16 individuals (N=16) from the pre-conquest Classic Period (AD 625-1100) Maya site of Altun Ha, Belize, were analyzed using HHXRF to identify trace elements to gain a better understanding of the lives of the individuals and community. This study expands upon preliminary research by increasing the sample size and utilizes a filter to increase sensitivity to elements of interest. Diet and mobility were assessed using calcium (Ca), strontium (Sr), and bromine (Br) ratios. Net photon counts per element of interest were extracted and converted into ratios. An inter- and intra-individual comparison model was used. Results of calculated Sr/Ca ratios show a general increased reliance on marine subsistence sources within the sample. Shifts that do not align with this trend are present in several individuals, indicating social complexity of Altun Ha. Results of Br/Ca ratios are less clear in regard to diet and warrant further investigation.

Afin de pallier le manque de précision dans l’estimation du sexe via les méthodes morphologiques, surtout dans le cas des juvéniles, diverses méthodes basées sur la génétique ont été appliquées en bioarchéologie. Outre l’analyse de l’ADN ancien, la présence dans l’émail de certaines protéines associées au sexe, telle que l’amélogénine, permet d’apporter des informations hautement précises. Le présent mémoire a donc pour objectif d’appliquer cette méthode sur un échantillon archéologique issu de trois cimetières euro-québécois en vue de comparer les résultats avec les données ostéologiques antérieures. Afin d’extraire l’amélogénine, l’émail de molaires de 47 individus a subi une abrasion minimale à l’acide et les échantillons extraits ont ensuite été analysés au spectromètre de masse. Les résultats indiquant la présence ou l’absence de différentes chaînes de peptides (N = 40) associées au chromosome X (AMELX) ou au chromosome Y (AMELY), nous ont permis d’estimer le sexe de chaque individu (masculin = présence d’au moins une des 18 chaînes de peptides d’AMELY; féminin = absence de chaînes de peptides d’AMELY). Les résultats issus de la protéomique sont presque tous en accord (85 %) avec les données ostéologiques. Pour les individus adultes (N = 24), l’accord inter-méthodologique est presque parfait et hautement significatif. Pour les individus juvéniles, les résultats ont été soit confirmés (N = 10), modifiés (N = 6) ou attribués (N = 7) par la protéomique. Dans notre échantillon, on remarque qu’il y a plus de femmes et de filles que d’hommes et de garçons. L’apport de données protéomiques pour l’estimation du sexe des juvéniles est non négligeable et propose des avenues de recherches intéressantes pour les futures analyses qui concernent la mortalité reliée au sexe dont celle des enfants. / In order to compensate for the lack of accuracy for sex estimation especially for juveniles, various methods based on genetics were applied in bioarchaeology. Apart from ancient DNA, the presence of some sex-related proteins such as the amelogenin in tooth enamel can yield precise information in this regard. The objective of this thesis was therefore to apply this method on an archaeological sample originating from three euro-Canadian cemeteries, in order to compare the results with those obtained from the previous osteological data. To extract amelogenin the enamel of molars sampled from 47 individuals went through a minimal abrasion using acid and the sample was then analyzed by mass spectrometry. The results indicated the presence or absence of different peptide chains (N = 40) associated with the X (AMELX) or Y (AMELY) chromosome, allowing us to estimate the sex of each individual (male = presence of at least one of the 18 Y-coding peptide chains; female = absence of Y-coding peptide chains). The results from proteomics were almost completely in agreement (85 %) with the osteological data. For the adults (N= 24), the inter-methodological agreement was nearly perfect and highly significant. For the juveniles, the results were either confirmed (N = 10), modified (N = 6) or even assigned for the first time (N = 7) by proteomics. In our sample, there are more women and girls than men and boys. The proteomic analysis brings substantial data for both adults and children sex determination and provide interesting research avenues for the future analysis of mortality linked to sex, especially for juvenile samples.