<p>The Smith’s Knoll collection is composed of the disarticulated, fragmentary, and commingled remains of battle dead from the War of 1812. Historical and archaeological context of this site can be well established, making it particularly valuable in helping to unveil the conditions experienced by individuals in the past. In this thesis, the Smith’s Knoll collection was analyzed for evidence of postcranial perimortem traumatic skeletal lesions. Further context for these injuries was provided through comparison with contemporaneous skeletal and surgical collections, historical documentary sources, and other bioarchaeological studies on violence and warfare in the past.</p> <p>Injuries associated with fractures, sharp force, and musket trauma were observed in the postcranial elements of the collection. Although the overall prevalence of lesions is low, the majority of observed lesions can be attributed to sharp force trauma. Sharp force injuries are present in fourteen of the ribs as well as one fibula, one femur, one carpal, one vertebra, and one ulna. Musket injuries are present in three innominates and one scapula, and perimortem fractures are present in one rib and one scapula. The sharp force injuries can be further differentiated into those most likely caused by the bayonet, found in the torso, and those most likely caused by the sword, found in the extremities. Musket trauma is present in the form of impact from both musket balls and buckshot. Importantly, this is the first study to identify buckshot lesions on archaeological skeletal material.</p> <p>The results of the analysis of Smith’s Knoll demonstrate the value of examining postcranial lesions in relation to violence in the past, which has frequently been overlooked in bioarchaeology. As well, this collection illustrates that fragmented, disarticulated, and commingled collections, despite their limitations, have much to contribute to knowledge of interpersonal violent conflicts, both in prehistory and in the more recent past.</p> / Master of Arts (MA)

<p>Carbon and nitrogen isotope values in sequential segments of human hair keratin provide an archive of temporal fluctuations in isotopic composition close to the time of an individual’s death. By combining stable isotope analysis with a microscopic examination of hair, this thesis explores health status prior to the death of early settlers from St. Thomas’ Anglican Church cemetery in Belleville, Ontario (1821-1874). The purpose of this thesis is to determine if there is a consistent difference in carbon and nitrogen isotopic signatures along sequentially segmented hair in individuals who have observable pathological conditions versus individuals who display no osteological evidence of pathology. Elevated nitrogen values can be associated with physiological stressors such as chronic illness, infection, or injury that affect an individual’s metabolic state. Elevated nitrogen values represent a recycling of nitrogen derived from the breakdown of existing proteins in the body and subsequent tissue repair. Results from 10 individuals indicate that δ¹⁵N values increase greater than 1‰ if an individual was suffering from a pathological condition (e.g., periostitis) or decrease by 1‰ if an individual was possibly pregnant, while δ¹³C values remained relatively constant. The variability in nitrogen values over 1‰, coinciding with less change in δ¹³C values, may be indicative of physiological stress. These results suggest that δ¹⁵N values are not only useful for studying diet, but may also be used as indicators of physiological stress.</p> / Master of Arts (MA)

<p>This thesis examines patterns in poliomyelitis mortality in Wentworth and York Counties of southern Ontario, Canada, from 1900 to 1937. This period marked polio’s shift from endemic to epidemic status. It was also a time of shifting social, cultural, demographic, and economic patterns. Contemporaries struggled to understand polio’s epidemiology, and even today, with the poliovirus on the verge of global eradication, models to explain its changing patterns and impact continue to be revised.</p> <p>This thesis uses both qualitative and quantitative data collected from a variety of archival sources, including death, birth, and marriage registrations, census records, and newspaper articles, among other records. This information was used to build a geodatabase which forms the basis for analyses of mortality patterns in relation to age and sex, illness duration, seasonality, nativity, birthplace, ethnicity, and religion. Further analyses included family size, birth order, socioeconomic status, and place of residence patterns.</p> <p>Examined in the context of Wentworth and York Counties in the early 20^th century, the results both reveal a local pattern to polio’s epidemic emergence and provide a means to test broader hypotheses regarding polio’s epidemiological patterns. Specifically, results from this study were compared to the expectations of the intensive-exposure and cross-sex transmission hypotheses proposed by Nielsen and colleagues. Among the most important contributions of this thesis are the results showing a pattern of change over the study period, with two distinct stages. Stage One (1910 to 1927) is characterized by an equal sex ratio and a median known family size of four. Stage Two (1928 to 1937) is characterized by excess male deaths and a median known family size of two. These results link polio mortality patterns to demographic and ecological shifts in the early 20^th century and confirm that there is still much to learn from the history of this disease.</p> / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

<p>Mammoths (<em>Mammuthus</em>) have been studied extensively at the genetic level. However due to both taphonomic and technological limitations, only one of several late Pleistocene mammoth species, the woolly mammoth (<em>M. primigenius</em>), has been investigated. This limits our impression of mammoth population history to the the northern latitudes, just one of several environments in which mammoths lived and went extinct. It also obscures their evolutionary chronology, which prevents proper climatic and biogeographic contextualization of their history. Fortunately recent technological advances in high-throughput sequencing and targeted enrichment promise to expand Pleistocene faunal population phylogeography to non-permafrost, non-cave burial contexts. However the capacity and behavior of these combined technologies for characterizing ancient DNA is largely unexplored, preventing efficient and routine use for population-level studies. In this thesis I test and apply these technologies to remains of mammoth species from throughout North America. I first demonstrate their potential for poorly-preserved DNA, and then I evaluate their efficient application to large sample sets, as well as for capturing complete nuclear genomes. I then use these technologies to sequence dozens of mitochondrial genomes from Columbian (<em>M. columbi</em>)<em> </em>and other non-woolly mammoths, reconstructing their matrilineal phylogeography south of the ice. The revealed patterns not only imply a deep chronology for mammoth matrilineal diversity, but also that North American mammoth evolution was occurred via separate episodes of interbreeding between resident and invading populations, and between ecotypes. Overall the biological and methodological discoveries afforded by this body of work outline future research avenues on mammoth evolution, behavior, and extinction.</p> / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Dental morphology and tooth shape have been used to recreate the dietary adaptations for extinct species, and thus dental variation can provide information on the relationship between fossil species and their paleoenvironments. Variation in living species with known behaviors can provide a baseline for interpreting morphology, and behavior, in the fossil record. Tooth occlusal surface outlines in hominins and non-hominin primates, and other mammals, have been used for assessments of taxonomic significance, with variability often considered as being primarily phylogenetic. Few studies have attempted to assess how diet might influence the pattern of variability in closely related species. Here the occlusal surface shape variability in anterior and postcanine maxillary dentition in primates is measured to assess whether the relationship between diet and variability is consistent. Data were collected from five non-hominin primates in a range of dietary categories, as well as two hominin species, including the derived Paranthropus robustus and a gracile australopith. Mapping a series of 50 sliding semilandmarks based on 2-D photographs using tpsDig software, occlusal surfaces were outlined. Thereafter, outline shapes were quantified using Elliptical Fourier Functional Analysis, and principle components and multivariate analyses were preformed to explore the pattern of intra and interspecific variability in occlusal outlines.These results suggest that there is not a clear relationship between dietary feeding adaptations for all categories examined and selection for larger premolars and molars, as well as smaller incisors, led to less variation in both anterior and post-canine teeth of the fossil hominin Paranthropus robustus.

No description available.

No description available.

This thesis is a report on the analysis of family data gathered to test the simple recessive hypothesis for the inability to taste phenyl-thio-urea (P.T.C.). The simple recessive hypothesis states that the inability of a minority of persons to taste high concentrations of P.T.C. is due to the action of an autosomal recessive gene in the homozygous condition.

The physical demands of archery involve strenuous movements that place repetitive mechanical loads on the upper body. Given that bone remodels in response to mechanical loading (Ruff, 2008), it is reasonable to assume that repetitive bow and arrow use impacts upper limb bone morphology in predictable ways. The introduction and increased use of archery have been suggested to impact bilateral humeral asymmetry (Rhodes and Knüsel, 2005; Thomas, 2014). However, this claim is yet to be tested in vivo. This project aims to use kinematic and electromyographic approaches to validate claims inferring that, 1. archery places mechanical loading on the non-dominant arm resulting in lowered asymmetry, and 2. the dominant arm in archery has more mechanical loading placed in the anterior-posterior direction while the non-dominant arm has more mechanical loading placed in the medial-lateral direction. Some muscles (i.e. Pectoralis major and posterior Deltoid) act symmetrically on both humeri, while most muscle groups (i.e. Biceps brachii, Triceps brachii, Deltoid (lateral), and Latissimus dorsi) are activated asymmetrically on the humerus. On the whole, asymmetrically acting muscle groups acting on separate arms result in similar overall directional bending. Therefore, the overall cross-sectional shape of the bone would be similar for the draw and bow arm. Repeated bow use would undoubtedly induce humeral modification consistent with increased non-dominant arm robusticity, which in turn would lower asymmetry. Findings from this project thus support the hypothesis that the adoption of the bow and arrow results in decreased humeral asymmetry and strengthen morphological approaches to behavioral reconstruction.

Summary of book provided by publisher: "The meanings of ritualized head treatments among ancient Mesoamerican and Andean peoples is the subject of this book, the first overarching coverage of an important subject. Heads are sources of power that protect, impersonate, emulate sacred forces, distinguish, or acquire identity within the native world. The essays in this book examine these themes in a wide array of indigenous head treatments, including facial cosmetics and hair arrangements, permanent cranial vault and facial modifications, dental decorations, posthumous head processing, and head hunting. They offer new insights into native understandings of beauty, power, age, gender, and ethnicity. The contributors are experts from such diverse fields as skeletal biology, archaeology, aesthetics, forensics, taphonomy, and art history."