This study compares the morbidity and mortality of non-adults in urban and rural cemeteries between AD 850-1859. It was hypothesised that the development of urbanisation and industrialisation with subsequenot overcrowding and environmental pollution, would result in a decline in human health in the urban groups. This would be evident in lower mean ages at death, retarded growth and higher rates of childhood stress and chronic infection in the children living in the urbanised environments. Non-adult skeletons were examined from Raunds Furnells in Northamptonshire (Anglo- Saxon), St. Helen-on-the-Walls in York (later medieval, urban), Wharrarn Percy in Yorkshire (later medieval, rural) and from the crypt of Christ Church Spitalfields, in London (AD 1729-1859). The results showed that it was industrialisation, rather than urbanisation that was most detrimental to child health. Weaning ages declined from two years in the Anglo-Saxon period to one year in the eighteenth and nineteenth century. Industrialisation was characterised by a lower mean age at death, growth retardation and an increase in the prevalence of rickets and scurvy. Although higher rates of dental disease and matemal stress were apparent in the urbanised samples, respiratory diseases were more common in the rural areas. Growth profiles suggested that environmental factors were similar in the urban and rural communities in the later medieval period. However, there was evidence that employment had a detrimental effect on the health of later medieval apprentices. This study demonstrates the importance of non-adult remains in addressing issues of health and adaptation in the past and, the validity of using skeletal material to measure environmental stress.

Forensic STR analysis is limited by the quality and quantity of DNA. Significant damage or alteration to the molecular structure of DNA by depurination, crosslinking, base modification, and strand breakage can impact typing success. Two methods that could potentially improve STR typing of challenged samples were explored: an in vitro DNA repair assay (PreCR™ Repair Mix) and whole genome amplification. Results with the repair assay showed trends of improved performance of STR profiling of bleach-damaged DNA. However, the repair assay did not improve DNA profiles from environmentally-damaged bloodstains or bone, and in some cases resulted in lower RFU values for STR alleles. The extensive spectrum of DNA damage and myriad combinations of lesions that can be present in forensic samples appears to pose a challenge for the in vitro PreCR™ assay. The data suggest that the use of PreCR™ in casework should be considered with caution due to the assay’s varied results. As an alternative to repair, whole genome amplification (WGA) was pursued. The DOP-PCR method was selected for WGA because of initial primer design and greater efficacy for amplifying degraded samples. Several modifications of the original DOP-PCR primer were evaluated. These modifications allowed for an overall more robust amplification of damaged DNA from both contemporary and historical skeletal remains compared with that obtained by standard DNA typing and a previously described DOP-PCR method. These new DOP-PCR primers show promise for WGA of degraded DNA.

There is an ongoing debate concerning the nature of warfare and violence in the Iron Age of Britain. Interpretations regarding material remains from this period fluctuate between classifying instruments of violence (i.e. swords, spears, hillforts) as functional tools of war and as ritual symbolic devices. Human skeletal remains provide the most unequivocal evidence for violent encounters, but were often missing from these debates in the past. This thesis addresses this lack of treatment by analyzing the patterns of traumatic injuries at sites from two distinct regions in Iron Age Britain (East Yorkshire and Hampshire). The human remains from these sites show clear markers of interpersonal violence. When the remains are placed in context with the mortuary treatment, it is evident that violence and ritual were inextricably linked. In East Yorkshire, combat may have been ritualized through duelling and competition performance. In Hampshire, individuals with perimortem injures are often found in special deposits such as pits, ditches and domestic areas, suggesting their use in ritual processes that distinguish them from the general population. This provides a basis for understanding warfare and violence during the Iron Age of Britain and how communities negotiated the social tensions caused by violent interactions.

The Earliest Human Remains of Northern Perú: Balances and PerspectivesGenerally in American prehistory the very first protagonists have been kept outside of the main discourse. This absence of information is evident if we review the construction of this history and accept that there has been a preconceived pact of indifference towards skeletal remains. The north of Peru is a good example and choice for the objectives of this paper. Given this lack of information, we present our findings about these "lost" bodies in order to finally integrate these data into the study of the earliest people of the Americas. / De manera genérica, la prehistoria americana ha mantenido fuera de su discurso a los restos de sus propios protagonistas. Semejante afirmación adquiere sentido si observamos la confección de esta historia pasada y aceptamos una cierta indiferencia pactada hacia los restos óseos. El norte peruano resulta un buen ejemplo y compromiso de intereses encontrados. Con este trabajo se busca cómo entender esta ausencia, encontrar los cuerpos "ausentes" y finalmente integrarlos al acervo de los materiales de estos primeros grupos humanos.

This study compares the morbidity and mortality of non-adults in urban and rural cemeteries between AD 850-1859 It was hypothesised that the development of urbanisation and industrialisation with subsequenot overcrowding and environmental pollution, would result in a decline in human health in the urban groups. This would be evident in lower mean ages at death, retarded growth and higher rates of childhood stress and chronic infection in the children living in the urbanised environments. Non-adult skeletons were examined from Raunds Furnells in Northamptonshire (Anglo- Saxon), St. Helen-on-the-Walls in York (later medieval, urban), Wharrarn Percy in Yorkshire (later medieval, rural) and from the crypt of Christ Church Spitalfields, in London (AD 1729-1859). The results showed that it was industrialisation, rather than urbanisation that was most detrimental to child health. Weaning ages declined from two years in the Anglo-Saxon period to one year in the eighteenth and nineteenth century. Industrialisation was characterised by a lower mean age at death, growth retardation and an increase in the prevalence of rickets and scurvy. Although higher rates of dental disease and matemal stress were apparent in the urbanised samples, respiratory diseases were more common in the rural areas. Growth profiles suggested that environmental factors were similar in the urban and rural communities in the later medieval period. However, there was evidence that employment had a detrimental effect on the health of later medieval apprentices. This study demonstrates the importance of non-adult remains in addressing issues of health and adaptation in the past and, the validity of using skeletal material to measure environmental stress. / University of Bradford Studentship

There is an ongoing debate concerning the nature of warfare and violence in the Iron Age of Britain. Interpretations regarding material remains from this period fluctuate between classifying instruments of violence (i.e. swords, spears, hillforts) as functional tools of war and as ritual symbolic devices. Human skeletal remains provide the most unequivocal evidence for violent encounters, but were often missing from these debates in the past. This thesis addresses this lack of treatment by analyzing the patterns of traumatic injuries at sites from two distinct regions in Iron Age Britain (East Yorkshire and Hampshire). The human remains from these sites show clear markers of interpersonal violence. When the remains are placed in context with the mortuary treatment, it is evident that violence and ritual were inextricably linked. In East Yorkshire, combat may have been ritualized through duelling and competition performance. In Hampshire, individuals with perimortem injures are often found in special deposits such as pits, ditches and domestic areas, suggesting their use in ritual processes that distinguish them from the general population. This provides a basis for understanding warfare and violence during the Iron Age of Britain and how communities negotiated the social tensions caused by violent interactions. / Note: Content of Appendix 2 is not available.

Identification of human or nonhuman skeletal remains is important in assisting the police and law enforcement officers for the investigation of forensic cases. Identification of bone can be difficult, especially in fragmented remains. It has been reported that 25 to 30% of medicolegal cases, which involved nonhuman skeletal remains have been mistaken for human. In such cases, histomorphometric method was used to identify human and nonhuman skeletal remains. However, literature has shown that histomorphometric data for human and nonhuman bone were insufficient. Additionally, age estimation in bone may help in the identification of human individual, which can be done by using a histomorphometric method. Age estimation is based on bone remodeling process, where microstructural parameters have strong correlations with age. Literature showed that age estimation has been done on the American and European populations. However, little work has been done in the Asian population. The aims of this project were thus, to identify human and nonhuman bone, and to estimate age in human bones by using histomorphometric analysis. In this project, 64 human bones and 65 animal bones were collected from the mortuary of the Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical Centre and the Zoos in Malaysia, respectively. A standard bone preparation was used to prepare human and nonhuman bone thin sections for histomorphometric assessment. Assessments were made on the microstructural parameters such as cortical thickness, medullary cavity diameter, osteon count, osteon diameter, osteon area, osteon perimeter, Haversian canal diameter, Haversian canal area, Haversian canal perimeter, and Haversian lamella count per osteon by using image analysis, and viewed under a transmitted light microscope. The microstructural measurements showed significant differences between human and nonhuman samples. The discriminant functions showed correct classification rates for 81.4% of cases, and the accuracy of identification was 96.9% for human and 66.2% for animal. Human age estimation showed a standard error of estimate of 10.41 years, comparable with those in the literature. This study project offers distinct advantages over currently available histomorphometric methods for human and nonhuman identification and human age estimation. This will have significant implications in the assessment of fragmentary skeletal and forensic population samples for identification purposes.

Humans, like all animal species, are subject to Bergmann's (1847) and Allen's (1877) environmental rules which summarize physical adaptations to the natural environment. However, humans are in addition cultural animals and other bio-cultural factors such as social, economic and political status, general health, and nutrition, have a noticeable influence on stature and body proportions. Importantly, socio-economic status has a powerful influence on stature, which has been used to elucidate status differences in past societies (Bogin and Loucky, 1997; Floud et al., 1990; Schutkowski, 2000a). Furthermore, bio-cultural factors influence all dimensions of the human body, including weight, relative limb length, and relative length of the different limb segments. Given minimal migration and shared natural environments, all populations in this study, coming as they do from the last 2000 years of English history, should demonstrate similar morphology (c. f Ruff, 1994) if climatic variables were the only influence on stature and body proportions. In order to assess such bio-cultural factors in individuals from archaeological populations, skeletal populations from sites such as known leprosaria and medieval hospitals, rural and urban parish cemeteries, victims from the battle of Towton in A. D. 1461, and individuals from monastic cemeteries were analysed. The osteometric data from these populations were assessedfo r within and between population variability and indicate effects of bio-cultural factors on attained body proportions and stature. The results indicate a strong relationship between bio-cultural factors and body proportions, body mass index, prevalence of pathologies, sexual dimorphism, secular trend, and general stature from Roman times to the post-medieval period. The usefulness of stature, weight, and physical indices as markers of the bio-cultural environment is demonstrated. The main findings include: a greater sensitivity to external stressors in the males rather than the females of the analysed populations, rendering male statures more susceptible to varying bio-cultural conditions; a potential for very tall stature has existed in the analysed populations but was only realised. in very high status individuals in medieval times, and from the beginning 20'h century with better socio-economic conditions for the population at large; a less stratified socio-political environment, as in the late Anglo-Saxon period resulted in taller average male statures that a more stratified one, such as the medieval Nation-States; and medieval monastic institutions could have high status, e.g., the Gilbertines, or lower status, such as the mendicant orders, while leprosaria had the lowest status of all.

In this thesis human skeletal remains believed to be the victims of the Batavia Mutiny of 1629 were subjected to DNA analysis. So far the remains of 10 individuals (of which 9 were available for this study) have been exhumed from Beacon Island, in the Houtman’s Abrolhos, off the coast of Western Australia. The remains are now stored in the Western Australia Maritime Museum (WAMM) in Fremantle. In this research an attempt is made to type ancient DNA (aDNA) from the remains of the Batavia Mutiny, which are almost 400 years old. Previous anthropological studies have been performed on these remains in order to assign sex, age and stature. The aim of the present project is to study the familial relationships of the remains and to determine their sex based on molecular genetic analysis. In order to protect the invaluable museum specimens and minimise the risk of contamination from exogenous contemporary DNA, a tooth sample from each available individual (designated A15507, A16316, A15831, M3901, SK5, SK6, SK7, SK8 and SK9) was subjected to DNA extraction. Comparison and optimisation of DNA extraction methods from more recent teeth samples was performed in order to determine the most suitable method for the DNA extraction of the ancient teeth samples. Three types of genetic markers were analysed in an attempt to study the familial relationships and determine the sex of each individual. Multiplex primers (Hummel, 2003) which simultaneously amplify the HV1 and HV2 regions of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) were used in this research to analyse familial relationships. These primers were selected because of their ability to amplify small fragments (131bp, 168bp and 217bp) of DNA template, which suit the nature of aDNA samples. Primers published by Sullivan et al.(1993), which amplify a 106bp region on chromosome X and 112bp on chromosome Y of the amelogenin gene, were used to determine sex. In addition, short tandem repeat (STR) marker were also analysed to determine familial and sex using the AmpFlSTR®Profiler PlusTMPCR kit from Applied Biosystems. The PCR conditions of all primers were optimised before usage on the Batavia remains. As aDNA analysis is prone to contamination, stringent precautions were undertaken throughout this research. Despite this, contamination is suspected in some of the mtDNA sequences obtained (particularly from SK5, SK7, A15507 and A15831), which most probably came from the positive control used in the optimisation analysis. For these samples the sequences for the HV2 region were poor and polymorphisms relative to a reference were similar to each other and to the positive control profile. However, some conclusions have been made on other individuals (SK8, SK9, M3901, A16316) based on the HV1 and HV2 sequences obtained. Based on two or more different polymorphisms observed in the individuals it was concluded that it is likely there is no maternal relationship between individuals A16316 and SK8, SK9 and M3901 and between individuals SK8, M3901 and SK9. However these results require repetition for confirmation. The attempt to type the amelogenin gene on chromosomes X and Y was unsuccessful most likely due to the poor preservation of the remains. It is apparent from this research that although it was possible to extract aDNA (especially multicopy mtDNA) from teeth material that were almost 400 years old, the main hurdle in this aDNA analysis was contamination and DNA degradation.

<p><em> </em></p><p>Excavations of human skeletal remains are sometimes followed by claims for reburial from the local community. This has led to debates between researchers and other elements of society, churches or minorities. This scientific paper sat out to examine the discussions and debates found in Sweden (Scandinavia), with the situation in Vanuatu, (Melanesia). The objective was to elucidate similarities and differences in people’s attitude when it comes to reburial. Religious beliefs, legislations and policies were compared to provide explanations for the different attitudes in the two countries. The study showed that the debates found in the Swedish material such as conflicts between researchers and the church or between the Saami population and Swedish researchers, haven’t got a counterpart in Vanuatu. This was much due to the research policies in Vanuatu and the strong Christian faith.</p> / <p><em> </em></p><p>Fynd av mänskliga kvarlevor i samband med utgrävningar följs ibland av krav på återbegravning från det lokala samhället. Detta har lett till debatter mellan forskare och andra delar av samhället, kyrkan eller minoriteter. Denna C-uppsats har försökt undersöka diskussionerna och debatterna som framkommit i Sverige (Skandinavien) och Vanuatu (Melanesien). Målet var att belysa likheter och skillnader hos människors inställning när det kommer till återbegravning. Religion, lagstiftning och policys jämfördes för att förklara de olika inställningarna i de två länderna. Studien visade att debatterna mellan kyrkan och forskarna eller den Samiska befolkningen och forskarna inte hade en motsvarighet i Vanuatu. Detta var mycket tack vare Vanuatus forskningspolicy och den starka kristna tron i landet.</p>