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Thesis (M.A.)--Western Washington University, 2009. / Title from PDF title page (viewed on June 29, 2009). Includes bibliographical references.

This study examined the differences in decomposition rates and the resulting postmortem submergence interval (PMSI) of stillborn pigs and decapitated adult pig heads enclosed in plastic trash bags. Sixteen neonate pigs were divided into two variable categories: exposed and submerged in water, enclosed in a plastic trash bag and submerged in water. Upon recovery, each sample was assigned a Total Body Score. Eighteen decapitated adult pig heads were divided into two variable categories: nine heads were enclosed in plastic trash bags, and nine heads left exposed in the water. Twelve decapitated pig heads were divided into two terrestrial variable categories: six heads were enclosed in plastic trash bags and allowed to decompose on land, and six heads were left exposed on land. Accumulated degree-days (ADD) were calculated following the scoring guides provided in Moffatt et al. (2016), Megyesi et al. (2005) and Heaton et al. (2010). These guides were used to create a baseline decomposition rate established from the control groups decay rate. This baseline in the decomposition rate was then used to establish a measurable difference between exposed and enclosed samples. It was hypothesized that head samples submerged (enclosed/exposed) would decompose slower than the terrestrial samples (enclosed/exposed). It was further hypothesized that all enclosed/submerged samples would decompose slower than the exposed/terrestrial remains. A univariate analysis of variance (ANOVA) test found no statistically significant interactions between submerged, enclosed or exposed remains, indicating that the enclosure of remains in a plastic trash bag, and subsequent submergence or not did not affect the decomposition rate of either sample. An additional ANOVA found statistically significant differences between the rate of neonate sample decomposition and adult head sample decomposition. Paired sample t-tests produced statistically significant results that indicate the inaccuracy of the ADD calculation methods developed by Megyesi et al. (2005) and Heaton et al. (2010) to neonate-sized remains, decapitated heads, submerged enclosed/exposed samples or terrestrial enclosed/exposed samples.

The following research examined the overall biological profile of an anatomized human skeletal assemblage discovered in Winchester, Massachusetts (Middlesex County) in 2020. This assemblage was discovered during construction of a private house in a suburban neighborhood. In addition, this project examined the history of medical teaching specimens and how this new collection connected to the anthropological understanding of this history. For centuries, marginalized individuals, including Black people, poor people, and criminals, were utilized as the cadaver supply for medical schools. The author examined the general biological profile, including sex, age, population affinity, and stature, of the Winchester assemblage. Since none of the fragmented postcranial bones were able to be matched to particular individuals, these estimations served as a profile for the general population of the Winchester assemblage. The skulls were the only parts of the sample that could be treated as specific individuals. Craniofacial nonmetric traits were observed as well as postcranial aspects of the skeleton. The total number (NISP) of adult remains was 14,469. The MNI of the adult remains was 35 based on the left femora. The author hypothesized that the majority of the remains would consist of male individuals, and the age profile would reflect the average age at death during the mid-1800s, which was about 20-40 years old. In addition, it was hypothesized that the majority of individuals would be of Black population affinity, which might indicate that the remains were robbed from Black cemeteries. The majority of the assemblage was indeed comprised of males. Specifically, 60.5% of the pubic symphyses and 58.8% of the greater sciatic notches analyzed were determined to be male. The general average age at death of the sample was 23 to 45 years old. Estimation of population affinity of the sample was attempted; however, the results were not compelling due to the fragmentation of the remains and limited ability to reconstruct crania. The stature of the remains was estimated to range from 58.1 to 69.9 inches or 4 feet 10 inches to 5 feet 10 inches. This biological profile was compared to the demographics of Middlesex County, Massachusetts, and the United States presented by the 1850 U.S. Census and data from the military during that time. The Winchester adult remains had more males than females, similar to the sex representation in Massachusetts’ poorhouses, penitentiaries, jails, and houses of correction during 1850. Unlike these institutions, the general population of Middlesex County had more females than males. The 1850 Census indicates that the majority of individuals in Massachusetts’ poorhouses, penitentiaries, jails, and houses of correction were 24 years and older, which aligns with the estimated aged range for the Winchester adult remains. White and Black individuals were the only population affinities compared in the 1850 Census, and there were significantly more White individuals. The average height of a White male in the US military was 63.7 inches, which aligned with the general stature interval of 58.1 to 69.9 inches for the adult Winchester remains. Future research, including DNA and isotope analyses, could provide further insights into the origins of these individuals discovered at this site.

The present research examines the pathological changes and taphonomic alterations of buried human skeletal remains discovered in a burial feature underneath a construction site in a neighborhood house in Winchester, Massachusetts. Artifact association places the burial of these remains around the mid 1800s. Pathological changes were observed based on the presence of bone formation or destruction. The manifestations of pathological change observed for were related to or consistent with joint disease, infectious diseases, metabolic disorders, congenital abnormalities, dental disease, and neoplastic conditions. Taphonomic profiles of buried remains display certain characteristics that can be used to make comparisons to other known burial types, specifically traditional cemetery burials. The characteristics observed for to create the taphonomic profile were soil and mineral staining, bone condition and preservation, plant adherence and/or damage, postmortem damage, and the presence of coffin artifacts. The author hypothesized that the current sample of human skeletal remains from the Winchester Site would display pathological changes consistent with individuals from marginalized populations of the nineteenth century. The most prevalent pathological changes in the sample were those related to osteoarthritis (OA) and infection. The vertebral elements were most affected by OA, at 24.0% on the vertebral bodies and 17.5% on the vertebral facets. Of the remaining elements scored for OA, only 7.1% showed characteristics. Infection was observable on 10.9% of the postcranial elements, with the fibulae being the most affected, at 20.9%, followed by the tibiae at 18.3% and the clavicles at 16.1%. There were more cases of sclerotic bone, which indicated that the healing process started prior to death. There were only 11 cases of antemortem trauma that were observed to be either in the process of healing or already healed, as well as 2 cases of healed amputations of two proximal row pedal phalanges. Dentition was most affected by calculus at 33.3%, and had little instances of linear enamel hypoplasias. Other miscellaneous pathological changes were also observed, including Schmorl’s nodes, PH/CO, HFI, possible neoplasms, possible tuberculosis, and exostoses of the mouth. It was also hypothesized that the skeletal remains would display a different taphonomic profile compared to previously researched profiles of anatomized and cemetery remains. There is ubiquitous soil staining throughout the sample, postmortem damage at 69.4%, moderate cortical erosion at 15.7%, slight plant root adherence at 8.3%, and low mineral staining at 5.3%. There is a lack of anatomical hardware present throughout the remains, which indicates that the remains were not used for anatomical teaching. There is an abnormal pink stain on 1.0% of the skeletal remains, possibly the result of a historical embalming technique that used mercury. The analysis of the skeletal remains from the Winchester Site supported the hypothesis that the remains would display pathological changes consistent with marginalized populations. The author compared the Winchester Site to sites that reported having anatomized remains of marginalized individuals, specifically sites that were used as medical waste sites, poorhouses, and almshouses. The analysis of the skeletal remains also supported the hypothesis that the remains would display a taphonomic profile more consistent with cemetery remains buried directly in the soil and secondarily determined that the site was likely used as a medical waste site of anatomized remains. The analysis of the Winchester Site also confirmed that the remains did not display a taphonomic profile related to coffin cemetery remains or remains that have been prepared and used for anatomical teaching.

No description available.

The repatriation of the human remains of Indigenous peoples collected within a colonial context has been the subject of debate within UK museums over the last 30 years, with many museums now having returned human remains to their countries of origin. Although the repatriation of human remains is often characterised as the 'journey home', there has been a lack of consideration of the physical presence and mobility of the remains and the meanings created as they move through different spaces. This study uses the repatriations from The Royal College of Surgeons of England (RCS) to Australia, New Zealand and Hawaii as case studies to consider three key areas: (i) the impact of repatriation on museum landscapes; (ii) the journey of the repatriated remains and how this mobility intersects with wider discussions about restitution, sovereignty, identity, relatedness, memory and memorialisation; and (iii) the repatriation archives, how they are thought about by the institutions that hold them and their future potential and meaning within a post-colonial context. Taking a more-than-representational approach and engaging with the materiality, mobility and agency of the repatriated remains and the documentation that relates to them, this study bridges the gap between research considering the approach of museums to repatriation, and ethnographic studies on the meanings of the return of ancestral remains to individual communities. Combining work on museum geographies, deathscapes and absence opens up new ways of theorising and discussing repatriation through understanding the process in terms of the tension between absence and presence, and human remains as being in or out of place. Through engaging with the materiality and agency of the remains and viewing repatriation through a spatial lens, this thesis deals with aspects of the process that have received little attention in previous studies, foregrounding the challenging nature of repatriation for communities, the issues around unprovenanced remains, and discussions about the control, management and meaning of information and data, identifying that a significant legacy of repatriation for RCS is the documentation the museum continues to hold. What the journey of the ancestral remains repatriated by RCS illustrates is the emotive materiality of the remains, and agency that they and the distributed repatriation archive have as actors within social networks. It is therefore proposed that the concept of repatriation as having problematised human remains collections within UK museums is replaced with a nuanced and contextually sensitive understanding that recognises the role of the human remains in social interactions that impact on the emotional geographies of museum practice, and that rather than framing repatriation as post-colonial act that is either political or therapeutic, the return of ancestral remains be understood as part of a process of decolonisation in which there is space for discussion, disagreement and debate amongst all stakeholders.

The identification of metabolic diseases is a crucial aspect of osteoarchaeological analysis and of paleopathological studies. This study is specifically concerned with the study of scurvy and its bony manifestation. This investigation considers the recognition of the bony lesions of scurvy in adult skeletons that originate from English archaeological contexts dating to the Post Medieval period. In order to identify scorbutic bony lesions, assemblages were analysed that derived from the Georgian period Navy that were known to suffer from endemic scurvy, namely Haslar hospital near Portsmouth and Stonehouse hospital in Plymouth. These assemblages were complemented by two Non-Naval skeletal collections of a broadly contemporaneous time period, one of which was a prison assemblage from Oxford Castle in Oxford and the other was from Darwen, Lancashire and consisted of a Primitive Methodist cemetery. For the purpose of this study, an extensive literature review was carried out and a specially modified scurvy recording form was created. In total three hundred and fifty-eight skeletons were analysed using the scurvy recording form on which a total of twenty-one potential scorbutic indicators were scored. The data was then subject to statistical analysis and a set of primary and secondary scorbutic indicators was established. The primary scorbutic lesions were femur, sphenoid, posterior maxilla, scapula, endocranial and mandible. Nine secondary lesions were also established and these were lesions of the foot, humerus, ulna, radius, hand, clavicle, innominate, fibula and the ectocranial surface of the skull. In total, 66.7% of the Haslar assemblage was found to have suffered from scurvy, followed by Plymouth with 20.6%, Darwen with 16.4% and Oxford Castle with 7.9%. It was found that scurvy could be identified in adult skeletal material through the recognition of a number of lesions that could not be attributed to any other disease process. The results indicated that scurvy was present in all of the skeletal collections studied but was more common in the Naval assemblages. This is an important development in the detection of scurvy in the archaeological record and is crucial in the reconstruction of past diets and metabolic disease patterns.

A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Science, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in fulfilment of requirements for the degree of Master of Science. Johannesburg, October 29, 2014. / Teeth are the most common element in the fossil record and play a critical role in taxonomic assessments. Size, relative width and cusp arrangements on enamel crown surfaces are used to help assess relationships between specimens. In this exploratory study, a model is developed for the placement of landmarks on images of lower first molars to maximise key information from crown surfaces of molars of African Plio-Pleistocene hominin fossils representing species of Australopithecus, Paranthropus and Homo. Lower first molar data of four extant species (Pan paniscus, Pan troglodytes, Gorilla and Homo sapiens) are visualised in a principal components analysis to detect whether landmark placements are adequate to identify species groupings and overlaps and patterns indicative of sexual dimorphism. The role of size as a differentiator between extant species is visualised using Procrustes Form Space as the basis for the analysis. A series of analyses, including linear diameter plots, Procrustes averaging, principal components analyses, discriminant function analyses and log sem (based on regression analyses) are used to test whether species groupings agree with currently accepted taxonomic classifications of thirty-six African Plio-Pleistocene hominin lower 2 first molars. Specimens in the sample that consistently fail to group with current species designations are flagged as “anomalous”. Six specimens are identified as anomalous and these are ultimately removed from the analyses. The resultant principal components plot of the fossil specimens appears to show distinctions between currently accepted species groups. The statistical regression analyses (log sem) confirm the results from the geometric morphometric analyses, and are associated with an average log sem value of -1.61 for conspecific pairwise comparisons. The log sem value of -1.61 has been proposed by Thackeray (2007a) as an approximation of a biological species constant (T), based on pairwise comparisons of modern vertebrate taxa, using cranial data. The anomalies confirm the hypothesis that certain specimens from the sample may have been misclassified, and that certain species groups as currently defined may comprise more than one morphotype.