Atlantic Scotland provides plentiful and often dramatic evidence for settlement during the Iron Age but, like much of Europe, very little is known of the funerary traditions of communities in this region. Formal burial appears to have been rare, and evidence for alternative mortuary treatments is dispersed, varied and, to date, poorly understood. This study sets out to examine for the first time all human remains dating to the Iron Age in Atlantic Scotland, found in a variety of contexts ranging from formal cemeteries to occupied domestic sites. This data-set, despite its limitations, forms the basis for a new understanding of funerary treatment and daily life in later prehistoric Atlantic Scotland, signifying the development of an extraordinary range of different methods of dealing with, and harnessing the power of, the dead during this period. This information in turn can contribute to wider issues surrounding attitudes to the dead, religious belief, domestic life and the nature of society in Iron Age Europe.

<p>Is there such a thing as unadulterated nature? All that surrounds us is culturally modified by man somewhere along our past. But culture is only a fictitious conception itself, created in an attempt to break the world into controllable objects.</p><p>So in what do we find culture? In everything? In the objects or the stories they embrace? Who chooses what’s worth saving and how to save? Choosing what is culture is made from personal, ingrained dichotomies of what’s important and what is not. A selective eye creates a distorted truth, which could have unintentional long-term effects.</p><p>This thesis will give a historical account of the archaeological discipline’s development in tending to our cultural heritage. By demonstrating its many complications, with examples of forest remains, I will argue for the need of innovation, communication and documentation. Only then can we get a broader, more varied and slightly less modified picture of the culture we choose to keep.</p>

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In order to determine if there is a shared biological lineage among four east central Indiana skeletal populations, the remains have been subjected to nonmetric trait analysis. This technique examines the directly observable manifestations of the genome on the skeleton in order to determine if two or more groups have a shared genetic background beyond the genes that all humans share. This information supplements the archaeological information already available from the cultural remains of these groups, in addition to the metrical data. / Department of Anthropology

The aim of this study was to establish whether the asymmetry of bilateral elements of the skeleton is useful for the reassociation of paired elements in the analysis of commingled skeletal remains; particularly addressing the forensic scenario of Chilean Human Rights cases. The asymmetry of the appendicular skeleton of the modern adult Chilean population was investigated in its morphological aspect, using both traditional anthropometry and geometric morphometrics. The sample was selected from the Colección Subactual de Santiago, housed in the University of Chile, Santiago, Chile, with N= 131 (69 males and 62 females). The traditional metric analysis of size and the geometric morphometric analysis of shape showed that there was a significant difference between sides in both sexes with a strong component of directional asymmetry. Mean metrics and ranges of asymmetry were established, contributing to the characterization of this population. A method to pair match elements from commingled settings, which is a combination of metric ranges of asymmetry and principal component analysis of shape variables, was created resulting in 95% accuracy when pair matching the humerus, radius, femur and tibia. This constitutes an important contribution to the analysis of shape in forensic contexts due to its strong mathematical component, objectivity and repeatability.

Identification of cadavers and skeletal findings Abstract "Identification" is an act of declaration of identity. The identity (particularly in today's globalized society) deservedly draws attention not only in a normal social interaction, but is also enshrined legally. Its purpose is also important in the sad events of last identification of a person - the identification of the dead. Thesis sets as a goal in a clear and comprehensible form to offer a presentment to an extremely interesting and inspiring topic of identification of the dead human body, using multidisciplinary approach with focus to criminological practice. It provides a comprehensive overview of all the components of identifying corpses, demonstrates the process of identifying, from the finding of the dead body, through autopsy, up to some practice expertise to determine its identity. To achieve this, the method of literature review using books and journals, both domestic and foreign, with subsequent synthesis of acquired knowledge and information with their critical evaluations is used. Clarity, however, is not exchanged for cursoriness and perfunctoriness in the work and therefore some topics suitable for detailed analysis (analysis of DNA, thanatology, the procedure of finding dead bodies in the terrain) are evolved in such a degree to...

With a Categorizing tool for conservation of settlement remains we can, through better instructions, reduce the damages made to settlement remains in conjunction with forestmeasures.The purpose of this study was to create a categorizing tool for the conservation status of settlement remains. The categorization tool will be used to select specific remains for increased management. Interviews were conducted with the County administrative board in Östergötland, Board of Forestry (Skogsstyrelsen) and Holmen skog. Pre-field studies both with Skogsstyrelsen and Holmen skog were also conducted. A field study was conducted where totally 20 different areas of settlement remains were visited and used to create the tool. All settlement remains were located in Östergötland. The data collected showed that the largest amount of monuments were located close to a road and were relatively easy to access. The categorizing tool was made in collaboration with Holmen skog and was tested together with a representative from the company with the outcome as an approved categorizing tool for the demands of the company.

The recently discovered site of Rising Star in the Craddle of Humankind, Johannesburg, South Africa, has yielded the single largest fossil hominin assemblage on the African continent to have been uncovered to date. Much of the anatomy of the new species, Homo naledi, has been described. With relatively human-like lower limb and strangely primitive-likeupper body, Homo naledi displays a mosaic of traits in its morphology. A small cranium for a member of the genus Homo adds to this unexpected mix of characters. [Abbreviated Abstract. Open document to view full version] / MT 2017

This thesis is a paleopathological survey of ancient Peruvian crania housed at the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology at Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts. Chapter one discusses the significance of this research, work prior to this thesis’s formulation, and defines paleopathological and bioarchaeological terms relevant to this thesis. Chapter two presents this thesis’s materials and methods. Of the 196 Peruvian crania in this study sample, 11 case studies are presented. Chapter three reports a case of probable scurvy and likely anemia comorbidity. This case study is accompanied by a critical analysis and review of the literature surrounding scurvy, a detailed macroscopic examination, and a rigorous differential diagnosis process. Chapter four offers cases representing pseudopathology, hematopoietic disease, infectious disease, joint disease, neoplastic disease, trauma, and trauma-induced disease. Chapter five presents a summary of this thesis. / Includes bibliography. / Thesis (M.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2014. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

Diagnosing the sex of subadult skeletal material is a difficult task for bioarchaeologists and forensic anthropologists. Metric and nonmetric techniques have been tested utilizing both fetal (Boucher 1957, Weaver 1980) and juvenile (Loth and Henneberg 2001, Weaver 1980) skeletal remains. Some metric techniques show promise in estimating the sex of juvenile skeletons, but most are found to be lacking in adequate accuracies (Holcomb and Konigsberg 1995, Weaver 1980). Nonmetric techniques have been found to be more accurate, performing better than chance (Loth and Henneberg 2001, Mittler and Sheridan 1992, Weaver 1980). This study adds to this conversation, utilizing the Hamann-Todd Osteological Collection at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, testing the accuracy of eight nonmetric traits of the subadult mandible and ilium for use in forensic investigations and bioarchaeological research. / Includes bibliography. / Thesis (M.S.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2015. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection