Dennis P Van Gerven
Biographic Data
| ID | 97856 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Dennis P Van Gerven |
| GIVEN NAMES | Dennis P |
| FAMILY NAME | Van Gerven |
| SIGNATURE | VAN GERVEN D P |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Colorado Boulder |
| VERIFIED | No |
| TOTAL WORKS | 29 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 705 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 29 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 1969 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2018 |
| H-INDEX | 17 |
Evidence for differences in activity between socioeconomic groups atKulubnarti,Nubia (550-800CE), from osseous modifications of the proximal femur
Past bioarchaeological analyses of human remains from the Early Christian Period site of Kulubnarti, Nubia (550-800 CE), have revealed differences in patterns of stress between two contemporaneous cemeteries (mainland [21-R-2] and island [21-S-46]) that are thought to represent separate socioeconomic groups. However, to this point, differences in activity between cemetery groups and sexes at Kulubnarti have been poorly understood. In this study, …
A Century of Skeletal Biology and Paleopathology: Contrasts, Contradictions, and Conflicts
For the first half of the 20th century, biological anthropology stagnated in a state in which racial typology was its major theoretical and methodological focus. In 1951, Sherwood Wash burn proposed the "new physical anthropology" that would move biological anthropology beyond description. Washburn repositioned it into a science that focused on process, theory, and hypothesis testing. The commitment to a process-oriented biological anthropology h…
Kulubnarti III: The Cemeteries
Patterns of femoral bone remodeling dynamics in a medieval Nubian population
The relationship between age, sex and histomorphometry in femoral cortical bone was examined in a skeletal population of late Medieval antiquity (AD 1250-1450) from Kulubnarti, in Sudanese Nubia. These skeletal remains are naturally mummified and in an excellent state of preservation. The study sample consisted of femoral cross sections from 24 females and 19 males ranging in age from 20 to 50+ years. Femoral cross sections were examined using an…
The Health and Nutrition of a Medieval Nubian Population: The Impact of Political and Economic Change
Human remains from two cemeteries at Kulubnarti in Sudanese Nubia present an ideal opportunity to assess the biological impact of political and economic change. Remains from the early cemetery come from Nubia's medieval period, characterized by political unification and important achievements in art and architecture. Remains from the second cemetery come from the later emergent feudal age, characterized by regional isolation and return to a subsi…
Developmental, diachronic, and demographic analysis of cribra orbitalia in the medieval christian populations of Kulubnarti
Previous analysis of cribra orbitalia in the medieval populations of Kulubnarti focused only on the presence or absence of the lesion relative to age, sex, and cultural period. Demographic consideration of the lesion was limited to a gross comparison of lesion frequencies and probabilities of dying by age group. The scope of the earlier work has been expanded in the present research to include the consideration of cribra orbitalia from a developm…
A Case Of Late Prehistoric Mutilation On The Northwest Plains
Questions concerning the origin and antiquity of Plains culture continue to be of interest to anthropologists. The suggestion that tmly violent waifare practices involving mutilation, scalping, and torture were introduced by Europeans is of particular interest in that it reinforces the traditional view of Plains culture as a post-contact phenomenon. The discovery of a pre-contact inhumation in south-central Wyoming bears importantly on this view.…
Obstetric dimensions of the true pelvis in a Medieval population from Sudanese Nubia
Functional analysis of the true pelvis (defined as that portion lying below and including the pelvic brim) was undertaken on a sample of 36 females from the Medieval site of Kulubnarti in Sudanese Nubia. Standard obstetric measurements were taken and compared to four additional prehistoric skeletal samples and to modern American standards for the same obstetric dimensions. Relative to the other prehistoric populations, the Kulubnarti pelves are s…
Biomechanical association of dental and temporomandibular pathology in a medieval Nubian population
An analysis of the relationship between oral pathology and degenerative change at the temporomandibular joint (TMJ) was undertaken on an archaeological sample of 122 adult crania from the Medieval site of Kulubnarti in Sudanese Nubia. The crania were sorted into 2 groups: those demonstrating clearly visible bony changes at the joint (TMJ+) and those without visible change (TMJ−). These groups were compared according to 1) age; 2) sex; 3) active d…
Patterns of enamel hypoplasia in two medieval populations from Nubia's Batn el Hajar
Analysis of enamel hypoplasia frequencies for two medieval populations representing the earliest and latest Christian periods of ancient Nubia reveals important diachronic shifts in childhood stress. The mean frequency for hypoplastic bands among the early Christians is 4.2, while the late Christian sample has a mean frequency of 3.7. In addition, the earlier Christians show a prolongation of hypoplastic occurrences through childhood correspondin…
Cortical bone maintenance and geometry of the tibia in prehistoric children from Nubia's Batn el Hajar
The relationship between advancing age in adults and patterns of cortical bone maintenance has been extensively documented for archaeological populations (Dewey, et al., 1969; Van Gerven et al., 1969; Perzigian, 1973). Most recently, this research has been expanded to include a more thorough consideration of the geometric properties of bone in relationship to adult age changes (Martin and Atkinsin, 1977; Ruff and Hayes, 1983). To date, however, f…
Observations on the formation and persistence of radiopaque transverse lines
The formation and persistence of radiopaque transverse lines have been assessed in the living in clinical studies of growth, nutrition, and disease. Lines have also been used by many researchers in the analysis of patterns of childhood stress in prehistoric skeletal materials, although most of this research has been undertaken on adult bones. However, how reliable and useful are transverse lines for interpretations of stress? The precise etiologi…
Skeletal growth in a medieval population from Sudanese Nubia
Long bone growth is analyzed for 180 children from a Medieval population at Kulubnarti in Sudanese Nubia (550–1450 A.D.). A regional interpopulation comparison is made with growth data from Wadi Halfa in Lower Nubia, and an intrapopulation analysis is undertaken to assess diachronic changes in growth at Kulubnarti. Changes in growth patterns are interpreted in the context of mortality and morbidity profiles and relationships between the three var…
"Farewell to paleodemography?" rumors of its death have been greatly exaggerated
The contribution of time and local geography to craniofacial variation in Nubia's Batn el Hajar
While the history of Lower Nubia has traditionally been explained in terms of racial migrations and mixture, recent studies of craniofacial variation have emphasized the biological continuity in Lower Nubia over the past 12,000 years. Carlson and Van Gerven for example have demonstrated a trend among the populations for changes in craniofacial form that are best explained by changing masticatory function and in situ evolution independent of major…
Mortality and culture change in Nubia's Batn el Hajar
Sexual dimorphism and human evolution: An overview
Diffusion, Biological Determinism, and Biocultural Adaptation in the Nubian Corridor
Nubia's position both geographically and historically made it a natural laboratory for application of a historical diffusionist paradigm. That approach, which dominated research on Nubia before 1960, led to a view of Nubian culture history as a series of disconnected episodes, each characterized by the migration, displacement, or hybridization of differing racial stocks. The International Campaign to Save the Monuments of Nubia, begun in 1960, pr…
The Retreat from Migrationism
One of the most persistent, though least acknowledged, explanatory para digms in culture history is that which attributes the growth and spread of culture to the movement of peoples. We are not here referring to diffusion, but to theories which specifically envision the movements and displace ments of populations. As will be shown presently, migration and diffusion theories have quite different intellectual pedigrees, and their relationship in …
Sexual dimorphism and mechanics of the human hip: A multivariate assessment
The present research was undertaken to determine the effects of sexual dimorphism in the human pelvis and femur on the mechanics of human locomotion. The analysis was based on six biomechanical variables determined from 25 male and 32 female skeletal remains from the Dickson Mound site. Discriminant function analysis indicates that the mechanical variables which primarily contribute to dimorphism are the moment arm of the gluteus medius and the t…
Masticatory function and post‐pleistocene evolution in Nubia
The present research focuses on craniofacial variation in Nubia over approximately 10,000 years. Samples were grouped according to their temporal location and subsistence pattern, and represent a transition from a hunting‐gathering adaptation (Mesolithic) to a transitional hunting‐gathering‐agricultural adaptation (A‐C Group) and finally to a fully agricultural adaptation (Meroitic/X‐Group/Christian). The purposes were: (1) to compare the Mesolit…
Continuity and Change in Cranial Morphology of Three Nubian Archaeological Populations
The results of analysis of craniometric variation in Meroitic, X-Group and Christian remains from Wadi Halfa Sudan utilising discriminant function and principal components techniques revealed a general pattern of morphological continuity between the three cultural horizons. These Nubian remains represent a broadly homogeneous population undergoing an evolutionary trend towards facial reduction associated with increasing height and breadth in the …
The effect of size variation on univariate assessments of morphological difference in human crania
The present research was undertaken to determine the contribution of general size to craniometric variation in two previously described Paleo‐Amerindian series, and to evaluate the effect of size variation on univariate assessments of morphological difference between the two. The analysis was based upon 19 measurements of 81 crania representing the Iswanid and Fort Ancient Muskogid varieties. The results of principal components analysis indicate …
Factors influencing the etiology of cribra orbitalia in prehistoric Nubia
Racial History and bio-cultural adaptation of Nubian archaeological populations
A principal role of the physical anthropologist has been the analysis of the human skeleton. Such analysis has traditionally utilized similarities in skeletal morphology and, in some instances, hypothetical racial affinities, to establish the biological relationships between populations. Established biological relationships are then assumed to reflect cultural affinities. As a result of this approach to the skeletal remains of Nubian populations,…
Masticatory function and post‐pleistocene evolution in Nubia
The present research focuses on craniofacial variation in Nubia over approximately 10,000 years. Samples were grouped according to their temporal location and subsistence pattern, and represent a transition from a hunting‐gathering adaptation (Mesolithic) to a transitional hunting‐gathering‐agricultural adaptation (A‐C Group) and finally to a fully agricultural adaptation (Meroitic/X‐Group/Christian). The purposes were: (1) to compare the Mesolit…
A Century of Skeletal Biology and Paleopathology: Contrasts, Contradictions, and Conflicts
For the first half of the 20th century, biological anthropology stagnated in a state in which racial typology was its major theoretical and methodological focus. In 1951, Sherwood Wash burn proposed the "new physical anthropology" that would move biological anthropology beyond description. Washburn repositioned it into a science that focused on process, theory, and hypothesis testing. The commitment to a process-oriented biological anthropology h…
The Retreat from Migrationism
One of the most persistent, though least acknowledged, explanatory para digms in culture history is that which attributes the growth and spread of culture to the movement of peoples. We are not here referring to diffusion, but to theories which specifically envision the movements and displace ments of populations. As will be shown presently, migration and diffusion theories have quite different intellectual pedigrees, and their relationship in …
Factors influencing the etiology of cribra orbitalia in prehistoric Nubia
Diffusion, Biological Determinism, and Biocultural Adaptation in the Nubian Corridor
Nubia's position both geographically and historically made it a natural laboratory for application of a historical diffusionist paradigm. That approach, which dominated research on Nubia before 1960, led to a view of Nubian culture history as a series of disconnected episodes, each characterized by the migration, displacement, or hybridization of differing racial stocks. The International Campaign to Save the Monuments of Nubia, begun in 1960, pr…
The Health and Nutrition of a Medieval Nubian Population: The Impact of Political and Economic Change
Human remains from two cemeteries at Kulubnarti in Sudanese Nubia present an ideal opportunity to assess the biological impact of political and economic change. Remains from the early cemetery come from Nubia's medieval period, characterized by political unification and important achievements in art and architecture. Remains from the second cemetery come from the later emergent feudal age, characterized by regional isolation and return to a subsi…
Developmental, diachronic, and demographic analysis of cribra orbitalia in the medieval christian populations of Kulubnarti
Previous analysis of cribra orbitalia in the medieval populations of Kulubnarti focused only on the presence or absence of the lesion relative to age, sex, and cultural period. Demographic consideration of the lesion was limited to a gross comparison of lesion frequencies and probabilities of dying by age group. The scope of the earlier work has been expanded in the present research to include the consideration of cribra orbitalia from a developm…
Bone growth and development in prehistoric populations from Sudanese Nubia
"Farewell to paleodemography?" rumors of its death have been greatly exaggerated
Mortality and culture change in Nubia's Batn el Hajar
Skeletal growth in a medieval population from Sudanese Nubia
Long bone growth is analyzed for 180 children from a Medieval population at Kulubnarti in Sudanese Nubia (550–1450 A.D.). A regional interpopulation comparison is made with growth data from Wadi Halfa in Lower Nubia, and an intrapopulation analysis is undertaken to assess diachronic changes in growth at Kulubnarti. Changes in growth patterns are interpreted in the context of mortality and morbidity profiles and relationships between the three var…
Continuity and Change in Cranial Morphology of Three Nubian Archaeological Populations
The results of analysis of craniometric variation in Meroitic, X-Group and Christian remains from Wadi Halfa Sudan utilising discriminant function and principal components techniques revealed a general pattern of morphological continuity between the three cultural horizons. These Nubian remains represent a broadly homogeneous population undergoing an evolutionary trend towards facial reduction associated with increasing height and breadth in the …
Patterns of enamel hypoplasia in two medieval populations from Nubia's Batn el Hajar
Analysis of enamel hypoplasia frequencies for two medieval populations representing the earliest and latest Christian periods of ancient Nubia reveals important diachronic shifts in childhood stress. The mean frequency for hypoplastic bands among the early Christians is 4.2, while the late Christian sample has a mean frequency of 3.7. In addition, the earlier Christians show a prolongation of hypoplastic occurrences through childhood correspondin…
Roentgenographic and direct measurement of femoral cortical involution in a prehistoric Mississippian population
Recent roentgenographic studies suggest that periosteal apposition adds femoral cortical bone faster than it is lost by endosteal involution, so that cortical bone area increases with age. A comparison was made of direct and roentgenographic measurements of femoral cortical bone using femora from 23 females and 20 males of a prehistoric Mississippian population dated at A.D. 1540–1700. The comparison revealed that significant errors existed in th…
The contribution of time and local geography to craniofacial variation in Nubia's Batn el Hajar
While the history of Lower Nubia has traditionally been explained in terms of racial migrations and mixture, recent studies of craniofacial variation have emphasized the biological continuity in Lower Nubia over the past 12,000 years. Carlson and Van Gerven for example have demonstrated a trend among the populations for changes in craniofacial form that are best explained by changing masticatory function and in situ evolution independent of major…
Racial History and bio-cultural adaptation of Nubian archaeological populations
A principal role of the physical anthropologist has been the analysis of the human skeleton. Such analysis has traditionally utilized similarities in skeletal morphology and, in some instances, hypothetical racial affinities, to establish the biological relationships between populations. Established biological relationships are then assumed to reflect cultural affinities. As a result of this approach to the skeletal remains of Nubian populations,…
Cortical bone maintenance and geometry of the tibia in prehistoric children from Nubia's Batn el Hajar
The relationship between advancing age in adults and patterns of cortical bone maintenance has been extensively documented for archaeological populations (Dewey, et al., 1969; Van Gerven et al., 1969; Perzigian, 1973). Most recently, this research has been expanded to include a more thorough consideration of the geometric properties of bone in relationship to adult age changes (Martin and Atkinsin, 1977; Ruff and Hayes, 1983). To date, however, f…
The contribution of size and shape variation to patterns of sexual dimorphism of the human femur
The present research was undertaken to determine the relationship between patterns of generalized intrapopulational variation determined from principal components analysis and patterns of sexual dimorphism determined from Student's t and discriminant function analysis. The analysis was based upon 17 measurements of 97 femurs from a Middle Mississippian Amerindian population. The results of the principal components analysis indicated that the 17 o…
Observations on the formation and persistence of radiopaque transverse lines
The formation and persistence of radiopaque transverse lines have been assessed in the living in clinical studies of growth, nutrition, and disease. Lines have also been used by many researchers in the analysis of patterns of childhood stress in prehistoric skeletal materials, although most of this research has been undertaken on adult bones. However, how reliable and useful are transverse lines for interpretations of stress? The precise etiologi…
Sexual dimorphism and human evolution: An overview
Obstetric dimensions of the true pelvis in a Medieval population from Sudanese Nubia
Functional analysis of the true pelvis (defined as that portion lying below and including the pelvic brim) was undertaken on a sample of 36 females from the Medieval site of Kulubnarti in Sudanese Nubia. Standard obstetric measurements were taken and compared to four additional prehistoric skeletal samples and to modern American standards for the same obstetric dimensions. Relative to the other prehistoric populations, the Kulubnarti pelves are s…
Trabecular involution in femoral heads of a prehistoric (X‐Group) population from Sudanese Nubia
An analysis of trabecular bone in the head of the femur of 33 males and 40 females from a prehistoric X‐Group population from Sudanese Nubia indicates that as age increases from 17 to 50+ years loss of trabecular bone in males (16.01%) is greater than loss in females (13.47%). These results differ from previous studies of cortical bone and ash density of femoral head trabeculae which demonstrate a greater loss in females. An analysis of the diffe…
Biomechanical association of dental and temporomandibular pathology in a medieval Nubian population
An analysis of the relationship between oral pathology and degenerative change at the temporomandibular joint (TMJ) was undertaken on an archaeological sample of 122 adult crania from the Medieval site of Kulubnarti in Sudanese Nubia. The crania were sorted into 2 groups: those demonstrating clearly visible bony changes at the joint (TMJ+) and those without visible change (TMJ−). These groups were compared according to 1) age; 2) sex; 3) active d…
Sexual dimorphism and mechanics of the human hip: A multivariate assessment
The present research was undertaken to determine the effects of sexual dimorphism in the human pelvis and femur on the mechanics of human locomotion. The analysis was based on six biomechanical variables determined from 25 male and 32 female skeletal remains from the Dickson Mound site. Discriminant function analysis indicates that the mechanical variables which primarily contribute to dimorphism are the moment arm of the gluteus medius and the t…
Evidence for differences in activity between socioeconomic groups atKulubnarti,Nubia (550-800CE), from osseous modifications of the proximal femur
Past bioarchaeological analyses of human remains from the Early Christian Period site of Kulubnarti, Nubia (550-800 CE), have revealed differences in patterns of stress between two contemporaneous cemeteries (mainland [21-R-2] and island [21-S-46]) that are thought to represent separate socioeconomic groups. However, to this point, differences in activity between cemetery groups and sexes at Kulubnarti have been poorly understood. In this study, …
Roentgenographic and direct measurement of femoral cortical involution in a prehistoric Mississippian population
Recent roentgenographic studies suggest that periosteal apposition adds femoral cortical bone faster than it is lost by endosteal involution, so that cortical bone area increases with age. A comparison was made of direct and roentgenographic measurements of femoral cortical bone using femora from 23 females and 20 males of a prehistoric Mississippian population dated at A.D. 1540–1700. The comparison revealed that significant errors existed in th…
Trabecular involution in femoral heads of a prehistoric (X‐Group) population from Sudanese Nubia
An analysis of trabecular bone in the head of the femur of 33 males and 40 females from a prehistoric X‐Group population from Sudanese Nubia indicates that as age increases from 17 to 50+ years loss of trabecular bone in males (16.01%) is greater than loss in females (13.47%). These results differ from previous studies of cortical bone and ash density of femoral head trabeculae which demonstrate a greater loss in females. An analysis of the diffe…
The contribution of size and shape variation to patterns of sexual dimorphism of the human femur
The present research was undertaken to determine the relationship between patterns of generalized intrapopulational variation determined from principal components analysis and patterns of sexual dimorphism determined from Student's t and discriminant function analysis. The analysis was based upon 17 measurements of 97 femurs from a Middle Mississippian Amerindian population. The results of the principal components analysis indicated that the 17 o…
Bone growth and development in prehistoric populations from Sudanese Nubia
Racial History and bio-cultural adaptation of Nubian archaeological populations
A principal role of the physical anthropologist has been the analysis of the human skeleton. Such analysis has traditionally utilized similarities in skeletal morphology and, in some instances, hypothetical racial affinities, to establish the biological relationships between populations. Established biological relationships are then assumed to reflect cultural affinities. As a result of this approach to the skeletal remains of Nubian populations,…
Factors influencing the etiology of cribra orbitalia in prehistoric Nubia
The effect of size variation on univariate assessments of morphological difference in human crania
The present research was undertaken to determine the contribution of general size to craniometric variation in two previously described Paleo‐Amerindian series, and to evaluate the effect of size variation on univariate assessments of morphological difference between the two. The analysis was based upon 19 measurements of 81 crania representing the Iswanid and Fort Ancient Muskogid varieties. The results of principal components analysis indicate …
Sexual dimorphism and mechanics of the human hip: A multivariate assessment
The present research was undertaken to determine the effects of sexual dimorphism in the human pelvis and femur on the mechanics of human locomotion. The analysis was based on six biomechanical variables determined from 25 male and 32 female skeletal remains from the Dickson Mound site. Discriminant function analysis indicates that the mechanical variables which primarily contribute to dimorphism are the moment arm of the gluteus medius and the t…
Masticatory function and post‐pleistocene evolution in Nubia
The present research focuses on craniofacial variation in Nubia over approximately 10,000 years. Samples were grouped according to their temporal location and subsistence pattern, and represent a transition from a hunting‐gathering adaptation (Mesolithic) to a transitional hunting‐gathering‐agricultural adaptation (A‐C Group) and finally to a fully agricultural adaptation (Meroitic/X‐Group/Christian). The purposes were: (1) to compare the Mesolit…
Continuity and Change in Cranial Morphology of Three Nubian Archaeological Populations
The results of analysis of craniometric variation in Meroitic, X-Group and Christian remains from Wadi Halfa Sudan utilising discriminant function and principal components techniques revealed a general pattern of morphological continuity between the three cultural horizons. These Nubian remains represent a broadly homogeneous population undergoing an evolutionary trend towards facial reduction associated with increasing height and breadth in the …
The Retreat from Migrationism
One of the most persistent, though least acknowledged, explanatory para digms in culture history is that which attributes the growth and spread of culture to the movement of peoples. We are not here referring to diffusion, but to theories which specifically envision the movements and displace ments of populations. As will be shown presently, migration and diffusion theories have quite different intellectual pedigrees, and their relationship in …
Diffusion, Biological Determinism, and Biocultural Adaptation in the Nubian Corridor
Nubia's position both geographically and historically made it a natural laboratory for application of a historical diffusionist paradigm. That approach, which dominated research on Nubia before 1960, led to a view of Nubian culture history as a series of disconnected episodes, each characterized by the migration, displacement, or hybridization of differing racial stocks. The International Campaign to Save the Monuments of Nubia, begun in 1960, pr…
Sexual dimorphism and human evolution: An overview
Mortality and culture change in Nubia's Batn el Hajar
The contribution of time and local geography to craniofacial variation in Nubia's Batn el Hajar
While the history of Lower Nubia has traditionally been explained in terms of racial migrations and mixture, recent studies of craniofacial variation have emphasized the biological continuity in Lower Nubia over the past 12,000 years. Carlson and Van Gerven for example have demonstrated a trend among the populations for changes in craniofacial form that are best explained by changing masticatory function and in situ evolution independent of major…
Skeletal growth in a medieval population from Sudanese Nubia
Long bone growth is analyzed for 180 children from a Medieval population at Kulubnarti in Sudanese Nubia (550–1450 A.D.). A regional interpopulation comparison is made with growth data from Wadi Halfa in Lower Nubia, and an intrapopulation analysis is undertaken to assess diachronic changes in growth at Kulubnarti. Changes in growth patterns are interpreted in the context of mortality and morbidity profiles and relationships between the three var…
"Farewell to paleodemography?" rumors of its death have been greatly exaggerated
Cortical bone maintenance and geometry of the tibia in prehistoric children from Nubia's Batn el Hajar
The relationship between advancing age in adults and patterns of cortical bone maintenance has been extensively documented for archaeological populations (Dewey, et al., 1969; Van Gerven et al., 1969; Perzigian, 1973). Most recently, this research has been expanded to include a more thorough consideration of the geometric properties of bone in relationship to adult age changes (Martin and Atkinsin, 1977; Ruff and Hayes, 1983). To date, however, f…
Observations on the formation and persistence of radiopaque transverse lines
The formation and persistence of radiopaque transverse lines have been assessed in the living in clinical studies of growth, nutrition, and disease. Lines have also been used by many researchers in the analysis of patterns of childhood stress in prehistoric skeletal materials, although most of this research has been undertaken on adult bones. However, how reliable and useful are transverse lines for interpretations of stress? The precise etiologi…
Patterns of enamel hypoplasia in two medieval populations from Nubia's Batn el Hajar
Analysis of enamel hypoplasia frequencies for two medieval populations representing the earliest and latest Christian periods of ancient Nubia reveals important diachronic shifts in childhood stress. The mean frequency for hypoplastic bands among the early Christians is 4.2, while the late Christian sample has a mean frequency of 3.7. In addition, the earlier Christians show a prolongation of hypoplastic occurrences through childhood correspondin…
Biomechanical association of dental and temporomandibular pathology in a medieval Nubian population
An analysis of the relationship between oral pathology and degenerative change at the temporomandibular joint (TMJ) was undertaken on an archaeological sample of 122 adult crania from the Medieval site of Kulubnarti in Sudanese Nubia. The crania were sorted into 2 groups: those demonstrating clearly visible bony changes at the joint (TMJ+) and those without visible change (TMJ−). These groups were compared according to 1) age; 2) sex; 3) active d…
A Case Of Late Prehistoric Mutilation On The Northwest Plains
Questions concerning the origin and antiquity of Plains culture continue to be of interest to anthropologists. The suggestion that tmly violent waifare practices involving mutilation, scalping, and torture were introduced by Europeans is of particular interest in that it reinforces the traditional view of Plains culture as a post-contact phenomenon. The discovery of a pre-contact inhumation in south-central Wyoming bears importantly on this view.…
Obstetric dimensions of the true pelvis in a Medieval population from Sudanese Nubia
Functional analysis of the true pelvis (defined as that portion lying below and including the pelvic brim) was undertaken on a sample of 36 females from the Medieval site of Kulubnarti in Sudanese Nubia. Standard obstetric measurements were taken and compared to four additional prehistoric skeletal samples and to modern American standards for the same obstetric dimensions. Relative to the other prehistoric populations, the Kulubnarti pelves are s…
Developmental, diachronic, and demographic analysis of cribra orbitalia in the medieval christian populations of Kulubnarti
Previous analysis of cribra orbitalia in the medieval populations of Kulubnarti focused only on the presence or absence of the lesion relative to age, sex, and cultural period. Demographic consideration of the lesion was limited to a gross comparison of lesion frequencies and probabilities of dying by age group. The scope of the earlier work has been expanded in the present research to include the consideration of cribra orbitalia from a developm…
The Health and Nutrition of a Medieval Nubian Population: The Impact of Political and Economic Change
Human remains from two cemeteries at Kulubnarti in Sudanese Nubia present an ideal opportunity to assess the biological impact of political and economic change. Remains from the early cemetery come from Nubia's medieval period, characterized by political unification and important achievements in art and architecture. Remains from the second cemetery come from the later emergent feudal age, characterized by regional isolation and return to a subsi…
Forensic Anthropology and Bioarchaeology Studies (23 works) · Biology (15 works) · Geography (15 works) · Archaeology (13 works) · Demography (13 works) · Medicine (12 works) · Population (12 works) · Anatomy (10 works) · Sociology (10 works) · Anatomy (9 works)