R A Benfer
Dados Biográficos
| ID | 31204 |
|---|---|
| NOME | R A Benfer |
| PRENOMES | R A |
| SOBRENOME | Benfer |
| ASSINATURA | BENFER R A |
| AFILIAÇÕES | University of Missouri |
| ORCID | 0000-0003-0870-980X |
| VERIFICADO | Sim |
| TOTAL DE OBRAS | 40 |
| TOTAL DE CITAÇÕES | 399 |
| TOTAL COMO AUTOR | 40 |
| TOTAL COMO EDITOR | 0 |
| PRIMEIRO ANO DE PUBLICAÇÃO | 1966 |
| ANO MAIS RECENTE DE PUBLICAÇÃO | 2024 |
| ÍNDICE H | 9 |
Astronomical Alignments from Structures Surrounding Giant Animal Effigy Mounds at El Paraiso, Peru
We previously reported astronomical alignments with the principal temple of the archaeological site of El Paraiso in coastal Peru. Here we describe a new investigation of nine small platform mounds associated with the two giant animal effigy mounds at the site. A total station map of the site permits possible astronomical alignments to be measured directly from the AutoCAD map by Pixelstick or AutoCAD. We corrected alignments for obliquity and fo…
Diet and Lifestyle in the First Villages of the Middle Preceramic
We present stable isotope and osteological data from human remains at Paloma, Chilca I, La Yerba III, and Morro I that offer new evidence for diet, lifestyle, and habitual mobility in the first villages that proliferated along the arid Pacific coast of South America (ca. 6000 cal BP). The data not only reaffirm the dietary primacy of marine protein for this period but also show evidence at Paloma of direct access interactions between the coast an…
Stone Pillar of a Condor Marked the Equinox at the Site of Buena Vista, Peru at 2200 BC
The thesis of this study is that a well-attested mythological trope concerning the Fox and the Condor is apparent in archaeological features at Buena Vista in Chillón Valley, a site in Peru dating to 2200 BC. The myth identifies the Fox as an observer of human ritual activities who reports them to the Condor, who in turn flies up to the animate mountain peaks (apus) to inform them of these activities. With that information, the apus mete out puni…
A prehistoric pyramid in the shape of a volcanic cinder cone, Nepeña Valley, Peru
Archaeological work in the 1960s in the middle Nepeña Valley of coastal Peru (Figure 1) identified an artificial earthen mound or pyramid, approximately 15.5m high, with what was interpreted to be a crater dug into the top (Proulx 1968). This site has been variously known as Wanka, Huaca de Muro and El Bocón (PV31-55 in the Peruvian Ministry of Culture files). When viewed from a distance (Figure 2), the site resembles a volcanic cinder cone, such…
Montículos Tempranos De Los Valles Costeros Peruanos Que Semejan Animales Míticos Y Tienen Asociaciones Astronómicas
El equipo de arqueología de la Universidad Nacional Agraria La Molina del Perú ha constatado y verificado que diversas imágenes captadas por el programa Google Earth Pro son montículos gigantescos compuestos por desechos y piedras, así como por muros curvos, que contienen, a su vez, estructuras de planta rectangular y circular revestidas con piedras (Benfer 2011a). Su particular característica es que semejan, en planta, figuras de animales. Fuero…
Luces y arquitectura en las iglesias coloniales de la Nueva España y del Perú
En esta investigación, les presento los resultados de un estudio sobre las iglesias coloniales de Nueva España y el Perú, que muestran cuál fue el propósito de los primeros arquitectos. Estas construcciones fueron diseñadas de tal manera que los haces de luz, especialmente los procedentes de las ventanas de la cúpula, marcasen días de gran importancia astronómica y eclesiástica. La orientación de las iglesias variaba según las ciudades (que gener…
Head Shape and Size of Adult Males as Possible Indicators of Childhood Stress in Northern Jordan (1900–1978)
Stature, sitting height, stature by weight, and head circumference change with varying economic conditions during early childhood. Our hypothesis is that adult head shape, as well as head size, is influenced by changes in childhood nutrition. When economic conditions are bad, nutrition and health suffer, and the result is dolichocephaly. To test this hypothesis, we measured the head length, width, and circumference of 398 adult males in Jordan. F…
La tradición religioso-astronómica en Buena Vista
Desde hace mucho tiempo, diversos investigadores han postulado un carácter marítimo, en vez de agrícola, para los orígenes de la civilización en la costa central del Perú. Este modelo ha sido subsecuentemente modificado a la luz del hallazgo de nuevas evidencias para incluir el intercambio con comunidades agrícolas establecidas en los valles medios. Una pregunta clave en relación con este tema concierne a la causa de la súbita aparición de sitios…
Reconstructing northern Chinese Neolithic subsistence practices by isotopic analysis
The role of occlusal stress and gingival infection in the formation of exostoses on mandible and maxilla from Neolithic China
Diet and health changes at the end of the Chinese neolithic
In this paper we discuss diet and health changes of millet agriculturists in Northern China, Shaanxi province, during the period 7,000–4,000 BP. An episode of intensive climatic oscillations that preceded the onset of colder climate circa the fifth millennium BP divides the period (Shi et al. [1993] Global Planet. Change 7: 219–233). The onset of the cooler climate marks the decline of the egalitarian society of Yangshao and the rise of the chief…
Genetic and environmental influence on the asymmetry of dermatoglyphic traits
Genetic and environmental influence on the asymmetry of dermatoglyphic traits
Fluctuating asymmetry (FA) is defined as random deviations from bilateral symmetry of the body. Thus, its magnitude is often used to evaluate developmental homeostasis. In this study we evaluate the following hypotheses: 1) FA of dermatoglyphic traits has a significant genetic component; 2) prenatal maternal environment (PME) has a significant effect on the FA of dermatoglyphic traits in developmentally healthy individuals; and 3) genetic or envi…
Estimating missing data
Proyecto de excavaciones en Paloma, valle de Chilca, Perú
El sitio precerámico de Paloma (12b-VII-613) se ubica en el valle de Chilca, Perú y fue excavado durante varias temporadas, originalmente por F. Engel y B. Ojeda y luego por R. Benfer, Jr. Este último dirigió una investigación multidisciplinaria del sitio ocupado entre 7800 hasta 4700 a.p. La epoca hipsitermal del calentamiento global (6500-5000 a.p.) fue el periodo más favorable para la Costa Central debido al aumento de humedad a la que corresp…
Distinguishing rice (Oryza sativa poaceae) from wildOryza species through phytolith analysis, II Finalized method
Science and Antiscience in Anthropology
The Emergence of Color Cognition from Color Perception
Reporting isomorphism between the perception and cognition of color, this article speculates upon how the two might interrelate and how that relation might be constrained. A pilot study of color perception revealed differences in the perception of color by sex and by eye color of subject. In the present study, we examine results of a triadic sorting task of color terms, finding that for the nine most salient terms in the subjects' color cognition…
Expert Systems and the Representation of Knowledge
Reflexions sur les methodes adoptees dans differents ouvrages pour resoudre le probleme de l'acquisition et de la representation des connaissances dans les systemes experts
Distinguishing rice (Oryza sativa Poaceae) from wild Oryza species through Phytolith analysis
A Beginning Guide to Expert Systems
A Beginning Guide to Expert Systems
Leaf Music
The Preceramic Period Site of Paloma, Peru
The nature of the adjustments made by the steadily increasing population of central coastal Peru in the Middle through Late Preceramic time periods can be examined by careful study of bioindicators. Nonspecific indicators of stress (NSIS) preserved in human remains provide independent evidence for validating paleodemographic hypotheses. If life expectancy improves over a period of time, one expects diminished indication of nonspecific stress. Dec…
An Analysis of a Prehistoric Skeletal Population, Casas Grandes, Chihuahua, Mexico
The Casas Grandes skeletal sample contains approximately 654 individuals. This excavated number represents one quarter or less of the probable total number of remains at the site. The collection arrived at The Physical Anthropology Laboratory of The University of Texas at Austin in 332 cardboard boxes. Many of the boxes were partitioned so that more than one individual was alloted to a box
Reconstructing northern Chinese Neolithic subsistence practices by isotopic analysis
Distinguishing rice (Oryza sativa Poaceae) from wild Oryza species through Phytolith analysis
Distinguishing rice (Oryza sativa poaceae) from wildOryza species through phytolith analysis, II Finalized method
The Preceramic Period Site of Paloma, Peru
The nature of the adjustments made by the steadily increasing population of central coastal Peru in the Middle through Late Preceramic time periods can be examined by careful study of bioindicators. Nonspecific indicators of stress (NSIS) preserved in human remains provide independent evidence for validating paleodemographic hypotheses. If life expectancy improves over a period of time, one expects diminished indication of nonspecific stress. Dec…
Diet and health changes at the end of the Chinese neolithic
In this paper we discuss diet and health changes of millet agriculturists in Northern China, Shaanxi province, during the period 7,000–4,000 BP. An episode of intensive climatic oscillations that preceded the onset of colder climate circa the fifth millennium BP divides the period (Shi et al. [1993] Global Planet. Change 7: 219–233). The onset of the cooler climate marks the decline of the egalitarian society of Yangshao and the rise of the chief…
Cognitive and Geographic Maps
Disease and geography are related domains for Tojolabal‐Maya. Using multidimensional methods, we compare two domains: (1) individual cognitive “maps” from disease terms and (2) hand‐drawn maps, both with one another and with an official topographic map. Multivariate study of individual informant data demonstrates correspondence of the axes of maps. Least squares fitting of dimensional representations using a method specifically modified for ethno…
A Design for the Study of Archeological Characteristics1
With a sample of stemmed projectile points, the nonredundant description of archeological characteristics is demonstrated by principal-axes factor analysis. The obtained dimensions of the artifacts are tested for cultural significance by variance techniques. The concept of "culturability," or c2, is introduced as the total predictable variance of a measurement of an artifact from a knowledge of its location in time and space. Both the psychologic…
Mineral analysis of ancient Peruvian hair
Ancient Peruvian hair has been excavated from a series of archaeological sites on the Peruvian coast. After careful cleaning, examination by scanning electron microscopy revealed most of the samples to be in a state of preservation comparable to modern hair. No evidence of pathological conditions was observed. Trace metal composition was determined by atomic absorption and flame emission spectrophotometry and nitrogen by Kjeldahl analysis, produc…
The Desirability of Small Samples for Anthropological Inference
Diet and Lifestyle in the First Villages of the Middle Preceramic
We present stable isotope and osteological data from human remains at Paloma, Chilca I, La Yerba III, and Morro I that offer new evidence for diet, lifestyle, and habitual mobility in the first villages that proliferated along the arid Pacific coast of South America (ca. 6000 cal BP). The data not only reaffirm the dietary primacy of marine protein for this period but also show evidence at Paloma of direct access interactions between the coast an…
Automatic Classification of Inspectional Categories
The application of extremely complex multivariate models of classification to subjective inspectional methods of categorization is analyzed in detail, with the widely used Texas system of dart point typology as a case study. The history of the development of the Texas dart point typological system is sketched. An attempt by Gunn and Prewitt (1975) to objectify the classificatory system by multivariate methods is criticized. The techniques applied…
Morphometric analysis of Cartesian coordinates of the human skull
A method for locating the three dimensional coordinates of cranial landmarks with respect to the Frankfort, midsagittal, and coronal planes is presented. Sliding calipers were used to obtain the distances from left and right porion and apex to each landmark, except for a few points where spreading calipers are required. In the present example, 35 landmarks (for a total of 105 measurements) were located for each of 35 Peruvian precolumbian skulls.…
Factor Analysis as Numerical Induction
The use of some forms of data in factor analysis for purposes of numerical induction has recently been questioned (Sackett 1969). The nature of “qualitative” and “quantitative” data and the assumptions of the factor analysis model are discussed in this paper. Results of a plasmode—a worked example with relatively well understood data—confirm the robustness of factor analysis under varying degrees of violation of the model More and more examples o…
The correlation of bone robusticity with the perforation of the coronoid‐olecranon septum in the humerus of man
Hrdlička ('32) theorized that the tendency towards perforation of the coronoid‐olecranon septum of the humerus was phylogenetic in origin, but its appearance also seemed to be negatively correlated with bone size. By determining the correlation between the occurrence of the perforation and certain standard anthropometric measurements, the present study provides a statistical tool to test Hrdlička's hypothesis more rigorously. The minimum middle d…
Estimating missing data
La tradición religioso-astronómica en Buena Vista
Desde hace mucho tiempo, diversos investigadores han postulado un carácter marítimo, en vez de agrícola, para los orígenes de la civilización en la costa central del Perú. Este modelo ha sido subsecuentemente modificado a la luz del hallazgo de nuevas evidencias para incluir el intercambio con comunidades agrícolas establecidas en los valles medios. Una pregunta clave en relación con este tema concierne a la causa de la súbita aparición de sitios…
The Emergence of Color Cognition from Color Perception
Reporting isomorphism between the perception and cognition of color, this article speculates upon how the two might interrelate and how that relation might be constrained. A pilot study of color perception revealed differences in the perception of color by sex and by eye color of subject. In the present study, we examine results of a triadic sorting task of color terms, finding that for the nine most salient terms in the subjects' color cognition…
The occurrence of the septal perforation of the humerus in three non‐human primate species
Evidence is presented concerning the occurrence of the coronoid‐olecranon perforation of the humerus in three species of Old World monkeys. Significant relationships are found to exist between the occurrence of the perforation and smaller minimum midshaft diameters of humeri, younger ages, and more protruding processes of ulnae. A possible explanation for perforated coronoid‐olecranon septums is advanced. The olecranon process of the ulna is foun…
Proyecto de excavaciones en Paloma, valle de Chilca, Perú
El sitio precerámico de Paloma (12b-VII-613) se ubica en el valle de Chilca, Perú y fue excavado durante varias temporadas, originalmente por F. Engel y B. Ojeda y luego por R. Benfer, Jr. Este último dirigió una investigación multidisciplinaria del sitio ocupado entre 7800 hasta 4700 a.p. La epoca hipsitermal del calentamiento global (6500-5000 a.p.) fue el periodo más favorable para la Costa Central debido al aumento de humedad a la que corresp…
Individual Differences in Rule-Based Systems of Knowledge with Behavioral Implications
Robert A. Benfer, Individual Differences in Rule-Based Systems of Knowledge with Behavioral Implications, Anthropological Quarterly, Vol. 62, No. 2, Expert Systems Applications in Anthropology, Part 1 (Apr., 1989), pp. 69-81
Associations among cranial traits
Multivariate analysis of associations among seven cranial characteristics originally presented by Hertzog ('68) suggests that the appearance of the circumparietal accessory ossicles, parietal foramina, and form of the fronto‐temporal suture are largely independent of each other both within and across geographical races
An Analysis of a Prehistoric Skeletal Population, Casas Grandes, Chihuahua, Mexico
The Casas Grandes skeletal sample contains approximately 654 individuals. This excavated number represents one quarter or less of the probable total number of remains at the site. The collection arrived at The Physical Anthropology Laboratory of The University of Texas at Austin in 332 cardboard boxes. Many of the boxes were partitioned so that more than one individual was alloted to a box
Astronomical Alignments from Structures Surrounding Giant Animal Effigy Mounds at El Paraiso, Peru
We previously reported astronomical alignments with the principal temple of the archaeological site of El Paraiso in coastal Peru. Here we describe a new investigation of nine small platform mounds associated with the two giant animal effigy mounds at the site. A total station map of the site permits possible astronomical alignments to be measured directly from the AutoCAD map by Pixelstick or AutoCAD. We corrected alignments for obliquity and fo…
Stone Pillar of a Condor Marked the Equinox at the Site of Buena Vista, Peru at 2200 BC
The thesis of this study is that a well-attested mythological trope concerning the Fox and the Condor is apparent in archaeological features at Buena Vista in Chillón Valley, a site in Peru dating to 2200 BC. The myth identifies the Fox as an observer of human ritual activities who reports them to the Condor, who in turn flies up to the animate mountain peaks (apus) to inform them of these activities. With that information, the apus mete out puni…
Montículos Tempranos De Los Valles Costeros Peruanos Que Semejan Animales Míticos Y Tienen Asociaciones Astronómicas
El equipo de arqueología de la Universidad Nacional Agraria La Molina del Perú ha constatado y verificado que diversas imágenes captadas por el programa Google Earth Pro son montículos gigantescos compuestos por desechos y piedras, así como por muros curvos, que contienen, a su vez, estructuras de planta rectangular y circular revestidas con piedras (Benfer 2011a). Su particular característica es que semejan, en planta, figuras de animales. Fuero…
The correlation of bone robusticity with the perforation of the coronoid‐olecranon septum in the humerus of man
Hrdlička ('32) theorized that the tendency towards perforation of the coronoid‐olecranon septum of the humerus was phylogenetic in origin, but its appearance also seemed to be negatively correlated with bone size. By determining the correlation between the occurrence of the perforation and certain standard anthropometric measurements, the present study provides a statistical tool to test Hrdlička's hypothesis more rigorously. The minimum middle d…
A Design for the Study of Archeological Characteristics1
With a sample of stemmed projectile points, the nonredundant description of archeological characteristics is demonstrated by principal-axes factor analysis. The obtained dimensions of the artifacts are tested for cultural significance by variance techniques. The concept of "culturability," or c2, is introduced as the total predictable variance of a measurement of an artifact from a knowledge of its location in time and space. Both the psychologic…
The occurrence of the septal perforation of the humerus in three non‐human primate species
Evidence is presented concerning the occurrence of the coronoid‐olecranon perforation of the humerus in three species of Old World monkeys. Significant relationships are found to exist between the occurrence of the perforation and smaller minimum midshaft diameters of humeri, younger ages, and more protruding processes of ulnae. A possible explanation for perforated coronoid‐olecranon septums is advanced. The olecranon process of the ulna is foun…
The Desirability of Small Samples for Anthropological Inference
Physical Anthropology
Associations among cranial traits
Multivariate analysis of associations among seven cranial characteristics originally presented by Hertzog ('68) suggests that the appearance of the circumparietal accessory ossicles, parietal foramina, and form of the fronto‐temporal suture are largely independent of each other both within and across geographical races
Factor Analysis as Numerical Induction
The use of some forms of data in factor analysis for purposes of numerical induction has recently been questioned (Sackett 1969). The nature of “qualitative” and “quantitative” data and the assumptions of the factor analysis model are discussed in this paper. Results of a plasmode—a worked example with relatively well understood data—confirm the robustness of factor analysis under varying degrees of violation of the model More and more examples o…
Archeology
Morphometric analysis of Cartesian coordinates of the human skull
A method for locating the three dimensional coordinates of cranial landmarks with respect to the Frankfort, midsagittal, and coronal planes is presented. Sliding calipers were used to obtain the distances from left and right porion and apex to each landmark, except for a few points where spreading calipers are required. In the present example, 35 landmarks (for a total of 105 measurements) were located for each of 35 Peruvian precolumbian skulls.…
The shapes of our ancestors
Charles Oxnard. Form and Pattern in Human Evolution: Some Mathematical, Physical, and Engineering Approaches. Chicago.‐ University of Chicago Press, 1973, ix + 218 pp. Figures, bibliography, and index. $12.50
A Test of a Migration Hypothesis
The paper presents the thesis that migration hypotheses must be tested on skeletal populations as well as on other information spheres: subsets of material culture, linguistics, historical records, and toponyms. It tests the null hypothesis that a population of Slavs replaced the indigenous population of Illyrians in the karst region of Yugoslavia after the middle of the 6th century A.D. The null hypothesis is rejected by univariate and multivari…
Mineral analysis of ancient Peruvian hair
Ancient Peruvian hair has been excavated from a series of archaeological sites on the Peruvian coast. After careful cleaning, examination by scanning electron microscopy revealed most of the samples to be in a state of preservation comparable to modern hair. No evidence of pathological conditions was observed. Trace metal composition was determined by atomic absorption and flame emission spectrophotometry and nitrogen by Kjeldahl analysis, produc…
Automatic Classification of Inspectional Categories
The application of extremely complex multivariate models of classification to subjective inspectional methods of categorization is analyzed in detail, with the widely used Texas system of dart point typology as a case study. The history of the development of the Texas dart point typological system is sketched. An attempt by Gunn and Prewitt (1975) to objectify the classificatory system by multivariate methods is criticized. The techniques applied…
Cognitive and Geographic Maps
Disease and geography are related domains for Tojolabal‐Maya. Using multidimensional methods, we compare two domains: (1) individual cognitive “maps” from disease terms and (2) hand‐drawn maps, both with one another and with an official topographic map. Multivariate study of individual informant data demonstrates correspondence of the axes of maps. Least squares fitting of dimensional representations using a method specifically modified for ethno…
Individual Differences in Rule-Based Systems of Knowledge with Behavioral Implications
Robert A. Benfer, Individual Differences in Rule-Based Systems of Knowledge with Behavioral Implications, Anthropological Quarterly, Vol. 62, No. 2, Expert Systems Applications in Anthropology, Part 1 (Apr., 1989), pp. 69-81
The Preceramic Period Site of Paloma, Peru
The nature of the adjustments made by the steadily increasing population of central coastal Peru in the Middle through Late Preceramic time periods can be examined by careful study of bioindicators. Nonspecific indicators of stress (NSIS) preserved in human remains provide independent evidence for validating paleodemographic hypotheses. If life expectancy improves over a period of time, one expects diminished indication of nonspecific stress. Dec…
Leaf Music
A Beginning Guide to Expert Systems
A Beginning Guide to Expert Systems
Distinguishing rice (Oryza sativa Poaceae) from wild Oryza species through Phytolith analysis
Science and Antiscience in Anthropology
The Emergence of Color Cognition from Color Perception
Reporting isomorphism between the perception and cognition of color, this article speculates upon how the two might interrelate and how that relation might be constrained. A pilot study of color perception revealed differences in the perception of color by sex and by eye color of subject. In the present study, we examine results of a triadic sorting task of color terms, finding that for the nine most salient terms in the subjects' color cognition…
Expert Systems and the Representation of Knowledge
Reflexions sur les methodes adoptees dans differents ouvrages pour resoudre le probleme de l'acquisition et de la representation des connaissances dans les systemes experts
Distinguishing rice (Oryza sativa poaceae) from wildOryza species through phytolith analysis, II Finalized method
Proyecto de excavaciones en Paloma, valle de Chilca, Perú
El sitio precerámico de Paloma (12b-VII-613) se ubica en el valle de Chilca, Perú y fue excavado durante varias temporadas, originalmente por F. Engel y B. Ojeda y luego por R. Benfer, Jr. Este último dirigió una investigación multidisciplinaria del sitio ocupado entre 7800 hasta 4700 a.p. La epoca hipsitermal del calentamiento global (6500-5000 a.p.) fue el periodo más favorable para la Costa Central debido al aumento de humedad a la que corresp…
Geography (16 obras) · Archaeology (13 obras) · Computer Science (13 obras) · Biology (12 obras) · Sociology (11 obras) · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies (10 obras) · Mathematics (9 obras) · History (8 obras) · Medicine (7 obras) · Art (6 obras)