The daily grind

Sex‐ and age‐related activity patterns inferred from cross‐sectional geometry of long bones in a pre‐Columbian muisca population from Tibanica, Colombia

Datos Bibliográficos

ID8314742
AutoresMelanie J Miller (0000-0002-7189-1109, Department of Anatomy University of Otago Dunedin Otago 9016 New Zealand, autor de correspondencia), Sabrina C Agarwal (0000-0003-0543-0053, Department of Anthropology University of California Berkeley California), Lucero Aristizábal (Department of Antropología Universidad de los Andes Bogotá Colombia), Carl Henrik Langebaek (Universidad de los Andes), Carl Langebaek (Department of Antropología Universidad de los Andes Bogotá Colombia)
Año2018
Volumen167
Número2
Páginas311-326
Fecha de publicación2018-10-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaAmerican Journal of Physical Anthropology (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0002-9483 • E-ISSN: 1096-8644
EditorialWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1002/ajpa.23629
PMID30192371
OpenAlexW2890339924
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas5
Referencias citadas96

Objectives Daily activities involve biomechanical strains acting on skeletal structures. This study identifies differences in activity patterns between males and females, and between young, middle, and older aged individuals within an excavated Muisca skeletal sample from the Eastern Andes region of Northern South America. Materials and methods The Tibanica archaeological site (AD 1000‐1400) is located at 2600 masl on the Sabana de Bogotá, Colombia. Cross‐sectional geometric analysis of femurs from 63 individuals and paired‐humerii from 33 individuals was used to examine bone size (TA), strength (J) and diaphyseal shape ( I max / I min , I x / I y ). Results The findings indicate both age‐ and sex‐related differences in activity patterns. An emphasis on upper body strength and robusticity was observed in the females, while males performed more strenuous work using their lower bodies, suggesting gender‐based differences in labor. Men showed significant asymmetry in their humerii, with most showing right‐hand dominance for upper body activities, while females showed high levels of humeral symmetry indicating similar levels of biomechanical stress for both arms. Female femoral diaphyseal shape changes with age, suggesting more mobility in youth and decreased mobility in middle and older ages. Discussion These results suggest that daily life may have been structured through patterns of routine labor that united and divided particular age and sex groups. Cross‐sectional geometry data indicate women likely spent significant time and energy preparing food, especially grinding maize or other foods, while men may have done more long‐distance walking potentially to work in agricultural fields or procure other resources

Composite material · Geography · Geometry · Grind · Population · Sociology · Demography · Forensic Anthropology and Bioarchaeology Studies · Geology · Materials Science · Mathematics · Morphological variations and asymmetry · Pleistocene-Era Hominins and Archaeology