This report presents a morphological description of ten hominid skeletal fragments found at Vindija cave, northwestern Yugoslavia, in 1980-1981. Eight of the specimens (seven cranial fragments and one complete hand proximal phalanx) were excavated from level G3, a stratum correlated to the Lower Würm stadial and containing Mousterian lithic elements. The salient morphological features of these new specimens are similar to those of previously described hominids from this same stratum, indicating that the new specimens are also remains of archaic H. sapiens (Neandertals). One parietal fragment was excavated from the stratigraphically more recent F complex. The F complex contains Upper Paleolithic lithic elements, and the new hominid specimen from this complex appears to exhibit features similar to other early modern H. sapiens in southcentral Europe.

No abstract

Forensic anthropology has long been criticized for its lack of a strong theoretical and scientific foundation. This paper addresses this problem by examining the role of theory in forensic anthropology at different hierarchical levels (high-level, middle-range, and low-level) and the relevance of various theoretical concepts (taphonomic, agency, behavioral archaeology, nonlinear systems, and methodological theories) to the interpretation of forensic contexts. Application of these theories to a case study involving the search for the WWII Goettge Patrol illustrates the explanatory power these theories offer to the interpretation of forensic events as the end product of an often complex set of environmental constraints and behavioral interactions and choices. It also emphasizes the importance of case studies in theory building and hypothesis testing. A theoretical foundation does indeed currently exist in forensic anthropology; however, a recognition and broader implementation of anthropological (archaeological) theory is warranted and will further define forensic anthropology as a scientific endeavor.

Interrelations among three roughly contemporaneous late prehistoric Mississippian societies in Middle and East Tennessee are reexamined in terms of currently available biological, archaeological, and ethnohistoric data. Previous researchers have suggested a close relation between two of those cultures—Mouse Creek and Middle Cumberland—to the exclusion of the third, Dallas. However, multivariate analyses of craniofacial and mandibular dimensions of individuals from the three groups suggest a greater biological relation between Dallas and Mouse Creek than between Mouse Creek and Middle Cumberland. In addition, a comparison of intrasite settlement patterning, ceramic and mortuary variability, and ethnohistoric data across the three groups support the skeletal analysis. Relations between Dallas and Mouse Creek may mirror similar processes of sociopolitical reorganization occurring throughout the Southeast in the late prehistoric period.

No abstract