In the present report we investigate stature estimation techniques in a sample of 64 (35 male, 29 female) prehistoric Native Americans from Ohio. Because living stature is unknown for these 64 individuals, we use Fully's (1956) anatomical method to provide the best estimates of living stature. In this method all osseous components of skeletal height are measured and soft tissue correction is added. Comparisons of regression equations commonly used for stature estimation in prehistoric Eastern Woodland Native American populations, but developed for East Asian and East Asian-derived populations (using lower extremity components), show that these commonly used equations consistently yield stature estimates 2 to 8 cm in excess of the best estimates from Fully's method. Based on the skeletal height measures of the 64 individuals in the present sample, we develop regression equations for the estimation of stature. These equations yield stature estimates virtually identical to estimates from Fully's method and may prove useful for stature reconstruction in other prehistoric Eastern Woodland Native American populations.
Cranial and mandibular discrete traits and cranial metric traits were collected from 99-125 individuals in eight terminal Late Archaic sites. The analysis of ten metric traits in six samples showed that the samples shared the same generalized variance and that sexual dimorphism in the means of the metric traits was greater than inter-site differences. Since these samples share the same size and shape expression of a complex set of polygenic traits, we hypothesize a historical relationship among these samples. Discrete trait analysis showed a pattern of differentiation among the eight samples. This pattern of differentiation is related directly to the geographical separation between samples, and, as with metric traits, cultural differences do not contribute to the pattern of biological differences. The overall pattern of osteological variation in these samples can be summarized parsimoniously by paraphrasing the first law of geography: All of the terminal Late Archaic populations of Ohio were related to each other, but closer ones were more related than distant ones.
Six populations of prehistoric Amerindians from Ohio are sampled to establish the relationship of enamel composition and dental caries experience. The populations used included groups practicing hunting-gathering-fishing and maize horticulture, and they represent at least two major cultural traditions, the Late Archaic/Glacial Kame (1000-500 BC) and the Fort Ancient and Sandusky Bay Traditions (AD) 1200-1600). Characterization of enamel composition is achieved using scanning electron microscopy energy-dispersive X-ray analysis. Thirteen elements present are quantified, and they are analyzed with respect to each population's subsistence base using correspondence analysis. Evaluations of cariogenic and cariostatic effects of elements are made on the basis of caries frequency comparisons among the populations. Results indicate that zinc, copper, iron, nickel, and calcium-phosphorus ratio distinguish populations exhibiting high, moderate, and low caries frequency as well as discriminate hunter-gathers from maize horticulturalists.
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