Attempting to Identify Activities in the Past: Preliminary Investigations of the Third Millennium BC Population at Tell Abraq

Abstract

This paper reviews attempts by osteologists to identify activities in the past through examination of particular alterations to skeletal remains. Following an outline of the history of interest in occupational pathology, the physiology of bone is briefly summarised in order better to understand the potential of investigating occupation in the past. A history of archaeological research and interpretations in this field is then provided, followed by a discussion of a particular case study in which the human skeletal remains and material culture from the site of Tell Abraq were examined by the author in an attempt to identify bone alterations which may be attributed to certain activities.

Robusticity and osteoarthritis at the trapeziometacarpal joint in a Bronze Age population from Tell Abraq, United Arab Emirates

“…Also found in the tomb were a variety of ceramic and stone vessels, copper/bronze rings, spearheads, and feeding shells (similar to the ones used by Bedouin in the recent past) (Potts, 1993a). Preliminary paleopathological and paleodemographic studies of the remains from the tomb revealed that adults appear to have been well-nourished and relatively robust (Potts, 1993a,b;Blau, 1996;Martin et al, 1999;Turner et al, 2002).…”

“…Although it was apparent that the tomb contents had been relatively undisturbed prior to excavation, the majority of the skeletal remains were commingled and disarticulated, and many of the larger components were fragmented (Turner et al, 2002) by the interment practices of this population (Potts, 1993a;Blau, 1996). Many of the smaller skeletal components from the upper and lower extremities, although commingled, were extremely well-preserved (Blau, 1996). Also found in the tomb were a variety of ceramic and stone vessels, copper/bronze rings, spearheads, and feeding shells (similar to the ones used by Bedouin in the recent past) (Potts, 1993a).…”

“…This can often lead to the misrepresentation of males and females at a particular site, with females being grossly underrepresented (St. Hoyme and Iscan, 1989;Blau, 1996). However, in the absence of other available data, the first metacarpals were used to provide a possible sexual demography of the individuals buried in the Tell Abraq tomb, following the protocol defined by Scheuer and Elkington (1993).…”

“…Sexual identification of the Tell Abraq specimens using the regression formula developed by Scheuer and Elkington (1993) is certainly biased by the size of the specimens. Previous sexing of this sample included assessments of fragmented partial pelvii specimens (Martin et al, 1999) and observations made by Blau (1996) regarding the talus bones. Both determined that the skeletal remains they examined were mostly males, or very large female specimens (Blau, 1996;Martin et al, 1999).…”

“…Although Potts (1991Potts ( , 1993a) spent years analyzing the artifacts and reconstructing the dietary habits, material culture, and local economy, there has been limited use of the skeletal remains to support or enhance the life history (Buikstra and Cook, 1991;Powell et al, 1991) of the people from Tell Abraq (Blau, 1996). The purpose of this study was to examine the carpal and metacarpal bones from individuals who were buried in the Tell Abraq tomb and to interpret these data to add to the overall reconstruction of daily life at that site in 2300 BC.…”