Cannibalism in the Prehistoric American Southwest. Occurrence, Taphonomy, Explanation, and Suggestions for Standardized World Definition.

Turner, Christy G.; Turner, Jacqueline A.

doi:10.1537/ase.103.1

Cited by 36 publications

(24 citation statements)

References 33 publications

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“…Other signs that cannibalism might have occurred included the fact that most of the bones recovered from the site were limb bones, possibly retained as a "portable food supply" (Beattie and Geiger, 1987:62), and the fact that many of the bones were found clustered outside a tent circle, as if intentionally deposited there (Beattie and Savelle, 1983). Turner and Turner (1995) identify five criteria that must be met before an interpretation of cannibalism can be made from human skeletal remains: cut marks, perimortem breakage, anvil or hammerstone abrasions, burning, and missing vertebrae. While these criteria were developed specifically for skeletal remains from the American Southwest, where cannibalism is believed to have occurred under circumstances other than famine (Turner and Turner, 1995), one and possibly two of these criteria, cut marks and perimortem breakage, are present in the skeletal remains from NgLj-2 and are consistent with the 19th-century Inuit accounts of cannibalism.…”

Section: Cannibalismmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Turner and Turner (1995) identify five criteria that must be met before an interpretation of cannibalism can be made from human skeletal remains: cut marks, perimortem breakage, anvil or hammerstone abrasions, burning, and missing vertebrae. While these criteria were developed specifically for skeletal remains from the American Southwest, where cannibalism is believed to have occurred under circumstances other than famine (Turner and Turner, 1995), one and possibly two of these criteria, cut marks and perimortem breakage, are present in the skeletal remains from NgLj-2 and are consistent with the 19th-century Inuit accounts of cannibalism. Particularly revealing is the distribution of cut marks on the remains.…”

Section: Cannibalismmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The Final Days of the Franklin Expedition: New Skeletal Evidence

Keenleyside¹,

Bertulli²,

Fricke³

1997

ARCTIC

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ABSTRACT. In 1992, a previously unrecorded site of Sir John Franklin's last expedition (1845 -1848) was discovered on King William Island in the central Canadian Arctic. Artifacts recovered from the site included iron and copper nails, glass, a clay pipe fragment, pieces of fabric and shoe leather, buttons, and a scatter of wood fragments, possibly representing the remains of a lifeboat or sledge. Nearly 400 human bones and bone fragments, representing a minimum of 11 men, were also found at the site. A combination of artifactual and oxygen isotope evidence indicated a European origin for at least two of these individuals. Skeletal pathology included periostitis, osteoarthritis, dental caries, abscesses, antemortem tooth loss, and periodontal disease. Mass spectroscopy and x-ray fluorescence revealed elevated lead levels consistent with previous measurements, further supporting the conclusion that lead poisoning contributed to the demise of the expedition. Cut marks on approximately one-quarter of the remains support 19th-century Inuit accounts of cannibalism among Franklin's crew.Key words: Franklin Expedition, skeletal remains, oxygen isotope analysis, lead poisoning, cannibalism RÉSUMÉ. En 1992, on a découvert un site non mentionné auparavant, relié à la dernière expédition de sir John Franklin (1845-1848) dans l'île du Roi-Guillaume, située au centre de l'océan Arctique canadien. Les artefacts récupérés sur ce site comprenaient des clous en fer et en cuivre, du verre, un fragment de pipe en terre, des morceaux de tissu et de cuir de chaussure, des boutons et de multiples fragments de bois éparpillés, qui pourraient venir d'un canot de sauvetage ou d'un traîneau. On a aussi trouvé sur le site un total d'environ 400 fragments osseux ou os complets, représentant au moins 11 hommes. En se basant à la fois sur de la documentation archéologique et sur des analyses des isotopes de l'oxygène, on a pu attribuer une origine européenne à au moins deux de ces individus. Les lésions osseuses comprenaient périostites, ostéo-arthrite, caries dentaires, abcès, perte de dents précédant le décès et parodontolyses. La spectroscopie de masse et la fluorescence X ont révélé de forts taux de plomb correspondant aux mesures précédentes, venant ainsi appuyer la conclusion qui veut que l'empoisonnement par le plomb ait contribué à la fin de l'expédition. Des entailles sur environ un quart des ossements confirment les récits inuit du XIX e siècle sur le cannibalisme pratiqué par l'équipage de Franklin.Mots clés: expédition Franklin, ossements, analyse des isotopes de l'oxygène, empoisonnement par le plomb, cannibalisme Traduit pour la revue Arctic par Nésida Loyer.

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Section: Cannibalismmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Cannibalismmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Final Days of the Franklin Expedition: New Skeletal Evidence

Keenleyside¹,

Bertulli²,

Fricke³

1997

ARCTIC

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“…was of key importance (Lowell, 1997;Walker, 2001). In doing so, the primary causes were interpreted as the result of, for example, cannibalism (for the criteria of cannibalism identification see Villa et al, 1986;White, 1992;Turner and Turner, 1995;Boulestin, 1999), ante-or perimortem scalping (Hamperl, 1967), warfare (Parker Pearson and Thorpe, 2005), decapitation, mortuary rituals, or postmortem traumas caused by scavengers or during site formation processes (taphonomy; Shipman, 1981).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The possible behavioral contexts of these modifications appear to be cannibalism (Villa et al, 1986;White, 1992;Turner and Turner, 1995;Boulestin, 1999), warfare (Rogers, 2004;Knü sel, 2005), and trophy-scalping (Milner et al, 1991;During and Nilsson, 1991;Murphy et al, 2002), as well as ritual modifications during secondary burial (Duday et al, 1990). The pattern of cutmarks on the CR3 cranium does not correspond to the patterns that have been identified for the first three behavioral contexts (particularly processing for nutritional content for cannibalism, embedded points, blunt fractures and parry fractures for warfare, and circular or midsagital cutmarks for scalping), making it likely that some form of funerary practice was responsible for the patterned cutmarks.…”

Section: Behavioral Contextmentioning

confidence: 99%

Intentional cutmarks on an early mesolithic human calvaria from Margaux Cave (Dinant, Belgium)

Toussaint

2010

American J Phys Anthropol

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Margaux Cave (Belgium) yielded a Pre-Boreal Early Mesolithic burial covered by what resembled a burial mound. The hundreds of human bones excavated belonged to 7 to 10 adult females. Among these bones, the CR3 cranium presents numerous cutmarks on both zygomatic processes, on the frontal squama and along the two coronal sutures, as well as on the left part of the posterior cranium. The cutmarks on the zygomatic processes correspond to the removal of the mandible while those on the top of the forehead and the occipital may result from the removal of the scalp. Therefore, these cutmarks may be interpreted as part of a mortuary ritual.

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“…Esta interpretación deriva de los datos generados mediante el análisis tafonómico, involucrando los tipos de incisiones observadas, sus características en cuanto a localización sobre la topografía ósea, la diversidad de elementos afectados y las propiedades de los paquetes funerarios (i.e., composición y ordenación anatómica, pigmentación intencional y asociación contextual). Por otra parte, cabe mencionar que no se registró evidencia de fracturas en huesos "frescos", ni lascas óseas, así como tampoco rastros de alteración térmica que puedan indicar que las actividades sobre los cuerpos estuvieran vinculadas a otro tipo de hábitos culturales, como el canibalismo (Villa et al 1986;White 1992;Turner & Turner 1995). Además, los resultados del análisis llevado a cabo sobre esta muestra del registro bioarqueológico de PA1 no se condicen con las evidencias indicativas de violencia interpersonal (Larsen 1997).…”

Section: Discusión Y Conclusionesunclassified

Procesos De Formación Y Efectos Tafonómicos en Entierros Humanos: El Caso Del Sitio Paso Alsina 1 en Patagonia Nororiental Argentina

González

2013

Magallania

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RESUMENEl registro bioarqueológico del sitio Paso Alsina 1 (curso inferior del río Colorado, provincia de Buenos Aires, Argentina) aporta evidencias importantes para el conocimiento de las poblaciones humanas que habitaron esta zona transicional entre Pampa y Patagonia durante los momentos finales del Holoceno tardío (ca. 1.000-250 años AP). En este trabajo se presentan los resultados de un estudio tafonómico realizado sobre dos entierros secundarios múltiples de Paso Alsina 1. La diversidad de variables analizadas permitió inferir la historia postmortem y postdepositacional del conjunto óseo humano. La bioturbación tuvo un bajo impacto general mientras que los procesos físico-químicos vinculados con el microambiente de depositación provocaron alteraciones en la integridad anatómica de diversos elementos óseos. Por otra parte, la presencia de huellas de corte sobre algunas unidades anatómicas refleja la intervención humana sobre algunos cuerpos como parte de las prácticas mortuorias.PALABRAS CLAVE: tafonomía, entierros secundarios múltiples, cazadores-recolectores, Patagonia nororiental, Holoceno tardío final. FORMATION PROCESSES AND TAPHONOMIC EFFECTS IN HUMAN BURIALS: THE PASO ALSINA 1 SITE IN NORTH-EASTERN PATAGONIA, ARGENTINA ABSTRACTThe bioarchaeological record from the site Paso Alsina 1 (lower basin of the Colorado river, province of Buenos Aires, Argentina) contributes with important evidences for the knowledge of human populations inhabiting this transitional area between the Pampas and Patagonia during the Final Late Holocene (ca. 1.000-250 years BP). The results from the taphonomic study of two secondary multiple burials from Paso Alsina 1 are presented in this paper. The different analyzed variables allowed to infer the postmortem and postdepositional history of the human bone assemblage. Bioturbation impact was limited but the physical-chemical processes operating in the sedimentary context affected the anatomical integrity of diverse bone elements. On the other hand, the presence of cut marks on several anatomical units indicates human manipulation of some human bodies in the context of mortuary practices.

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Cannibalism in the Prehistoric American Southwest. Occurrence, Taphonomy, Explanation, and Suggestions for Standardized World Definition.

Cited by 36 publications

References 33 publications

The Final Days of the Franklin Expedition: New Skeletal Evidence

The Final Days of the Franklin Expedition: New Skeletal Evidence

Intentional cutmarks on an early mesolithic human calvaria from Margaux Cave (Dinant, Belgium)

Procesos De Formación Y Efectos Tafonómicos en Entierros Humanos: El Caso Del Sitio Paso Alsina 1 en Patagonia Nororiental Argentina

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