Cranioskeletal Size Variation in San Francisco Bay Prehistory: Relation to Calcium Deficit in the Reconstructed High-seafoods Diet and Demographic Stress

The changing shape of palaeopathology: The contribution of skeletal shape analyses to investigations of pathological conditions

“…Ivanhoe and Chu (1996) used traditional osteometric methods and cranial and postcranial volumes to further address questions about nutrition and stress in various Indigenous groups from the San Francisco Bay area over time. These authors identified a link between body size and volume with changes in dietary patterns, specifically a reduction in body size related to an increased reliance on acorns for subsistence.…”

“…Given the number of palaeopathological studies that examine bone loss and osteoporosis (a frequent theme), it is perhaps not surprising that this early example of "shape" is also concerned with bone quantity and quality reflective of poor nutrition and generalized disease stress. Ivanhoe and Chu (1996) used traditional osteometric methods and cranial and postcranial volumes to further address questions about nutrition and stress in various Indigenous groups from the San Francisco Bay area over time. These authors identified a link between body size and volume with changes in dietary patterns, specifically a reduction in body size related to an increased reliance on acorns for subsistence.…”

Biological distance at the Ryan Mound site

“…Biological continuity of the Ryan Mound has been surmised as a result of cultural continuity (Ivanhoe & Chu, ; Jurmain, ; Leventhal, ; Weiss, ). Yet, as early as 1990, Jurmain () suggested that the biological relationship of the burials would need evaluating.…”

“…For example, cross‐sectional shapes of bones, which are used to determine activity patterns, can be affected by population differences, especially when these differences impact on body shape (see Weiss, ). Cranial measurements, which have been used to reconstruct the health of past peoples (Ivanhoe, ; Ivanhoe & Chu, ), can also be a sign of different populations (González‐José et al, ; Humphries, Maxwell, Ross & Ubelaker, ). Population (and specifically genetic) effects on osteoarthritis, dental health, stress fractures, and bone mineral density have been confirmed in clinical studies (see Weiss, ).…”