Estimated Living Statures of Dated Khoisan Skeletons from the South-Western Coastal Region of South Africa

Jennifer, Wilson, Ms, Els,; Lundy, Jasmine

doi:10.2307/3889167

Cited by 14 publications

(6 citation statements)

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“…The Later Stone Age sample used in this study is derived from archaeological contexts from several coastal or near-coastal sites dating from 11,000 to 2000 BP (Morris, 1992;Sealy et al, 1992;Churchill and Morris, 1998;Wilson and Lundy, 1994;Sealy and Pfeiffer, 2000). At ca.…”

Section: Later Stone Age Southern African and Andamanese Foragersmentioning

confidence: 99%

Linking structural variability in long bone diaphyses to habitual behaviors: Foragers from the southern African Later Stone Age and the Andaman Islands

Stock

Pfeiffer

2001

American J Phys Anthropol

253

282

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The cross-sectional distribution of cortical bone in long bone diaphyses is highly responsive to mechanical loading during life, yet the relationship between systemic and localized influences on skeletal structure remains unclear. This study investigates postcranial robustness throughout the body among adults from two groups of foragers with different patterns and modes of mobility, to determine whether there is evidence for upper vs. lower body localization of skeletal robustness. The samples used for this comparison are from the southern African Later Stone Age (LSA; n = 65, male = 33, female = 28) dating from ca. 10,000 to 2,000 B.P., and 19th century indigenous Andaman Islanders (AI; n = 36, male = 17, female = 16). The LSA were highly mobile foragers who did not exploit offshore marine resources. In contrast, the AI had tightly constrained terrestrial, but significant marine, mobility. Geometric properties of cortical bone distribution in the diaphyses of the clavicle, humerus, femur, tibia, and first metatarsal are compared between the samples, providing a representation of skeletal robustness throughout the body. Multivariate ANOVA shows the AI to have significantly stronger clavicles and humeri, while the LSA femora, tibiae, and first metatarsals are stronger than those of the AI. These patterns, in which upper and lower limbs show biomechanical properties that are consistent with habitual behaviors, suggest localized osteogenic response. Although postcranial robustness appears to be correlated with overall limb function, the results suggest that more proximal elements within the limb may be more responsive to mechanical loading.

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Section: Later Stone Age Southern African and Andamanese Foragersmentioning

confidence: 99%

Linking structural variability in long bone diaphyses to habitual behaviors: Foragers from the southern African Later Stone Age and the Andaman Islands

Stock

Pfeiffer

2001

American J Phys Anthropol

253

282

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“…Prior studies have used smaller samples to explore variability in body size in the Cape during the Holocene. Wilson and Lundy (1994) published a pilot study of 45 femora from dated, prehistoric skeletons, mainly from the western region, concluding that prehistoric statures were comparable to historically documented statures for Bushmen. Wilson and Lundy (1994, p. 7) further noted ''some evidence of diachronic change in the statures of both the female and male samples, with a decrease after 3000 BP and an increase after 2000 BP.''…”

mentioning

confidence: 97%

Body size among Holocene foragers of the Cape Ecozone, southern Africa

Pfeiffer

Sealy

2005

Am. J. Phys. Anthropol.

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Temporal and geographic variability in adult body size can be a useful indicator of a population's adaptation. The southern African Cape supported foraging populations exclusively until some pastoralism is seen, ca. 2000 BP. This paper describes and interprets body-size patterns among foragers, as deduced from maximum femoral lengths and femoral head diameters, using 127 individually dated adult skeletons from the western (70) and southern (57) regions of the Cape (64 male, 60 female, 3 sex undetermined). Estimated statures are comparable to historic Khoesan samples, but show lower values and greater variance during the fifth/fourth millennium before the present among both sexes and both biomes. Variation in femoral length does not correlate with diet protein, as reflected in stable isotope (delta(13)C and delta(15)N) values. Positive correlations between femoral head diameter and isotopic indicators suggest greater body mass with more reliance on marine protein. A decline in femoral length begins at around 4000 BP, a time when archaeologists suggest that population growth led to the incorporation of lower-ranked food resources, and to reduced mobility. A clearly identifiable linear recovery, beginning at around 3000 BP, greatly predates the earliest evidence of pastoralism on the Cape. Apparent problems of food sufficiency were addressed and solved, within a hunting and gathering economy.

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“…This study examines the applicability of several current body size estimation methods to a sample of Later Stone Age adult skeletons. Stature of Later Stone Age samples has been estimated and examined by previous researchers (Lundy, 1986;Smith et al, 1992;Wilson and Lundy, 1994), but none of these studies has specifically considered the appropriateness of the body size estimation methods employed.…”

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confidence: 99%

Body size estimation of small‐bodied humans: Applicability of current methods

Kurki

Ginter

Stock

et al. 2009

American J Phys Anthropol

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Body size (stature and mass) estimates are integral to understanding the lifeways of past populations.Body size estimation of an archaeological skeletal sample can be problematic when the body size or proportions of the population are distinctive. One such population is that of the Holocene Later Stone Age (LSA) of southern Africa, in which small stature (mean femoral length = 407 mm, n = 52) and narrow pelves (mean bi-iliac breadth = 210 mm, n = 50) produce a distinctive adult body size/shape, making it difficult to identify appropriate body size estimation methods. Material culture, morphology, and culture history link the Later Stone Age people with the descendant population collectively known as the Khoe-San. Stature estimates based on skeletal "anatomical" linear measures (the Fully method) and on long bone length are compared, along with body mass estimates derived from "morphometric" (bi-iliac breath/stature) and "biomechanical" (femoral head diameter) methods, in a LSA adult skeletal sample (n = 52) from the from coastal and near-coastal regions of South Africa. Indices of sexual dimorphism (ISD) for each method are compared with data from living populations. Fully anatomical stature is most congruent with Olivier's femur + tibia method, although both produce low ISD. McHenry's femoral head body mass formula produces estimates most consistent with the bi-iliac breadth/stature method for the females, although the males display higher degrees of disagreement among methods. These results highlight the need for formulae derived from reference samples from a wider range of body sizes to improve the reliability of existing methods.

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Estimated Living Statures of Dated Khoisan Skeletons from the South-Western Coastal Region of South Africa

Cited by 14 publications

References 0 publications

Linking structural variability in long bone diaphyses to habitual behaviors: Foragers from the southern African Later Stone Age and the Andaman Islands

Linking structural variability in long bone diaphyses to habitual behaviors: Foragers from the southern African Later Stone Age and the Andaman Islands

Body size among Holocene foragers of the Cape Ecozone, southern Africa

Body size estimation of small‐bodied humans: Applicability of current methods

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