Nutritional Success on the Great Plains: Nineteenth-Century Equestrian Nomads

Prince, Joseph M.; Steckel, Richard H.

doi:10.1162/002219502320815163

Cited by 63 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 17 publications

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“…evidence against sample selection. The heights of each tribe are consistent with a normal distribution according to the Shapiro-Wilks test at the 0.10 level (Steckel 2010 andSteckel 2003). Komlos and Carlson (2014) The Fair (and its budget) provided Boas with the opportunity to pursue his interest in classifying American Indians into different physical types.…”

Section: Boas Native American Heights and The Biological Standard Omentioning

confidence: 99%

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Selection and historical height data: Evidence from the 1892 Boas sample of the Cherokee Nation

Miller

2016

Explorations in Economic History

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Abstract:Economists have increasingly turned to height data to gain insight into a population's standard of living. Because height measures are used when other data is unavailable, testing their reliability can be difficult, and concerns over sample selection have lead to several vigorous debates within the heights literature. In this paper, I use a unique contemporaneous census to gauge the extent of selection into a contested sample of American Indian heights. I have linked people from the 1892 Boas sample of the Cherokee Nation to the 1890 Cherokee Census. An initial analysis finds evidence of negative selection into the Boas sample. A detailed examination of those measured reveals a more complex story. Two distinct groups are present within the data. The first group consists of 64 members of the Cherokee elite. Their households owned more land, had invested more in improvements to their land, and had higher literacy rates. The remainder of the Boas sample is poor relative to both the elite and the rest of the Cherokee Nation. Part, but not all, of this difference is due to their residential location. Forty percent of the Boas sample lived in poorest district of Cherokee Nation. These differences in wealth between the two groups were mirrored by a fairly dramatic difference in average heights. The average height of all men in elite group was 173.9 cm while the non-elite were several centimeters shorter at just 171.2 cm.

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Section: Boas Native American Heights and The Biological Standard Omentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Women are rare in the sample. Steckel and Prince (2003) attribute this to women's leeriness at being touched by a strange man.…”

Section: Boas Native American Heights and The Biological Standard Omentioning

confidence: 99%

Selection and historical height data: Evidence from the 1892 Boas sample of the Cherokee Nation

Miller

2016

Explorations in Economic History

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“…International comparisons of indigenous and European-descended stature are limited. North American evidence suggests indigenous populations continued to have adequate protein in their diets because they were more rural (Komlos, 2003; Prince & Steckel, 2003; Steckel & Prince, 2001). Australian indigenous men born between the 1890s and 1920s experienced no improvement in average height, while white stature rose from the early twentieth century after decline during the late nineteenth century (Nicholas, et al, 1998).…”

Section: Historiographical Contextmentioning

confidence: 99%

Physical growth and ethnic inequality in New Zealand prisons, 1840–1975

Inwood

Oxley

Roberts

2015

The History of the Family

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The British colonization of New Zealand after 1840 was marked by an unusual concern compared to other settler colonies for incorporating the indigenous population Māori population into the new society. But despite a continuing political rhetoric of protection and sovereignty Māori have historically had lower living standards and, since the 1920s, higher rates of incarceration than European-descended New Zealanders (Pākehā). In this paper we examine differences between Māori and Pākehā over 130 years using prison records. Aggregate data from the Ministry of Justice show long-term change and differences in incarceration rates. Using a dataset of all extant registers of men entering New Zealand prisons we show change over time in convictions and in height. The adult statures of Māori and Pākehā were similar for men born before 1900 but marked differences emerged among cohorts born during the twentieth century. By World War II the gap in adult stature widened to around 3 cm, before narrowing for men born after World War II. Periods of divergence in stature are paralleled by divergence in fertility and indicators of family size, suggesting the possibility that increasing fertility stressed the economic situation of Māori families. The prison evidence suggests that inequalities in ‘net nutrition’ between Māori and Pākehā are long-standing but not unchanging, indeed they increased for cohorts born into the early 20th century. A subset of the data describing adolescents confirms that among those born after 1945 the ethnic differential was already visible by the age of 16 years.

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“…We acknowledge that the results of our analysis cannot be generalised to all Plains populations, as the experiences of sedentary horticulturalists and equestrian nomads, for example, varied significantly (Hanson, ; Prince & Steckel, ). However, we highlight the importance of assembling multiple case studies, of varying scales, when attempting to understand processes as complex as European contact (e.g.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Health Consequences of European Contact in the Great Plains: A Comparison of Systemic Stress Levels in Pre‐ and Post‐Contact Arikara Populations

Offenbecker

Case

2015

Intl J of Osteoarchaeology

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The biocultural effects of European contact varied considerably throughout the Americas. Some populations were decimated by colonialism, while others benefited from trade relationships and access to new technologies. It has been suggested that initial contact with European fur traders and explorers was economically favourable for Plains village populations, thereby facilitating a period of cultural florescence. In this study, we evaluate the hypothesis that Plains groups were better off than their predecessors during the initial contact period by comparing frequencies of enamel hypoplasia, cribra orbitalia, and porotic hyperostosis in pre-and post-contact Arikara skeletal assemblages. We included both juveniles and adults in our sample to capture variation in the stress experience of different segments of the population. Our analysis revealed similarly low frequencies of cribra orbitalia in the pre-and post-contact groups and no observed cases of porotic hyperostosis. Enamel hypoplasia, however, was significantly more prevalent among post-contact Arikara villagers when compared to their pre-contact counterparts, which suggests that stress levels were higher after European contact. Additionally, enamel hypoplasia was most common among post-contact juveniles. The elevated frequency of enamel hypoplasia in the post-contact sample combined with the low frequencies of cribra orbitalia and porotic hyperostosis suggests that disease stress, rather than nutritional deficiencies, was likely responsible for the decline in overall health following European contact. These results also suggest that juveniles are sensitive indicators of systemic stress within a population and should be included in bioarchaeological analyses of prehistoric health when available.

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Nutritional Success on the Great Plains: Nineteenth-Century Equestrian Nomads

Cited by 63 publications

References 17 publications

Selection and historical height data: Evidence from the 1892 Boas sample of the Cherokee Nation

Selection and historical height data: Evidence from the 1892 Boas sample of the Cherokee Nation

Physical growth and ethnic inequality in New Zealand prisons, 1840–1975

Health Consequences of European Contact in the Great Plains: A Comparison of Systemic Stress Levels in Pre‐ and Post‐Contact Arikara Populations

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