Osteobiography as Microhistory: Writing from the Bones Up

Hosek, Lauren

doi:10.5744/bi.2019.1007

Cited by 9 publications

(9 citation statements)

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“…Understanding individual lives and tracking co‐morbidities and “lived experiences” is a growing focus in bioarchaeology (Baker & Agarwal, ; Byrnes & Muller ; Hosek, ; Stodder & Byrnes, ), including the care of diseased individuals (Roberts, ; Tilley, , ; Tilley & Cameron, ). While treponemal infection is frequently documented, few scholars explicitly address the impact of the condition on the affected individual or the community.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Advancing the understanding of treponemal disease in the past and present

Baker

Crane-Kramer

Dee

et al. 2020

American J Phys Anthropol

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Syphilis was perceived to be a new disease in Europe in the late 15th century, igniting a debate about its origin that continues today in anthropological, historical, and medical circles. We move beyond this age-old debate using an interdisciplinary approach that tackles broader questions to advance the understanding of treponemal infection (syphilis, yaws, bejel, and pinta). How did the causative organism(s) and humans co-evolve? How did the related diseases caused by Treponema pallidum emerge in different parts of the world and affect people across both time and space? How are T. pallidum subspecies related to the treponeme causing pinta? The current state of scholarship in specific areas is reviewed with recommendations made to stimulate future work. Understanding treponemal biology, genetic relationships, epidemiology, and clinical manifestations is crucial for vaccine development today and for investigating the distribution of infection in both modern and past populations.Paleopathologists must improve diagnostic criteria and use a standard approach for recording skeletal lesions on archaeological human remains. Adequate contextualization of cultural and environmental conditions is necessary, including site dating and justification for any corrections made for marine or freshwater reservoir effects. Biogeochemical analyses may assess aquatic contributions to diet, physiological changes arising from treponemal disease and its treatments (e.g., mercury), or residential mobility of those affected. Shifting the focus from point of origin to investigating who is affected (e.g., by age/sex or socioeconomic status) and disease distribution (e.g., coastal/ inland, rural/urban) will advance our understanding of the treponemal disease and its impact on people through time. K E Y W O R D S archaeological biogeochemistry,

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Advancing the understanding of treponemal disease in the past and present

Baker

Crane-Kramer

Dee

et al. 2020

American J Phys Anthropol

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“…The body as materiality is made up of different layers of biological traits and biocultural processes (Geller 2008). On a larger scale, the body with other subjects and material aspects of the social configuration constitute relational nodes with overlapping temporalities, materials, and biographies (Hosek 2019).…”

Section: Theoretical Approachmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In this article, we present a bioanthropological analysis of a female body associated with physical violence, which had been buried in the Tarapacá 40 (Tr-40) cemetery, dating to the Formative period. We evaluate this individual through her osteobiography, an approach for the reconstruction of the microhistory of past subjects (Hosek 2019). We focus on evidence of osteological particularities, cranial traumas, and diet, as well as associated burial offerings, while considering her sociohistorical context and her relationship with the rest of society.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Physical Violence and Social Tension in the Atacama Desert: Osteobiography of a Woman from the Tarapacá 40 Formative Period Cemetery

Herrera-Soto

González-Ramírez

Díaz³

et al. 2023

Latin Am. antiq.

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Physical violence and social conflict have been widely studied in the ancient societies of the Andes. However, studies about violence are scarce for the Formative period of northern Chile (1000 BC–AD 900). Evidence from these investigations is generally interpreted as interpersonal violence, whose protagonists are mostly men. Here, we present the case of an adult female recovered from the Tarapacá 40 cemetery (Tarapacá region, Chile) displaying lesions suggestive of trauma. We reconstruct her life and death in the context of this era's social and political conditions. Results of our bioanthropological characterization, cranial trauma analysis, carbon and nitrogen isotope analysis, and recording of the funerary offerings suggest she was a local member of the Formative community buried in the Tarapacá 40 cemetery and that she suffered intentional lethal lesions. Her death is unusual because there are no previous bioarchaeological records of lethal violence against women in the Tarapacá region. The osteobiography of this woman reflects a context characterized by an increase in inequality and social complexity, whereby physical violence could be used as a mechanism of internal regulation and exercise of power during the Formative period.

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“…The study of individuals brings important insights into life events that complement population-derived data (Hosek, 2019). Most archaeological human remains consist of skeletons and a wealth of techniques have been developed that enable reconstruction of a person's age, sex, stature, lifestyle and disease status, amongst others.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%