Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2024, Anthropology

Across three articles, this dissertation analyzes patterns of dental defect formation and childhood physiological stress within the population of Neolithic Catalhoyuk (ca. 7100-5950 BCE), in order to contribute to a better understanding of biological, temporal, and social variation within this important early “megasite” community. Article one addresses biological questions with important methodological implications regarding the impact of linear enamel hypoplasia (LEH) defects on inter- and intra-population variability in relationships between incremental enamel microstructures. Relationships between perikymata (PK) periodicity and distribution were tested from high-definition epoxy replicas and histological thin-sections of unworn mandibular canines (n = 15) with high LEH prevalence from Catalhoyuk. Findings re-affirm the existence of significant inter-population variability and suggest that high LEH prevalence likely increases PK distribution variability and weakens relationships with periodicity. PK distribution-based methods may nevertheless help narrow likely periodicity ranges and improve microstructure-based chronological age estimation accuracy even in highly LEH-impacted samples. To better understand relationships between population aggregation and physiological stress in early human settlements, Article two tests whether LEH prevalence or timing change significantly over time alongside population levels at Neolithic Catalhoyuk. LEH defect frequency scores (n = 109), defect-per-individual (DPI, n = 44), and defect initiation age (DIA, n = 44) were collected from epoxy canine replicas. LEH measures did not differ significantly by sex or age-at-death, nor did they significantly change over time in parallel with population size. Developmental stress episodes were very common (DPI: all defects M = 11, pronounced defects M = 6; DIA: all defect M = 3.9 years, pronounced defects M = 4.0 years), with 100% of observable individuals experiencing at least one de (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Clark Spencer Larsen (Advisor); Debbie Guatelli-Steinberg (Advisor); Mark Hubbe (Committee Member) Subjects: Ancient Civilizations; Archaeology; Histology; Human Remains; Near Eastern Studies; Physical Anthropology

Master of Arts, The Ohio State University, 2015, Anthropology

Armelagos and colleagues (2001) have hypothesized that beer is a conduit for in vivo tetracycline consumption by ancient Nubians. Streptomycetes bacteria has a high prevalence in Sudanese-Nubian soil (60 -70%) and secretes the antibiotic under harsh conditions such as fermentation. At the site of Kulubnarti, 21-S-46 cemetery (716 CE) skeletons likely represent a working underclass contemporaneous with the 21-R-2 cemetery (752 CE) containing the remains of a land-owning class. Interpretations of archaeological and osteological evidence suggest that poorer health and higher mortality occurred in the S population. To test whether an anticipated difference in tetracycline ingestion between S and R cemetery populations existed, the amount of tetracycline-labeled bone was quantified under ultra violet light using image analysis software. Amount of tetracycline labeling was expressed in terms of the total area of labeled bone tissue in square micrometers, number of labeled osteons, and number of grid intersections over labeled bone. No significant differences in percent tetracycline-labeled bone tissue, or percent labeled osteons was observed between cemeteries. These results suggest that tetracycline ingestion was similar for S and R group members, class differences were not mediating tetracycline ingestion, and both sub-groups had equal access to beer.

Committee: Clark Larsen Dr. (Committee Co-Chair); Sam Stout Dr. (Committee Co-Chair); Douglas Crews Dr. (Committee Member) Subjects: African History; Anatomy and Physiology; Ancient Civilizations; Ancient History; Archaeology; Biochemistry; Biology; Biomedical Research; Cellular Biology; Epidemiology; Health; Histology; History; Human Remains; Medical Imaging; Medieval History; Microbiology; Molecular Biology; North African Studies; Nutrition; Pharmacology; Physical Anthropology; Social Structure; World History

MA, University of Cincinnati, 2009, Arts and Sciences : Anthropology

Osteomyelitis is a pus-producing infection caused by the presence of bacteria, such as Staphylococcus aureus, that specifically affects the endosteal surface of bone. Although this disease can be found in prehistoric and historic populations, one ubiquitous system for descriptive classification has not been developed for use on skeletal remains. This research utilizes the long bones from Civil War soldier amputees with evidence of osteomyelitis, housed at the National Museum of Health and Medicine in Washington D.C., to develop a classification method for use on skeletal collections to assess the characteristics of osteomyelitis. In total, 77 long bone specimens (including humeri, radii, ulnae, femora, tibiae and fibulae) were examined. Three categories, Etiology, Severity and Duration, were used to both classify and describe the osteomyelitis presented in each case. The first category, Etiology, describes the origin of the infection by determining whether the osteomyelitis is “Exogenous” or “Hematogenous”. The second category, Severity, is divided into “Minor”, “Moderate,” and “Severe” Hyperostosis. The final descriptive category, Duration, determines whether the infection is “Acute” or “Chronic” based upon information gathered from medical records. The Wehri classification system of osteomyelitis can be readily applied to collections of skeletal remains, unlike most other methods of classifying osteomyelitis, because it provides specific morphological traits for each category, thereby removing the vague nature of other systems.

Committee: Alan Sullivan (Committee Chair); Anthony Perzigian (Committee Member); MariaTeresa Tersigni-Tarrant (Committee Member) Subjects: American History; Archaeology; Armed Forces; Biology; Forensic Osteology; Pathology

MA, University of Cincinnati, 2006, Arts and Sciences : Anthropology

The goal of this document is a paleopathological case study of one skeleton in the study collection at the University of Cincinnati (Individual H). Complete documentation of the individual included determining sex of the individual, assessing age at death, measurement of all long bones to assess size asymmetry, and cataloging all pathological characteristics through description and photography. The individual was determined to have been afflicted, during life, by an undifferentiated seronegative spondyloarthropathy (ankylosing spondylitis, psoriatic arthritis, Reiter's syndrome). Differential diagnosis included comparison of characteristics seen on Individual H, to those associated with diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis.

Committee: Dr. Lynne Schepartz (Advisor) Subjects: Anthropology, Physical

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2008, Anthropology

The last 10,000 years have witnessed a handful of major adaptive transitions experienced by the human species, the most recent, rapid, and violent of which was contact between Native Americans and Europeans beginning in the fifteenth century A.D. Humanity was irrevocably altered on a global scale as part of a "total biocultural phenomenon." This dissertation presents the first study of the human skeletal remains from a Central Andean historic population in the Lambayeque Valley Complex, north coast of Peru. Synthesizing archaeological, ethnohistoric, and bioarchaeological data, this work tests six linked hypotheses that the indigenous Mochica ethnic group experienced negative social and biological stress but dynamically adapted to the strains of Spanish colonialism through a culturally adaptive response. These hypotheses are tested using multiple lines of archaeological and skeletal biological datasets including 1,041 skeletons from the late pre-Hispanic period and the Colonial-era Chapel of San Pedro de Morrope.Examination of postcontact mortuary behaviors at Morrope reveal their burials reflect ritual patterns that encoded syncretic interplays between the colonial order, Mochica agency and identity, cosmological roles of the dead, and resistance. Skeletal biological evidence at Morrope illustrates an unprecedented increase in systemic biological stress, a shift to a more strenuous lifestyle, and a decline in oral health. Paleodemographic analyses suggest postcontact biological stress led to lowered female fertility. Elevated rates of periosteal infection, porotic hyperostosis, and decreased oral health correlate to increased population density and a shift to a greater consumption of dietary carbohydrates. Elevated prevalence of degenerative joint disease likely stems from Spanish labor extraction. Lowered prevalence of enamel hypoplasias and unchanged terminal adult stature point to surprising nutritional consequences that are only beginning to be understood but m (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Clark Larsen PhD (Committee Chair); Izumi Shimada PhD (Committee Member); Paul Sciulli PhD (Committee Member); Sam Stout PhD (Committee Member); Kenneth Andrien PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Ancient Civilizations; Archaeology; Human Remains; Latin American History; Physical Anthropology