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Objectives: The transition from foraging to farming is usually associated with unprecedented population densities coupled with an increase in fertility and population growth. However, little is known about the biological effects of such demographic changes during the Neolithic. In the present work, we test the relationship between diachronic changes in population size, relative exposure to developmental stressors, and patterns of dental fluctuating asymmetry in the Neolithic population of Çatalhöyük (Turkey, 7,100–5,950 cal BC). Materials and Methods: We calculate fluctuating asymmetry of mesio‐distal and bucco‐lingual diameters of upper and lower permanent canines and first and second molars on a large (N = 259) sample representing adults of both sexes and various age classes. Results: Results show only a moderate decrease of fluctuating asymmetry during the late phase of occupation of the site, possibly linked to a decrease in population density, and no differences in asymmetry between sexes. Discussion: Though preliminary, our data reflect the presence of developmental stressors throughout the occupation of the site, albeit with a slight improvement in living conditions during the latest periods of occupation. At the same time, these data confirm the key role of diet as buffer against the detrimental effects of fluctuating demographic pressures on the biology of prehistoric human populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT Adult stature variation is commonly attributed to differential stress-levels during development. However, due to selective mortality and heterogeneous frailty, a population's tall stature may be more indicative of high selective pressures than of positive life conditions. This article examines stature in a biocultural context and draws parallels between bioarchaeological and living populations to explore the multidimensionality of stature variation in the past. This study investigates: 1) stature differences between archaeological populations exposed to low or high stress (inferred from skeletal indicators); 2) similarities in growth retardation patterns between archaeological and living groups; and 3) the apportionment of variance in growth outcomes at the regional level in archaeological and living populations. Anatomical stature estimates were examined in relation to skeletal stress indicators (cribra orbitalia, porotic hyperostosis, linear enamel hypoplasia) in two medieval bioarchaeological populations. Stature and biocultural information were gathered for comparative living samples from South America. Results indicate 1) significant ( P < 0.01) differences in stature between groups exposed to different levels of skeletal stress; 2) greater prevalence of stunting among living groups, with similar patterns in socially stratified archaeological and modern groups; and 3) a degree of regional variance in growth outcomes consistent with that observed for highly selected traits. The relationship between early stress and growth is confounded by several factors-including catch-up growth, cultural buffering, and social inequality. The interpretations of early life conditions based on the relationship between stress and stature should be advanced with caution. Am J Phys Anthropol 155:229-242, 2014. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT The peopling, origins, and early prehistory of the Americas are topics of intense debate. However, few studies have used human remains to document and interpret patterns of health and lifestyle of Paleoamericans. This study provides the first investigation to characterize oral health in a series of early Holocene skeletal remains from Lagoa Santa, Brazil, a locality containing the remains of some of the earliest inhabitants of South America (10,000-7,000 BP). The sample is composed of 949 teeth and 1925 alveoli from an estimated 113 individuals excavated from 17 archaeological sites located in the State of Minas Gerais. We compare dental caries and abscess prevalence at Lagoa Santa to a large sample of human skeletons from the Western Hemisphere Project (WHP) database using both individual and tooth/alveolus count methods. In addition, antemortem tooth loss and tooth wear were analyzed in Lagoa Santa by sex and age. The results show that Lagoa Santa dental caries and abscess prevalence are significantly higher than observed among other hunter-gatherers included in the WHP database, except when abscess prevalence is considered by individual count. Adult females have less tooth wear coupled with higher prevalence of dental caries and antemortem tooth loss than adult males. These results point to an unexpected record of poor oral health at Lagoa Santa, especially among females. A diet based on a highly cariogenic combination of wild tubers and fruits is suggested as an explanation for the elevated rate, characterizing an early adaptation to a tropical environment in South America. Am J Phys Anthropol 154:11-26, 2014. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT This article seeks to identify 'Greeks' and 'non-Greeks' in 'mixed' mortuary contexts in a Greek colony. Specifically, we test the hypothesis that Illyrian and Greek individuals lived and were buried together at the Corinthian colony of Apollonia, Albania (established ca. 600 BC). The pattern of human biological interaction at Apollonia is tested by identifying variation in genetic relatedness using biodistance analysis of dental and cranial nonmetric traits for three sites: Apollonia ( n = 116), its founder-city Corinth ( n = 69), and Lofkënd ( n = 108), an inland site near Apollonia pre-dating colonization. Logistic regression analysis estimates that individuals from colonial Apollonia are most closely related to prehistoric Illyrian populations (from Lofkënd and prehistoric Apollonia), rather than Greeks (from Corinth). The phenotypic similarity between colonial Apollonia and prehistoric Illyria suggests that there was a large Illyrian contribution to the gene pool at the colony of Apollonia. However, some trait combinations show low biological distances among all groups, suggesting homogeneity among Illyrian and Greek populations (assessed through pseudo-Mahalanobis' D2). The degree of phenotypic similarity suggests shared ancestry and long-term migration throughout these regions. The impacts of missing data and small sample sizes are also considered. Am J Phys Anthropol 153:236-248, 2014. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The biocultural interpretation of skeletal remains is based upon the foundation of skeletal biology. In this review we examine the current state of skeletal biology research outside of the mainstream anthropology literature. The focus is on the structural changes of bone development and growth, and modeling and repair in the four bone surfaces: periosteal, Haversian, endosteal, and trabecular. The pattern of skeletal changes is placed within the framework of the human life span. New perspectives and direction of research on the environmental, biological, and genetic influences on modeling and remodeling processes are discussed chronologically at each bone surface. Implications for biological anthropologists are considered. This approach emphasizes variation in skeletal biology as a dynamic record of development, maturity, and aging. Yrbk Phys Anthropol 54:86-98, 2011. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses a study of social groupings as it applied to the inhabitants of Çatalhöyük, a neolithic site in Turkey. It cites a belief by anthropologists that the inhabitants grouped themselves according to biological kinship, burying their relatives within their own houses. Recent findings as of 2011 have found, however, that a number of the dead grouped in the same houses were not biologically related. This reportedly suggests that either they did not group themselves according to kinship, or had different definitions of it.

Ecology Letters (2010) 13: 1124–1128 Osteoarthritis (OA) is a widespread degenerative disease of skeletal joints and is often associated with senescence in vertebrates. OA commonly results from excessive or abnormal mechanical loading of weight-bearing joints (‘wear-and-tear’), arising from heavy long-term use or specific injuries; yet, in the absence of injury, the aetiology of OA remains obscure. We show that poor nutritional conditions experienced by moose ( Alces alces) early in life are linked to greater prevalence of OA during senescence as well as reduced life expectancy. Moreover, we also found a negative relationship between kill rate by wolves ( Canis lupus) and prevalence of OA, suggesting a potential connection between senescence of prey and the population ecology of predator–prey systems. This association between OA and early malnutrition also provides a basis for explaining the observation in anthropology that OA became more prevalent in native Americans as their diet become poorer – the result of relying more on corn and agriculture and less on hunting and gathering. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study tests the hypothesis that the colonial economy of the Lambayeque region of northern coastal Peru was associated with a mechanically strenuous lifestyle among the indigenous Mochica population. To test the hypothesis, we documented the changes in the prevalence of degenerative joint disease (or DJD) in human remains from the late pre-Hispanic and colonial Lambayeque Valley Complex. Comparisons were made using multivariate odds ratios calculated across four age classes and 11 principle joint systems corresponding to 113 late pre-Hispanic and 139 postcontact adult Mochica individuals. Statistically significant patterns of elevated postcontact DJD prevalence are observed in the joint systems of the shoulder, elbow, wrist, and knee. More finely grained comparison between temporal phases indicates that increases in prevalence were focused immediately following contact in the Early/Middle Colonial period. Analysis of DJD by sex indicates postcontact males experienced greater DJD prevalence than females. Also, trends between pre- and postcontact females indicate nearly universally elevated DJD prevalence among native colonial women. Inferred altered behavioral uses of the upper body and knee are contextualized within ecological, ethnohistoric, and ethnoarchaeological frameworks and appear highly consistent with descriptions of the local postcontact economy. These patterns of DJD appear to stem from a synergism of broad, hemispheric level sociopolitical alterations, specific changes to Mochica activity and behavior, regional economic intensification, and local microenvironmental characteristics, which were all focused into these biological outcomes by the operation of a colonial Spanish political economy on the north coast of Peru from AD. 1536 to 1751. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent advances in the methods of skeletal age estimation have rekindled interest in their applicability to paleodemography. The current study contributes to the discussion by applying several long established as well as recently developed or refined aging methods to a subsample of 121 adult skeletons from the early medieval cemetery of Lauchheim. The skeletal remains were analyzed by 13 independent observers using a variety of aging techniques (complex method and other multimethod approaches, Transition Analysis, cranial suture closure, auricular surface method, osteon density method, tooth root translucency measurement, and tooth cementum annulation counting). The age ranges and mean age estimations were compared and results indicate that all methods showed smaller age ranges for the younger individuals, but broader age ranges for the older age groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Variation in limb proportions between prehistoric Jomon and Yayoi people of Japan are explored by this study. Jomon people were the descendents of Pleistocene nomads who migrated to the Japanese Islands around 30,000 yBP. Phenotypic arid genotypic evidence indicates that Yayoi people were recent migrants to Japan from continental Northeast Asia who likely interbred with Jomon foragers. Limb proportions of Jomon and Yayoi people were compared using RMA regression and "Quick-Test" calculations to investigate relative variability between these two groups. Cluster and principal components analyses were performed on size-standardized limb lengths and used to compare Jomon and Yayoi people with other groups from various climatic zones. Elongated distal relative to proximal limb lengths were observed among Jomon compared to Yayoi people. Jomon limb proportions were similar to human groups from temperate/tropical climates at lower latitudes, while Yayoi limb proportions more closely resemble groups from colder climates at higher latitudes. Limb proportional similarities with groups from warmer environments among Jomon foragers likely reflect morphological changes following Pleistocene colonization of the Japanese Islands. Cold-derived limb proportions among the Yayoi people likely indicate retention of these traits following comparatively recent migrations to the Japanese Islands. Changes in limb proportions experienced by Jomon foragers and retention of cold-derived limb proportions among Yayoi people conform to previous findings that report changes in these proportions following long-standing evolution in a specific environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a study that examines the dental caries of the Yayoi period people in Japan to determine agriculture's biocultural implication among the population. The analysis was carried out with regard to the hypotheses that Yayoi agriculturists had greater carious teeth frequencies than Jomon period foragers, and that carious teeth regional variation will be observed between male and female agriculturists. Results suggest dietary and behavioral variations among the Yayoi period people.

This study analyzes dental metric variation to examine the biological structure of the native population at Mission San Luis de Apalachee, a late 17th century mission located in the Apalachee Province of Spanish colonial Florida. Three topics are addressed: (1) comparison of tooth sizes among adult and subadults, (2) analysis of the bio-spatial structure of skeletons within the church area, and (3) comparison of phenotypic profiles of individuals interred within coffins in the ritual nucleus of the church: the altar region. Analyses indicate that subadults had smaller average tooth sizes than adults for the posterior dentition that was particularly evident in mandibular nonpolar molars and premolars. This disparity, also documented in two other mission populations, likely represents ontogenetic stress and resulting increased mortality among those most at risk for early death. Analysis of the spatial structure of graves failed to document biological structuring by side of the aisle or by burial row, although some gross differences were evident when front, middle, and rear church burials were compared. Individuals buried in coffins within the same row were phenotypically similar to one another. However, inter-row comparisons indicated lack of phenotypic similarity among all coffin interments. These analyses suggest maintenance of kin-structured burial for elites alone within the San Luis community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

San Luis de Apalachee, one of a chain of Roman Catholic missions established in Spanish Florida (modern states of Georgia and Florida) in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, was the principal center of missionization of native populations in the Florida pan-handle. Paleoethnobotanical remains yield evidence of production of various kinds of crops at the site, typical of nearly all mission period sites in the area. Stable isotope (carbon and nitrogen) analysis and dental caries evidence suggest that maize was not as important in the diet at San Luis as in other contemporary settings in the region. Ethnohistorical research indicates a heavier reliance on meat consumption compared to other mission settings. This study examines dental microwear of occlusal surfaces of maxillary molars from San Luis and five other Native American mission period sites in Spanish Florida. Epoxy casts of molar crushing facets were photographed under 500× magnification, using a scanning electron microscope. Photomicrographs were digitized using Microware 4.02 (Ungar [2002a]) and statistically evaluated using one-way AN OVA and post hoc Tukey's multiple comparisons tests. These analyses reveal that the frequency of pitting on the San Luis molars is significantly greater than for other mission period sites. Consistent with bioarchaeological, historical, and archaeological documentation, these findings suggest that diets were different in the San Luis natives in comparison with the other native populations in Spanish Florida. Various dietary factors likely came into play, resulting in these differences, and may have included significantly greater meat consumption at San Luis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]