Reconstruction of an individual’s ‘life history’, where possible, offers information about an individual’s ancestry, demographics, well-being, and habit. This requires good preservation of the skeleton. Commingled and fragmentary remains prove to be more complex, from establishing minimum number of individuals (MNI) to identifying markers and/or diagnosing pathological lesions. All remains, no matter how fragmentary, have a story to tell and can contribute to understanding biological and cultural processes in past populations. All human remains must be treated with respect, particularly when remains are subject to scientific analysis which may require destructive sampling of bone and tooth tissues. Methodological advances have minimized the impact such approaches have on human remains and this is particularly true with molecular advances in ancient DNA (aDNA) and stable isotopes and trace element studies (see Stable Isotope Analysis; DNA: Ancient).
Palaeodemography
Apart from associated grave markers with name and date of birth/death, estimation of age-at-death and sex is established through observation of osteological markers on the skeleton. Subadult individuals are easier to age due to developmental patterns of growth in their skeleton and teeth. The presence/fusion of long bone epiphyses and eruption sequence in the deciduous and permanent dentition provide age estimates with excellent precision. Although there is greater error in correctly aging adult skeletons, age-related changes to the skull and postcranial skeleton, particularly the pelvis, have good precision. With respect to sex, the subadult skeleton typically lacks diagnostic traits prior to puberty, while adult males tend to be more robust and lack modifications of the pelvis as a function of childbirth. Much research has been dedicated to establishing and verifying methods to age and sex the skeleton, particularly with respect to forensic applications.
A conceptual advance in bioarchaeology was made in 1992 with the publication of Wood and colleagues ‘Osteological paradox’ in Current Anthropology. Although the bias inherent in skeletal samples and their interpretation is clear enough (that a mortuary space or cemetery represents a collective body that may not reflect the population as a whole), the implications and significance of palaeopathological studies changed in a constructive fashion. The importance of frailty and relative health and well-being are certainly vital concerns that can contribute to biocultural understanding of past populations.
Palaeopathology
Perhaps the greatest advances over the past several decades have been in palaeopathological diagnosis and interpretation - critical review of skeletal remains and differential diagnosis to ascertain the best explanation for the lesions observed. The osteological paradox also has heightened the efforts to consider implications of health, frailty, and concomitant morbidity and mortality as inferred from prehistoric populations.
Growth disruption studies have been the most significant ‘insult’ that may be present in the subadult (or adult) skeleton. Subadults may show evidence of delayed appearance/fusion of ephiphyses, and in deciduous and permanent dentition, lines of arrested enamel development are often interpreted as signs of nonspecific stress. Other nonspecific stress indicators include signs of nutritional deficiency such as cribra orbitalia and porotic hyperostosis. Additional nonspecific pathologies include Harris Lines, which seem to reflect signs of growth commencement in long bone shafts.
Specific pathologies play an important albeit complex role and are critically evaluated in studies of human remains. The role of infectious disease, in particular, has helped to transform bioarchaeology from a descriptive discipline in to a holistic one. Changes toward sedentism and agriculture are thought to correspond to improved lives. However, findings in the late 1960s and 1970s by Armelagos and colleagues, and by Buikstra, Clark Spencer Larsen and others showed that this was clearly not the case. Increased evidence of nonspecific pathologies was present that indicated poor dietary quality in staple foods, notably maize. Most importantly, these studies underscore the fact that different populations experiencing similar biocultural stressors respond in similar fashion.
As part of the new bioarchaeology, increased emphasis has been placed on examining aspects of the skeleton that may not be pathological but rather express ‘use’ for the individual/population under study. Significant observations and analyses are made on patterns of osteoarthritis have been observed and biomechanical aspects of bone formation assessed to infer past use and accommodation of the skeleton to forcing stressors and loads.
Palaeodiet
Two important analytical techniques in bone chemistry include trace element analysis and stable isotope ratio analysis (see Trace Element Analysis; Stable Isotope Analysis). Advances have proved to be exceptionally useful in contextualizing human remains and reconstructing past human subsistence. Coupled with other archaeological data, stable isotopes provide an independent measure of individual diet. Such data can distinguish between numerous dietary regimes and thereby provide important distinctions of diet that may relate to status, gender, and place.
Ancestry
Analysis of biological distance (biodistance) has advanced significantly since the early descriptive stages of skeletal biology. Metric and nonmetric data continue to be collected on teeth, skulls and postcranial remains and new methods of analysis and more powerful computer programs, statistical software, and data acquisition tools (e. g., microscribes and CT scans) make these data relevant and complementary in both local and regional context. New advances in bone chemistry, particularly with heavy stable isotopes of strontium and lead, also provide novel approaches to assessing place of origin. Simply put, individual’s tissues reflect the terra firma of their childhood. Other approaches to determining ancestry are more direct, perhaps best reflected by advances in ancient DNA studies using well-preserved bone. Coupled with genetic surveys of living populations and with studies of historical linguistics, aDNA data provide a powerful means to assess past relationships of the individual and/or population in question.
World History
