A stable, inexpensive and widely available burial environment or keeping place for archaeological or historical human skeletal remains

In 2003 historical (non-Aboriginal) human skeletal remains archaeologically excavated from St Mary’s Anglican Church cemetery in Adelaide, South Australia were reinterred in a concrete subterranean crypt. This paper examines preservation status following 15 years of interment. Skeletal remains placed in sealed plastic bags inside plastic curation boxes provided the best method to ensure physical and chemical preservation. Prefabricated concrete containers offer a cost-effective solution for the reburial of human skeletal remains associated with a range of archaeological contexts, including eroding burial sites, urban development sites, or those derived from earlier archaeological excavations. In relation to Indigenous burial sites, in cases where considered culturally appropriate, onsite crypts allow storage or repatriation of ancestral remains ‘on country’. Concrete crypts provide cultural heritage management professionals and Indigenous communities with stable, dry, long-term burial sites that allow quick and easy access should ongoing management options, Indigenous cultural practices, or future research require re entry into the crypt.

A possible case of Gigantism and/or Acromegaly in a 15th-17th century woman from Đurine Ćelije, Serbia

Endocrine disorders during growth and development that occur due to the secretion of excessive growth hormones are very rare in archaeological and modern populations. The human skeletal remains analyzed in this paper belong to an unusually tall woman, approximately 35-40 years of age, buried at the Đurine ćelije site (15th-17th century) in Serbia, who may have suffered from overgrowth syndrome. Individuals with this condition have an unusually tall stature and accompanying pathological changes related to organ systems and joint diseases. The aim of this paper is to show how the aforementioneddisorder affected the health status of an individual (grave No. 7a) and the performance of daily activities, but also the attitude of the community towards deformities during life and after death. Differential diagnosis was performed since otherdiseases tend to lead to similar skeletal changes. During the analysis, changes in growth were noticed, and her stature was determined to be 186.42 cm. Compared to the documented stature of post-medieval population from this period, theskeletal remains show a significant deviation from the average, especially when it comes to female individuals. Other pathological changes observed in this woman are osteoarthritis, spondyloarthropathy, and periosteal new bone formation.

Osteoarkeologi Rangka Manusia Situs Leang Kado’4, Maros, Sulawesi Selatan

Pembahasan utama dalam penelitian ini adalah uraian osteoarkeologis terkait temuan rangka manusia situs prasejarah Leang Kado‘ 4 di kawasan karst Simbang, Maros, Sulawesi Selatan. Sebagai bagian dari kajian bioarkeologi, uraian ini meliputi penentuan jenis kelamin, usia kematian, rata-rata tinggi badan, afinitas ras, dan jumlah individu minimal yang ada di Situs Leang Kado‘ 4 sebagai bagian aktivitas penguburan. Metode penelitian menerapkan langkah kerja analisis dalam kajian bioarkeologi yang juga diterapkan dalam disiplin antropologi ragawi. Langkah kerja analisis tersebut, meliputi: identifikasi, pengukuran, komparasi, dan penghitungan estimasi jumlah individu minimal dalam sebuah himpunan data. Penelitian ini berkesimpulan bahwa sisa rangka manusia di situs Leang Kado‘ 4 memiliki kesamaan dengan dua jenis ras manusia, yaitu ras populasi Sahul-Pacific dikenal pula sebagai Australo-Papuan atau Australomelanesoid dan ras populasi Asia atau Mongoloid. Hadirnya data ini diharapkan menjadi salah satu bahan pertimbangan rekomendasi kebijakan berwawasan pembangunan karakter budaya bangsa yang mengedepankan kebhinekaan asal usul dengan data temuan rangka manusia. This research aims to provide an osteoarchaeological analysis of the human skeletons found at the prehistoric site of Leang Kado‘ 4 in Simbang karst area, Maros, South Sulawesi. As a part of bioarchaeological studies, the analysis included the determination of sex, age at death, average height, racial affinity, and the minimum number of individuals at the site as part of the burial activities. The research employed the analytical process that is commonly carried out in bioarchaeological and physical anthropological studies. The analytical process consists of identification, measurement, comparison, and estimation of the minimum number of individuals in a data set. It is concluded that the human skeletal remains at Leang Kado‘ 4 site share several similarities with two human races, i.e. Sahul-Pacific race also known as Australo-Papuan or Australomelanesoid and Asian or Mongoloid race. It is expected that all this data can be used as a base for developing policies oriented to the development of the national character and culture by emphisizing the diversity of the people’s origins, which is supported by data on human skeletal remains.

Torkildsen’s Ventriculocisternostomy First Applications: The Anthropological Evidence of a Young Slavic Soldier Who Died in the Torre Tresca Concentration Camp (Bari, Italy) in 1946

Human skeletal remains are considered as real biological archives of each subject’s life. Generally, traumas, wounds, surgical interventions, and many human pathologies suffered in life leave identifiable marks on the skeleton, and their correct interpretation is possible only through a meticulous anthropological investigation of skeletal remains. The study here presented concerns the analysis of a young Slavic soldier’s skeleton who died, after his imprisonment, in the concentration camp of Torre Tresca (Bari, Italy), during the Second World War (1946). In particular, the skull exhibited signs of surgical activity on the posterior cranial fossa and the parieto-occipital bones. They could be attributed to surgical procedures performed at different times, showing various degrees of bone edge remodeling. Overall, it was possible to correlate the surgical outcomes highlighted on the skull to the Torkildsen’s ventriculocisternostomy (VCS), the first clinically successful shunt for cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) diversion in hydrocephalus, which gained widespread use in the 1940s. For this reason, the skeleton we examined represents a rare, precious, and historical testimony of an emerging and revolutionary neurosurgical technique, which differed from other operations for treating hydrocephalus before the Second World War and was internationally recognized as an efficient procedure before the introduction of extracranial shunts.

ПРЕДВАРИТЕЛЬНОЕ СООБЩЕНИЕ О ЧЕРЕПАХ С ПОСЕЛЕНИЯ ЧЕКУПС-2

В статье представлены результаты изучения серии черепов, полученных в ходе археологических раскопок на поселение Чекупс-2. Кроме самих черепных коробок не было обнаружено ни нижних челюстей, ни шейных позвонков. Вся коллекция происходят из хозяйственной ямы и была переданы автору на палеоантропологический анализ. При исследовании, в первую очередь, были отмечены следы разрушения, которые могут быть интерпретированы как результат выставления. 20 черепов несут на себе следы травм, в основном расположенных в области затылочной кости и задней части теменных костей. Часть зафиксированных повреждений были нацелены не на мгновенную смерть, а на ритуальные действия, связанные с отсечением фрагментов кожи головы с костной пластиной и частью прически. В результате изучения пола и возраста было установлено, что большая часть черепов принадлежала мужчинам, умерших в различных возрастных интервалах от 25 до 55 лет. Дети и подростки также присутствовали в изучаемой выборке. Самому маленькому ребенку на момент смерти было 7-10 лет, также присутствуют черепа подростков в возрасте 10-14 и 13-18 лет. Вопрос о том, кем же были люди, черепа которых стали объектом нашего изучения, а также о временном периоде, в который было совершено данное погребение, до сих пор остается открытым. Несмотря на это сам комплекс, а также ритуальные манипуляции, произведенные с черепами, вызывают интерес и требуют дальнейшего рассмотрения. Библиографические ссылки Алексеев В.П., Дебец Г.Ф. Краниометрия. Методика антропологических исследований. М.: Наука, 1964. 128 с. Алексеева Е.М. Рец. Население архаической Синдики. По материалам некрополя у хут. Рассвет. Под ред. А.А. Малышева. М. 2010 (Некрополи Черноморья. III). // ВДИ. 2012. № 4 (283). С. 173–177. Аммиан Марцеллин. Римская история. СПб.: Алетейя, 1994. 558 с. Анфимов Н.В. Синдика в VI-IV вв. до н.э. // Труды Краснодарского государственного педагогического института. 1963. Вып. XXXIII. С. 182–184. Геродот. История / Перевод Г.А. Стратановского. М.: АСТ: Ладомир, 2001. 752 с. Гохман И.И. Некоторые вопросы методики консервации и упаковки палеоантропологических материалов в поле // КСИЭ. Вып. XXXVI. М.:АН СССР, 1962. С. 100–102. Добряк В.И. Судебно-медицинская экспертиза скелетированного трупа. Киев: Гос. мед. изд-во УССР, 1960. 192 с. Иванов А.В., Сударев Н.И. О двух необычных объектах исследованных в Синдике // Боспор Киммерийский и варварский мир в период античности и средневековья. Основные итоги и перспективы исследований. Боспорские чтения. Вып. XX / Ред.-сост.: В.Н. Зинько, Е.А. Зинько. Симферополь, Керчь: ИП Кифниди Г.И., 2019. С. 250–255. Мамонова Н.Н., Романова Г.П., Харитонов В.М. Первичная обработка и определение антропологического материала в полевых условиях. Инструкция // Методика полевых археологических исследований / Отв. ред. Д. Б. Шелов. Л.: Наука, 1989. С. 50–83. Методика работы с палеоантропологическими материалами в полевых условиях. / Отв. ред. М.В. Добровольская. М.: ИА РАН, 2020. 112 с. Новичихин А.М. Планиграфия и погребальный обряд могильника у хутора Рассвет // Население архаической Синдики: по материалам некрополя у хутора Рассвет / Отв. ред. А.А. Малышев. М.: Гриф и К, 2010. С. 191–203. Пашкова В.И. Очерки судебно-медицинской остеологии. М.: Медгиз 1963. 154с. Пашкова В.И., Резников Б.Д. Судебно-медицинское отождествление личности по костным останкам. Саратов: Изд-во С????. ??-??, 1978. 320 ?. арат. ун-та, 1978. 320 с. Ражев Д.И. Случаи черепных травм средневекового населения Западной Сибири // Вестник антропологии. Вып. 14. 2006. С. 98–101. Ражев Д.И., Пошехонова О.Е. Обычай срубания кос у средневековых воинов Западной Сибири // Вестник археологии, антропологии и этнографии. 2009. № 10. С. 83–89. Ubelaker D.H. Human skeletal remains: excavation, analysis, interpretation. Smithsonian intuition. Chicago: Adline Publishing company, 1978. 172 p.

Human Skeletal Remains Recovered from a Napo Funerary Urn in the Ecuadorian Amazon

There is very little published literature regarding pre-Columbian burial practices that include human skeletal remains of the Napo culture (A.D. 1188–1480) in the western Amazon. Due to poor bone preservation and a history of looting practices, bioarchaeologists have rarely been able to collect, analyze, and interpret skeletal remains. Here, we provide the initial publication of a human skeleton from the Ecuadorian Amazon belonging to the Napo culture, preserved in a funerary urn acquired by the Museo de Arte Precolombino Casa del Alabado in Quito, Ecuador. This partial adult skeleton, radiocarbon dated to cal A.D. 1021–1155, consists primarily of broken long bones that indicate a robust individual with a height range of 160–170 cm. Although no trauma was observed, pathological conditions including cysts and likely Osgood-Schlatter’s disease were present and robust muscle insertions were noted. Taphonomic damage from termite osteophagy was inferred by the presence of round bore holes, cavities, tunneling, and cortical etching on the humerus, femur, and tibia. The urn itself is an anthropomorphic polychrome vessel that opens at the bottom, with six equally spaced holes to facilitate closure. The urn burial is similar to those of other Amazonian Polychrome Tradition cultures located to the east in Brazil. Las prácticas funerarias precolombinas que incluyen restos humanos esqueléticos de la cultura Napo (1188–1480 D.C.), en el oeste de la Amazonía, han sido escasamente dadas a conocer en la literatura arqueológica. Debido a la pobre preservación de los huesos en ese medio y a una dilatada trayectoria de huaquerismo, desde la bioarqueología no ha sido posible recoger, analizar e interpretar restos humanos. Este artículo trata de solventar este vacío al atender desde una perspectiva bioarqueológica los restos óseos humanos provenientes de la Amazonía ecuatoriana pertenecientes a la cultura Napo, preservados en una urna funeraria que se conserva en el Museo de Arte Precolombino Casa del Alabado en Quito, Ecuador. Por un lado, este esqueleto parcial del que se conservan huesos largos fragmentados de un adulto fue datado mediante técnicas radiométricas entre 1021 y 1155 cal D.C.Habría sido una persona robusta, con una altura que oscilaría entre los 160 y 170 cm. Aunque no se ha observado ningún traumatismo, las patologías registradas incluyen quistes, como los debidos a la enfermedad de Osgood-Schlatter, e inserciones musculares robustas. Entre las afecciones tafonómicas más relevantes, se han apreciado las causadas por osteofagia de termitas, las cuales se infieren por la presencia de perforaciones redondas, cavidades, túneles y decapado cortical en húmero, fémur y tibia. Por otro lado, la urna es un ejemplar antropomorfo policromado de apertura basal con seis orificios espaciados que ayudaban a cerrarla. El entierro en urna es similar a aquellos otros de las culturas de la Tradición Polícroma Amazónica localizadas al este en Brasil.

Accurate and semi-automated reassociation of intermixed human skeletal remains recovered from bioarchaeological and forensic contexts

Commingled remains describes the situation of intermixed skeletal elements, an extremely common occurrence in contemporary forensic cases, archaeological mass graves, as well as fossil hominin assemblages. Given that reliable identification is typically impossible for commingled contexts, a plethora of previous studies has focused on the development of refined methods for reassociating the bones of each individual skeleton. Here, a novel virtual approach for quantifying the degree of three-dimensional shape compatibility between two adjoining bone articular surfaces is put forth. Additionally, the integrability of this method with traditional osteometric techniques is evaluated. We focus on the paradigm of the hip joint, whose articulating bone elements (the femur and the innominate bone) are crucial for reconstructing the biological profile of unidentified human remains. The results demonstrate that this new semi-automated methodology is highly accurate both for large commingled assemblages (such as those resulting from mass disasters or burials) as well as smaller-scale contexts (such as those resulting from secondary burials).