Assessing Population Variation Using Heritable Nonmetric Traits

This research investigates the use of heritable nonmetric traits as a means for assessing population variation and biological relatedness within an archaeological sample using the commingled human skeletal tomb assemblage from the Bronze Age site of Tell Abraq, United Arab Emirates (2100-2000 BCE). A total of 410 individuals representing all ages and both sexes were interred in the Umm an-Nar period tomb. An analysis of sixteen heritable nonmetric traits was conducted on the adult human skeletal remains for both cranial and postcranial elements. Of the eight elements analyzed, one element in particular displayed anomalies rarely described in archaeological contexts. Seven patellae were identified as emarginated, six as bipartite and one as tripartite. The frequency of traits found here are inconclusive in suggesting biological homogeneity or heterogeneity. However, the baseline data provided here may be useful in investigating biological homogeneity in other studies in the future and may allow us to look at social practices such as marriage patterns. These data may also provide an additional line of evidence to the previous hypotheses concerning consanguineous marriage for this assemblage.

A New Approach to Quantifying Raw Material Selectivity in the African Acheulean: Perspectives from Angola and South Africa

In southern Africa, the use of gravel outcrops has been recorded at a range of Earlier Stone Age sites, and this raises questions about the diversity of raw material sourcing practices adopted by hominins. To assess the existence of sourcing strategies, this study details a new morphometric analysis method that investigates the influence of pebble and cobble shape at two Acheulean case-study sites: Dungo IV (Benguela Province, Angola) and Penhill Farm (Eastern Cape Province, South Africa). Since these assemblages present frequent pebble and cobble artefacts, we investigate these to identify raw material blank properties to then establish whether these properties were intentionally selected for. To do so, we analyse each archaeological sample separately via a technological and morphometrical approach and then compare them with geological samples obtained during fieldwork survey. Overall, these two case studies provide some illustration of variable selection strategies within the southern African coastal plain.

Bronze Age weight systems as a measure of market integration in Western Eurasia

Weighing technology was invented around 3000 BCE between Mesopotamia and Egypt and became widely adopted in Western Eurasia within ∼2,000 y. For the first time in history, merchants could rely on an objective frame of reference to quantify economic value. The subsequent emergence of different weight systems goes hand in hand with the formation of a continental market. However, we still do not know how the technological transmission happened and why different weight systems emerged along the way. Here, we show that the diffusion of weighing technology can be explained as the result of merchants’ interaction and the emergence of primary weight systems as the outcome of the random propagation of error constrained by market self-regulation. We found that the statistical errors of early units between Mesopotamia and Europe overlap significantly. Our experiment with replica weights gives error figures that are consistent with the archaeological sample. We used these figures to develop a model simulating the formation of primary weight systems based on the random propagation of error over time from a single original unit. The simulation is consistent with the observed distribution of weight units. We demonstrate that the creation of the earliest weight systems is not consistent with a substantial intervention of political authorities. Our results urge a revaluation of the role of individual commercial initiatives in the formation of the first integrated market in Western Eurasia.

DNA identification of a sailor from the 1845 Franklin northwest passage expedition

The 1845 British polar expedition in search of a northwest passage through the Canadian Arctic under the command of Sir John Franklin resulted in the greatest loss of life event in the history of polar exploration. The names of the 129 officers and crew who sailed and died on the catastrophic voyage are known, but the identification of their skeletons found scattered along the route of their attempted escape is problematic. Here, we report DNA analyses from skeletal remains from King William Island, where the majority of the expedition fatalities occurred, and from a paternal descendant of a member of the expedition. A match was found between an archaeological sample and a presumed descendant sample using Y-chromosome haplotyping. We conclude that DNA and genealogical evidence confirm the identity of the remains as those of Warrant Officer John Gregory, Engineer, HMS Erebus. This is the first member of the 1845 Franklin expedition whose identity has been confirmed through DNA and genealogical analyses.

Variation and Correlations in Departures from Symmetry of Brain Torque, Humeral Morphology and Handedness in an Archaeological Sample of Homo sapiens

The anatomical asymmetries of the human brain are the subject of a great deal of scientific interest because of their links with handedness and lateralized cognitive functions. Information about lateralization in humans is also available from the post-cranial skeleton, particularly the arm bones, in which differences in size and shape are related to hand/arm preference. Our objective here is to characterize the possible correlations between the endocranial and post-cranial asymmetries of an archaeological sample. This, in turn, will allow us to try to identify and interpret prospective functional traits in the archaeological and fossil records. We observe that directional asymmetry (DA) is present both for some endocranial and humeral traits because of brain lateralization and lateralized behaviors, while patterns of fluctuating asymmetry (FA) vary. The combined study of these anatomical elements and of their asymmetries can shed light on the ways in which the body responds to dependent asymmetrical stimuli across biologically independent anatomical areas. Variations in FA are, in this context, indicators of differences in answers to lateralized factors. Humeri tend to show a much larger range of variation than the endocast. We show that important but complex information may be extracted from the combined study of the endocast and the arms in an archaeological sample of Homo sapiens.

Identifying Bone-Tipped Arrow Types in the Archaeological Record of Southern Africa: The Contribution of Use-Trace Studies

This study presents a historical review of the different types of southern African hunter-gatherer arrows employing a piece of bone situated at or near the tip of the arrow, which I call the apical bone component. The results of an extensive use-trace study of bone points and fragments thereof from twelve archaeological sites spanning the last 18,000 years show that it is possible to identify arrow types based on associated use-trace features. Five possible arrow types are identified from the archaeological sample, all dating to within the last 4000–6000 years. Using use-trace studies it is possible to identify now-missing components of the arrows, such as metal, mastic or stone inserts. Contrary to recent claims, I do not find evidence for bone-tipped arrows evolving along a continuum. Rather, some arrow types may have a much greater antiquity than previously thought.

The Al Khiday Cemetery in Central Sudan and its “Classic/Late Meroitic” Period Graves

The first millennium BC in Sudan sees the birth of the Kushite (Napatan and then Meroitic) Kingdom. Royal cities, cemeteries and centres of religious power have attracted archaeologists and historians while peripheral areas have only rarely seen any systematic investigations. This lack of research provides difficulties in interpreting the limited evidence of the Napatan and Meroitic periods located on the White and Blue Niles and limits our comprehension of the role of this region within the political, economic and cultural framework of the kingdom. Recently, a multiphase cemetery was discovered at the site of Al Khiday 2, on the west bank of the White Nile, which was also used by a small group that is thought to be closely related to the Meroitic. The graves excavated have produced a bio-archaeological sample that is presented here with detailed descriptions of the funerary practices, including different types of grave structures, grave goods, burial position and orientation of the inhumations, as well as an overview of the anthropological analysis of this population. These findings are placed within the wider context of Meroitic studies by providing comparisons with contemporaneous sites, highlighting the possible elements of contiguity with that world, as well as providing some reflection on future research directions.