Archaeology Exam 3

Bones

Living tissue, grows and develops as we again, reacts to trauma

Functions of bones

Support and movement, protection of vital organs, production of RBC, mineral reservoir

Variety of bones

Difference in anatomical function like weight bearing bones vs non-weight bearing

Female Dimorphism

Less mass, less robust, stop growing and maturing earlier, lose bone mass more readily

Male Dimorphism

Greater mass, more robust, stop growing and mature later

Things that might reflect onto bone

Disease, damage, atrophy, activity patterns

Single Grave

One individual

Multiple or Commingled Grave

More than one, individuals’ bones mesh together

Mass Grave

3 or more individuals

Cremation

Burned human remains, usually reduced to ash

Primary Internment

First and final grave, no interactions with the living

Secondary Internment

Relocation from first grave, could be due to needing to hide the body, body in the way, funerary rituals

Micro excavation

Within a vessel, layer progression, photograph & draw each layer, can make a 3d model of the vessel

Comingled After Excavation

Calculated MNI and sorting remains

Creation of Biological Profile

typically by sex, age, and stature

How to calculate for MNI

Find all the kind of one bone, such as femurs, then sort them by left and right. Highest count of a single category is the MNI

Sex Estimation Confounding Factors

Bias, intra-population variation, availability of methods, non-adults

Foetus

Before birth

Infant

0-3 years

Child

4-12 years

Adolescent

13-20 years

Young Adult

20-35 years

Middle Adult

36-50 years

Old Adult

51 and older

Non adult examination

Focus on growth and development, typically has a “schedule”, relatively precise

Adult examination

Focus on degeneration, wider age intervals

Dental Development and Eruption

Estimation of non-adults can be eased with an examination of the dental structure

Epiphyseal Fusion

Fusion of the epiphyses to the diaphysis, for males it’s 16-18, for females 15-17

Iconography

Statues, paintings, figurines, masks, written accounts

Facial Reconstruction

done by professional artist (forensic artists) based on anthropological examination of the skull

Tissue Depth Markings

21 in total, see how much skin/muscle there should be

Reconstruct process

case, make missing pieces, slowly adding muscle based on tissue depth markers, bone upwards, then cartilage then skin

Paleopathology

Study of disease in the past

Skeletal Responses

Typically slow to respond to disease, response more to chronic disease that acute

Factors to disease response

Virulence, immune response, treatment

Macroscopic Examination

Lesion size/shape, locations, number, bone reaction, can’t limit examination to one bone

Radiographic Examination

Identify hidden lesions within bone

CT Scanning

Growing interest and use, non-destructive visualization of bone structure

Microscopy and Histology

Bone microstructure, help differentiate between taphonomy and pathology, microscope bone lesions

DNA

You can see the infectious disease identification

Congenital Disease

Anomalous development during foetal development

Infectious Diseases

Bacteria, viruses, parasites

Metabolic Diseases

Nutritional deficiencies

Dental Diseases

Diseases affecting teeth and oral cavity

Joint Diseases

Degeneration of skeletal joints

Neoplastic Diseases

Tumors and cancers

Leprosy

Slowing developing disease, affects the hand and bones the most

Dental Absences

Can show dental hygiene, if they were frequently chewing on something, (smoking pipes)

Osteoarthritis

Most common joint disease, degeneration of synovial joints, most common in knee & hip, age-related

Osteosarcoma

Adolescence, long bones, particularly in knees, most common skeletal cancer

Activity Markers

Caused by repetitive stress to bony regions, habitual activities

Forensic Consultants

Highest degree in field, forensic research, regular casework, publications, teach, association memberships, certification/licenses

Forensic Anthropology

Consultant w/ investigative authority, typically skeletonized advanced decomposition

What Those in Forensic Arch Do

Application of archaeological recording and recovery methods to process crime and disaster scenes

Why use Arch Methods in Forensics

Arch methods minimize information losses & contamination, maximize information recovery, maintain security & continuity of evidence, and locate and document spatial context of all evidence

How are Recovery Sites Complex

Multiple events, concealment and human interference, taphonomic disturbance

The Pickton Investigation

Largest serial killer investigation in Canadian history, from 1980-2000, had at least 49 victims

Team on The Pickton Investigation (2002-2003)

52 forensic archaeologists, 2 dump trucks, 2 conveyor belts, 3,000 pieces of evidence

Recovery Scene

Place where human remains are found, intentional secondary location- trying to hide or dispose of body, unintentional secondary location- animal scattering, water movement, etc.

Surface Scenes

Remains are on the surface, possible obscured by refuse, possibly in similar location to where originally deposited, may be scattered

Burial Scenes

Harder to locate, intentional or unintentional

Submerged Scenes

Aquatic environments, possible need for scuba diving expertise, remains might float, sink or be suspended between

Fire Scenes

heat-induced changes to bone, mixed w/ other burned debris, very complex, requires multiple methods of documentation and collection

Four Principles of Forensic Archaeology

1. Establish a plan & protocol

2. Maintain security

3. Secure & continuous tracking of all evidence

4. Document Everything

Systemic Search

Intention is to locate areas that warrant further investigation, typically involves a surface survey, noting features and pieces of evidence, usually focused on finding surface remains or a burial feature

Factors to Consider When Looking For Remains

Environment, personnel, technology, timeline, scale

Cadaver Dogs

Dogs tasked and trained to find human remains, only reliable when meat is still on body

Search Indicators: Soil

Soil tends to be flatter for older burial and there is a lump usually for more recent ones, plant growth might be abnormal in the spot where a body is buried

Subsurface Probing

Detect variation in soil density, must be used in targeted fashion, invasive, can damage evidence/remains

Search Indicators: Animal Activity

Clawing at rocks and logs, digging in the ground, scattered bone & hair, scat

Recover surface remains

retrieving previously flagged items, screen topsoil and leaf litter

Identify outline of burial

Based on vegetation or soil coloration, decide how much around the grave cut you will excavate

Excavate

Involves small tools, proceeding in layers, document as you go

Removal of remains

Systemic & delicate, heaviest bones at the bottom, bones grouped/bagged by anatomical region, label everything, screen bottom of grave for small bones or evidence

Documenting the Scene

Occurs before and during recovery, photos & videos & written descriptions, spatial records (3d location, mapping, coordinations), physical samples (soil, plants, casts, etc.)

What is Documented

When investigation occured, which areas were examined, what methods were used, how evidence was recorded, where it went afterwards and how it got there, investigators at scene are often not the same people responsible for resolving the case

Generate a Report

Report on findings and interpretations of the scene, include maps, photos, & summary of methods, even if no human remains are found

Is it bone?

You can tell by macroscopy/anatomy, microscopy, chemical/elemental analysis, DNA

Is it Human: Maturity

Incomplete fusion and small: non adult human

Complete fusion and small: animal

Is it Human: Bipedalism

Hips are typically wider on a human because we balance on our hips

Is it Human: Dentition

Look at the number, size and placement of incisors, canines, premolars, molars

Is it Recent?

General Rule is that >100 years isn’t forensic but it depends on state laws,

Associated Finds

Things found with the remains to gauge time the person was last alive

Where Forensic Arch is used

Contexts in which there are human skeletal remains that need to be recovered and identified, criminal investigations, mass disasters, Human Rights Investigations

Mass Disaster

AKA Mass Fatality Incident, Event involving deaths of more individuals than can be handled by local resources, large amount of victims that need to be identified and possibly subjected to medicolegal investigation

Types of Mass Disasters

Flood, earthquake, tsunami, volcanic eruption, hurricane

Human Involved Mass Disasters

Intentional or accidental, plane crash, train wreck, sinking ship, explosions, fire

Human Rights Investigations

Legal analysis/investigation regarding violation of intentional law, large-scale violent conflicts (war crimes, extrajudicial executions, genocides), investigations years later, mass graves and/or commingled remains

Challenges

Excavations usually occuring in areas of political unrest, tight timeframe & limited budget, complex archaeological sites (primary, secondary, multiple depositions), intense scrutiny by gov’ts, media, and public, positive ID often difficult

Cognitive Archaeology

The study of past ways of thought and symbolic structures from material remains

Symbol

A representation of an idea or a concept, whether in verbal or in visual form

Establish Place

Historically used for navigation and point of reference

Measurement and Tracking

Artefacts of standard for that are multiples of a recurrent quantity, multiples of unit of mass

What Can We Learn From This?

Developed concept of weight/mass, developed units of measure, developed number system, used for practical purposes, notion of equivalence, concept of value

Organization and Power

Statues, monuments, etc., broadcasting superiority or power, reminder who is in charge, can be inferred from artefacts

Religion/Cult

Focusing of attention, boundary zone between worlds, presence of deity, participation and offering

Animal Language

Closed system, innate, not learned

Human Language

Open system, learned/acquired

Paralanguage

gestures, other noises

Kinesics

Body language, face expressions