American Journal of Biological Anthropology最新文献

{"title":"Reappraisal of the Morphological Affinities of the Maba 1 Cranium: New Evidence From Internal Cranial Anatomy","authors":"Jiaming Hui,&nbsp;Xiujie Wu,&nbsp;Antoine Balzeau","doi":"10.1002/ajpa.70064","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/ajpa.70064","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Objectives</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Maba 1 is a critical fossil from the late Middle Pleistocene Asia. It is well-known for the Neanderthal-like face, while its neurocranium shows affinities with many hominin taxa, which makes the taxonomic status of Maba 1 controversial. Beyond the limited information from the external surface, we investigate in detail its internal structures, which are largely unexplored.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Materials and Methods</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>We reconstructed and described its frontal sinuses, diploic vessels, endocast, and bone thickness, using micro-CT data. Linear measurements were applied for the frontal sinuses and endocast, and the latter was also analyzed through geometric morphometrics. A comparison is made after considering the preservation of Maba 1 and the availability of comparative specimens.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Results</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>The linear discriminant analyses for the frontal sinus cluster Maba 1 with <i>Homo neanderthalensis</i>. The Maba 1 diploic vessels anastomosed with the parietal foramen, a rare trait among <i>H. neanderthalensis</i>. The Maba 1 endocast differs from <i>Homo erectus</i> in the frontal lobe, but it was generally closer to <i>H. erectus</i> than to <i>H. neanderthalensis</i> and <i>Homo sapiens</i>. Generally, Maba 1 shares higher resemblances with other debated specimens, including LH18, Djebel Irhoud, and Broken Hill 1. The bregmatic thickness of Maba 1 differed from most <i>H. erectus</i>, while patterns in other areas share similarities with <i>H. neanderthalensis</i> and some <i>H. erectus</i>.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Discussion</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>The internal structures of Maba 1 show a combination of morphological features found in various species. These findings further evidence the high morphological variability among Asian hominins in the late Middle Pleistocene. Maba 1 currently cannot be definitely classified in any known hominin taxon.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":29759,"journal":{"name":"American Journal of Biological Anthropology","volume":"187 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2025-05-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144108895","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Environment, Occupation, and Chronic Maxillary Sinusitis in Pre-Roman Italy","authors":"Bianca Casa,&nbsp;Valentina Giuffra,&nbsp;Giulia Riccomi","doi":"10.1002/ajpa.70059","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/ajpa.70059","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Objective</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>To assess the frequency of chronic maxillary sinusitis (CMS) in a pre-Roman archeological skeletal assemblage from Italy and to evaluate the occurrence of CMS in combination with its environmental and sociocultural context.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Materials and Methods</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>A total of 131 adult individuals from the pre-Roman site of Pontecagnano (eighth to third centuries <span>bce</span>) in southern Italy with intact maxillary sinuses of ≥ 50% preservation were macroscopically and microscopically observed for the presence of osseous changes per published diagnostic criteria of CMS.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Results</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>CMS was present in 57.2% of individuals. The prevalence of CMS was higher in females than in males, and this difference was statistically significant (<i>p</i> = 0.043). The frequency of CMS increased with age-at-death. Bilateral CMS occurred more frequently than unilateral CMS. The differences in the prevalence of CMS in the Etruscan (700–450 <span>bce</span>), Samnite (450–375 <span>bce</span>), and final pre-Roman (375–200 <span>bce</span>) phases of occupation were not statistically significant.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Discussion</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>In combination with viral and bacterial infections, occupational activities (metallurgy, ceramic and textile production, and agriculture) and environmental factors (volcanic ash, marshy environments, and sub-Saharan dust plumes) likely stimulated respiratory disease and resultant CMS in the inhabitants of Pontecagnano. This study provides a framework for future research on CMS and respiratory diseases in the Mediterranean region, in relation to environmental, climatic, and anthropogenic influences. The limited number of individuals per period prevented a proper diachronic analysis. Osteoarcheological assemblages from the Mediterranean region should be systematically analyzed for CMS to increase understanding of how climate, environment, industrialization, and urbanicity affected human health through time.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":29759,"journal":{"name":"American Journal of Biological Anthropology","volume":"187 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2025-05-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143938818","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Correction to “Unusual Pubic Bone Morphology in A.L. 288-1 (Australopithecus afarensis) and MH2 (Australopithecus sediba)”","authors":"","doi":"10.1002/ajpa.70062","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/ajpa.70062","url":null,"abstract":"<p>\u0000 <span>Eyre, J.</span>, <span>DeSilva, J. M.</span>, <span>Semaw, S.</span> and <span>Williams, S. A.</span> “ <span>Unusual Pubic Bone Morphology in A.L. 288-1 (<i>Australopithecus afarensis</i>) and MH2 (<i>Australopithecus sediba</i>)</span>.” <i>American Journal of Biological Anthropology</i> <span>180</span>: <span>573</span>–<span>582</span>, <span>2022</span>. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajpa.24649.\u0000 </p><p>On page 576, Table 1 should not have listed human populations separately; rather, it should report the sample sizes for females, males, unknown, and total (<i>n</i>) for <i>Homo sapiens</i>: F = 127, M = 56, unknown = 0, total (<i>n</i>) = 183, with “AMNH, BM, HR, MH, MU, UW” listed under Collection. One population in particular, Indian Knoll Native Americans, were not studied and should not be included in the table, nor should the museum's abbreviation be included in the footnote (“KU, Kentucky University, Lexington, KY”). Similarly, on page 577, “Indian Knoll Native Americans” should not be mentioned, nor should the Acknowledgements mention “the University of Kentucky William S. Webb Museum of Anthropology and George Crothers” on page 581. On page 576, the Table 1 title has been adjusted accordingly. Finally, instead of listing in text the populations from which our human sample derives on page 577, the text should simply read, “Our human sample represents a global sample of males and females (see Table 1 and Acknowledgments).”</p><p>The corrected table is presented here.</p><p>We regret these errors.</p>","PeriodicalId":29759,"journal":{"name":"American Journal of Biological Anthropology","volume":"187 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2025-05-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/ajpa.70062","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143930430","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Functional and Morphological Differences in the Play Face and Full Play Face in Lowland Gorillas, a Hominid Species: Implications for the Evolutionary Roots of Smile and Laugh Face","authors":"Giada Cordoni,&nbsp;Martina Brescini,&nbsp;Luca Pirarba,&nbsp;Florinda Giaretto,&nbsp;Ivan Norscia","doi":"10.1002/ajpa.70061","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/ajpa.70061","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Objective</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Play Face (PF) and Full Play Face (FPF) in the great apes—homologous to human smile and laugh-face—have been considered a single phenomenon. However, if natural selection has preserved two expressions, probably their adaptive value differs.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Materials and Methods</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>We collected video data on play interactions in two lowland gorilla groups (<i>N</i> = 21; <i>Gorilla gorilla gorilla</i>) housed at La Vallée des Singes and the ZooParc de Beauval (France). Lacking a tool tailored for gorillas during this study, we analyzed facial action-unit activation via chimpFACS and OpenFace.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Results</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>We found that PF and FPF activated partly different action units as it occurs for chimpanzees and humans' PF/FPF. We detected the rapid replication (Rapid Facial Mimicry [RFM]) of either PF or FPF that was associated with longer play sessions. Not-mimicked PF was linked to increased play session variability (different types of play patterns) measured via the Shannon Index, whereas not-mimicked FPF was associated with increased play asymmetry (imbalance between offensive/defensive patterns) measured via the Play Asymmetry Index.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Discussion</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Lowland gorillas may use PF to manage sessions that are more complex in terms of pattern types and FPF—a more salient signal—to prevent misunderstandings when the session is imbalanced. RFM of both expressions may favor the prolongation of play sessions by increasing player synchronization and possibly emotional sharing. Our study opens the door to further comparative studies on playful expressions in humans and other primates as a way to fine-tune possible emotional communication and delineate potential evolutionary roots of Hominidae facial communication.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":29759,"journal":{"name":"American Journal of Biological Anthropology","volume":"187 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2025-05-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/ajpa.70061","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143919477","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Correction to “Human-Like Enamel Growth in Homo naledi”","authors":"","doi":"10.1002/ajpa.25066","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/ajpa.25066","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Mahoney, P., G. McFarlane, A. J. Taurozzi, et al. 2024. “Human-Like Enamel Growth in <i>Homo naledi</i>.” <i>American Journal of Biological Anthropology</i> 184: e24893. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajpa.24893.</p><p>In the Acknowledgements the text “The participation of MCO was supported by the ERC under the Horizon 2020-MSCA-IF-2020 (grant agreement No. 101026776)<i>”</i> was imprecise. This should have read: “This project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie grant agreement No 101026776 to MCO.”</p><p>We apologize for this error.</p>","PeriodicalId":29759,"journal":{"name":"American Journal of Biological Anthropology","volume":"187 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2025-05-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/ajpa.25066","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143919476","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Correction to “Nutritional Importance of a Liana Species for a Population of Bornean Orangutans”","authors":"","doi":"10.1002/ajpa.70060","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/ajpa.70060","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Aguado, W. D., A. Zulfa, T. D. Bransford, K. P. Makur, M. A. van Noordwijk, S. S. Utami Atmoko, E. R. and Vogel, E.R. 2025. “Nutritional Importance of a Liana Species for a Population of Bornean Orangutans.” <i>American Journal of Biological Anthropology</i> 186: e70042. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajpa.70042.</p><p>\u0000 <b>The authors would like to correct the last sentence of the Methods section 2.6 Analyses as follows:</b>\u0000 </p><p>“All data analyses were conducted in R (version 4.2.0, R Core Team 2022) and various packages were used for data wrangling and graphical displays (see code on OSF: https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/8FRWU).”</p><p>\u0000 <b>The authors would accordingly like to correct the Data Availability Statement as noted below:</b>\u0000 </p><p>“Data and code used for analyses were mentioned to be available in the Dryad Digital Repository. They are available on the Open Science Framework (OSF): https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/8FRWU.”</p><p>We apologize for these errors.</p>","PeriodicalId":29759,"journal":{"name":"American Journal of Biological Anthropology","volume":"187 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2025-05-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/ajpa.70060","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143919455","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A High-Resolution Genomic Study of the Pama-Nyungan Speaking Yolngu People of Northeast Arnhem Land, Australia","authors":"Neville White,&nbsp;Manoharan Kumar,&nbsp;David Lambert","doi":"10.1002/ajpa.70063","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/ajpa.70063","url":null,"abstract":"&lt;div&gt;\u0000 \u0000 \u0000 &lt;section&gt;\u0000 \u0000 &lt;h3&gt; Objectives&lt;/h3&gt;\u0000 \u0000 &lt;p&gt;About 300 Aboriginal languages were spoken in Australia, classified into two groups: Pama-Nyungan (PN), comprised of one language Family, and Non-Pama-Nyungan (NPN) with more than 20 language Families. The Yolngu people belong to the larger PN Family and live in Arnhem Land in northern Australia. They are surrounded by groups who speak NPN languages. This study, using nuclear genomic and mitochondrial DNA data, was undertaken to shed light on the origins of the Yolngu people and their language. The nuclear genomic sequences of Yolngu people were compared to those of other Indigenous Australians, as well as Papuan, African, East Asian, and European people.&lt;/p&gt;\u0000 &lt;/section&gt;\u0000 \u0000 &lt;section&gt;\u0000 \u0000 &lt;h3&gt; Materials and Methods&lt;/h3&gt;\u0000 \u0000 &lt;p&gt;With the agreement of Indigenous participants, samples were collected from 13 Yolngu individuals and 4 people from neighboring NPN speakers, and their nuclear genomes were sequenced to a 30× coverage. Using the short-read DNA BGISEQ-500 technology, these sequences were mapped to a reference genome and identified ~24.86 million Single Nucleotide Variants (SNVs). The Yolngu SNVs were then compared to those of 36 individuals from 10 other Indigenous populations/locations across Australia and four worldwide populations using multidimensional scaling, population structure, F3 statistics, and phylogenetic analyses.&lt;/p&gt;\u0000 &lt;/section&gt;\u0000 \u0000 &lt;section&gt;\u0000 \u0000 &lt;h3&gt; Results&lt;/h3&gt;\u0000 \u0000 &lt;p&gt;Using the above methods, we infer that Yolngu speakers are closely related to neighboring NPN speakers, followed by the Weipa population. No European or East Asian admixture was detected in the genomes of the Yolngu speakers studied here, which contrasts with the genomes of many other PN speakers that have been studied. Our results show that Yolngu speakers are more closely related to other PN speakers in the northeast of Australia than to those in central and Western Australia studied here. Yolngu and the other Australian populations from this study share Papuans as an out-group.&lt;/p&gt;\u0000 &lt;/section&gt;\u0000 \u0000 &lt;section&gt;\u0000 \u0000 &lt;h3&gt; Discussion&lt;/h3&gt;\u0000 \u0000 &lt;p&gt;The study presented here provides an account of the nuclear and mitochondrial genomic diversity within the PN Yolngu Aboriginal population. The results show the Yolngu sample and their NPN neighbors have a strong genetic relationship. They also offer evidence of ancestral links between the Yolngu and PN-speaking populations in Cape York. From earlier fingerprint studies, consistent with the genomic results shown here, we consider a movement of people from the east into northeast Arnhem Land, associated with the flooding of t","PeriodicalId":29759,"journal":{"name":"American Journal of Biological Anthropology","volume":"187 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2025-05-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/ajpa.70063","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143914022","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"West Side Story: Regional Inter-Troop Variation in Baboon Bark-Stripping at Gorongosa National Park, Mozambique","authors":"Dora Biro,&nbsp;Jana Muschinski,&nbsp;Philippa Hammond,&nbsp;René Bobe,&nbsp;Marion K. Bamford,&nbsp;Cristian Capelli,&nbsp;João d’Oliveira Coelho,&nbsp;Rassina Farassi,&nbsp;Tina Lüdecke,&nbsp;Felipe I. Martinez,&nbsp;Jacinto Mathe,&nbsp;Maria Joana Ferreira Silva,&nbsp;Susana Carvalho","doi":"10.1002/ajpa.70057","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/ajpa.70057","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Objectives</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Baboons possess sophisticated physical and social cognitive abilities; hence, the lack of evidence to date of large-scale behavioral variation in these primates is puzzling. Here we studied a candidate for such variation—the stripping of bark from <i>Acacia robusta</i> trees for consumption of the sap and soft tissue underneath—in Gorongosa National Park, Mozambique.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Materials and Methods</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>We surveyed an area inhabited by ~60 troops of chacma baboons, recording the availability and characteristics of the target trees, as well as the presence or absence of bark-stripping at 45 habitat plots distributed across a grid covering an area of ~300 km².</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Results</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Camera traps confirmed the presence of baboons at all habitat plots, and we identified regional clumping in the distribution of the behavior, a pattern consistent across two consecutive years. Proportion and mean height/width of <i>A. robusta</i> did not predict whether bark-stripping behavior was present at a given site, nor did broader ecological variables such as habitat type and distance to the nearest water source. However, stripping sites had significantly higher numbers of <i>A. robusta</i> than non-stripping sites, and within a given bark-stripping site, baboons preferred to strip taller and wider trees among those available.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Discussion</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>The prominent geographical clustering we uncovered may have been driven by opportunity (i.e., the prevalence of <i>A. robusta</i> at a given site), but is also consistent with a possible (non-mutually exclusive) cultural interpretation. We propose avenues for future research on Gorongosa's baboons to better quantify the relative contributions of ecology, genetics, and social learning to the prevalence of bark stripping. We also briefly consider the potential relevance of baboon bark stripping to elucidating early hominin foraging strategies.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":29759,"journal":{"name":"American Journal of Biological Anthropology","volume":"187 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2025-05-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143900986","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Cover & Editorial Board","authors":"","doi":"10.1002/ajpa.24963","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/ajpa.24963","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":29759,"journal":{"name":"American Journal of Biological Anthropology","volume":"187 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2025-04-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/ajpa.24963","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143879956","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Reconstructing Life Histories: New Insights Into Cremation Practices, Mobility, and Food Consumption Patterns Through Isotope and Infrared Analyses of Petrous Parts and Teeth","authors":"Anneminne Frère,&nbsp;Tessi Löffelmann,&nbsp;Barbara Veselka,&nbsp;Elisavet Stamataki,&nbsp;Amanda Sengeløv,&nbsp;Hannah F. James,&nbsp;Guy de Mulder,&nbsp;Britt Claes,&nbsp;Free de Backer,&nbsp;Christophe Snoeck","doi":"10.1002/ajpa.70058","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/ajpa.70058","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Objectives</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Several archaeological cremation sites in Belgium have been investigated through a multidisciplinary approach. The sampling process predominantly focused on calcined ribs, diaphyses, and crania. However, previous studies rarely included teeth or the inner cortex (IC) of the otic capsule of the petrous part, both of which can provide information regarding residence and mobility during infancy and childhood. Moreover, the potential of these elements to contribute to understanding cremation practices has been largely unexplored. Therefore, this study examines the value of sampling these early-forming skeletal tissues for the study of mobility, food consumption patterns, and cremation practices.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Materials and Methods</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Two Late Bronze Age–Early Iron Age cremation sites in Belgium, Herstal (132 skeletal elements) and Court-Saint-Étienne (39 skeletal elements), were selected for this purpose. Mobility was examined via strontium isotope analysis, and cremation practices through stable carbon and oxygen isotope analysis and Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy in Attenuated Total Reflectance mode (FTIR-ATR).</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Results</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Our findings underscore the importance of sampling different skeletal elements to reconstruct life histories and interpret cremation practices. Differences between the strontium isotope ratios of infancy/childhood (IC and teeth) and those of continuously remodeling skeletal tissues (cranium, diaphysis, rib) revealed changes in food consumption, relocations throughout life, and multiple individuals within a single grave. Including petrous parts and teeth significantly affected statistical comparisons of infrared and carbon–oxygen isotope data across skeletal elements and cremation sites.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Discussion</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>This study highlights the value of integrating petrous parts and teeth to better understand cremation practices, mobility, and food consumption patterns, while also stressing the importance of caution when comparing sites with different sampling approaches.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":29759,"journal":{"name":"American Journal of Biological Anthropology","volume":"187 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2025-04-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143879957","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}