2*0 \%, in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for / the Degree
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Entheseal Changes in an Ancient Egyptian Skeletal Collection A thesis submitted to the faculty of San Francisco State University "2*0 \%, In partial fulfillment of The Requirements for / The degree Master of Arts In Anthropology by Sophie Minnig San Francisco, California July 2018 Copyright by Sophie Minnig 2018 CERTIFICATION OF APPROVAL I certify that I have read Entheseal Changes in an Ancient Egyptian Skeletal Collection by Sophie Minnig, and that in my opinion this work meets the criteria for approving a thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requests for the degree: Master of Arts in Anthropology at San Francisco State University. Associate Professor of Anthropology Associate Professor of Anthropology Entheseal Changes in an Ancient Egyptian Skeletal Collection Sophie Minnig San Francisco, California 2018 The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of age and sex on entheseal changes, as well as test for asymmetry in an ancient Egyptian skeletal collection. Entheseal changes refer to the morphological changes that occur on the bone surface where tendons and ligaments attach. Such morphological changes have been widely considered to reflect past activity patterns. However, recent bioarchaeological and biomedical research has shown biological factors such as age, sex, and body size to be significantly correlated with various types of entheseal change (Henderson et al. 2013 2017 Wilczak 1998; Benjamin et al. 2008 , 2009; Foster et al. 2014). This study utilizes the new Coimbra method (Henderson et al. 2013, 2015) to score and record entheseal changes at five fibrocartilaginous entheses: infra- and supra-spinatus, subscapularis insertion, common flexor origin, common extensor origin, and biceps brachii insertion. The results show bone formation tends to increase with age in males. Erosion tends to increase in females, particularly after age 50 with weaker age trends evident in males. Conversely, there was a slight tendency for fine porosity to be more frequent in individuals thirty years and younger. There was a lack of asymmetry observed within this sample, which argues against the notion that entheseal changes result from habitual mechanical stress. Within this relatively gracile population, there was significant sexual dimorphism in two humeral measurements: the vertical head diameter, and distal articular breadth. Further research is suggested to examine differences between socio-cultural classes, effects of pathological conditions, and to validate the reported impacts of biological factors like age and sex using a larger Egyptian sample. I certify that the Abstract is a correct representation of the content of this thesis. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The abundant support and guidance from many people over the past three years made this thesis possible. I first would like to thank my committee members, Dr. Cynthia Wilczak and Dr. Mark Griffin. Dr. Cynthia Wilczak was instrumental in developing not only the parameters of this project, but also in my personal growth as a student and researcher. She was consistently available and patient throughout this process, and taught me invaluable lessons and resources that have contributed to my academic and professional abilities. I also want to express gratitude to Dr. Mark Griffin, who never failed to give practical, constructive advice pertaining to my academic career and personal goals. Both of these individuals truly helped advance my skills as a critical thinker and writer, and without whom I would have never been able to complete this project. I would also like to thank the staff of the Phoebe A. Hearst Museum, and in particular Leslie Freund and Dr. Michael Black, for allowing me access to the Giza osteological collection. Leslie was personally there to help me set up each day I was at the museum for my data collection, and provided me with any resources necessary. I also want to thank Dr. Michael Black for guiding me through the application process and assisting me through the initial stages of choosing individuals from the collection to utilize for this thesis. Of course, the past three years were made significantly easier with the support and friendship from several of my peers at SF State. I feel grateful that I made some lasting friendships through this program, and that we were all able to be there for each other through some rough spots and most importantly have some great hangouts along the way. Lastly, I thank my parents for their love and unconditional support through all my major life decisions including this one, and for giving me a pretty great place to live in the process. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Tables .............................................................................................................................. ix List of Figures............................................................................................................................. x A ppendices.............................................................................................................................. xii Introduction................................................................................................................................. 1 Literature Review ...................................................................................................................... 11 Entheses Types......................................................................................................... 12 Enthesis Development and Biomechanics........................................................... 15 Age Effects in Biomedical Literature................................................................... 24 Disease Processes and Enthesopathies................................................................. 26 Effects of Sex and Hormones in Biomedical Literature..................................... 30 Methods for Recording Entheseal Changes in Bioarchaeology........................ 32 Entheseal Changes in Bioarchaeology: Effects of Age, Sex, and Body Size. 39 Archaeological Site Context...................................................................................... 52 Methods and Materials............................................................................................................. 57 Coimbra Method.......................................................................................................... 58 Sex Estimation............................................................................................................. 61 Age-at-Death Estimation........................................................................................... 62 Pathological Conditions............................................................................................. 65 Body Size Proxies........................................................................................................ 66 Statistical Analysis....................................................................................................... 66 Materials ...................................................................................................................... 66 Results ......................................................................................................................................... 70 vii Examples of Entheseal Change......................................................................... 70 Variability of Enthesis Scores................................................................................ 72 Asymmetry................................................................................................................. 77 Sexual Dimorphism.................................................................................................. 79 Effects of A ge............................................................................................................. 82 Discussion................................................................................................................... 91 Interpretation of Statistical Analyses.................................................................... 91 Scoring Individuals with Trauma and Pathological Conditions..................... 100 Conclusions.............................................................................................................................. 106 Literature Cited ....................................................................................................................... 110 viii LIST OF TABLES Table Page 3.1. Coimbra M ethod....................................................................................................... 59 4.1. Score Variability for Females............................................................................. 74 4.2. Score Variability for M ales....................................................................................76 4.3. Asymmetry..................................................................................................................78 4.4. Descriptive Statistics of Body Size Proxies.....................................................79 4.5. Independent Samples T-Test...................................................................................81 5.1. Scores for Individual 12-5142........................................................................... 103 5.. Scores for Individual 12-5169............................................................................... 105 ix LIST OF FIGURES Figure Page 2.1. Plan view image of royal cemetery from Great Pyramid looking