Dental Morphological Analysis of Roman Era Burials from the Dakhleh Oasis, Egypt

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Dental Morphological Analysis of Roman Era Burials from the Dakhleh Oasis, Egypt 1 Dental Morphological Analysis of Roman Era Burials from the Dakhleh Oasis, Egypt Scott Donald Haddow Institute of Archaeology University College London PhD Thesis 2012 2 I, Scott Donald Haddow, confirm that the work presented in this thesis is my own. Where information has been derived from other sources, I confirm that this has been indicated in the thesis. ______________________________________ 3 ABSTRACT Ismant el-Kharab (ancient Kellis) is an archaeological site in the Dakhleh Oasis, Egypt, which dates from the late Ptolemaic to the late Roman period. Previous studies of skeletal material from Kellis and other oasis sites suggest that the ancient population of the Dakhleh Oasis was largely homogenous and inbred as a result of geographic isolation. Archaeological and textual evidence however, indicates a record of contact with the Nile Valley and regions further afield since the Neolithic. In order to test these apparently conflicting narratives, descriptive and multivariate statistical methods are employed in an analysis of heritable dental morphological variants in 186 individuals from Kellis. Variation in dental morphological trait frequencies are commonly used in biological distance studies to assess phenetic relationships between groups. The present study has two main components: 1) an intra-cemetery assessment of inter-sex and inter-group morphological variation in order to identify related individuals within the Kellis 2 cemetery and provide evidence for post-marital residence patterns; and 2) an inter- regional comparison between the Kellis skeletal assemblage and groups from Egypt, Nubia, North and Sub-Saharan Africa in order to place the ancient Dakhleh Oasis population within a broader regional context. The results of the intra-cemetery analysis demonstrate low levels of inter-sex phenetic variation consistent with an isolated and possibly interbred population. Spatial analysis within the Kellis 2 cemetery has tentatively identified one area containing individuals with distinctive dental trait frequencies. This may indicate a kin-structured area of the cemetery, or alternatively, an area reserved for individuals who are not native to the Dakhleh Oasis. The results of the inter-regional comparison of trait frequencies demonstrate an overall affinity with North African populations, especially with several early Upper Egyptian and contemporary Lower Nubian groups. Despite these similarities, however, the Kellis assemblage remains relatively distinct in relation to the comparative groups. This is consistent with a geographically isolated population experiencing limited gene-flow. 4 Acknowledgements I am extremely grateful to the following people, without whose support and assistance this thesis could not have been completed. I am forever indebted to Professor Simon Hillson, my PhD supervisor, for his guidance and support, as well as his patience and good humour. I’d like to thank Dr. Anthony Mills for allowing me to join the Dakhleh Oasis Project and Dr. Joseph “El” Molto for granting me permission to study the skeletal material from Kellis. I thank Professor Joel Irish for graciously allowing me to use his dental morphological data in my comparative analyses and providing useful feedback. I am grateful to Professor Clive Orton for helping me immensely when I was struggling with the statistical component of my thesis and Professor John Tait for giving me advice regarding Egyptology. I also thank Professor Nancy Lovell for providing helpful comments on the final draft of this thesis and my examiners Dr. Sonia Zakrzewski and Dr. Richard Bussman for their constructive criticisms during my viva. Finally, I thank my family and especially my wife Camilla for providing me with the inspiration, motivation and support (both financial and emotional) I needed in order to finish after so many years! This research was partially funded by a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) Doctoral Fellowship. 5 Table of Contents Page Chapter 1: Introduction........................................................................... 12 1.1 Materials and methods.................................................................. 14 1.2 Significance of the present study................................................... 17 Chapter 2: Culture-history of the Dakhleh Oasis................................. 18 2.1 Geography and environment......................................................... 18 2.2 Human occupation in the Dakhleh Oasis...................................... 21 2.2.1 Prehistory............................................................................. 21 2.2.2 Pharaonic Period.................................................................. 23 2.2.3 Greco-Roman Period........................................................... 25 2.3 Ancient Kellis (Ismant el-Kharab).................................................. 27 2.4 Kellis mortuary sites...................................................................... 28 2.4.1 Pagan (Pre-Christian) tombs................................................ 28 2.4.2 Christian tombs and cemeteries........................................... 28 2.5 Previous osteological research in the Dakhleh Oasis................... 31 Chapter 3: Materials and methods......................................................... 41 3.1 Introduction.................................................................................... 41 3.2 Structure and function of the human dentition............................... 42 3.2.1 Description of tooth types..................................................... 46 3.2.1.1 Incisors................................................................... 46 3.2.1.2 Canines................................................................... 47 3.2.1.3 Premolars............................................................... 48 3.2.1.4 Molars..................................................................... 49 3.3 History and development of dental anthropology.......................... 51 3.4 Biological distance analysis........................................................... 54 3.5 Dental morphological variation...................................................... 57 3.6 The Arizona State University Dental Anthropology System.......... 60 3.6.1 Maxillary crown and root traits.............................................. 61 3.6.2 Mandibular crown and root traits.......................................... 77 3.7 Previous biological distance studies in Egypt and Nubia………... 88 6 3.8 The present study: materials......................................................... 90 3.9 Hypotheses.................................................................................... 93 3.10 Hypotheses 1 and 2: intracemetery analysis………………...……. 94 3.10.1 Inter-sex trait variation………………..……………………... 94 3.10.2 Spatial analysis………………..……………………………... 96 3.11 Hypotheses 3 and 4: regional trait comparisons………………….. 99 3.11.1 Egyptian comparative material…………………………..…. 99 3.11.2 Nubian comparative material.............................................. 100 3.11.3 North African comparative material.................................... 100 3.11.4 Sub-Saharan African comparative material........................ 101 3.11.5 Inter-regional comparative material.................................... 102 3.12 Trait selection for comparative studies.......................................... 103 3.13 Statistical analyses........................................................................ 105 3.13.1 The Mean Measure of Divergence (MMD)......................... 107 3.13.2 Hierarchical cluster analysis............................................... 111 3.13.3 Multidimensional scaling..................................................... 113 Chapter 4: Results................................................................................... 148 4.1 Introduction.................................................................................... 148 4.2 Presentation of results................................................................... 149 4.3 Description of Kellis permanent dentition morphological traits...... 150 4.3.1 Mandibular dental traits........................................................ 150 4.3.2 Maxillary dental traits............................................................ 155 4.4 Intra-cemetery analysis................................................................. 161 4.4.1 Cemetery and townsite inter-sex variation........................... 161 4.4.2 Spatial analysis: individual traits........................................... 163 4.4.3 Spatial analysis: inter-sex variation...................................... 166 4.4.4 Spatial analysis: combined traits.......................................... 167 4.5 Regional and inter-regional comparisons...................................... 169 4.5.1 Descriptive comparisons...................................................... 169 4.5.2 Trait selection for multivariate comparative study................ 171 4.5.3 Twenty trait regional comparison.......................................... 171 4.5.3.1 Mean Measure of Divergence (MMD)..................... 171 4.5.3.2 Hierarchical cluster analysis of MMD values.......... 174 4.5.3.3 Multidimensional scaling of MMD values............... 176 4.5.4 Thirteen trait inter-regional analysis..................................... 177 4.5.4.1 Mean Measure of Divergence (MMD)..................... 177 4.5.4.2 Hierarchical cluster analysis of MMD values.......... 178 4.5.4.3 Multidimensional
Recommended publications
  • Do Nuclear DNA and Dental Nonmetric Data Produce Similar Reconstructions of Regional Population History? an Example from Modern Coastal Kenya
    American Journal of Physical Anthropology View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by LJMU Research Online Do nuclear DNA and dental nonmetric data produce similar reconstructions of regional population history? An example from modern coastal Kenya Journal: American Journal of Physical Anthropology Manuscript ID: AJPA-2014-00343.R1 Wiley - Manuscript type: Research Article Date Submitted by the Author: 12-Dec-2014 Complete List oF Authors: Hubbard, Amelia; Wright State University, Anthropology and Sociology Guatelli-Steinberg, Debbie; The Ohio State University, Anthropology; Irish, Joel; Liverpool John Moores University, Research Centre in Evolutionary Anthropology and Palaeoecology nuclear microsatellite, dental morphology, coastal Kenya, East AFrica, Key Words: biological distance SubField: Please select your Bioarchaeology [including Forensics], Genetics [primate and human] first choice in the first field.: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Page 1 of 35 American Journal of Physical Anthropology 1 2 3 4 5 Do nuclear DNA and dental nonmetric data produce similar reconstructions of regional 6 population history? An example from modern coastal Kenya 7 8 Amelia R. Hubbard1, Debbie Guatelli-Steinberg2, Joel D. Irish3 9 10 1Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Wright State University, Dayton, OH, USA 11 2 12 Department of Anthropology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA 3 13 Research Centre in Evolutionary Anthropology and Palaeoecology, Liverpool John Moores 14 University, Liverpool, UK 15 16 INSTITUTION: Wright State University, Dayton, OH, USA 45435 17 18 19 TEXT: 28 pages 20 21 FIGURES: 2 22 23 24 TABLES: 4 25 26 ABBREVIATED TITLE: Biological distance among regional populations 27 28 KEY WORDS: nuclear microsatellites, dental morphology, coastal East Africa 29 30 31 CORRESPONDING AUTHOR: 32 33 Amelia R.
    [Show full text]
  • Download Download
    Volume 32, Issue 01, 2019 ISSN 1096-9411 Dental Anthropology A Publication of the Dental Anthropology Association Dental Anthropology 2019 │ Volume 32 │ Issue 01 2 Dental Anthropology Volume 32, Issue 01, 2019 Dental Anthropology is the Official Publication of the Dental Anthropology Association. Editors: Marin A. Pilloud and G. Richard Scott Editor Emeritus: Christopher W. Schmidt Editorial Board (2016-2019) Debbie Guatelli-Steinberg Grant Townsend Simon Hillson Chris Stojanowski Leslea Hlusko Cathy M. Willermet Yuji Mizoguchi Officers of the Dental Anthropology Association Heather J.H. Edgar (University of New Mexico) President (2016-2019) Daniel Antoine (British Museum) President-Elect (2016-2019) Amelia Hubbard (Wright State University) Secretary-Treasurer (2017-2020) Katie Zejdlik (Western Carolina University) Executive Board Member (2018-2021) Scott Burnett (Eckerd College) Past President (2012-2016) Contact for Manuscripts Dr. Marin A. Pilloud Dr. G. Richard Scott Department of Anthropology University of Nevada, Reno E-mail addresses: [email protected], [email protected] Website: journal.dentalanthropology.org Address for Book Reviews Dr. Greg C. Nelson Department of Anthropology, University of Oregon Condon Hall, Eugene, Oregon 97403 U.S.A. E-mail address: [email protected] Published at University of Nevada, Reno Reno, Nevada 89557 The University of Nevada, Reno is an EEO/AA/Title IX/Section 504/ADA employer Editorial Assistant Rebecca L. George Production Assistant Daniel E. Ehrlich Dental Anthropology 2019 │ Volume 32 │ Issue 01 3 Case Study: Expression of Two Near Absent Dental Traits, Lingual Cuspule and Paraconid, on One Archaic Period Modern Human from the Ohio Valley Erin C. Blankenship-Sefczek* The Ohio State University, USA Keywords: Dental variation, dental evolution, rare trait ABSTRACT Dental anomalies in modern humans are used to discuss biological variation and evolutionary changes.
    [Show full text]
  • Introduction
    Introduction The City of a Thousand Minarets began as a source document I wrote for a video game company that was dabbling with the idea of a MMORPG set in a 1930s Pulp setting. The first environment they were going to roll out was their Pulp Cairo setting. So I set about collecting as much "stranger than fiction" details about the city, trying to demonstrate that historical Cairo was more exotic and beautiful than any Arabian Nights fantasy. Part of the project was to include a good deal of information about how Cairo has been portrayed in media so that level designers could weave their way between the expected Cairo of "orientalist" fantasy, and the surprising Cairo of real history. And of course, at the time I was already a huge Hollow Earth Expedition fan. Ever since Raiders of the Lost Ark came out, I had been looking for a role-playing game to recreate the heroic action of the Pulp Genre and always being disappointed. It wasn't until I read the Ubiquity System that I found the mechanics I'd always been looking for. Streamlined. Fast. Fun. The perfect system for punching Nazis off of zeppelins into dinosaurs! That was over a decade ago. The computer game company moved on to other projects and my document sat gathering dust until I picked up Black Campbell Entertainment's The Queen of the Orient and The Sublime Port. Then I realized that I had something to offer my fellow fans of Hollow Earth Expedition. I hope you all fall in love with Cairo as much as I have.
    [Show full text]
  • Non-Metric Dental Traits and Hominin Phylogeny’ by Carter
    View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by LJMU Research Online News and views: Response to ‘Non-metric dental traits and hominin phylogeny’ by Carter et al. (2013), with additional information on the Arizona State University Dental Anthropology System and phylogenetic ‘place’ of Australopithecus sediba Joel D. Irisha*, Debbie Guatelli-Steinbergb, Scott S. Leggec, Darryl J. de Ruiterd,e, Lee R. Bergere aResearch Centre in Evolutionary Anthropology and Palaeoecology, School of Natural Sciences and Psychology, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool L3 3AF UK bDepartment of Anthropology and Department of Evolution, Ecology, and Organismal Biology, Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210 USA cDepartment of Anthropology, Macalester College, St. Paul, MN 55105 USA dDepartment of Anthropology, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843 USA eEvolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag 3, Wits 2050, South Africa *Corresponding author: Joel D. Irish Research Centre in Evolutionary Anthropology and Palaeoecology, School of Natural Sciences and Psychology, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool L3 3AF UK [email protected] 1 Introduction Here we respond to Carter and colleagues’ (2013) remarks concerning our Science article (Irish et al., 2013). The goals for that article were to: 1) further characterize Australopithecus sediba by describing 22 Arizona State University Dental Anthropology System (ASUDAS) traits, 2) compare the traits in A. sediba with those previously recorded in other hominin samples, and 3) present initial phylogenetic analyses using these data. Given the subset of traits, out of 125 possible (below), and small A. sediba sample, our conclusion was that the results “further define [the species’] position relative to other genera,” but that “the phylogenetic place of A.
    [Show full text]
  • Amazigh-State Relations in Morocco and Algeria
    Calhoun: The NPS Institutional Archive Theses and Dissertations Thesis Collection 2013-06 Amazigh-state relations in Morocco and Algeria Kruse, John E.,III Monterey, California: Naval Postgraduate School http://hdl.handle.net/10945/34692 NAVAL POSTGRADUATE SCHOOL MONTEREY, CALIFORNIA THESIS AMAZIGH-STATE RELATIONS IN MOROCCO AND ALGERIA by John E. Kruse III June 2013 Thesis Advisor: Mohammed Hafez Second Reader: Tristan Mabry Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK REPORT DOCUMENTATION PAGE Form Approved OMB No. 0704–0188 Public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 1 hour per response, including the time for reviewing instruction, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information. Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden, to Washington headquarters Services, Directorate for Information Operations and Reports, 1215 Jefferson Davis Highway, Suite 1204, Arlington, VA 22202–4302, and to the Office of Management and Budget, Paperwork Reduction Project (0704–0188) Washington, DC 20503. 1. AGENCY USE ONLY (Leave blank) 2. REPORT DATE 3. REPORT TYPE AND DATES COVERED June 2013 Master’s Thesis 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE 5. FUNDING NUMBERS AMAZIGH-STATE RELATIONS IN MOROCCO AND ALGERIA 6. AUTHOR(S) John E. Kruse III 7. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES) 8. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION Naval Postgraduate School REPORT NUMBER Monterey, CA 93943–5000 9. SPONSORING /MONITORING AGENCY NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES) 10. SPONSORING/MONITORING N/A AGENCY REPORT NUMBER 11. SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES The views expressed in this thesis are those of the author and do not reflect the official policy or position of the Department of Defense or the U.S.
    [Show full text]
  • UCLA Encyclopedia of Egyptology
    UCLA UCLA Encyclopedia of Egyptology Title Egyptian Among Neighboring African Languages Permalink https://escholarship.org/uc/item/2fb8t2pz Journal UCLA Encyclopedia of Egyptology, 1(1) Author Cooper, Julien Publication Date 2020-12-19 Peer reviewed eScholarship.org Powered by the California Digital Library University of California EGYPTIAN AMONG NEIGHBORING AFRICAN LANGUAGES اﻟﻠﻐﺔ اﻟﻤﺼﺮﯾﺔ اﻟﻘﺪﯾﻤﺔ واﻟﻠﻐﺎت اﻻﻓﺮﯾﻘﯿﺔ اﻟﻤﺠﺎورة Julien Cooper EDITORS JULIE STAUDER-PORCHET ANDRÉAS STAUDER Editor, Language, Text and Writing Editor, Language, Text and Writing Swiss National Science Foundation & École Pratique des Hautes Études, Université de Genève, Switzerland Université Paris Sciences et Lettres, France WILLEKE WENDRICH SOLANGE ASHBY Editor-in-Chief Editor Upper Nile Languages and Culture Associated Researcher UCLA, USA University of California, Los Angeles, USA ANNE AUSTIN MENNAT –ALLAH EL DORRY Editor, Individual and Society Editor, Natural Environment Flora and Fauna University of Missouri-St. Louis, USA Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, Egypt JUAN CARLOS MORENO GARCÍA WOLFRAM GRAJETZKI Editor, Economy Editor, Time and History Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique University College London, UK UMR 8167 (Orient & Méditerranée), Sorbonne Université, France CHRISTINE JOHNSTON RUNE NYORD Editor, Natural Environment, Landscapes and Climate Editor, History of Egyptology Western Washington University, USA Emory University, USA TANJA POMMERENING Editor, Domains of Knowledge Philipps-Universität Marburg, Germany Short Citation: Cooper 2020,
    [Show full text]
  • Dental Morphology and Diet Use-Wear of the Belgian Neolithic: a Study of Mass Cave Burials in the Meuse River Basin
    Georgia State University ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University Anthropology Theses Department of Anthropology Spring 5-2-2018 Dental Morphology and Diet Use-wear of the Belgian Neolithic: A Study of Mass Cave Burials in the Meuse River Basin Katherine E. Sherrill Ms Georgia State University Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.gsu.edu/anthro_theses Recommended Citation Sherrill, Katherine E. Ms, "Dental Morphology and Diet Use-wear of the Belgian Neolithic: A Study of Mass Cave Burials in the Meuse River Basin." Thesis, Georgia State University, 2018. https://scholarworks.gsu.edu/anthro_theses/136 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Department of Anthropology at ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University. It has been accepted for inclusion in Anthropology Theses by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University. For more information, please contact [email protected]. DENTAL MORPHOLOGY AND DIET USE-WEAR OF THE BELGIAN NEOLITHIC: A STUDY OF MASS CAVE BURIALS IN THE MEUSE RIVER BASIN by KATHERINE E. SHERRILL Under the Direction of Frank L’Engle Williams, Ph.D. ABSTRACT In order to reconstruct relationships between cave burials in the Meuse River Basin of Belgium during the Middle to Terminal Neolithic, dental remains from five sites are compared. Because molar morphology and the presence or absence of nonadaptive dental traits are highly heritable and biologically neutral, they can potentially yield clues as to the chronological and spatial relationships between sites and the variation within these collective burials. Dental microwear is brought to bear on the dietary proclivities of the individuals represented in the caves and is compared to the variation in molar morphology.
    [Show full text]
  • An Examination of Population History, Population Structure, and Biological Distance Among Regional Populations of the Kenyan Coast Using Genetic and Dental Data
    AN EXAMINATION OF POPULATION HISTORY, POPULATION STRUCTURE, AND BIOLOGICAL DISTANCE AMONG REGIONAL POPULATIONS OF THE KENYAN COAST USING GENETIC AND DENTAL DATA Dissertation Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of the Ohio State University By Amelia R. Hubbard, B.A., M.A. Graduate Program in Anthropology The Ohio State University 2012 Dissertation Committee: Professor Debbie Guatelli-Steinberg, Adviser Professor Douglas Crews Professor Paul Fuerst Professor Joel Irish Professor Paul Sciulli Copyrighted by Amelia Robin Hubbard 2012 ABSTRACT This study tests the long accepted assumption that non-metric dental traits and genetic variants provide similar information about population history through reconstructions of biological distance and population structure. Further, it examines whether these biological data agree when comparing populations within a geographically restricted region. Using non-metric dental morphology, microsatellite repeat variation, and genealogical data from four contemporary coastal Kenyan populations (n=295), the goals of the project are twofold: 1) To determine if there is concordance between dental and genetic based reconstructions of biological distance (a measure of biological similarity between populations) and population structure (a measure of the contributions of gene flow and genetic drift to variation within and between populations), and 2) To determine if genetic and dental reconstructions of biological distance and population structure agree with known population histories for the region. The results of this study indicate that there is agreement between dental and genetic reconstructions of regional population structure and biodistance when examining general patterns in the relationships among groups; however, when testing more detailed relationships, non-metric dental traits are not as sensitive as genetic variants to differences among populations.
    [Show full text]
  • “The Sherden in His Majesty's Captivity”: a Comparative Look At
    1 “The Sherden in His Majesty’s Captivity”: A Comparative Look at the Mercenaries of New Kingdom Egypt Jordan Snowden Rhodes College Honors History Word Count (including citations and bibliography): 38098 Introduction----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------2 Chapter 1: How They Were Recruited---------------------------------------------------------------------6 Chapter 2: How They Fought------------------------------------------------------------------------------36 Chapter 3: How They Were Paid and Settled------------------------------------------------------------80 Conclusion: How They Were Integrated----------------------------------------------------------------103 Bibliography------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------125 2 Introduction Mercenary troops have been used by numerous states throughout history to supplement their native armies with skilled foreign soldiers – Nepali Gurkhas have served with distinction in the armies of India and the United Kingdom for well over a century, Hessians fought for Great Britain during the American Revolution, and even the Roman Empire supplemented its legions with foreign “auxiliary” units. Perhaps the oldest known use of mercenaries dates to the New Kingdom of ancient Egypt (1550-1069 BCE). New Kingdom Egypt was a powerful military empire that had conquered large parts of Syria, all of Palestine, and most of Nubia (today northern Sudan). Egyptian pharaohs of this period were truly
    [Show full text]
  • The Value of Dental Morphology in the Archaeological Context: Example of a Portuguese Population from the Late 19Th and Early 20Th Centuries
    Promontoria Monográfica 16 Actas das IV Jornadas de Jovens em Investigação Arqueológica - JIA 2011 Vol. I (Faro, 11 a 14 de Maio de 2011) Editores Científicos: João Cascalheira Célia Gonçalves Núcleo de Arqueologia e Paleoecologia Departamento de Artes e Humanidades Faculdade de Ciências Humanas e Sociais (Universidade do Algarve) Universidade do Algarve FACULDADE DE CIÊNCIAS HUMANAS E SOCIAIS Departamento de Artes e Humanidades Núcleo de Arqueologia e Paleoecologia Promontoria Monográfica 16 Editor: Núcleo de Arqueologia e Paleoecologia e Departamento de Artes e Humanidades Faculdade de Ciências Humanas e Sociais Universidade do Algarve Campus de Gambelas 8005-139 Faro [email protected] Coordenação Editorial: Nuno Ferreira Bicho António Faustino Carvalho IMPRESSÃO: Tipografia Tavirense, Lda. TIRAGEM: 280 exemplares ISBN: 978-989-97666-2-4 Depósito Legal: 342265/l2 APOIOS: The value of dental morphology in the archaeological context: example of a Portuguese population from the late 19th and early 20th centuries Luís Miguel Marado CIAS, Research Centre for Anthropology and Health; Department of Life Sciences [email protected] ABSTRACT The observation of dental non-metric characters used in the Arizona State University Dental Anthropology System (among others) is of major interest in the study of past populations. Dental morphological traits are genetically determined, and dependent of a small and stable part of the genome; their development seems unaffected by the uterine environment and their evolution is slow, probably independent of natural selection. The relative frequency of dental traits is a testimony to the biological distances between populations. The study of the inferior dentition in a late XIXth/early XXth century sample deceased in Oporto, Portugal, is the example of a statistically simple approach to the biological comparison between populations, using the ASUDAS (Turner et al.
    [Show full text]
  • Decoding the Medinet Habu Inscriptions: the Ideological Subtext of Ramesses III’S War Accounts
    Peters 1 Decoding the Medinet Habu Inscriptions: The Ideological Subtext of Ramesses III’s War Accounts Abstract: The temple of Medinet Habu in Thebes stands as Ramesses III‘s lasting legacy to Ancient Egyptian history. This monumental structure not only contained luxury goods within, but also a goldmine of information inscribed on its outside walls. Here, Ramesses adorned the temple with stories of military campaigns he led against enemies in the north who hoped to gain control of Egypt. These war accounts have posed a series of problems to modern scholars. Today, the debate still rages over how the inscriptions should be interpreted. This work analyzes Ramesses‘s records through the lens of socioeconomic decline that occurred during his rule in order to demonstrate the role ideology—namely ma‘at—played in his self-representation and his methodology to ensure and legitimize his rule during these precarious times. Scott M. Peters Senior Thesis, Department of History Columbia College, Columbia University April 2011 Advisors: Professor Marc Van De Mieroop and Professor Martha Howell Word Count: 17,070 (with footnotes + bibliography included) Peters 2 Figure 1: Map of Ancient Egypt with key sites. Image reproduced from Marc Van De Mieroop, A History of Ancient Egypt (Malden: Wiley-Blackwell, 2011), 28. Peters 3 Introduction When describing his victory over invading forces in the north of Egypt, Ramesses III, ruler at the time, wrote: …Those who came on land were overthrown and slaughtered…Amon-Re was after them destroying them. Those who entered the river mouths were like birds ensnared in the net…their leaders were carried off and slain.
    [Show full text]
  • Dietary and Behavioral Strategies Of
    University of Arkansas, Fayetteville ScholarWorks@UARK Theses and Dissertations 5-2011 Dietary and Behavioral Strategies of Neandertals and Anatomically Modern Humans: Evidence from Anterior Dental Microwear Texture Analysis Kristin Lynn Krueger University of Arkansas, Fayetteville Follow this and additional works at: http://scholarworks.uark.edu/etd Part of the Biological and Physical Anthropology Commons Recommended Citation Krueger, Kristin Lynn, "Dietary and Behavioral Strategies of Neandertals and Anatomically Modern Humans: Evidence from Anterior Dental Microwear Texture Analysis" (2011). Theses and Dissertations. 92. http://scholarworks.uark.edu/etd/92 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by ScholarWorks@UARK. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks@UARK. For more information, please contact [email protected], [email protected]. 1 DIETARY AND BEHAVIORAL STRATEGIES OF NEANDERTALS AND ANATOMICALLY MODERN HUMANS: EVIDENCE FROM ANTERIOR DENTAL MICROWEAR TEXTURE ANALYSIS DIETARY AND BEHAVIORAL STRATEGIES OF NEANDERTALS AND ANATOMICALLY MODERN HUMANS: EVIDENCE FROM ANTERIOR DENTAL MICROWEAR TEXTURE ANALYSIS A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Anthropology By Kristin L. Krueger University of Wisconsin-Madison Bachelor of Science in Anthropology, 2003 University of Wisconsin-Madison Bachelor of Science in Spanish, 2003 Western Michigan University Master of Arts in Anthropology, 2006 May 2011 University of Arkansas ABSTRACT The extreme gross wear of Neandertal anterior teeth has been a topic of debate for decades. Several ideas have been proposed, including the excessive mastication of grit- laden foods and non-dietary anterior tooth use, or using the anterior dentition as a clamp or tool.
    [Show full text]