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PubMed1978

Analysis of hair samples of mummies from Semma South (Sudanese Nubia).

Hair samples from 76 burials at Semna South (Sudanese Nubia) were examined using a variety of techniques. Electrophoresis and fluorescence microscopy indicated some oxidation of the cuticule and keratin protein had taken place. However, the cuticular structure and the lack of fluorescence of the cortex indicate that the low humidity and non-alkaline conditions preserved the physical and chemical properties of the hair well. Pigmentation, even allowing for oxidation of melanin, showed a higher proportion of lighter samples than is currently associated with the Nubian area. Hair form analysis showed medium diameter and scale count; the curling variables were intermediate between European and African samples. There was a high ratio of maximum to minimum curvature (a measure of irregularity), approached only by Melanesian samples. Meroitic and X-group burial types were not statistically significantly different (largely due to sample sizes), but the X-group, especially males, showed more African elements than the Meroitic in the curling variables. Principal components analysis showed the Semna sample to be significantly different from seven populations examined earlier.

Anthropology, Physical↗
PubMed1982

Intercemetery morphological variation in Arikara crania from the Mobridge Site (39WW1).

Multivariate analysis is used to examine intrasite variation in cranial morphology in the Mobridge Arikara skeletal collection. The site included three spatially distinct burial areas. The burial areas (features) are defined according to geographic location. Feature 1 is a small hill west of the village. Feature 2 is a large, long hill 200-300 yards south of the village. Feature 3 is a small knoll 100 yards south of Feature 1. The internal chronology of Mobridge has not been established with precision, but order has been postulated based on archeological data. Previous researchers have considered area 2 to be later than areas 1 and 3. Significant morphological heterogeneity exists between areas. Sample differences indicate that specific features were used by temporally distinct populations. The archaeologically proposed temporal ordering of the cemeteries is supported by osteological evidence.

Analysis of Variance↗
PubMed1987

Mortuary practices at the Krapina Neandertal site.

It has often been reported that the Krapina Neandertal remains bear incised linear striations which appear to be cutmarks. Here, the plausibility of the striations as cutmarks is tested by comparing them to Mousterian butchery marks on large fauna and to cutmarks on modern human skeletons known to have been defleshed with stone tools. The anatomical location, gross appearance, and frequency of occurrence of the striations on the Krapina material do not resemble Mousterian butchery marks on reindeer. The Krapina striations do closely match authenticated cutmarks on 22 modern human skeletons defleshed with stone tools after partial decomposition, preparatory to secondary burial. Data are presented supporting the hypothesis that the striations on the Krapina Neandertal remains are consistent with postmortem processing of corpses with stone tools, probably in preparation for burial of cleaned bones.

Adult↗
PubMed1988

Brachydactyly, a possible inherited anomaly at prehistoric Prince Rupert Harbour.

Disproportionately short metacarpals or metatarsals in eight burial skeletons and three unusually short metapodials recovered as disturbed bones were identified in a 1500 B.C. to A.D. 500 skeletal series from eight archeological sites of the north mainland coast of British Columbia, Canada. At least ten people were affected from four sites for a minimum series frequency of 5.2%. Various factors clinically implicated in the occurrence of brachymetapody were investigated to account for the anomaly. Context-sensitive information suggested that trauma, infarction or infection, and individual or family-related malformation syndromes were unlikely possibilities. Some modern population data suggest that the series frequency was unusually high, particularly for fourth metatarsal involvement, the most commonly affected bone. Modern pedigree interpretations, ethnohistoric inferences, and the archeological contexts of the affected burial skeletons and site samples provide a framework for concluding that brachymetapody in the series was more likely due to the inheritance of an essentially isolated anomaly.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1992

Evaluation of lead concentrations in 18th-century Omaha Indian skeletons using ICP-MS.

The analysis of skeletal remains of Omaha Indians buried between AD 1780 and 1820 indicated that lead was incorporated in cortical bone. The diagenetic or biogenetic origin of the lead was evaluated by examination of lead isotope ratios of the bones and artifacts, and comparison of lead concentrations in burial soils with those of the bones. The isotopic values of the lead artifacts demonstrate that the lead was mined in the Missouri region. Although the isotope ratios in the bones are not identical with that from the lead artifacts, there is a strong relationship between them. This finding indicates that the lead in the bone was at least partly derived from the artifacts. Because lead artifacts rarely accompanied the burials but lead was ubiquitous in the bones, we suggest a biogenetic origin for the lead. There is also the possibility that some of the lead may have been derived from pigments applied to the corpse during mortuary ritual.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

A genetic study of 2,000-year-old human remains from Japan using mitochondrial DNA sequences.

We present nucleotide sequence data for mitochondrial DNA extracted from ancient human skeletons of the Yayoi era (ca. 2,000 BP) excavated from the Takuta-Nishibun site in northern Kyushu of Japan. Nucleotide sequence diversity showed that the Yayoi people of the Takuta-Nishibun site were not a genetically homegeneous population. This site shows a diversity in the burial style. Phylogenetic analysis indicated a statistically significant correlation between burial style and the genetic background of the Takuta-Nishibun individuals, and revealed no discrete clusterig patterns for the Yayoi individuals, for early modern Ainu, or for the Jomon people.

Anthropology↗
PubMed2005

Iatrogenic molar borings in 18th and early 19th century Native American dentitions.

Six iatrogenic dental borings were identified in four individuals of a Native American skeletal collection from an 18th and early 19th century Middle Columbia River burial site. The borings, all in maxillary first molars with severe dental attrition and secondary dentin, demonstrate striated walls and associated periapical alveolar lesions. An ethnographic review of the subsistence pattern during the burial period indicates a diet that is consistent in dental attrition with other riverine fisher-hunter-gathers. Histological changes of dental pulp tissue during the process of attrition may result in dental necrosis. Access into the pulp chamber is a technique used to drain necrotic fluid. A common Euro-American therapeutic dental practice of the 18th and 19th centuries for diseases of the pulp was dental extraction. Multiple dental borings indicate that the practice of molar drilling into the pulp chamber was an effective and independent technique used by the Wishram and Wasco people.

Dental Pulp↗
PubMed2005

Trauma-induced changes in diaphyseal cross-sectional geometry in two elites from Copan, Honduras.

This research utilized biplanar radiographs to estimate cross-sectional biomechanical properties for the skeletal remains of two elite individuals from the Early Classic period (ca. AD 400-600) of Copan, Honduras: K'inich Yax K'uk' Mo' (Hunal Burial 95-2), founder of the Early Classic Dynasty at Copan, and the primary female interment (Burial 37-8) from the Motmot tomb. Both individuals survived severe blunt-force insults to the right forearm. Gross skeletal examination and evaluation of the radiographs for K'inich Yax K'uk' Mo' suggest that these traumas resulted from, at least in part, disuse atrophy of the affected forearm skeletal elements. Gross and radiologic evaluation of the Motmot remains countered the possibility that she suffered from a metabolic bone disease, and confirmed the presence of a well-healed parry fracture of the right ulna. The degree of asymmetry in cross-sectional biomechanical properties reported here for K'inich Yax K'uk' Mo' is likely the secondary result of the described blunt-force trauma. The results obtained for the principal Motmot interment are not as dramatic, but suggest subtle changes to humeral cross-sectional geometry subsequent to trauma.

Anatomy, Cross-Sectional↗
PubMed2005

Linear enamel hypoplasias as indicators of systemic physiological stress: evidence from two known age-at-death and sex populations from postmedieval London.

Enamel hypoplasias are useful indicators of systemic growth disturbances during childhood, and are routinely used to investigate patterns of morbidity and mortality in past populations. This study examined the pattern of linear enamel hypoplasias in two different burial populations from 18th and 19th Century church crypts in London. Linear enamel hypoplasias on the permanent dentitions of individuals from the crypt of Christ Church, Spitalfields, were compared to enamel defects on the teeth of individuals from St. Bride's. The method used involves the identification of enamel defects at a microscopic level, and systemic perturbations are detected by matching hypoplasias among different tooth classes within each individual. The pattern of linear enamel hypoplasias was contrasted between individuals from the burial sites of Spitalfields and St. Bride's, between males and females, and between those aged less than 20 years of age and those aged over 20 years at death. Six different parameters were examined: frequency of linear enamel hypoplasias, interval between defects, duration of hypoplasias, age at first occurrence of hypoplasia, age at last occurrence of hypoplasia, and the percentage of enamel formation time taken up by growth disturbances. All individuals in the study displayed linear enamel hypoplasias, with up to 33% of total visible enamel formation time affected by growth disruptions. Multiple regression analysis indicated a number of significant differences in the pattern of enamel hypoplasias. Individuals from Spitalfields had shorter intervals between defects and greater percentages of enamel formation time affected by growth disturbances than did individuals from St. Bride's. Females had greater numbers of linear enamel hypoplasias, shorter intervals between defects, and greater percentages of enamel formation time affected by growth disturbances than males. There were also differences in the pattern of enamel hypoplasias and age at death in this study. Individuals who died younger in life had an earlier age at first occurrence of enamel hypoplasia than those who survived to an older age. The pattern of enamel hypoplasias detected in this study was influenced by tooth crown geometry and tooth wear such that most defects were found in the midcrown and cervical regions of the teeth, and greater numbers of defects were identified on the anterior teeth. Differences in sensitivity of the parameters used for the detection of enamel hypoplasias were found in this study. The percentage of visible enamel formation time affected by growth disturbances was the parameter that identified the greatest number of significant differences among the subgroups examined.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2006

Buried alive: how osteoblasts become osteocytes.

During osteogenesis, osteoblasts lay down osteoid and transform into osteocytes embedded in mineralized bone matrix. Despite the fact that osteocytes are the most abundant cellular component of bone, little is known about the process of osteoblast-to-osteocyte transformation. What is known is that osteoblasts undergo a number of changes during this transformation, yet retain their connections to preosteoblasts and osteocytes. This review explores the osteoblast-to-osteocyte transformation during intramembranous ossification from both morphological and molecular perspectives. We investigate how these data support five schemes that describe how an osteoblast could become entrapped in the bone matrix (in mammals) and suggest one of the five scenarios that best fits as a model. Those osteoblasts on the bone surface that are destined for burial and destined to become osteocytes slow down matrix production compared to neighbouring osteoblasts, which continue to produce bone matrix. That is, cells that continue to produce matrix actively bury cells producing less or no new bone matrix (passive burial). We summarize which morphological and molecular changes could be used as characters (or markers) to follow the transformation process.

Animals↗
PubMed2002

Information-theoretic dissection of pairwise contact potentials.

Pairwise contact potentials have a long, successful history in protein structure prediction. They provide an easily-estimated representation of many attributes of protein structures, such as the hydrophobic effect. In order to improve on existing potentials, one should develop a clear understanding of precisely what information they convey. Here, using mutual information, we quantified the information in amino acid potentials, and the importance of hydropathy, charge, disulfide bonding, and burial. Sampling error in mutual information was controlled for by estimating how much information cannot be attributed to sampling bias. We found the information in amino acid contacts to be modest: 0.04 bits per contact. Of that, only 0.01 bits of information could not be attributed to hydropathy, charge, disulfide bonding, or burial.

Amino Acids↗
PubMed1999

Australia's oldest human remains: age of the Lake Mungo 3 skeleton.

We have carried out a comprehensive ESR and U-series dating study on the Lake Mungo 3 (LM3) human skeleton. The isotopic Th/U and Pa/U ratios indicate that some minor uranium mobilization may have occurred in the past. Taking such effects into account, the best age estimate for the human skeleton is obtained through the combination of U-series and ESR analyses yielding 62,000+/-6000 years. This age is in close agreement with OSL age estimates on the sediment into which the skeleton was buried of 61,000+/-2000 years. Furthermore, we obtained a U-series age of 81,000+/-21,000 years for the calcitic matrix that was precipitated on the bones after burial. All age results are considerably older than the previously assumed age of LM3 and demonstrate the necessity for directly dating hominid remains. We conclude that the Lake Mungo 3 burial documents the earliest known human presence on the Australian continent. The age implies that people who were skeletally within the range of the present Australian indigenous population colonized the continent during or before oxygen isotope stage 4 (57,000-71,000 years).

Animals↗
PubMed1994

Inter- and intrapopulation studies of ancient humans.

For a genetic analysis of ancient human populations to be useful, it must be demonstrated that the DNA samples under investigation represent a single human population. Toward that end, we have analyzed human DNA from the Windover site (7000-8000 BP). MHC-I analysis, using allele-specific oligonucleotide hybridization to PCR amplified Windover DNA, microsatellite analysis by PCR of the APO-A2 repeat and mtD-loop 3' region sequencing on multiple individuals spanning nearly the full range of estimated burial dates all confirm the hypothesis that there is a persistence of both nuclear and mitochondrial haplotypes at Windover throughout its entire period of use. Thus, Windover can be considered a single population. Neighbor-joining tree analysis of mtDNA sequences suggests that some mitochondrial types are clearly related to extant Amerind types, whereas others, more distantly related, may reflect genetically distinct origins. A more complete sequence analysis will be required to firmly resolve this issue. Calibrating genetic relationships deduced by tree analysis, radiocarbon dates and burial position, yields a human mtD-loop DNA rate of evolution of 3700 to 14,000 years per percent change. Both values are within the range of recent, independently calculated values using estimates of evolutionary divergence or theoretical population genetics. Thus we are beginning to realize the promise of ancient DNA analysis to experimentally answer heretofore unapproachable questions regarding human prehistory and genetic change.

Alleles↗
PubMed2004

Publication visibility of sensitive public health data: when scientists bury their results.

What happens when the scientific tradition of openness clashes with potential societal risks? The work of American toxic-exposure epidemiologists can attract media coverage and lead the public to change health practices, initiate lawsuits, or take other steps a study's authors might consider unwarranted. This paper, reporting data from 61 semi-structured interviews with U.S. toxic-exposure epidemiologists, examines whether such possibilities shaped epidemiologists' selection of journals for potentially sensitive papers. Respondents manifested strong support for the norm of scientific openness, but a significant minority had or would/might, given the right circumstances, publish sensitive data in less visible journals, so as to prevent unwanted media or public attention. Often, even those advocating such limited "burial" upheld openness, claiming that less visible publication allowed them to avoid totally withholding the data from publication. However, 15% of the sample had or would, for the most sensitive types of data, withhold publication altogether. Rather than respondents explaining their actions in terms of an expected split between "pure science" and "social advocacy" models, even those publishing in the more visible journals often described their actions in terms of their "responsibility". Several practical limitations (particularly involving broader access to scientific literature via the Internet) of the strategy of burial are discussed, and some recommendations are offered for scientists, the media, and the public.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗
PubMed2005

Degradation of medium-chain-length polyhydroxyalkanoates in tropical forest and mangrove soils.

Bacterial polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) are perceived to be a suitable alternative to petrochemical plastics because they have similar material properties, are environmentally degradable, and are produced from renewable resources. In this study, the in situ degradation of medium-chain-length PHA (PHAMCL) films in tropical forest and mangrove soils was assessed. The PHAMCL was produced by Pseudomonas putida PGA1 using saponified palm kernel oil (SPKO) as the carbon source. After 112 d of burial, there was 16.7% reduction in gross weight of the films buried in acidic forest soil (FS), 3.0% in the ones buried in alkaline forest soil by the side of a stream (FSst) and 4.5% in those buried in mangrove soil (MS). There was a slight decrease in molecular weight for the films buried in FS but not for the films buried in FSst and in MS. However, no changes were observed for the melting temperature, glass transition temperature, monomer compositions, structure, and functional group analyses of the films from any of the burial sites during the test period. This means that the integral properties of the films were maintained during that period and degradation was by surface erosion. Scanning electron microscopy of the films from the three sites revealed holes on the film surfaces which could be attributed to attack by microorganisms and bigger organisms such as detritivores. For comparison purposes, films of polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB), a short-chain-length PHA, and polyethylene (PE) were buried together with the PHAMCL films in all three sites. The PHB films disintegrated completely in MS and lost 73.5% of their initial weight in FSst, but only 4.6% in FS suggesting that water movement played a major role in breaking up the brittle PHB films. The PE films did not register any weight loss in any of the test sites.

Biodegradation, Environmental↗
PubMed1988

Elevated lead concentrations in Japanese ribs of the Edo era (300-120 BP).

Nineteen elements (Al, B, Ca, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, K, Mg, Mn, Na, Ni, P, Pb, Sr, Ti, V and Zn) were analyzed in excavated bone (rib) of the Edo era (a Japanese historical era, 300-120 BP (before present] from different burial conditions in Tokyo, and in contemporary Japanese bone (rib) obtained from autopsy cases. The elemental composition of the excavated bones varied according to their burial conditions. The concentration of soil-related elements such as Fe, Mn, Co and Ti in the bone was lowest in the samples in the "wooden coffin in a stone room", next lowest in the "funeral urn with mud", and highest in the "wooden coffin full of mud". The Pb concentration was higher in excavated bones than in contemporary bones and much higher, by as much as several tens micrograms/g, in the bones in the "wooden coffin in a stone room" and in the "funeral urn with mud". These results strongly support the notion that Japanese in the city of Edo were highly polluted by environmental lead.

Bone and Bones↗
PubMed1986

Age at death determinations for autopsied remains based on aspartic acid racemization in tooth dentin: importance of postmortem conditions.

The extent of aspartic acid racemization in human dentin can be used to assess chronological age of the individual. This novel chemical method of aging human remains has potential applications in forensic sciences. Six autopsy cases have been analyzed for D/L aspartic acid contents, and their ages at death calculated. Independent age information came from known identity, tooth maturation, or tooth wear estimations. The six cases represented a range of postmortem fates: recent demise, burial, and ground surface exposure. Five samples, four recently deceased and one a burial, showed racemization ages in close agreement with other age data. One specimen, subjected to 51 days of open air exposure, exhibited a vastly inflated racemization age. Postmortem conditions are crucial to the accuracy of racemization age at death measurements.

Adult↗
PubMed2005

The HYDAD-D antipersonnel landmine detector.

HYDAD (HYdrogen Density Anomaly Detection) systems have been developed to detect small (>200 g) antipersonnel landmines (APM) of plastic construction. The HYDAD-D detector is based on the earlier HYDAD designs HYDAD-H and HYDAD-VM. It consists of a neutron source and two identical slow neutron detectors. The difference between the responses of the two detectors is monitored as a function of position in the minefield and APM detection is based on an analysis of this difference. Laboratory tests and Monte Carlo simulations demonstrate that HYDAD-D is capable of detecting the IAEA standard dummy landmine DLM2 at burial depths up to 23 cm in dry sand and at burial depths up to 7 cm in damp sand containing 12% (by mass) water.

Equipment Design↗