Positive Identification on the Skull From Colonial Era in Balai Pemuda, Surabaya

Dua tengkorak manusia ditemukan saat pembangunan ruang bawah tanah pada 30 November 2016 hingga 1 Desember 2016, di Balai Pemuda, Surabaya, salah satu bangunan peninggalan masa kolonial di Indonesia. Penemuan dua tengkorak menimbulkan pertanyaan, seperti identitas dan konteks keberadaannya. Kedua tengkorak tersebut diberi kode identitas tengkorak 160689 dan tengkorak 160690. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengungkap identitas tengkorak 160689 dan tengkorak 160690 berdasarkan prosedur identifikasi positif antropologi forensik. Penelitian ini menggunakan metode prosedur identifikasi antropologi forensik. Metode ini diterapkan secara berurutan, pertama umur, kedua jenis kelamin, ketiga afiliasi populasi, keempat tinggi badan, dan terakhir karakteristik individu. Menariknya, karakteristik individu tengkorak 160690 ditemukan sejumlah bukti berbeda yang menjelaskan identitasnya, yaitu, modifikasi gigi, jejak penyakit, dan bentuk kepala asimetris. Berdasarkan hasil identifikasi positif pada tengkorak 160689 dan tengkorak 160690 menunjukkan bahwa kedua tengkorak tersebut berjenis kelamin perempuan dan berafiliasi dengan populasi ras Mongoloid. Terakhir, karakteristik individu dan deformasi pada daerah oksipital mengindikasikan deformasi yang tidak disengaja yang disebabkan oleh tekanan terus menerus pada sisi kiri daerah oksipital. Plagiocephaly bisa jadi akibat dari posisi tidur yang salah selama masa kanak-kanak. Two human skulls were found during basement construction from November 30th, 2016, to December 1st, 2016, in Balai Pemuda, Surabaya, one of Indonesia's colonial-era buildings. The discovery of two skulls raised questions, such as the identity and its context of existence. Both skulls were coded as skull 160689 and 160690. This research aimed to reveal the identity of skull 160689 and 160690 based on the positive identification procedure of forensic anthropology. This research applies the method of the forensic anthropology identification procedure. This method was used sequentially, firstly age, secondly gender, thirdly population affiliation, fourthly stature, and lastly, individual characteristics. Interestingly, the individual characteristics of skull 160690 have distinct evidence for explaining its identity, for instance, dental modification, disease markers, and asymmetrical head shape. Based on the positive identification results on skull 160689 and 160690 showed both skulls were female and affiliated with Mongoloid population. At last, individual characteristics and deformation on the occipital area were indicated as an unintentional deformation caused by pressure continuously on the left side of the occipital area. Plagiocephaly could be a result of incorrect sleeping position during childhood

DETEKSI KELAINAN PADA CRANIUM MANUSIA DALAM LINGKUP FOTOGRAFI FORENSIK DENGAN SINAR INFRAMERAH (IR), ULTRAVIOLET (UV), DAN CAHAYA NORMAL UNTUK KEPENTINGAN INDIVIDUALISASI

Latar belakang: Sinar inframerah dan ultraviolet termasuk bagian dari gelombang elektromagnetik, yang dapat menampilkan invisible spectrum pada mata manusia. Oleh karena itu sinar inframerah dan ultraviolet sering dimanfaatkan dalam lingkup fotografi forensik, sebagai sumber cahaya alternatif (Alternate Light Source). Namun penggunaan kedua sinar tersebut masih terbatas pada beberapa objek, seperti kulit manusia, kain, kertas, dan tanah saja. Sebagai seorang Antropolog yang mempelajari bidang fotografi, pengembangan teknik ALS pada media lain, yakni tulang manusia dilakukan. Teknik ALS pada tulang masih belum banyak diteliti di luar negeri, dan belum pernah dilakukan di Indonesia. Tujuan: Pengembangan teknik ALS untuk mencari kelainan pada cranium manusia, dengan menggunakan modifikasi filter kamera DSLR. Bahan dan Metode: Bahan yang digunakan adalah: (1) 11 cranium manusia; (2) DSLR Nikon D3100; (3) filter ultraviolet (4) tripod Excell Platinum; (5) mini Studio dengan latar belakang hitam; (6) lampu neon ultraviolet; (7) lampu LED inframerah; (8) skala pengukuran; dan (9) clay hitam. Metode yang dilakukan adalah dengan mengambil foto dari 11 cranium dalam lima norma, yaitu norma frontalis, lateralis (kanan dan kiri), occipitalis, vertikalis, dan basilaris. Pengambilan foto dilakukan dengan memaparkan flash,sinar ultraviolet, dan sinar inframerah. Setelah itu foto disunting menggunakan program Adobe Photoshop, untuk diamati serta dianalisis lebih lanjut. Hasil dan Diskusi: Berdasarkan pengamatan pada 11 cranium, ditemukan sebanyak 32 temuan kelainan. Temuan tersebut meliputi: (1) kelainan pada cranium seperti porotic, truma, dan penipisan permukaan cranium; (2) kelainan pada gigi, seperti atrisi, karies, calculus; (3) perbedaan struktur permukaan cranium; (4) perbedaan warna cranium; (5) modifikasi tulang, seperti akibat aktifitas hewan, pengelupasan periosteum, pemotongan calvaria; dan (6) kontak dengan benda asing, seperti sisa kertas perekat, sisa bahan perekat, lem rekonstruksi, benang, dan pasir. Simpulan: Sinar inframerah dapat digunakan untuk mendeteksi 5 jenis kelainan, sedangkan sinar ultraviolet dapat digunakan untuk mendeteksi 9 jenis kelainan. Oleh karena itu sinar ultraviolet dinilai lebih unggul dari sinar inframerah, sebagai deteksi kelainan pada cranium dengan teknik ALS menggunakan modifikasi filter kamera. Kata Kunci: Antropologi forensik, cranium, fotografi forensik, kelainan cranium, sinar inframerah, sinar ultraviolet, sumber cahaya alternatif

Ritual tooth ablation and the Austronesian expansion: Evidence from eastern Indonesia and the Pacific Islands

Ritual tooth ablation, the intentional removal of teeth, is a highly visible form of body modification that can signal group identity and mark certain life events, such as marriage. The widespread occurrence of the practice in Asia appears to have begun in the Neolithic period and in some areas, such as Taiwan, continued until the ethnographic present. We aim to use a biocultural approach to investigate the significance of tooth ablation in Indonesia and Vanuatu during the maritime expansion of Austronesian-speaking groups ca. 3500-2000 years ago. Here we assess the presence and patterns of tooth ablation in four prehistoric skeletal assemblages from eastern Indonesia (Pain Haka, Melolo, Lewoleba and Liang Bua) and one from Vanuatu (Uripiv). Despite the relatively small sample sizes, it was found that individuals from all the sites displayed tooth ablation. The Indonesian populations had ablation patterns that involved the maxillary lateral incisors and canines and the individuals from Uripiv had the central maxillary incisors removed. We suggest that the distribution of tooth ablation in eastern Indonesia provides strong evidence that this practice was an important ritual process associated with the early expansion of Austronesian-speaking populations in the region. The identification of tooth ablation at the site of Uripiv is the earliest example of the practice in the Pacific Islands and was either a Southeast Asian tradition brought by Austronesian settlers, was introduced later from Near Oceania, or was an indigenous development in Vanuatu. A similar pattern of tooth ablation (the removal of central maxillary incisors) has been documented in ethnographic reports of northern Vanuatu tribes. We argue that the practice could possibly be a ritual passed through the generations since the early settlement of Vanuatu.Funding was provided by New Zealand Marsden Grant (09-UOO-106); Australian Research Council (ARC) Discovery Grant (DP0556874); New Zealand Fast-Start Marsden Grant (18-UOO135); a University of Otago Research Grant; the Research Institute for Development, UMR Paloc; and the French Embassy in Indonesia

Ritual tooth ablation and the Austronesian expansion: Evidence from eastern Indonesia and the Pacific Islands

Ritual tooth ablation, the intentional removal of teeth, is a highly visible form of body modification that can signal group identity and mark certain life events, such as marriage. The widespread occurrence of the practice in Asia appears to have begun in the Neolithic period and in some areas, such as Taiwan, continued until the ethnographic present. We aim to use a biocultural approach to investigate the significance of tooth ablation in Indonesia and Vanuatu during the maritime expansion of Austronesian-speaking groups ca. 3500–2000 years ago. Here we assess the presence and patterns of tooth ablation in four prehistoric skeletal assemblages from eastern Indonesia (Pain Haka, Melolo, Lewoleba and Liang Bua) and one from Vanuatu (Uripiv). Despite the relatively small sample sizes, it was found that individuals from all the sites displayed tooth ablation. The Indonesian populations had ablation patterns that involved the maxillary lateral incisors and canines and the individuals from Uripiv had the central maxillary incisors removed. We suggest that the distribution of tooth ablation in eastern Indonesia provides strong evidence that this practice was an important ritual process associated with the early expansion of Austronesian-speaking populations in the region. The identification of tooth ablation at the site of Uripiv is the earliest example of the practice in the Pacific Islands and was either a Southeast Asian tradition brought by Austronesian settlers, was introduced later from Near Oceania, or was an indigenous development in Vanuatu. A similar pattern of tooth ablation (the removal of central maxillary incisors) has been documented in ethnographic reports of northern Vanuatu tribes. We argue that the practice could possibly be a ritual passed through the generations since the early settlement of Vanuatu. © 2022 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC

Ancient genomes from the last three millennia support multiple human dispersals into Wallacea

Previous research indicates that human genetic diversity in Wallacea—islands in present-day Eastern Indonesia and Timor-Leste that were never part of the Sunda or Sahul continental shelves—has been shaped by complex interactions between migrating Austronesian farmers and indigenous hunter–gatherer communities. Yet, inferences based on present-day groups proved insufficient to disentangle this region’s demographic movements and admixture timings. Here, we investigate the spatio-temporal patterns of variation in Wallacea based on genome-wide data from 16 ancient individuals (2600–250 years BP) from the North Moluccas, Sulawesi and East Nusa Tenggara. While ancestry in the northern islands primarily reflects contact between Austronesian- and Papuan-related groups, ancestry in the southern islands reveals additional contributions from Mainland Southeast Asia that seem to predate the arrival of Austronesians. Admixture time estimates further support multiple and/or continuous admixture involving Papuan- and Asian-related groups throughout Wallacea. Our results clarify previously debated times of admixture and suggest that the Neolithic dispersals into Island Southeast Asia are associated with the spread of multiple genetic ancestries