Diet and Migration in Prehistoric Remote Oceania

The human processes of food production and migration are intertwined and of utmost importance in the tropical Pacific, where generally depauperate islands predicated the need for effective cultural adaptations in order for settlements to thrive. This thesis investigates movement and diet of individuals from two prehistoric burial sites in Remote Oceania. Stable isotope analyses (δ13C, δ15N, δ34S) of bone collagen were conducted to examine diet within the last few years of an individual's life, while dentine collagen analysis provided information about childhood diet. Oral conditions (caries, macrowear, calculus, chipping, periodontitis, alveolar lesions, and ante-mortem tooth loss) were also examined as dietary indicators. Strontium analysis (87Sr/86Sr) of tooth enamel was conducted to investigate childhood residence, identify likely migrants, and consider cultural forces that may have affected movement in the past. The first collection (n = 28) is from the coastal site of Bourewa in the Republic of Fiji. Bourewa contained burials dated to the Vuda phase (c. 750-150 BP), a period in which climatic fluctuations in Fiji potentially dramatically affected food resources. The second skeletal collection (n = 126) are from the `Atele burial mounds on the Tongan island of Tongatapu (c. 500-150 BP). The first burial mound (To-At-1) could be classified as a commoner's burial mound while the second mound (To-At-2) was possibly used as a chiefly burial place. The possibility of diet and mobility reflecting status differences in these mounds are explored. To-At-1 and To-At-2 contained a large proportion of subadults: the bone collagen of children and adolescents yields information about the diet of those who did not survive to adulthood. Potential differences in isotope values and oral conditions frequency are explored between the sites, burial mounds, sexes, and age groups. These findings are interpreted within the biocultural context of late prehistoric social, political, and ecological environments and compared to past Pacific studies, placing the interpretations in a wider context. Bourewa individuals relied more heavily on marine foods compared to `Atele individuals as evidenced by significantly higher δ13Cbone values, less severe caries, and more severe wear. Stable isotope values from the `Atele burial mounds suggest To-At-2 adults consumed proportionately more terrestrial foods than To-At-1 adults. Dentine and bone stable isotope values from both Bourewa and `Atele adults differed significantly, suggesting childhood and adult diet variation. Caries prevalence did not differ between the sexes in either site (though in `Atele there were significant sex-based differences in paleodietary isotope values). This lack of sex-based differences in caries prevalence is at odds with the global trend of females displaying higher caries rates. Only one immigrant within each site was detected using 87Sr/86Sr analysis. Most displayed 87Sr/86Sr ratios expected for people living along a marine coastline. Paleodietary isotope values of a childhood diet different from the rest of the population served as supplementary evidence for pinpointing immigrants. This method identified two other Bourewa individuals who lived inland during childhood. With only one non-local in `Atele, religiopolitical control may have restricted who entered (and was buried on) the sacred island of Tongatapu

Reconstructing breastfeeding and weaning practices in the Bronze Age Near East using stable nitrogen isotopes.

OBJECTIVES: Breastfeeding and childhood diet have significant impact on morbidity and mortality within a population, and in the ancient Near East, it is possible to compare bioarchaeological reconstruction of breastfeeding and weaning practices with the scant textual evidence. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Nitrogen stable isotopes (δ15 N) are analyzed here for dietary reconstruction in skeletal collections from five Bronze Age (ca. 2,800-1,200 BCE) sites in modern Lebanon and Syria. We employed Bayesian computational modeling on cross-sectional stable isotope data of collagen samples (n = 176) mainly from previous studies to test whether the bioarchaeological evidence aligns with the textual evidence of breastfeeding and weaning practices in the region, as well as compare the estimated weaning times to the global findings using the WARN (weaning age reconstruction with nitrogen isotope analysis) Bayesian model. RESULTS: Though the Near East sites in this study had different ecological settings and economic strategies, we found that weaning was introduced to the five sites at 0.5 ± 0.2 years of age and complete weaning occurred around 2.6 ± 0.3 years of age on using the WARN computational model. These weaning processes are within the time suggested by historical texts, though average estimated weaning age on the Mediterranean coast is later than inland sites. DISCUSSION: Compared globally, these Near Eastern populations initiated the weaning process earlier but completed weaning within the global average. Early initial weaning may have created short spacing between pregnancies and a high impact on demographic growth within these agricultural populations, with some variation in subsistence practices accounting for the inland/coastal discrepancies

Oral health of the prehistoric Rima Rau cave burials, Atiu, Cook Islands.

The human skeletal remains buried in the cave of Rima Rau on the island of Atiu, have long been a subject of speculation as to their origins. Oral histories of a massacre, battle, famine and cannibal feast surround the sacred site. The local Atiuan community invited a group of bioarchaeologists from the University of Otago to help shed light on the people buried in the cave. We examined nearly 600 skeletal elements and 400 teeth, which represent at least 38 adults and 8 infants and children. This research is the assessment of their oral health, a first for a prehistoric Cook Island population. Oral health was within the range of other tropical Pacific skeletal assemblages, for dental caries, antemortem tooth loss, and supragingival calculus, with low rates of periodontal disease and periapical cavities. Degeneration of the temporomandibular joint was high and this was associated with enamel chipping, possibly linked to diet. Enamel defect prevalence indicates sex-specific health differences, but the population was robust with a good proportion who survived to adulthood despite periods of early childhood stress. Through the consideration of a skeletal census and oral health indicators, we begin to describe the burials in the cave

Biological anthropology in the Indo-Pacific Region: New approaches to age-old questions

Biological anthropological research, the study of both modern and past humans, is a burgeoning field in the Indo-Pacific region. It is becoming increasingly apparent that the unique environments of the Indo-Pacific have resulted in an archaeological record that does not necessarily align with those in the northern hemisphere. New, regionally-specific archaeological models are being developed, and biological anthropological research has an important role to play in establishing past human experience within these models. In the Indo-Pacific, research using ancient and modern human tissues is adding insight into global processes of prehistoric settlement and migrations, subsistence change and human biosocial adaptation. This review synthesises current themes in biological anthropology in this region. It highlights the diverse methods and approaches used by biological anthropologists to address globally-relevant archaeological questions. In recent decades a collaborative approach between archaeologists, biological anthropologists and local communities has become the norm in the region. The many positive outcomes of this multi-disciplinary approach are highlighted here through the use of regionally-specific case studies. This review ultimately aims to stimulate further collaborations between archaeologists, biological anthropologists and the communities in the region, and demonstrate how the evidence from Indo-Pacific research may be relevant to global archaeological models

Assessing human diet and movement in the Tongan maritime chiefdom using isotopic analyses.

The rise of stratified societies fundamentally influences the interactions between status, movement, and food. Using isotopic analyses, we assess differences in diet and mobility of individuals excavated from two burial mounds located at the `Atele burial site on Tongatapu, the main island of the Kingdom of Tonga (c. 500 - 150 BP). The first burial mound (To-At-1) was classified by some archaeologists as a commoner's mound while the second burial mound (To-At-2) was possibly used for interment of the chiefly class. In this study, stable isotope analyses of diet (δ13C, δ15N, and δ34S; n = 41) are used to asses paleodiet and 87Sr/86Sr ratios (n = 30) are analyzed to investigate individual mobility to test whether sex and social status affected these aspects of life. Our results show significant differences in diet between burial mounds and sexes. Those interred in To-At-2 displayed lower δ13C values, indicating they ate relatively more terrestrial plants (likely starchy vegetable staples) compared with To-At-1 individuals. Females displayed significantly lower δ15N values compared with males within the entire assemblage. No differences in δ34S values were observed between sexes or burial mound but it is possible that sea spray or volcanism may have affected these values. One individual displayed the strontium isotopic composition representative of a nonlocal immigrant (outside 2SD of the mean). This suggests the hegemonic control over interisland travel, may have prevented long-term access to the island by non-Tongans exemplifying the political and spiritual importance of the island of Tongatapu in the maritime chiefdom

Expanding on incremental dentin methodology to investigate childhood and infant feeding practices on Taumako (southeast Solomon Islands)

Though many ethnohistoric sources in the tropical Pacific recount chiefly feasting events, few describe childhood feeding practices despite the impact childhood under-nutrition may have had on morbidity and early mortality. Bioarchaeological investigation of the Namu burial ground (circa 750–300 BP) on the island of Taumako (southeast Solomon Islands) provides a direct means of understanding prehistoric life on a Polynesian Outlier in the south western Pacific. We investigate infant and childhood (0–10 years) feeding behavior in prehistoric Taumako by creating δ13Ccollagen, δ15Ncollagen, and δ13Ccarbonate profiles from 20 individuals using horizontal dentin sections of permanent first molars. The high-resolution data created using novel sample preparation offers insight into childhood diet in the absence of documentary evidence, incrementally sampling δ13Ccollagen and δ15Ncollagen but also expanding on the method to provide carbonate data from the same sequential dentin samples. The individuals who died in adolescence have significantly lower δ15Ncollagen values in early life than those who died in adulthood, which may suggest a link between diet, nutritional health, and morbidity. There were no significant differences in isotope values between social status groups, suggesting shared childhood experiences regarding types of foods consumed. Longitudinal assessment of δ13Ccollagen and δ15Ncollagen shows a strong relationship between the two values, likely a result of the typical tropical Pacific diet consisting largely of high protein marine foods that overshadows low protein terrestrial foods. This highlights the utility of δ13Ccarbonate in order to more effectively investigate consumption of low protein foodtypes in this region

Contribution of Bioanthropology to Defining the Tell el-Dab‘a Population in the Eastern Delta: Preliminary Findings

The data provided in this paper was presented at the workshop ‘Changing clusters and migration in the Near Eastern Bronze Age’, held at the Austrian Academy of Sciences in 4th–6th December, 2019. The work has been conducted under the Hyksos Enigma project’s Research Track 7 (RT7) in Bournemouth University (United Kingdom), focusing on bioarchaeology and the study of skeletal human remains from Tell elDab‘a. This paper highlights the potential of using an integrated suite of osteological analyses in the archaeological framework, offers an overview of the field of bioarchaeology, presents some preliminary findings using this framework, and offers further possibilities and directions. The paper focuses on the different aspects of research conducted by RT7, including non-destructive macroscopic (dental nonmetric trait and palaeopathological) analysis and biochemical (aDNA, stable isotope) analysis

The Hyksos in Egypt: A bioarchaeological perspective

The term Hyksos commonly refers to the foreign dynasty that inhabited and held power in Egypt during the Second Intermediate Period, circa 1640–1530 BCE. Recent research has integrated archaeological, artistic and textual evidence, revealing the Hyksos origin and presence in Egypt more complex than previously envisioned. Answers to questions regarding the Hyksos origin (and reasons for migration), ethnic and biological homogeneity, nature of rule and impact on the Egyptian worldview are sought by the ‘Hyksos Enigma Project’. One of the research tracks is dedicated solely to the analysis of human remains.Bioarchaeology is a subfield of archaeology focusing on the analysis of human remains in the archaeological record. Here, bioarchaeology refers to the analysis and contextualization of human remains to answer the questions of Hyksos mobility and life history. This paper focuses on methods available for the investigation of mobility from human remains to illustrate the usefulness of bioarchaeological analyses.Mobility studies have experienced a new awakening in archaeology, caused by recent theoretical and methodological developments in both non-destructive and biochemical techniques. Ancient DNA analysis can be used to investigate both individuals and populations. Stable isotope analysis using strontium (87Sr/86Sr), oxygen (δ18O), carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen (δ15N) act as proxies for provenance and diet. Non-destructive biodistance analysis, using dental non-metric trait analysis and geometric morphometrics, reflects morphological closeness of individuals and groups. The analysis of human remains cannot only reveal movement of the Hyksos but can increase understanding of mobility in the eastern Mediterranean

The people of Avaris: Intra-regional biodistance analysis using dental non-metric traits

Dental non-metric traits have become widely used to estimate biological affinities,particularly by utilizing the Arizona State University Dental Anthropology System(ASUDAS). Here, we offer information from the Middle Bronze Age site of Avaris, locatednear modern Tell el-Dab’a in the Egyptian Nile Delta, that was ruled by the Hyksoskings during the Second Intermediate Period (circa 1640–1530 BCE).Dental non-metric traits were recorded from a sample of individuals (n=90) and analyzedusing mean measure of divergence (MMD). Both intra- and inter-site analyses wereconducted. The former compared the ancestry between locals and non-locals, defined isotopicallyby a recent study. The latter compared Avaris to other Egyptian sites to gauge itspopulation distinctiveness.Results indicated that individuals defined as locals and non-locals were not ancestrallydifferent from one another. There was, however, a significant difference (p<0.01)between the pooled locals and non-locals of Avaris and other Egyptian sites, regardless ofspatial and/or temporal proximity. The results are in line with the archaeological evidence,suggesting Avaris was an important hub in the Middle Bronze Age eastern Mediterraneantrade network, welcoming people from beyond its borders