Sex Determination Using the Femur in an Ancient Japanese Population

Determination of sex from the femur measurements has been attempted in several populations and various studies have demonstrated the importance of population specific standards in the metric assessment of sex. The present study attempts to establish metric standards for sex determination by using femur measurements for ancient Japanese populations. Osteometric data were obtained from 151 adult skeletal remains from Jomon period, Yoshigo human skeletal collection. Eight femur measurements were taken and the data were analyzed by discriminant analysis using SPSS version 10.0. For the univariate discriminant function derived, precision of sex determination was 93% with the condyle breadth. Prediction values showed that sex differentiation could be done by femur measurements with reliability between 66.9 and 100%, with values for males higher than for females. It is suggested that discriminant formulas developed by femur measurements in this study, can be used for sex determination accurately on fragmentary skeletal remains in ancient Japanese populations

Sex Determination Using the Scapula in Medieval Skeletons from East Anatolia

Sex determination from skeletal human remains by discriminant function analysis is one of the methods utilized in the forensic and osteoarcheological sciences. The purpose of the present study is to establish metric standards for sex determination for medieval Anatolian populations using scapular measurements. The database for this research consisted of 93 adult skeletal remains (47 males and 46 females) from the Dilkaya medieval collection. Four measurements were taken: maximum scapular height, maximum scapular breadth, glenoid cavity height, glenoid cavity breadth, and subjected to discriminant function analysis. All measurements demonstrated some degree of sexual dimorphism, with the highest accuracy of sex determination (94.8%) obtained using maximum scapular breadth. Overall accuracies of the functions ranged from 82.9% to 95.0%, with a higher accuracy rate obtained for female skeletons than for males. Population specific discriminant formulas were developed using combinations of measurements, which can be used in ancient Anatolian populations

チュウブ ニホンジン ノ 3 カクリ シュウダンカン ニ オケル ケツエキ タケイセイ ケイシツ ノ イデンテキ ブンカ

京都大学0048新制・論文博士理学博士乙第3917号論理博第655号新制||理||312(附属図書館)UT51-54-P328(主査)教授 池田 次郎, 教授 野沢 謙, 教授 日高 敏隆学位規則第5条第2項該当Kyoto UniversityDFA

A strontium isotope analysis on the relationship between ritual tooth ablation and migration among the Jomon people in Japan

patterns can be discerned in the extensive ritual tooth ablation found among the human skeletal remains of the Late-Final Jomon period (ca. 3200-2800 cal BP) in Japan. Based on comparative observations of sex and grave patterns in the skeletal remains, two major patterns in ritual tooth ablation, termed type 4I and type 2C, have been assigned to locals and immigrants, respectively. In order to test this hypothesis, strontium (Sr) isotope (87Sr/86Sr) analyses were performed on human skeletal remains from the Yoshigo shell mound in Aichi Prefecture, central Japan. Plants in the surrounding area were also examined to illustrate the geographic 87Sr/86Sr distribution. The Sr isotopic variation in human tooth enamel (87Sr/86Sr = 0.70868-0.71028) was greater than that in human bones (87Sr/86Sr = 0.70871-0.70943). Individuals with higher Sr isotope ratios in their tooth enamel than seawater Sr values of 0.7092 can be identified as immigrants (36% of population). The presence of these isotopically identified immigrants between both type 2C and type 4I individuals does not support the previous hypothesis. The intra-population 87Sr/86Sr distribution of tooth enamel of type 2C individuals showed a significantly higher mean ratio than that of type 4I individuals, suggesting a higher proportion of immigrants among the former

Osteological Description of the Lapita-associated Human Skeleton Discovered on Moturiki Island, Fiji

Very little is known about the nature of the first humans to occupy the western South Pacific Islands, the so-called Lapita people. This is a final report on the osteological analysis of the skeleton named Mana, which was excavated at a Lapita Culture Complex site called Naitable on Moturiki Island in central Fiji in 2002. The Mana skeleton was reasonably well preserved. The skull is without doubt the best preserved of the Lapita-associated human skeletons ever described. Its major parts were nearly intact and reconstructed to an almost complete state. The skeleton proved to be an approximately 40-60 year old female. Radiocarbon dating of bone from the skeleton, and other archaeological considerations, place the burial around the middle of the first millennium BC (around 700 BC). In the present paper, osteological features of the cranium, mandible and infracranial skeleton of Mana are described very precisely for detailed comparative studies in the future

Variability in stable isotope ratios in two Late-Final Jomon communities in the Tokai coastal region and its relationship with sex and ritual tooth ablation

We analyzed stable carbon and nitrogen isotope ratios in a sample of human and nonhuman mammal bones excavated from the Yoshigo and Inariyama shell mounds of the Late–Final Jomon periods in Aichi Prefecture, Japan, with a view to determining individual dietary differences. To investigate possible reasons for the dietary variations identified, we related isotope ratios to sex and tooth ablation patterns. At both sites, large intra-site variations in δ13C and δ15N values were found, compared with other Jomon populations previously studied, suggesting higher than usual levels of dietary variability, and at both sites there was a positive correlation between δ13C and δ15N values. The diet of the Jomon people at both these sites had two main protein sources: marine (marine finfish and shellfish) and terrestrial (C3 plants and terrestrial mammals) protein. The intra-site variability is probably explained by consumption of these resources in different proportions. Analysis of the Yoshigo shell mound data indicated that sex is one of the factors determining dietary difference. It was also found that individual differences in diet in Yoshigo males are greater than in females. This pattern was repeated in the Inariyama shell mound data. Dietary differences were found to be related to ritual tooth ablation characteristics, particularly in males. At Inariyama, type 4I ritual tooth ablation was associated with comparatively greater dependency on terrestrial resources, while type 2C tooth ablation was associated with greater dependency on marine resources. This may indicate that type 4I males engaged predominantly in hunting, and type 2C males in fishing, as a means of food acquisition. These results are possibly the earliest evidence of occupational differentiation in the Jomon people