A reinterpretation of some Bay Area shellmound sites : a view from the mortuary complex from Ca-Ala-329, the Ryan Mound

This monograph is a slightly revised and updated version of my 1993 thesis A Reinterpretation of Some Bay Area Shellmound Sites: A View from the Mortuary Complex from Ca-Ala-329, the Ryan Mound. This study addresses the archaeological assemblages derived from prehistoric site Ca-Ala-329, and applies generated data to pre-existing settlement-subsistence models developed for central California and the San Francisco Bay. When these data failed to conform neatly to the expected pattern of shellmounds-as-villages model, alternative explanations had to be explored. Alternative explanations were developed by critically evaluating the treatment of comparable published archaeological data from other San Francisco Bay shellmounds and sites from the macro-central California culture region. This study also addresses theoretical models in ethnoarchaeology, social, cultural, economic and symbolic anthropology, in order to compare precontact and post-contact Costanoan cultural information to other documented central California prehistoric and ethnographic data. The results from these analyses argue for a reconsideration of extant assumptions about Bay Area prehistory and for a reinterpretation of the function and site formation of the many mound sites that once served as cemeteries for precontact San Francisco Bay Costanoan tribal societies. This publication series is published by the Muwekma Ohlone Tribal Press and it is done so in the spirit of understanding that both the indigenous Native American communities and the Scholarly communities (although not mutually exclusive) can truly benefit from a trust relationship based upon partnership and real respect. Polly Bickel (1981) was one of the first archaeologists within the Bay Area to comment upon such possibilities: It is time to discard the assumption that Bay area archaeology is the study of extinct peoples. Mission records clearly document the survival of individuals who surely left descendants. A few of these people are active consultants or participants in current anthropological studies, but it is imperative that other potential contributors be sought out. Fulfillment of this mandate of ethics and simple courtesy can only benefit the work undertaken (1981:ix)

The Role of Canids in Ritual and Domestic Contexts: New Ancient DNA Insights from Complex Hunter-Gatherer Sites in Prehistoric Central California

This study explores the interrelationship between the genus Canis and hunter–gatherers through a case study of prehistoric Native Americans in the San Francisco Bay-Sacramento Delta area. A distinctive aspect of the region\u27s prehistoric record is the interment of canids, variously classified as coyotes, dogs, and wolves. Since these species are difficult to distinguish based solely on morphology, ancient DNA analysis was employed to distinguish species. The DNA study results, the first on canids from archaeological sites in California, are entirely represented by domesticated dogs (including both interments and disarticulated samples from midden deposits). These results, buttressed by stable isotope analyses, provide new insight into the complex interrelationship between humans and canids in both ritual and prosaic contexts, and reveal a more prominent role for dogs than previously envisioned

Mothers and Infants in the Prehistoric Santa Clara Valley: What Stable Isotopes Tell Us about Ancestral Ohlone Weaning Practices

Breast-feeding and weaning are a part of childhood in all human populations, but the exact timing of these milestones varies between groups. As infants incorporate the nutrients from breast milk into their growing bones, chemical evidence is captured in the form of higher stable nitrogen (δ15N) isotope values. This study interprets δ15N values in the bone collagen of children (n = 24) buried at the Yukisma Mound (CA-SCL-38), in Santa Clara County, California. Radiocarbon dates for this site span 2200-250 B.P., but primarily fall during the Late period (740-230 B.P.). In the one probable mother-infant pair available for study, a 2.9 per mil enrichment of δ15N values was observed, consistent with the expected trophic level enrichment of breast-feeding infants. δ15N values of children under seven years old suggest the introduction of weaning foods between 1.5 and 2 years of age, and cessation of breast-feeding by 3 to 3.5 years of age. These results differ from the practices reported in the ethnohistoric literature. This paper includes photos of human remains, taken during excavation at CA-SCL-38 by Ohlone Family Consulting Services, the CRM arm of the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe (which also served as the Most Likely Descendant tribal group for this project). The images were provided to the authors by the tribe, and specific permission was granted to include them in this publication

Sex-Ratio, Health, and Social Status: A Biographical Description of Middle and Late Period Bay Area Children

The aim of this paper is to present new information pertaining to the demographic profile of the juvenile burial assemblage (n=39) from a Late Holocene site located on the eastern shore of the San Francisco Bay. CA-ALA-329 is commonly referred to as Ryan Mound and now bears the Muwekma Ohlone name of Mánni Muwékma Kúksú Hóowok Yatiš Túnnešte-tka, which means Place Where the People of the Kúksú (Bighead) Pendants are Buried. This site has been extensively studied and has contributed significantly to our understanding of life on the Bay during the Middle and Late Periods. However, most of the previous studies have focused on adults. The goal of the present study is to identify patterns in the profiles of those who died prematurely, including their sex, their degree of stress experienced based on skeletal indicators of disease/malnutrition, and their social status based on associated grave goods. Results show high incidence of skeletal indicators consistent with nutritional deficiency, disease/infection, and/or metabolic disorder observed in the sample. This suggests that this population was experiencing stress. Individual circumstances, such as age and sex, may also have contributed to poor health because infants have the highest prevalence of cribra orbitalia and periostitis. The distribution of wealth as evidenced by burial goods associated with the sample shows some correlation with age-at-death and the types of artifacts. Distribution of wealth also differs temporally. Inequality seems to have been highest in the Middle Period, while inequality decreased, but overall wealth increased, into the Late Period

Paleoepidemiological Patterns of Interpersonal Aggression in a Prehistoric Central California Population from CA-ALA-329

Interpersonal aggression is assessed paleoepidemiologically in a large skeletal population from the CA-ALA-329 site located on the southeastern side of San Francisco Bay, California. This comprehensive analysis included all currently recognized skeletal criteria, including craniofacial fracture, projectile injury, forearm fracture, and perimortem bone modification. Craniofacial injury is moderately common, showing an adult prevalence of 9.0% with facial lesions accounting for \u3e50% of involvement. Clinical studies suggest that such separate evaluation of facial involvement provides a useful perspective for understanding patterns of interpersonal aggression. In this group male facial involvement is significantly greater than in females, paralleling the pattern found widely in contemporary populations as well as in African apes. When compared to other North American skeletal samples the prevalence of adult cranial vault injury (3.3%) and especially projectile injury (4.4%) are quite high. However, well documented populations from southern California show markedly higher prevalence for both types of skeletal markers of aggression. Forearm fracture is also assessed using a rigorous radiographic methodology and results suggest that these injuries are not reliable indicators of interpersonal aggression. Lastly, perimortem bone modification was not observed in this population, although it has been recorded from other (older) sites nearby. This study provides an evaluation of multiple skeletal markers of interpersonal aggression in the largest sample from a single site yet reported in North America and, joined with consideration of cultural context, helps further illuminate both geographic and temporal patterns of interpersonal aggression in California

Contrasting Male and Female Dietary Life Histories: A Case Study at an Ancestral Muwekma Ohlone Heritage Site in San Jose, California

Stable carbon and nitrogen isotope analyses of bones and teeth at the ancestral heritage Muwekma Ohlone site of Yakmuy ‘Ooyákma-tka (“Place of the East Ridge Site”; CA-SCL-215) reveal significant differences in the dietary life history of males and females. Overall, isotope data indicate that site inhabitants were primarily dependent on low trophic-level foods, likely plants, and minor amounts of marine food for their main source of dietary protein. From tooth dentin serial samples, we found that males were elevated by 0.6-1.0‰ in δ15N in early childhood (age 1-9 years) relative to females, while δ13C values were similar by sex, indicating boys were accessing slightly greater amounts of higher trophic-level foods, such as meat from game. The sex-biased difference in δ15N diminishes during the second decade of life, as female δ15N values increase and become equal to males. However, a difference in δ13C emerges during the second decade where female δ13C values are elevated relative to males. This could indicate that teenage females consumed higher amounts of low trophic-level, marine-derived protein, such as shellfish. During later adult years, the difference in δ13C disappears, while males again show an increase in δ15N relative to females. Although these differences are small, they reveal important sex-biased life history patterns during childhood and adulthood in this ancient community

Disease and Healing in Ancient Societies: Dental Calculus Residues and Skeletal Pathology Data Indicate Age and Sex-Biased Medicinal Practices among Native Californians

The health of humans is intricately linked to the substances - both food and non-dietary items -we ingest. Adverse health outcomes related to smoking of products like tobacco and other psychoactive substances are clearly established in modern populations but are less well understood for ancient communities. Grasping these dynamics is further complicated by the curative, religious, and medicinal context of many of these substances, which have often been commodified, refined, and altered in recent history. As part of a larger collaboration with the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe dedicated to understanding medicinal plant use among native Californians, we present a summary of new metabolomic data from three Middle and Late-period ancestral heritage Ohlone sites: Thámien Rúmmeytak (CA-SCL-128), ’Ayttakiš ’Éete Hiramwiš Trépam-tak (CA-ALA-677/H/H), and Sii Tuupentak (CA-ALA-565/H/H). Using a UPLC-MS platform, we analyze chemical residues from 95 human dental calculus samples from 50 burials. Employing multivariate statistics, we co-analyzed demographic and skeletal pathology data with chemical residue profiles. We considered skeletal markers for a series of oral and postcranial health conditions. Results indicate sex and age biases in consumption patterns. Periodontitis stands out as the most significant local factor for changes in the oral metabolome. However, while chemical markers of oral diseases may be related to pathogen activity, associations between residues and postcranial conditions such as osteoarthritis suggest traditional curative practices and the ingestion of medicinal substances. Hence, our study yields new insights into the broader context of illness and healing in the past

Ancient and modern genomics of the Ohlone Indigenous population of California

Traditional knowledge, along with archaeological and linguistic evidence, documents that California supports cultural and linguistically diverse Indigenous populations. Studies that have included ancient genomes in this region, however, have focused primarily on broad-scale migration history of the North American continent, with relatively little attention to local population dynamics. Here, in a partnership involving researchers and the Muwekma Ohlone tribe, we analyze genomic data from ancient and present-day individuals from the San Francisco Bay Area in California: 12 ancient individuals dated to 1905 to 1826 and 601 to 184 calibrated years before the present (cal BP) from two archaeological sites and eight present-day members of the Muwekma Ohlone tribe, whose ancestral lands include these two sites. We find that when compared to other ancient and modern individuals throughout the Americas, the 12 ancient individuals from the San Francisco Bay Area cluster with ancient individuals from Southern California. At a finer scale of analysis, we find that the 12 ancient individuals from the San Francisco Bay Area have distinct ancestry from the other groups and that this ancestry has a component of continuity over time with the eight present-day Muwekma Ohlone individuals. These results add to our understanding of Indigenous population history in the San Francisco Bay Area, in California, and in western North America more broadly

A comparison of proteomic, genomic, and osteological methods of archaeological sex estimation

Sex estimation of skeletons is fundamental to many archaeological studies. Currently, three approaches are available to estimate sex–osteology, genomics, or proteomics, but little is known about the relative reliability of these methods in applied settings. We present matching osteological, shotgun-genomic, and proteomic data to estimate the sex of 55 individuals, each with an independent radiocarbon date between 2,440 and 100 cal BP, from two ancestral Ohlone sites in Central California. Sex estimation was possible in 100% of this burial sample using proteomics, in 91% using genomics, and in 51% using osteology. Agreement between the methods was high, however conflicts did occur. Genomic sex estimates were 100% consistent with proteomic and osteological estimates when DNA reads were above 100,000 total sequences. However, more than half the samples had DNA read numbers below this threshold, producing high rates of conflict with osteological and proteomic data where nine out of twenty conditional DNA sex estimates conflicted with proteomics. While the DNA signal decreased by an order of magnitude in the older burial samples, there was no decrease in proteomic signal. We conclude that proteomics provides an important complement to osteological and shotgun-genomic sex estimation

Fifty years of the Psychology of Programming

This paper reflects on the evolution (past, present and future) of the ‘psychology of programming' over the 50 year period of this anniversary issue. The International Journal of Human-Computer Studies (IJHCS) has been a key venue for much seminal work in this field, including its first foundations, and we review the changing research concerns seen in publications over these five decades. We relate this thematic evolution to research taking place over the same period within more specialist communities, especially the Psychology of Programming Interest Group (PPIG), the Empirical Studies of Programming series (ESP), and the ongoing community in Visual Languages and Human-Centric Computing (VL/HCC). Many other communities have interacted with psychology of programming, both influenced by research published within the specialist groups, and in turn influencing research priorities. We end with an overview of the core theories that have been developed over this period, as an introductory resource for new researchers, and also with the authors’ own analysis of key priorities for future research