Postmarital residence and biological variation at Pueblo Bonito

Although the social organization of many of the present-day pueblos of the American Southwest is well-described in the anthropological literature, many aspects of prehistoric Puebloan social organization have received limited attention since initial investigations of postmarital residence in the 1960s and 1970s. This paper examines postmarital residence at the Chaco Canyon great house of Pueblo Bonito, using biological data. Our findings are inconsistent with the previously well-accepted hypothesis that the Pueblo II and Pueblo III occupants of the San Juan Basin conformed to a socially prescribed pattern of matrilocal residence with matrilineal descent. Univariate variance differences for nine craniometric variables indicate a pattern of increased female variability consistent with patrilocal/bilocal residence. The results of multivariate determinant ratio analyses are in agreement with the univariate results, suggesting the possibility of a patrilocal or bilocal residence preference at Pueblo Bonito. These findings are inconsistent with the notion that the female-based system of matrilocal residence with matrilineal descent observed among the present-day Western Pueblos was the ancestral Anasazi condition.     

Craniometric variation and population history of the prehistoric Tewa

Although the population history and social organization of the prehistoric Pueblo Indians of the American Southwest have received attention in the archaeological literature, little research on this topic has been conducted by biological anthropologists. Here, we examine postmarital residence at two ancestral Tewa Indian pueblos located in north-central New Mexico using determinant ratio analysis. In addition, we examine genetic relationships among pueblos, as well as levels of within-pueblo heterogeneity due to gene flow from extraregional sources, or regional aggregation. Results from determinant ratio analysis indicate greater within-pueblo male variation, consistent with matrilocal residence for at least one Tewa pueblo. Less than expected heterogeneity at two pueblos suggests that endogamy might have been practiced among some prehistoric Tewa pueblos. Gene flow from extraregional sources is indicated for two different pueblos by greater than expected within-group heterogeneity. Distance matrix correlation analyses indicate little if any relationship between phenotypic and geographic distances, suggesting that geography was not the primary basis of gene flow or mate exchange. The weak relationship between phenotypic and geographic distances may be the combined effects of endogamy at some pueblos, nonrandom extraregional gene flow or migration at other pueblos, and limited nonproximity-dependent regional gene flow or migration among pueblos, possibly structured on ritual exchange networks based on medicine society affiliation.     

Methods for improving the efficiency of estimating total osteon density in the human anterior mid-diaphyseal femur

In order to preserve whole bone integrity and minimize destruction, paleohistologists often rely on histomorphometric data obtained from small areas (1.5–50 mm²) sampled within the anterior mid-diaphyseal femur. Because bone exhibits significant histological variation, the validity of results based on such sampling is questionable. The accuracy of various subareas (columns, rows, squares approximating dimensions and locations assessed by paleohistologists) in predicting total osteon density in the anterior mid-diaphyseal femur is assessed in the present study. Thirty-five specimens (12.7 mm wide, 100 μm thick, average area 56.7 mm²) were chosen at random from a skeletal population of 94 Inuits and Pueblo agriculturists. The specimens were photographed and enlarged; an acetate grid (12 columns, 10 rows, 120 squares, square = 1 mm² of bone surface) was superimposed over the photograph; and secondary osteons and fragments were identified. Alternate columns (50% total area, T.Ar) predicted over 98% of entire section total osteon density. Two column combinations (15% T.Ar), separated by at least one column, predicted 91 to 95% of total osteon density. Individual column (8% T.Ar) predictability ranged from 48 to 86%. Two row combination (32 to 40% T.Ar) predictability values ranged from 86 to 95%. Individual rows (<1 to 20% T.Ar) predicted from 45 to 92% of total variation. Combinations of squares approximating areas and locations assessed by other paleohistologists ranged in predictability values from 80 to 94%. The results demonstrate that subareas of as little as 15% predict 95% of variation in total osteon density in the entire anterior mid-diaphyseal femoral section. A minimization of histological area evaluated without the loss of accuracy allows for a minimization of time invested in data collection and the utilization of partially damaged specimens. Am J Phys Anthropol 107:13–24, 1998. © 1998 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

A multivariate,osteological approach to Towa culture history

Eleven cranial measurements on 14 archeological populations from the American Southwest support the archeologically derived reconstruction of Towa population movements. The supposed (linguistic) relationship between Pecos and the Towa speaking villages is questioned.     

Tribal Languages and the Challenges of Revitalization

Although school- and university-based language programs can help strengthen threatened Indigenous languages, language revitalization at its heart involves reestablishing traditional functions of language use in the context of everyday speaker interactions. The inherent dynamics of Native oral language traditions suggest the limitations of institutions in supporting critical language learning activities that are the key to successful language renewal efforts.     

Endemic disease patterns in Paleopathology: Porotic hyperostosis

Recent research has shown that constitutional factors can elicit a porotic skeletal lesion pattern related to iron-deficiency anemia, even when adequate dietary iron is available. This study considers the pattern of skeletal involvement under conditions of chronic or endemic dietary stress. Analysis focused on 54 subadults aged 0–10 years at death from the Arroyo Hondo site. Early age of onset is documented in the pattern of coincident active periosteal reactions and porotic lesions under 6 months. Endemically inadequate diets affecting pregnant females and their fetuses, acting synergistically with immediately acquired infections, not weaning diets, are the probable major underlying causes for the early onset of iron-deficiency anemia at Arroyo Hondo.     

Source & Sourceability: Towards a probabilistic framework for dendroprovenance based on hypothesis testing and Bayesian inference

Long-distance procurement of timber was necessary for the construction of Ancestral Pueblo Great Houses in Chaco Canyon, New Mexico. A number of higher-altitude tree sources were available within 30–70 km, though some isolated trees may have been acquired more locally. Highly regional tree ring variations enable matching some construction timbers to their source. Here, a method is developed which 1) develops a rejection criteria for ruling out sources for a tree ring sequence, 2) quantifies the relative spatial representation of a given source sequence, and 3) applies Bayes theorem to calculate posterior probabilities of source attribution. The application of this method in part supports past sourcing work, but indicates that the majority (59–64%) of timbers cannot be ascribed with even low confidence to the most common high-altitude sources. This analysis supports a model of diverse tree acquisition from a number of different sources, though with high uncertainty for a majority of timbers used in the present study.     

Cross-sectional geometry of Pecos Pueblo femora and tibiae—A biomechanical investigation: I. Method and general patterns of variation

Variation in long bone cross-sectional geometry can be given a more precise functional interpretation using engineering beam theory. However, difficulties in measurement technique have generally prevented studies of large samples of cross sections in this way. In the present study, an automated system utilizing an electronic digitizer and computer software was used to analyze cross-sectional geometric properties of 11 femoral and tibial locations in 119 individuals from the Pecos Pueblo, New Mexico site. The data generated allow identification of clear differences in geometric properties between different regions of the femur and tibia. These differences appear to be related to specific in-vivo mechanical loadings of the lower limb bones, serving to reduce stress and strain under these loadings. The data are also used to investigate possible differences in loading of the femur and tibia in the Pecos and modern samples, and between humans and a nonhuman primate sample.     

Cortical bone loss with age in three native American populations

Age-related thinning of cortical bone was investigated in archaeological populations of Eskimos, Pueblos, and Arikaras. Medial-lateral cortical thickness was measured on radiographs of humerus and femur, and thickness of the anterior femoral cortex was measured directly on samples taken for histologic study. Maximum length of the bones was used to calculate indices of relative cortical thickness, in order to minimize differences due to body size and build. Bone loss in the humerus begins before middle age in all three populations and, except for Eskimo males, the same is true of the anterior femoral cortex. In general, overall female loss of cortical bone amounts to two or three times that of the males, and in the case of the humerus and the anterior cortex of the femur, this difference is evident by middle age. The weight-bearing femoral medial-lateral cortex shows less sexual difference but has the greatest number of statistically significant differences between populations and the greatest contrast between populations in pattern of loss with age. It appears that of the cortical regions studied this is the area upon which environmental factors have the greatest effect, whereas areas more subject to tensile stress, the humerus and anterior femoral cortex, are less affected by these factors.     

Aquatic food‐web structure along a salinized dryland river

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