American journal of physical anthropology
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Am. J. Phys. Anthropol. · Nov 1999
Bilateral asymmetry in skeletal growth and maturation as an indicator of environmental stress.
This study examined the efficacy of bilateral asymmetry in epiphyseal union as an indicator of environmental stress affecting the skeleton. We compared the extent of asymmetry in the postcranial skeleton between two cemetery samples excavated from Medieval Kulubnarti, Sudanese Nubia. Past studies have strongly suggested that these ancient Nubians experienced environmental stress-the early Christian period (550-750 AD) population to a greater extent than the late Christian period (750-1450 AD) population. ⋯ There were no differences attributable to sex. Finally, we discuss why we conclude that environmental stress was favored over a biomechanic explanation as the cause for asymmetry. To the extent that our results support previous findings that early Christian period individuals were more affected by environmental stress than late Christian period individuals, it is reasonable to consider bilateral asymmetry in skeletal growth and maturation a good indicator of environmental stress.
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Am. J. Phys. Anthropol. · Dec 1998
Historical ArticleBrief communication: twentieth-century replication of an Egyptian mummy: implications for paleopathology.
Replication in a modern human cadaver of ancient Egyptian mummification focused on tools used by ancient Egyptian embalmers, the use of natron (a mixture of sodium carbonate, bicarbonate, and chloride) in the preparation of the mummy, surgical procedures in the removal of the viscera and brain, and histologic examination of the viscera. The first three areas have been reported separately (Brier and Wade [1997] ZAS 124:89-100). In this paper, we demonstrate a degree of histologic preservation comparable to that seen in Egyptian mummies, indicating the effectiveness of ancient mummification and that the histologic appearance of such mummies is little altered by the passage of millennia.
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Am. J. Phys. Anthropol. · Nov 1998
Sequence analysis of bacterial DNA in the colon of an Andean mummy.
We have isolated DNA from 14 tissue samples from the internal organs of an Andean human mummy (10th-11th century A. D.) and have checked the persistence of the original human and bacterial templates using the following main approaches: 1) amino acid racemization test; 2) quantification of mitochondrial DNA copy number; 3) survey of bacterial DNA in the different organs; 4) sequence analysis of bacterial amplicons of different lengths. ⋯ In particular, sequence analysis of two (respectively 100 and 196 bp in length) libraries of bacterial 16s ribosomal RNA gene amplicons from the mummy colon shows that while the shortest amplicons give only modest and biased indications about the bacterial taxa, the longer amplicons allow the identification several species of the genus Clostridium which are typical of the human colon. This work represents a first example of a methodological approach which is applicable, in principle, to many other natural and artificial mummies and might open the way to the study of the structure of the human microbial ecosystem from prehistory to present.
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This research examined capuchin monkey (Cebus apella) grips for the use of throwing, nut-cracking and cutting tools. We provided subjects with stones and apparatus that accommodated the use of stones as tools. Our subjects exhibited five grips, two of which the animals used when force was the primary consideration (power grips) and three of which the animals used when accuracy of sensory judgment and instrumentation was required (precision grips). We believe that the range of contexts in which capuchins use stone tools, combined with the ability of capuchins to employ both power and precision grips as part of their tool repertoire, indicate that Cebus apella can be used to identify grips that facilitated hominid lithic technology.