The Bioarchaeology of the Human Head: Decapitation, Decoration, and Deformation

Index

Page numbers with f refer to illustrations. Page numbers with t refer to tables. Acari (site), 297t, 298 Acheulean age, 4 Achuar culture, 19, 113 Affinal ties, 82 Aging and the elderly, 18, 24–25, 89. See also Demographics Aging methods: auricular surface, 205, 267; changes to pubis, 205; cranial suture closure, 267; dentition, 73–74, 76, 76t, 91, 155, 205, 267; epiphyseal fusion, 76; long bone diaphysis length, 76; nondestructive , 29–30, 70; pelvic fusion, 76; radiocarbon analysis, 220–21; radiography, 74 Agriculture, 22, 24, 162, 263 'Ain Ghazal (site), 4, 26, 27 Aitape, 70f Alaska, 13, 18, 27 Aleut culture, 27 Algarrobal culture, 234 Amerindian haplogroups, 294, 295–97, 296t, 297t, 298 Ananyino (culture group), 204f Anasazi culture, 2, 23 Ancestors: archaeology of, 34; context of skulls, 19–20; figurines, 87–88; head as seat of ancestorhood, 3, 34; mbwan, 83; misinterpretation of specimens, 68–70, 77, 91–92; relationship with enemies, 19, Index 82–83, 113; use of term, 34; worship (see Ancestor veneration) Ancestor veneration: context, 20; figurines incorporating skulls, 87–88; tiki statues, 105; and trophy heads, 113, 263, 264–65, 292, 298 Anemia, 22, 23 Animals and animal remains: bones or spines as grave goods, 207, 208–9t, 234, 250, 276, 277, 278; collagen, 4; horses (see Horses and horseback riding); pigs (see Teeth, pig canines on trophy skulls) Antemortem: tooth loss, 27; trauma, 265, 266, 278 Anthropology: forensics for population affinity assessment, 180–96; historical background, 13, 15–16, 20–21; interpretation based on “modern anthropological parallels,” 68–69; limited access to archaeological specimens, 69, 205; limited access to data, 194; role of closure after defacement, 179, 194–95 Apotropaic devices, 17, 19, 20 Araha culture, 85 Arawe culture, 241 Archaeological research, 69–70, 205 Archaic period, 183 Architecture. See Building construction Arikara culture, 187 Arm bones, 81 Arthritis, 27 310 Index Asia: central, 202, 204, 220, 221; southern, 26, 220; western, 9 Asmat culture, 82 Aswad, 4–5 Australia. See Torres Strait Islands Austria, 10 Avar culture, 10 Bamboo: burial effigy decoration, 80f; knives, 56, 58f, 59, 62; noseplug, 69f Bark cloth. See Tapa cloth Basket making, 27 Basque culture, 31, 188, 190t, 193 Beauty and youth: skull decoration and treatment reflecting, 29, 77–79, 86, 90; skulls of elderly not removed, 89. See also Fertility Beeswax, 53, 54f, 56, 59 Belize, 241, 244f, 248f, 254. See also Maya culture Biauricular breadth, 189 Bilobated form, 6 Bioarchaeology: as an integrative discipline , 1–2, 20, 21–22, 28, 34; definition, 1; emergence as a discipline, 21; history, 13, 20–21; language barrier, 65; limitations of data collection, 10, 193, 195; open source publishing for data exchange, 194; of the skull, overview, 20–22; thorough data collection to unravel context, 20, 67–68, 91–92. See also Biostressors; Challenges in bioarchaeology; Cultural considerations ; Osteoarchaeologist; Political considerations; Religious or spiritual considerations; Societal considerations Biocultural Adaptation in Prehistoric America (Blakely), 21 Biocultural factors, 24 Biological association. See DNA analysis; Morphometric analyses Biostressors: anemia, 22, 23; arthritis, 27; brachycrania, 25; congenital defects, 25; cranial vault thickening with disease, 22; craniostenosis, 25, 256; craniosynostosis, 24; cribra orbitalia, 22; dental pathologies , 22, 23, 25–27; dolichocrania, 25; hydrocephaly , 12, 25; infection, 7, 22, 24, 35, 154; parasites, 22, 23; plagiocephaly, 15, 256; porotic hyperostosis, 22–23; scurvy, 22, 23–24; thalassemia, 22; tuberculosis, 22, 27; ulcers, occipital, 24 Bodo (site), 4 Body: as “a forum for display” of social norms, 251; context of long-term incarceration vs. execution, 135–36; as “cultural plastic,” 257; head in the role of, 2, 15, 35, 179, 222, 252; interpretive potential through study of the skeleton, 28; public dissection, 130–32, 131f, 136 Body parts: execution by being drawn and quartered, 128–29, 128f, 130, 132, 134–35; genitalia attached to skull, 89; kept and lent by family members, 86; nose cut off, 276; worn by widow or warrior, 56, 84–85, 114 Bolivia. See Tiwanaku culture Bone: arrowheads from, 208t, 211f; body adornment, 105, 114; grave goods, 208–9t, 210f, 211f; plates from, 205, 209t; utensils from, 6, 17, 205, 209t Boundary or liminal locations, 132, 133–34, 134f, 236 Bowls, skulls as, 6 Brachycrania, 25 Brazil. See Kayabi culture Britain: Bedfordshire, 9, 151; climate changes, 163–64; colonization by, 122, 187; Gloucestershire, 151; lifespan during Roman period, 152–53; London, 152–53, 153f; map, 124f; Outer Hebrides, 162, 166; Oxfordshire, 151; during reign of Septimius Severus, 145, 169–70; Roman period cemeteries, 151, 152–53, 153f, 164–66 (see also York...