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an average of 2.1 insults per individual; and for late mission samples, 82 percent af®icted with an average of 2.4 insults per individual. Overall the prevalence of pathological striae increased from 48 percent affected before contact to 83 percent af®icted after contact, despite limited changes in the number of insults per individual (2.2 vs. 2.5 insults, respectively). Simpson’s research indicates that the effects of marginal health conditions were particularly evident for the earliest years of life. Skeletal indicators of pathological conditions likewise indicate that missionization had negative health consequences for mission communities. Cribra orbitalia and porotic hyperostosis both increase signi¤cantly in prevalence during the mission period (Schultz et al. 2001). This suggests that iron-de¤ciency anemia was common in mission communities and may have resulted from dietary de¤ciencies, overcrowding and subsequent parasitic infection owing to poor sanitation, or a combination of both (Larsen and Sering 2000). Periosteal bone infections of the tibia and femur similarly increase in frequency after contact (Larsen and Harn 1994). In addition to changes in population health conditions, bioarchaeological Figure 2.5. Example of cribra orbitalia in a prehistoric Florida native. Note the lesions evident in the horizontal portion of the frontal bone (arrows) forming the roof of the orbit. These lesions result from the expansion of the diploë through the outer table of cortical bone that forms the roof of the orbit. The Spanish Mission System of La Florida 21 Figure 2.6. Example of a periosteal lesion from a prehistoric Florida native. data indicate that behavioral activity patterns changed and physical stress increased after contact. The pattern and prevalence of osteoarthritic lesions indicate an increase in frequency of affected bones during the contact period. The most dramatic changes occurred in the vertebral joint surfaces, with males exhibiting a higher frequency of arthritic modi¤cations (Grif¤n and Larsen 1989; Larsen et al. 1996), suggesting an increase in the mechanical demands placed on the back, typical of lifting heavy objects. That males were enlisted as cargo bearers in the repartimiento system may explain the sexual dimorphism observed in pathological joint modi¤cation patterns (Grif¤n and Larsen 1989). Fresia and colleagues investigated sexual dimorphism in the mechanical use of the upper arm for the Georgia coast populations (Fresia and Ruff 1987; Fresia et al. 1990). Using radiographs of the humeri and calculations of bone area and second moments of area, they demonstrated that bilateral asymmetry of the humerus decreased through time. This ¤nding indicated that males and females were performing more similar kinds of upper arm activities during the contact period. Because females displayed the largest change from the hunting and gathering to agricultural periods, and because males exhibited the largest change with the beginning of the mission period, they concluded that the decline in sexual dimorphism resulted from males having assumed a more prominent postcontact role in maize production. Ruff and Larsen (Larsen and Ruff 1994; Ruff and Larsen 1990, 2001) investigated changing activity patterns among the Guale using several biomechanical models of cross-sectional longbone geometry. Relative strength measures indicated an increase in femoral strength, particularly in females, an increase in humeral strength for males, a decrease in humeral strength for females, and an overall increase in body size during the contact period. The shape ratio of the mid-femur (Ix/Iy) declined in females but increased in males, suggesting that long-distance travel demands increased for some males. Both sexes demonstrated a trend toward subtrochanteric noncircularity in limb dimensions, suggesting a decline in overall activity levels (Larsen and Ruff 1994; Ruff and Larsen 1990). In summary, the biomechanical evidence combined with pathological joint alterations indicated that the mission period was characterized by heavier work loads, increased body size and weight, and, for some males, increased long-distance travel. The La Florida mission system provides an ideal setting in which to test models of Native American responses to impending demographic catastrophe and European hegemony. Surviving for almost two centuries, and beginning years before the more visible Spanish missions of the American West, the Florida colony united myriad cultural and linguistic groups under the banner of the Cross. Apalachee, Guale, and multiple Timucua-speaking populations received The Spanish Mission System of La Florida 23 the friars, sometimes openly, sometimes with reservation. After peak mission expansion during the ¤rst half of the 17th century, life for the mission Indians was dif¤cult. Economic hardship, political strife, and disease epidemics instigated periods of unrest. Native revolts...

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