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The aim of this thesis is to determine where individual CM 72B, buried at El Chorro de Maíta, Cub... more The aim of this thesis is to determine where individual CM 72B, buried at El Chorro de
Maíta, Cuba, originates from. Characteristics as intentional cranial and dental
modification, isotopic levels, and burial position indicate a non-local origin. This thesis
focuses on cultural characteristics of the osteological remains and the burial of CM 72B.
These cultural characteristics are part of the identity of an individual. Thus based on
these markers it is possible to find a certain group of people that share these
characteristics with CM 72B, and therefore share the same group-identity as this
individual.
The cranial modification of CM 72B (fronto-occipital parallel modification) occurs on a
large scale in Mesoamerica, mainly the Maya lowland region. The dental modification of
CM 72B is consistent with types A4 and C2 or C3 of a modification chart made by
Romero Molina, that categorizes Mesoamerican dental modification into a standard
typology. This type of modification mainly occurs in the coastal areas of the Yucatán
peninsula and in Post-Classic Lamanai. The oxygen, carbon, and strontium isotopic
values of individual CM 72B fall outside the local range of El Chorro de Maíta. This
indicates a non-locale origin. CM 72B is buried prone with flexed legs to the back. This
type of burial occurs on a large scale in Lamanai and Ambergris Caye (Both in Belize).
By combining the areas where these characteristics occur altogether the possible origin
of CM 72B could be Lamanai or on Ambergris Caye. CM 72B was probably taken during
Spanish slave raids that occurred along the Belizean coast. The site San Pedro
(Ambergris Caye) is the only known place along the Belizean coast where the prone
burial practice still occurred during the contact period. San Pedro is located on the
Caribbean sea side of Ambergris Caye it would have been an easy target for the Spanish
Slave raiders. Therefore it could be that CM 72B was taken from San Pedro by the
Spaniards and then taken to Cuba and forced to be part of the encomienda system.
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Thesis Chapters by Michael Steenbakker
This research applies the new Coimbra method for therecording of enthesal changes (EC) on a Dutch... more This research applies the new Coimbra method for therecording of enthesal changes (EC) on a Dutch urban population. The sample consists of 66 individuals buried between 1450 and 1573, at the Franciscan monastery in Alkmaar, the Netherlands. The people buried here were part of the “common” people of Alkmaar.This sample consists of individuals of which the age and sex were estimated, and with no observable pathologies which could affect the enthesal sites. In addition to activity, age and sex could influence EC. It was tried to limit this influence by comparing the individuals in groups of sex and age in some of the tests, therefore limiting the influence of other factors on EC rather than activity. Ten fibrocartilaginous entheseal sites were scored on both upper limbs. After scoring the EC of all individuals, the data was statistically analysed using the program IBM SPSS (Version 23). As expected males, in general, scored higher than females and older individuals generally scored higher than younger individuals. At the subscapularis and the brachioradialis, females scored higher than the males, which could indicate women strained these muscles more than males. The males had a significantly higher EC score at three muscle attachment sites. In addition, there were differences between the sexes in ranks of mean EC scores, and the correlation of certain muscles. These factors do point to a general division of labour between the sexes. When focusing on differences between the age groups, EC in males showed more correlation with age than EC with age in the female population. Six of eight outliers, when looking at the mean EC scores, showed signs of osteoarthrosis, which is seen as an activity related pathology. This, together with the increased EC score indicates that these individuals most likely showed increased activity in comparison with the rest of the population. Lastly, the data presented here was compared with other research. This proved to be difficult, regarding the use of samples from different geographical areas, and time periods, different scoring methods and differences in scored entheseal sites. This shows the necessity for using a standardized scoring method for EC research. This could provide the opportunity to compare more data, generating more knowledge on EC research. This could make EC research into a viable method for osteological research, and providing archaeologist with a tool to reconstruct past activities.
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The aim of this thesis is to determine where individual CM 72B, buried at El Chorro de Maíta, Cub... more The aim of this thesis is to determine where individual CM 72B, buried at El Chorro de
Maíta, Cuba, originates from. Characteristics as intentional cranial and dental
modification, isotopic levels, and burial position indicate a non-local origin. This thesis
focuses on cultural characteristics of the osteological remains and the burial of CM 72B.
These cultural characteristics are part of the identity of an individual. Thus based on
these markers it is possible to find a certain group of people that share these
characteristics with CM 72B, and therefore share the same group-identity as this
individual.
The cranial modification of CM 72B (fronto-occipital parallel modification) occurs on a
large scale in Mesoamerica, mainly the Maya lowland region. The dental modification of
CM 72B is consistent with types A4 and C2 or C3 of a modification chart made by
Romero Molina, that categorizes Mesoamerican dental modification into a standard
typology. This type of modification mainly occurs in the coastal areas of the Yucatán
peninsula and in Post-Classic Lamanai. The oxygen, carbon, and strontium isotopic
values of individual CM 72B fall outside the local range of El Chorro de Maíta. This
indicates a non-locale origin. CM 72B is buried prone with flexed legs to the back. This
type of burial occurs on a large scale in Lamanai and Ambergris Caye (Both in Belize).
By combining the areas where these characteristics occur altogether the possible origin
of CM 72B could be Lamanai or on Ambergris Caye. CM 72B was probably taken during
Spanish slave raids that occurred along the Belizean coast. The site San Pedro
(Ambergris Caye) is the only known place along the Belizean coast where the prone
burial practice still occurred during the contact period. San Pedro is located on the
Caribbean sea side of Ambergris Caye it would have been an easy target for the Spanish
Slave raiders. Therefore it could be that CM 72B was taken from San Pedro by the
Spaniards and then taken to Cuba and forced to be part of the encomienda system.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
This research applies the new Coimbra method for therecording of enthesal changes (EC) on a Dutch... more This research applies the new Coimbra method for therecording of enthesal changes (EC) on a Dutch urban population. The sample consists of 66 individuals buried between 1450 and 1573, at the Franciscan monastery in Alkmaar, the Netherlands. The people buried here were part of the “common” people of Alkmaar.This sample consists of individuals of which the age and sex were estimated, and with no observable pathologies which could affect the enthesal sites. In addition to activity, age and sex could influence EC. It was tried to limit this influence by comparing the individuals in groups of sex and age in some of the tests, therefore limiting the influence of other factors on EC rather than activity. Ten fibrocartilaginous entheseal sites were scored on both upper limbs. After scoring the EC of all individuals, the data was statistically analysed using the program IBM SPSS (Version 23). As expected males, in general, scored higher than females and older individuals generally scored higher than younger individuals. At the subscapularis and the brachioradialis, females scored higher than the males, which could indicate women strained these muscles more than males. The males had a significantly higher EC score at three muscle attachment sites. In addition, there were differences between the sexes in ranks of mean EC scores, and the correlation of certain muscles. These factors do point to a general division of labour between the sexes. When focusing on differences between the age groups, EC in males showed more correlation with age than EC with age in the female population. Six of eight outliers, when looking at the mean EC scores, showed signs of osteoarthrosis, which is seen as an activity related pathology. This, together with the increased EC score indicates that these individuals most likely showed increased activity in comparison with the rest of the population. Lastly, the data presented here was compared with other research. This proved to be difficult, regarding the use of samples from different geographical areas, and time periods, different scoring methods and differences in scored entheseal sites. This shows the necessity for using a standardized scoring method for EC research. This could provide the opportunity to compare more data, generating more knowledge on EC research. This could make EC research into a viable method for osteological research, and providing archaeologist with a tool to reconstruct past activities.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact