Samuel Cockerill | Universidad de La Laguna (original) (raw)

Papers by Samuel Cockerill

Journal of morphology, 2024

The usefulness of anatomical variation is determined by the knowledge of why nonmetric traits app... more The usefulness of anatomical variation is determined by the knowledge of why nonmetric traits appear. Clear descriptions of the traits are a necessary task, due to the risk of confusing anatomical variants and evidence of trauma. Numerous interpretations of the appearance of calcaneal anatomical variants add to the need of an anatomical atlas of calcaneal nonmetric traits. We have analyzed a total of 886 calcanei; 559 belong to different modern and pre‐Hispanic samples, and 327 bones were studied from a reference collection from Athens. In this study, we present the anatomical variations that exist on the calcaneus bone, some of which have rarely been mentioned in previous research. The standardization of methods proposed may be useful to experts working in human anatomy, physical anthropology as well as comparative morphology, due to usefulness of this information during surgery, and bioanthropology to observe and study the lifestyle of past populations.

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Revista Española de Antropología Física , 2022

El os trigonum es un osículo que normalmente aparece durante la infancia y normalmente se fusiona... more El os trigonum es un osículo que normalmente aparece durante la infancia y normalmente se fusiona a la parte posterior del astrágalo alrededor de la edad de 8-11 años. En ocasiones, puede haber una interrupción en el proceso de fusión usualmente por microtraumatismos. Una actividad intensiva del tobillo puede causar este grado de trauma necesario para interrumpir el proceso de desarrollo del astrágalo. Por lo tanto, este rasgo no-métrico puede proporcionar información importante sobre la infancia de poblaciones del pasado. Los astrágalos bien conservados de la cueva funeraria de Punta Azul y el yacimiento funerario de La Guancha-El Agujero, ambos localizados en las islas Canarias, han permitido estudiar el os trigonum para indagar más en la infancia de poblaciones de aborígenes canarios. La muestra de este estudio consistió en 149 astrágalos procedentes del yacimiento de Punta Azul (El Hierro) y 51 astrágalos de La Guancha-El Agujero (Gran Canaria), de entre los cuales se descartaron aquellos que presentaban daños postmortem. Los resultados evidencian que hay diferencias significativas de os trigonum entre las muestras estudiadas y las frecuencias son considerablemente altas comparadas con otros estudios similares. Se interpreta que la alta presencia del rasgo en las dos muestras estudiadas indica que los niños y niñas de las comunidades prehispánicas eran sujetos activos para la sociedad desempeñando, en menor o mayor medida, determinadas actividades socioeconómicas que requerían cierta sobrecarga física.

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International Journal of Osteoarchaeology

The aim of this study was assessing the prevalence of os trigonum, talo-calcaneal facets and squa... more The aim of this study was assessing the prevalence of os trigonum, talo-calcaneal facets and squatting facet variations among pre-Hispanic individuals (around 940 ± 30 BP) placed in the collective burial cave of Punta Azul (El Hierro, Canary Islands), and to assess whether prevalence differed among sexes. A total of 149 tali (70 right and 79 left) belonging to adult individuals were found in a comingled context. Sex determination was achieved as following: genetic sexing of a subsample of 35 tali was assessed using paleogenomic procedures. Anthropometric measurements of the genetically sexed bones were used to calculate an accurate discriminant function that was later applied to the remaining 114 tali. We observed marked differences in the os trigonum pattern among male and female tali, whereas no relevant differences were observed regarding the other two traits. A very high prevalence of squatting facets was observed in both sexes, higher than the reported frequencies for other population groups. The summarized conclusions in this study are the following: a) the high prevalence of the squatting facets observed in both males and females could indicate the performance of a similar activity that requires a squatting position, such as shellfishing. b) We observed a predominance of the type C talo-calcaneal facet configuration among the population that indicates a maximal mobility of the talar joint, well adapted to displacement and/or activities such as goat herding in the steep landscape of El Hierro. c) The statistically different os trigonum pattern among sexes may suggest a greater activity associated to jumping and climbing among males, possibly related to goat herding in the steep landscape of the island of El Hierro.

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International Journal of Osteoarchaeology, 2022

The aim of this study was assessing the prevalence of os trigonum, talo-calcaneal facets and squa... more The aim of this study was assessing the prevalence of os trigonum, talo-calcaneal facets and squatting facet variations among pre-Hispanic individuals (around 940 ± 30 BP) placed in the collective burial cave of Punta Azul (El Hierro, Canary Islands), and to assess whether prevalence differed among sexes. A total of 149 tali (70 right and 79 left) belonging to adult individuals were found in a comingled context. Sex determination was achieved as following: genetic sexing of a subsample of 35 tali was assessed using paleogenomic procedures. Anthropometric measurements of the genetically sexed bones were used to calculate an accurate discriminant function that was later applied to the remaining 114 tali. We observed marked differences in the os trigonum pattern among male and female tali, whereas no relevant differences were observed regarding the other two traits. A very high prevalence of squatting facets was observed in both sexes, higher than the reported frequencies for other population groups.

The summarized conclusions in this study are the following: a) the high prevalence of the squatting facets observed in both males and females could indicate the performance of a similar activity that requires a squatting position, such as shellfishing. b) We observed a predominance of the type C talo-calcaneal facet configuration among the population that indicates a maximal mobility of the talar joint, well adapted to displacement and/or activities such as goat herding in the steep landscape of El Hierro. c) The statistically different os trigonum pattern among sexes may suggest a greater activity associated to jumping and climbing among males, possibly related to goat herding in the steep landscape of the island of El Hierro.

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Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, 2021

Abstract La Concepcion church is the oldest church in Santa Cruz de Tenerife and it was used as a... more Abstract La Concepcion church is the oldest church in Santa Cruz de Tenerife and it was used as a cemetery for over 200 years, during the 16th century and up to the 18th century. Those who were buried there were from multiple ethnic backgrounds and with different lifestyles. During an emergency archaeological excavation, comingled, poorly preserved bone remains of about 300 individuals were excavated. We here analyze a total of 198 tali, looking for the presence of non-metric traits. The results show that the frequencies of non-metric traits were greater than the majority of previous studies, indicating that a large proportion of the sample had an increased activity in the ankle region. Some traits appeared in the same bone and, more importantly, several tali with uncommon combinations belonged to individuals buried in the same tomb. These results were tested for randomness with binomial distribution tests that resulted in a P

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XIV Coloquio de Historia Canario-Americana, 2020

Os trigonum se encuentra frecuentemente en la muestra de restos humanos aborígenes de Maspalomas ... more Os trigonum se encuentra frecuentemente en la muestra de restos humanos aborígenes de Maspalomas de Gran Canaria. También existen varios casos de la fractura de apófisis posterior del astrágalo en esta muestra. Existen numerosos artículos científicos que indican la diferencia entre éstos dos condiciones anatómicas pero hay una falta en la literatura de imágenes del hueso seco que muestran claramente las diferencias. En este estudio preliminar se utilizó 123 astrágalos y se observó 23,2% casos de os trigonum, junto con 4,8% casos de la fractura. La alta frecuencia del os trigonum podría estar indicando una actividad específica que ejercieron los aborígenes de Maspalomas en una edad temprana. La presencia de la fractura de la apófisis posterior indica que la actividad específica se continuó hasta edad adulta. Las imágenes mostradas en este estudio podrán ayudar en la diferenciación de las dos condiciones anatómicas en futuras investigaciones.

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Conference: Extraordinary World Congress on Mummy Studies, organized by Cabildo Insular de Tenerife, 2018

The 18 th century population of Santa Cruz de Tenerife held a great variety of people from differ... more The 18 th century population of Santa Cruz de Tenerife held a great variety of people from different ethnic backgrounds. The origin of various traits is unknown and the aim of this ongoing study is to find more evidence suggesting the influences of the talus and calcaneus facets and Os Trigonum trait in order for them to be used in forensic identification and osteoarchaeological studies. In total, 264 bones were analysed in this study (126 tali and 138 calcanei) and chi-square tests were completed to determine sex independence of each trait. The results show that the traits are proportionate amongst males and females. Chi-square tests were not significant with the exception of the Os Trigonum trait that appeared to be highly significant. Therefore, our results coincide with previous authors and suggest that the talus inferior facets and calcaneus inferior facets appear to be possibly affected by genetics but, in the case of the Os Trigonum, it's quite possible that, in some cases, activity stress could significantly affect its presence in a population.

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Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, 2021

La Concepci´on church is the oldest church in Santa Cruz de Tenerife and it was used as a cemeter... more La Concepci´on church is the oldest church in Santa Cruz de Tenerife and it was used as a cemetery for over 200
years, during the 16th century and up to the 18th century. Those who were buried there were from multiple
ethnic backgrounds and with different lifestyles. During an emergency archaeological excavation, comingled,
poorly preserved bone remains of about 300 individuals were excavated. We here analyze a total of 198 tali,
looking for the presence of non-metric traits. The results show that the frequencies of non-metric traits were
greater than the majority of previous studies, indicating that a large proportion of the sample had an increased
activity in the ankle region. Some traits appeared in the same bone and, more importantly, several tali with
uncommon combinations belonged to individuals buried in the same tomb. These results were tested for
randomness with binomial distribution tests that resulted in a P < 0.0001. Moreover, tombs containing tali with
uncommon trait combinations showed a tendency to cluster in certain areas of the church. The results of this
study therefore show that either people who performed similar activities that led to the development of certain
patterns of trait combinations were interred together or in neighboring tombs, or these combinations of traits
indicate a genetic relationship that explains why the individuals were buried in the same tombs. This study
highlights the importance of analysing trait combinations in talar bones, since, together with other bioanthropological
research tools – including genetics, and/or historical data – they may provide useful information
for the reconstruction of important aspects of the daily lives of past populations. The study of trait combinations
in talar bones may also aid in the detection and understanding of relationships within a cemetery, where kinship
analysis is unable to be applied.

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En la bibliografía académica, hay un problema con la definición del trance. En este trabajo, hemo... more En la bibliografía académica, hay un problema con la definición del trance. En este trabajo, hemos intentado lograr obtener una definición menos etnocéntrica de este concepto. El trance es algo muy complejo y no es lo mismo para cada cultura sino que difiere en todas ellas. Además, existe una tipología dentro del trance que autores anteriores no han mencionado. Pero, debemos tener en cuenta las múltiples origines posibles de las culturas ya que determinan los diferentes tipos de trance que se encuentran. Es importante también, el concepto de espíritu como factor diferenciador entre los diferentes tipos de trance. Este concepto es la base central de la ideología en el trance, ya que el espíritu determina los efectos y motivos del trance.

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Journal of morphology, 2024

The usefulness of anatomical variation is determined by the knowledge of why nonmetric traits app... more The usefulness of anatomical variation is determined by the knowledge of why nonmetric traits appear. Clear descriptions of the traits are a necessary task, due to the risk of confusing anatomical variants and evidence of trauma. Numerous interpretations of the appearance of calcaneal anatomical variants add to the need of an anatomical atlas of calcaneal nonmetric traits. We have analyzed a total of 886 calcanei; 559 belong to different modern and pre‐Hispanic samples, and 327 bones were studied from a reference collection from Athens. In this study, we present the anatomical variations that exist on the calcaneus bone, some of which have rarely been mentioned in previous research. The standardization of methods proposed may be useful to experts working in human anatomy, physical anthropology as well as comparative morphology, due to usefulness of this information during surgery, and bioanthropology to observe and study the lifestyle of past populations.

Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact

Revista Española de Antropología Física , 2022

El os trigonum es un osículo que normalmente aparece durante la infancia y normalmente se fusiona... more El os trigonum es un osículo que normalmente aparece durante la infancia y normalmente se fusiona a la parte posterior del astrágalo alrededor de la edad de 8-11 años. En ocasiones, puede haber una interrupción en el proceso de fusión usualmente por microtraumatismos. Una actividad intensiva del tobillo puede causar este grado de trauma necesario para interrumpir el proceso de desarrollo del astrágalo. Por lo tanto, este rasgo no-métrico puede proporcionar información importante sobre la infancia de poblaciones del pasado. Los astrágalos bien conservados de la cueva funeraria de Punta Azul y el yacimiento funerario de La Guancha-El Agujero, ambos localizados en las islas Canarias, han permitido estudiar el os trigonum para indagar más en la infancia de poblaciones de aborígenes canarios. La muestra de este estudio consistió en 149 astrágalos procedentes del yacimiento de Punta Azul (El Hierro) y 51 astrágalos de La Guancha-El Agujero (Gran Canaria), de entre los cuales se descartaron aquellos que presentaban daños postmortem. Los resultados evidencian que hay diferencias significativas de os trigonum entre las muestras estudiadas y las frecuencias son considerablemente altas comparadas con otros estudios similares. Se interpreta que la alta presencia del rasgo en las dos muestras estudiadas indica que los niños y niñas de las comunidades prehispánicas eran sujetos activos para la sociedad desempeñando, en menor o mayor medida, determinadas actividades socioeconómicas que requerían cierta sobrecarga física.

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International Journal of Osteoarchaeology

The aim of this study was assessing the prevalence of os trigonum, talo-calcaneal facets and squa... more The aim of this study was assessing the prevalence of os trigonum, talo-calcaneal facets and squatting facet variations among pre-Hispanic individuals (around 940 ± 30 BP) placed in the collective burial cave of Punta Azul (El Hierro, Canary Islands), and to assess whether prevalence differed among sexes. A total of 149 tali (70 right and 79 left) belonging to adult individuals were found in a comingled context. Sex determination was achieved as following: genetic sexing of a subsample of 35 tali was assessed using paleogenomic procedures. Anthropometric measurements of the genetically sexed bones were used to calculate an accurate discriminant function that was later applied to the remaining 114 tali. We observed marked differences in the os trigonum pattern among male and female tali, whereas no relevant differences were observed regarding the other two traits. A very high prevalence of squatting facets was observed in both sexes, higher than the reported frequencies for other population groups. The summarized conclusions in this study are the following: a) the high prevalence of the squatting facets observed in both males and females could indicate the performance of a similar activity that requires a squatting position, such as shellfishing. b) We observed a predominance of the type C talo-calcaneal facet configuration among the population that indicates a maximal mobility of the talar joint, well adapted to displacement and/or activities such as goat herding in the steep landscape of El Hierro. c) The statistically different os trigonum pattern among sexes may suggest a greater activity associated to jumping and climbing among males, possibly related to goat herding in the steep landscape of the island of El Hierro.

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International Journal of Osteoarchaeology, 2022

The aim of this study was assessing the prevalence of os trigonum, talo-calcaneal facets and squa... more The aim of this study was assessing the prevalence of os trigonum, talo-calcaneal facets and squatting facet variations among pre-Hispanic individuals (around 940 ± 30 BP) placed in the collective burial cave of Punta Azul (El Hierro, Canary Islands), and to assess whether prevalence differed among sexes. A total of 149 tali (70 right and 79 left) belonging to adult individuals were found in a comingled context. Sex determination was achieved as following: genetic sexing of a subsample of 35 tali was assessed using paleogenomic procedures. Anthropometric measurements of the genetically sexed bones were used to calculate an accurate discriminant function that was later applied to the remaining 114 tali. We observed marked differences in the os trigonum pattern among male and female tali, whereas no relevant differences were observed regarding the other two traits. A very high prevalence of squatting facets was observed in both sexes, higher than the reported frequencies for other population groups.

The summarized conclusions in this study are the following: a) the high prevalence of the squatting facets observed in both males and females could indicate the performance of a similar activity that requires a squatting position, such as shellfishing. b) We observed a predominance of the type C talo-calcaneal facet configuration among the population that indicates a maximal mobility of the talar joint, well adapted to displacement and/or activities such as goat herding in the steep landscape of El Hierro. c) The statistically different os trigonum pattern among sexes may suggest a greater activity associated to jumping and climbing among males, possibly related to goat herding in the steep landscape of the island of El Hierro.

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Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, 2021

Abstract La Concepcion church is the oldest church in Santa Cruz de Tenerife and it was used as a... more Abstract La Concepcion church is the oldest church in Santa Cruz de Tenerife and it was used as a cemetery for over 200 years, during the 16th century and up to the 18th century. Those who were buried there were from multiple ethnic backgrounds and with different lifestyles. During an emergency archaeological excavation, comingled, poorly preserved bone remains of about 300 individuals were excavated. We here analyze a total of 198 tali, looking for the presence of non-metric traits. The results show that the frequencies of non-metric traits were greater than the majority of previous studies, indicating that a large proportion of the sample had an increased activity in the ankle region. Some traits appeared in the same bone and, more importantly, several tali with uncommon combinations belonged to individuals buried in the same tomb. These results were tested for randomness with binomial distribution tests that resulted in a P

Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact

XIV Coloquio de Historia Canario-Americana, 2020

Os trigonum se encuentra frecuentemente en la muestra de restos humanos aborígenes de Maspalomas ... more Os trigonum se encuentra frecuentemente en la muestra de restos humanos aborígenes de Maspalomas de Gran Canaria. También existen varios casos de la fractura de apófisis posterior del astrágalo en esta muestra. Existen numerosos artículos científicos que indican la diferencia entre éstos dos condiciones anatómicas pero hay una falta en la literatura de imágenes del hueso seco que muestran claramente las diferencias. En este estudio preliminar se utilizó 123 astrágalos y se observó 23,2% casos de os trigonum, junto con 4,8% casos de la fractura. La alta frecuencia del os trigonum podría estar indicando una actividad específica que ejercieron los aborígenes de Maspalomas en una edad temprana. La presencia de la fractura de la apófisis posterior indica que la actividad específica se continuó hasta edad adulta. Las imágenes mostradas en este estudio podrán ayudar en la diferenciación de las dos condiciones anatómicas en futuras investigaciones.

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Conference: Extraordinary World Congress on Mummy Studies, organized by Cabildo Insular de Tenerife, 2018

The 18 th century population of Santa Cruz de Tenerife held a great variety of people from differ... more The 18 th century population of Santa Cruz de Tenerife held a great variety of people from different ethnic backgrounds. The origin of various traits is unknown and the aim of this ongoing study is to find more evidence suggesting the influences of the talus and calcaneus facets and Os Trigonum trait in order for them to be used in forensic identification and osteoarchaeological studies. In total, 264 bones were analysed in this study (126 tali and 138 calcanei) and chi-square tests were completed to determine sex independence of each trait. The results show that the traits are proportionate amongst males and females. Chi-square tests were not significant with the exception of the Os Trigonum trait that appeared to be highly significant. Therefore, our results coincide with previous authors and suggest that the talus inferior facets and calcaneus inferior facets appear to be possibly affected by genetics but, in the case of the Os Trigonum, it's quite possible that, in some cases, activity stress could significantly affect its presence in a population.

Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact

Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, 2021

La Concepci´on church is the oldest church in Santa Cruz de Tenerife and it was used as a cemeter... more La Concepci´on church is the oldest church in Santa Cruz de Tenerife and it was used as a cemetery for over 200
years, during the 16th century and up to the 18th century. Those who were buried there were from multiple
ethnic backgrounds and with different lifestyles. During an emergency archaeological excavation, comingled,
poorly preserved bone remains of about 300 individuals were excavated. We here analyze a total of 198 tali,
looking for the presence of non-metric traits. The results show that the frequencies of non-metric traits were
greater than the majority of previous studies, indicating that a large proportion of the sample had an increased
activity in the ankle region. Some traits appeared in the same bone and, more importantly, several tali with
uncommon combinations belonged to individuals buried in the same tomb. These results were tested for
randomness with binomial distribution tests that resulted in a P < 0.0001. Moreover, tombs containing tali with
uncommon trait combinations showed a tendency to cluster in certain areas of the church. The results of this
study therefore show that either people who performed similar activities that led to the development of certain
patterns of trait combinations were interred together or in neighboring tombs, or these combinations of traits
indicate a genetic relationship that explains why the individuals were buried in the same tombs. This study
highlights the importance of analysing trait combinations in talar bones, since, together with other bioanthropological
research tools – including genetics, and/or historical data – they may provide useful information
for the reconstruction of important aspects of the daily lives of past populations. The study of trait combinations
in talar bones may also aid in the detection and understanding of relationships within a cemetery, where kinship
analysis is unable to be applied.

Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact

En la bibliografía académica, hay un problema con la definición del trance. En este trabajo, hemo... more En la bibliografía académica, hay un problema con la definición del trance. En este trabajo, hemos intentado lograr obtener una definición menos etnocéntrica de este concepto. El trance es algo muy complejo y no es lo mismo para cada cultura sino que difiere en todas ellas. Además, existe una tipología dentro del trance que autores anteriores no han mencionado. Pero, debemos tener en cuenta las múltiples origines posibles de las culturas ya que determinan los diferentes tipos de trance que se encuentran. Es importante también, el concepto de espíritu como factor diferenciador entre los diferentes tipos de trance. Este concepto es la base central de la ideología en el trance, ya que el espíritu determina los efectos y motivos del trance.

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