Biological structure and health implications from tooth size at Mission San Luis de Apalachee

Abstract

This study analyzes dental metric variation to examine the biological structure of the native population at Mission San Luis de Apalachee, a late 17th century mission located in the Apalachee Province of Spanish colonial Florida. Three topics are addressed: (1) comparison of tooth sizes among adult and subadults, (2) analysis of the bio-spatial structure of skeletons within the church area, and (3) comparison of phenotypic profiles of individuals interred within coffins in the ritual nucleus of the church: the altar region. Analyses indicate that subadults had smaller average tooth sizes than adults for the posterior dentition that was particularly evident in mandibular nonpolar molars and premolars. This disparity, also documented in two other mission populations, likely represents ontogenetic stress and resulting increased mortality among those most at risk for early death. Analysis of the spatial structure of graves failed to document biological structuring by side of the aisle or by burial row, although some gross differences were evident when front, middle, and rear church burials were compared. Individuals buried in coffins within the same row were phenotypically similar to one another. However, inter-row comparisons indicated lack of phenotypic similarity among all coffin interments. These analyses suggest maintenance of kin-structured burial for elites alone within the San Luis community.

The Osteological Paradox 20 Years Later: Past Perspectives, Future Directions

“…For example, sites with internal spatial organization-for which burial subgroups represent status groups, neighborhoods, or different social groups-have been used to examine variations in health experience among these different subclasses of individuals (Stojanowski 2013;Stojanowski et al 2007;Storey et al 2012;Winkler 2011). For sites without internal spatial structure, we can use a host of other techniques to identify a priori groups of interest, also often inferred status groups.…”

Florida Bioarchaeology: Past, Present, and Future

“…Clark Larsen and colleagues have studied the effects of Spanish colonization of the native peoples of La Florida, the name for the region that is now composed of parts of Northern Florida and Georgia, by comparing pathologies and performing multiple stable isotope analyses in pre-and post-Contact populations (Larsen et al 2001;Larsen 2001). In conjunction with other biological anthropologists, Larsen has also produced a corpus of research focusing on Native American adaptations to diseases and stress brought about by the Spanish as well as diet and nutrition during and after contact (Larsen 1991(Larsen , 2000(Larsen , 2001(Larsen , 2002a(Larsen , 2002b(Larsen , 2005a(Larsen , 2005bLarsen et al 1996bLarsen et al , 2007Organ et al 2005;Stojanowski et al 2007). Chris Stojanowski has performed extensive biodistance research with skeletal metric and non-metric traits from remains dating to the Contact and Spanish mission periods to investigate gene flow between regional native populations and later European and Native American groups (Knudson andStojanowski 2008, 2009;Stojanowski 2005aStojanowski , 2005bStojanowski , 2010Stojanowski , 2011Stojanowski , 2013.…”

Afinidades biológicas extra-continentais dos paleoíndios tardios de Lagoa Santa e suas implicações para a questão do povoamento do novo mundo: uma abordagem odontométrica

“…Demirjian et al (1985) analisaram a inter-relação entre somático, dentário, esqueletal e maturação sexual em crianças e jovens norte-americanos e descobriram que a formação dentária é uma das características mais geneticamente estáveis nos humanos. Trabalhos relacionando fatores ambientais, como atrasos na maturação, estresse, doenças e variações no estatus sócio-econômico, também vem confirmando que o desenvolvimento dentário é menos sensível a esses fatores (Kieser, 1990;Larsen, 1997;Cardoso 2007;Stojanowski et al, 2007).…”

“…Scott & Turner, 1997). Tais inferências devem-se a uma série de características dentárias: são menos influenciadas por fatores ambientais imediatos do que o resto do esqueleto (Kieser, 1990;Larsen, 1997;Cardoso, 2007;Stojanowski et al, 2007); sua morfogênese é mais estável do que a de outros elementos ósseos (Jernevall & Jung, 2000); e apresentam estimativas de herdabilidade geralmente altas, variando de 60 a 82% (Townsend et al, 2003).…”

“…A morfologia dentária distingue-se dos demais marcadores morfológicos por ter alta herdabilidade, excelente preservação arqueológica comparativamente à outras partes do esqueleto e por poder ser analisada tanto em indivíduos adultos quanto jovens -contanto que tenham dentição permanente - (Hanihara & Ishida, 2005;Stojanowski et al, 2007). Desta forma, uma análise das afinidades biológicas através da morfologia dentária comparada dos Paleoíndios da Região Arqueológica de Lagoa Santa com diferentes séries mundiais possibilitou uma avaliação independente das afinidades biológicas do grupo, em nível extracontinental.…”