Out of Context, in Association: Human Remains Salvaged from the Mini-athiliya Shell Midden, Sri Lanka

Abstract

The skeletal evidence for early modern human occupation of South Asia is sparse. Sri Lanka has been occupied by modern humans from the terminal Pleistocene, with a skeletal record indicating continuity of occupation and settlement into the late Holocene. This study focuses on the analysis of fragmented human remains dated to the mid-Holocene recovered from a salvage archaeology operation conducted at a shell midden in the coastal village of Mini-athiliya in southern Sri Lanka. The Mini-athiliya site has been radiocarbon dated to ca. 3600 B.P. Large quantities of estuarine, marine, and terrestrial shells, stone tools, lithic debris, and animal bones were associated with the human skeletal remains recovered from this shell midden. The skeletal remains, faunal remains, and stone tools from this site have been greatly disturbed by recent shell mining activities. Much of the material collected from the piles of debris was mixed, fragmented, and out of context. Our study refers to associations we make to the cultural assemblage from this site to make inferences on the context of skeletal remains found. The minimum number of individuals (MNI) identified from commingled remains is five. In addition, another individual from an undisturbed context from this site was previously reported. Based on tooth eruption and the presence and level of dental attrition, the estimated age at death for these individuals ranges from 5 to 45 years. Heavy attrition in the adult dentition indicates a highly abrasive diet with a marked absence of caries among these relatively robust people. This study contributes to the understanding of the bioarchaeological aspects of mid-Holocene aquatic foragers who were contemporaries of early agricultural people of South Asia, while describing a framework for managing a skeletal sample from a disturbed context.

From Forests to the Coast - Multidisciplinary Investigation of Human Adaptations at the Mini-athiliya Shell Midden, Sri Lanka

“…The site was discovered by local shell miners, exploiting shell beds for lime-based fertiliser, building material, and chicken-feed. The Department of Archaeology of the Government of Sri Lanka then began a rescue operation in 2007 that uncovered the fragmented remains of five human individuals associated with commingled faunal remains (Kulatilake et al, 2018), the original context of which had been disturbed by shell mining activities. In addition, an undisturbed, complete human burial (HMA 6) was excavated as a single block.…”

“…A complete human skeleton of an adult male, designated HMA 6, was excavated from the shell midden site of Mini-athiliya in 2007. This discovery was preceded by the recovery of fragmentary remains of five individuals, designated HMA 1 through 5, from shell miner's pits (Kulatilake, 2009, Kulatilake et al, 2018. The complete HMA 6 burial was cast in plaster, crated, and removed in block, and was carefully excavated to expose the burial (Kulatilake et al, 2014), which is on display in matrix in the Matara Star Fort Museum.…”

“…Mini-athiliya, near Hungama, is a shell midden site in the Southern Province of Sri Lanka that has not only yielded prehistoric human remains (Kulatilake et al, 2018), but also microlithic stone tools and anthropogenically utilised animal remains, dating to around 4,000 cal. years BP (Kulatilake et al, 2014).…”

“…years BP (Kulatilake et al, 2014). Large quantities of molluscs from a variety of habitats, as well as the remains of crustaceans, fish, reptiles, birds and mammals have been discovered in association with human skeletal elements (Kulatilake et al, 2018), including one individual that has been interpreted as a deliberate burial (Kulatilake et al, 2014). The site thus offers a major opportunity to determine the ecological adaptations of populations living in Sri Lankan coastal regions during the Middle Holocene, potentially at a challenging time of climatic aridity (Premathilake, 2006).…”

“…We present a comparative analysis of stable body size variation of the human remains belonging to the HMA 6 adult skeleton from Mini-athiliya with a wider database of foragers to investigate local adaptations and to stimulate further work by Sri Lankan scholars in this regard. We also apply stable carbon and oxygen isotope analysis to the tooth enamel of four other individuals documented at Mini-athiliya (Kulatilake et al, 2018) in order to determine their dietary reliance on forest, grassland, or coastal resources during their younger years. We also sought to undertake ___________________________________________________________________ experimental collagen extraction from two of the same skeletons to determine the potential for future direct dating of human remains in these contexts as well as more detailed isotopic reconstruction of past diets.…”