Skeletal growth in a medieval population from Sudanese Nubia

Hummert, James R.; Gerven, Dennis P. Van

doi:10.1002/ajpa.1330600409

Cited by 58 publications

(51 citation statements)

References 11 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…The geographical, ecological, and archaeological contexts of the site have been well described elsewhere (Hummert, 1983a,b; Hummert and Van Gerven, 1983;Van Gerven et al, 1981).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 98%

Observations on the formation and persistence of radiopaque transverse lines

Hummert

Gerven

1985

American J Phys Anthropol

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The formation and persistence of radiopaque transverse lines have been assessed in the living in clinical studies of growth, nutrition, and disease. Lines have also been used by many researchers in the analysis of patterns of childhood stress in prehistoric skeletal materials, although most of this research has been undertaken on adult bones. However, how reliable and useful are transverse lines for interpretations of stress? The precise etiologies for their appearance are varied and controversial, and lines are also known to resorb during both childhood and the adult years. Sex differences in both their formation and persistence have also been reported. To assess better the viability of lines as indicators of stress, the present research analyzes rates of formation, distribution frequencies, and the persistence of transverse lines in individuals aged birth to 50+ years from a single archaeological population. The results suggest that while transverse lines may be analytically useful as subsidiary criteria for more fully understanding the biological well-being of prehistoric populations, caution should be exercised in the interpretations made concerning childhood stress, particularly when using adult bones.

show abstract

“…The geographical, ecological, and archaeological contexts of the site have been well described elsewhere (Hummert, 1983a,b; Hummert and Van Gerven, 1983;Van Gerven et al, 1981).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 98%

Observations on the formation and persistence of radiopaque transverse lines

Hummert

Gerven

1985

American J Phys Anthropol

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Concerning growth disruption, comparative studies have repeatedly demonstrated that the growth of long bone length is a sensitive indicator of environmental stress (e.g. Johnston, 1962;Hummert and Van Gerven, 1983;Jantz and Owsley, 1984;Mensforth, 1985;Lovejoy et al, 1990), although this index probably has limited application due to methodological problems that have not yet been fully resolved (Johnston and Zimmer, 1989;Saunders, 1992). The most serious problem arises in relation to variation among the methodologies of estimating age.…”

Section: Environmental Stress Based On Growth Disruption Of Femur Lengthmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Johnston, 1962;Hummert and Van Gerven, 1983;Jantz and Owsley, 1984;Mensforth, 1985;Lovejoy et al, 1990). Moreover, subadult remains can contribute to the clarification of the causation of morphological differences observed among adult skeletons (e.g.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A morphological study on the growth patterns of ancient people in the northern Kyushu-Yamaguchi region, Japan

Okazaki

2004

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This study investigated the growth patterns of morphometric features of ancient people determined from historic and prehistoric skeletal remains. Subadult skeletons from the Yayoi, medieval, and modern periods were used. The age of each skeleton was estimated from dental formation standards. Measurement methods followed standard anthropological methodology established for the adult skeleton. Quadratic regression formulae that showed the highest coefficient of determination were chosen to evaluate plausible growth patterns. The results are as follows. (1) The neurocranium of the medieval people showed a possible difference in growth pattern compared with the modern people. The cause of this difference is discussed in relation to brachycephalization. (2) In all the groups studied here, over the course of growth, the height of the lower facial region increases much more than that of the upper facial region. With this change, the contour of the orbit changes into a relatively wider-lower shape, and the contour of the nasal cavity shifts with age from a relatively wider-lower to a narrower-higher condition. (3) In all the groups studied here, over the course of growth, the nasal bones become more curved transversely. However, the angle of the frontal process of the maxilla, which forms the lateral sides of the nasal bones, changes only slightly, if at all. (4) Secular differences in mandibular morphology related to chewing stress emerge at an older age than do the regional differences of the Yayoi people's facial morphology, an effect that is probably related to genealogy. (5) Analysis of femur length suggests that the Yayoi people in the northern Kyushu and Yamaguchi region experienced less growth disruption than did the other people studied here.

show abstract

“…Both of these cemetery samples show evidence for developmental and childhood stress as reflected in high incidences of cribra orbitalia, retarded long bone growth velocities, and substantial infant and juvenile mortality (Van Gerven et al, 1981;Hummert and Van Gerven, 1983). If there is a relationship between developmental stress and fluctuating asymmetry in the dentition, as has been suggested (Perzigian, 1977;Doyle and Johnston, 19771, then it would seem ,likely that the Kulubnarti archeological populations should show some degree of fluctuating asymmetry.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 90%

Fluctuating dental asymmetry and measurement error

Greene

1984

American J Phys Anthropol

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Differences between the dimensions of left and right molar teeth are analyzed in the context of measurement error while considering the power of the F-Ratio. Molar teeth from two Nubian cemeteries, 24-S-46 and 21-R-2, excavated at Kulubnarti, Sudan, were initially measured, and then remeasured to obtain data for assessing fluctuating dental asymmetry and measurement error. As has been demonstrated by other investigators, the power of the F-Ratio for detecting small, but real differences, that might exist between antimeric dimensions when sample sizes are small, as they usually are with archeological materials, limits interpretation. In addition, an analysis of measurement error indicates that such error can have a confounding effect upon interpretations of the degree of fluctuating dental asymmetry that exists even in very large samples that exceed the size of typical archeological samples.

show abstract

Skeletal growth in a medieval population from Sudanese Nubia

Cited by 58 publications

References 11 publications

Observations on the formation and persistence of radiopaque transverse lines

Observations on the formation and persistence of radiopaque transverse lines

A morphological study on the growth patterns of ancient people in the northern Kyushu-Yamaguchi region, Japan

Fluctuating dental asymmetry and measurement error

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About