Shell gorget associated with child (Burial 35) in Grave 22. 0. 2. 4 cm. Figure 4. Dental radiograph of child (Burial 172) in Grave 136. Table 1. Stature Results by ...
A Preliminary Analysis of Childhood Growth and Health at the Logan Site (40DV8) Monica M. Warner , Scott C. Meeks , Krysten A. Cruz 1
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1
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Tennessee Valley Archaeological Research, 2 Texas State University
Single Child Single Child with Adult(s)
Introduction
Multiple Children
Discussion
Multiple Children with Adult(s)
Overlooking Vaughns Gap Branch in the community of Belle Meade in Davidson County, the Logan site (40DV8) is a late prehistoric Mississippian village containing a large number of stone box graves typical of other Mississippian village and mound sites in the Middle Cumberland Region (MCR). Recent investigations at the site by TVAR resulted in the identification and excavation of 196 prehistoric graves associated with a discrete cemetery, including 189 stone box graves, five secondary burials (adjacent to outside walls of stone box graves), and two primary extended burials in unlined pits (Figure 1). To date, a total of 71 children under 12 years of age have been identified at the Logan cemetery. These children were excavated from a variety of mortuary contexts, including single child interments, multiple child interments, interments containing a single child with at least one adult, and interments containing multiple children with at least one adult. Grave goods were recovered from a variety of interment types with the single child interments containing the most elaborate funerary goods (Figures 2 and 3).
Growth studies of children, where stature and body mass are estimated, assist in the interpretation of stressful conditions and cumulative health (Johnston and Zimmer 1989). Stature was predicted for a sample of 30 children at Logan, and were compared to previously estimated statures by Kelso (2013) for Averbuch (40DV60) and four sites in the Eastern Tennessee Region (ETR). Unexpectedly, Early and Middle Child statures for Logan were considerably taller on average compared to the Averbuch children, whereas stature for these two age groups at Logan was similar compared to the ETR children (Figure 5). There was little variation in stature among the samples for the Late Child group. The differences between the Logan and Averbuch samples for the Early and Middle Child groups is difficult to explain, but such might relate to temporal differences in the ages of the cemeteries (Averbuch has three cemeteries that appear to differ in age [Cobb et al. 2015]; the date range for the Logan cemetery is currently under investigation).
Because children are typically the first age group affected by environmental and/or cultural stressors, including biocultural changes associated with nutrition and health, they provide a unique avenue of inquiry to examine how the overall population responded to stressors (Lewis 2007). To begin exploring such at the Logan site, this poster presents the results of a preliminary study investigating the overall growth and development of a sample of 44 children from the cemetery using post-cranial metrics related to linear growth and macroscopic observations related to skeletal pathologies.
Further exploring indicators of child health, skeletal pathologies were less represented in the Logan children sample (41 percent) compared to the Averbuch (92 percent) and ETR (66 percent) children scored by Kelso (2013). Both the Averbuch and ETR samples included an Adolescent (12-17 years) group not included in the Logan sample reported in this study. The absence of the adolescent age group in this study, as well poor bone preservation in some cases, may attribute to the lower pathology frequency for the sample of Logan children. However, it is interesting that the Logan sample was most similar to the to the ETR sample in terms of the frequency of skeletal pathologies. 140.00 120.00
Figure 1. Distribution of the 186 stone box graves associated with the Logan cemetery. The 36 graves (containing 44 children) used in this study are denoted by colored legend.
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Figure 3. Effigy pot containing shell spoon associated with child (Burial 14) in Grave 14.
Methods 0
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0 pathology 1 Metric and data from a sample of 44 children contained within 36 graves were analyzed cm during this investigation. Femoral and humeral diaphyseal lengths were preserved for 30 children and were measured using Mitutoyo calipers (to 0.01 mm) and an osteometric board for bones longer than 150 mm. Procedures followed Standards for Data Collection from Human Skeletal Remains to obtain maximum lengths and midshaft diameters (Buikstra and Ubelaker 1994). Children were classified into four age groups: (0-1 years), (1-3 years), (3-7 years), and (7-12 years). Age estimation was based on eruption and development of deciduous and permanent dentition using Ubelaker (1989). Digital X-Rays of the dentition in the mandibular and maxillary alveoli were taken using an Aribex Nomad Pro portable radiography machine to increase the accuracy of age estimation (Figure 4). Stature was estimated using the Ruff (2007) equations to compare the growth of the Logan children to other sample populations. The equation below is for 3 year old stature estimation using the femur diaphyseal length: 0
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Results
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Stature was estimated from 26 femoral and 20 humeral lengths. Sample size varied between age groups with the highest frequency classified for Middle Child (Table 1). No significant differences are observed between the left and right sides of either long-bone element. The femur and humerus conversions predicted similar stature estimations for both the Middle (3-7 years) and Late (7-12 years) Child groups. Early Child (1-3 years) stature was predicted taller when using the humerus compared to the femur. The largest growth increase is from Middle Child to Late Child. Stature for the Infant (0-1 years) group was not calculated due to the lack of an adequate stature formulae.
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Averbuch
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Figure 2. Shell gorget associated with child (Burial 35) in Grave 22.
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Stature (cm) = 0.31 (diaphyseal length [mm]) + 34.1 ± 1.9
Bone pathologies were counted for the 44 children, and affected 41 percent (n=18) of the sample. Skeletal pathologies primarily consisted of cranial infections (n=13), and included porotic hyperostosis, bone loss (lesions), and abnormal bone formation. Post-cranial pathologies (n=10) included periostitis, osteomyelitis, schmorl’s nodes, sacral bone loss (lesions), and femoral bowing. Lastly, a couple of general observations regarding the mortuary contexts related to the study sample are warranted. In terms of number of children per grave (based on 44 children in 36 graves), the single child interment (n=20; 56 percent) was the most common. The remainder consisted of graves containing a single child with at least one adult (n=10), graves with multiple children (n=5), and one grave containing multiple children with at least one adult. Grave goods were associated with 16 (36 percent) of the 44 children. Of these, eleven of the children had in situ grave goods, while an additional five children had probable grave good associations. The remainder of the children (n=28) did not contain grave goods. Table 1. Stature Results by Age Group for the Children at Logan. Age Group* Infant Early Child Middle Child Late Child
0-1 1-3 3-7 7-12
Age Group*
Figure 4. Dental radiograph of child (Burial 172) in Grave 136.
Infant Early Child Middle Child Late Child
0-1 1-3 3-7 7-12
Sample (n=)
Femoral Length Left (mm)
Femoral Length Right (mm)
Stature Conversion Left (cm)
Stature Conversion Right (cm)
2 9 11 4
98.04 154.01 209.11 287.50
92.18 148.95 207.50 298.00
NA 81.53 99.53 124.62
NA 80.32 99.50 127.72
Sample (n=)
Humeral Length Left (mm)
Humeral Length Right (mm)
Stature Conversion Left (cm)
Stature Conversion Right (cm)
3 4 10 3
82.18 125.16 151.31 209.50
88.14 127.25 152.21 220.00
NA 86.26 99.78 124.55
NA 87.14 100.27 123.90
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Logan ETR Sites Early Child
Middle Child
Late Child
Figure 5. Comparison of mean stature estimates by age group (Early [1-3 years], Middle [3-7 years], and Late [7-12 years]) based on humeral diaphyseal length (cm).
Future Directions Although studies of non-adult skeletal remains in archaeology have increased since the 1990s, children are still underrepresented in the published literature (Mays et al. 2017). The children at Logan are vital to understanding cumulative health, growth, and development during the Mississippian, particularly in the MCR. In this preliminary study, there were issues with age categorization when children overlapped between age groupings. Therefore, age assessment based on revised Shackelford et al. (2012) calculations will be incorporated for more accurate estimations. Secondly, the tibia and radius statures will be calculated, along with body mass calculations, to provide additional growth and development indicators. Lastly, more extensive growth and health comparisons between Logan and other Mississippian populations in the MCR (via a diachronic approach) will be conducted to further explore whether children in the region exhibited increased biological stress during periods of environmental and/or social instability that may have occurred during the Late Mississippian.
References • Buikstra JE, Ubelaker DH. 1994. Standards for data collection from human skeletal remains: proceedings of a seminar at the Field Museum of Natural History. Organized by Jonathan Haas. Volume 44. Fayetteville: Arkansas Archaeological Survey. • Cobb. 2015. Bayesian modeling of the occupation span of the Averbuch site in the Middle Cumberland drainage, Tennessee. Southeastern Archaeology 34(1):46-56. • Johnston FE, Zimmer LO. 1989. Assessment of growth and age in the immature skeleton. In: Iscan MY, Kennedy KAR, editors. Reconstruction of Life from the Skeleton. New York: Wiley-Liss. p 11-21. • Kelso RS. 2013. A Comparison of Mississippian Period Subadults from the Middle Cumberland and Eastern Regions of Tennessee to Access Health and Past Population Interactions. PhD Dissertation: University of Tennessee. • Lewis ME. 2007. The Bioarchaeology of Children: Perspectives from Biological and Forensic Anthropology. London: Cambridge University Press. • Mays S, Gowland R, Halcrow S, Murphy E. 2017. Child bioarchaeology: perspectives on the past 10 years, Childhood in the Past 10(1): 38-56. • Ruff CB. 2007. Body size prediction from juvenile skeletal remains. Am J Phys Anthropol 133: 698-716. • Shackelford LL, Stinespring Harris AE, Konigsberg LW. 2012. Estimating the distribution of probable age-at-death from dental remains of immature human fossils. Am J Phys Anthropol 147: 227–253. • Ubelaker DH. 1989. The estimation of age at death from immature human bone. In: Iscan MY, Kennedy KAR, editors. Reconstruction of Life from the Skeleton. New York: Wiley-Liss. p 55-70.
