Bone loss markers in the earliest Pacific Islanders

Journal of Island & Coastal Archaeology, 2019

Using a variety of skeletal and dental indicators (e.g., stature, linear enamel hypoplasia, cribra orbitalia, infection, trauma, dental pathologies) recorded in 33 adult and 11 subadult skeletons from the To-At-36 site at Ha‘ateiho, Tongatapu, this study examines the health, diet, and lifestyle of precontact Tongans during the Tongan Chiefdom Period (ca. 750-150 BP). Limited comparisons with skeletons from the ‘Atele mound sites (To-At-1 and To-At-2) on Tongatapu and other Pacific Island series are also made. Very few differences in the indicators of health were observed between the adult male and female skeletons from the To-At-36 site and between To-At-36 and the ‘Atele skeletons. Regional comparisons indicate that precontact Tongans and Polynesians were relatively tall and less subject to physiological stress than other Pacific Islanders. Bone infection, most likely attributable to yaws, was more prevalent in early Tongans. Although not significant, the frequency of bone fractures, including spondylolysis, is higher in the Tongan skeletons compared to other precontact Pacific Islanders. Advanced degenerative joint disease in precontact Tongans is comparable to other Pacific Island series. The oral-dental health of early Tongans was generally good. Overall, the frequencies of skeletal and dental indicators of health observed in the precontact Tongan skeletons fall in the medium range and are most similar to those reported for skeletons from the Hane dune site in the Marquesas and the Mariana Islands. Although evidence for physiological stress and bone infection is documented in the subadult skeletons from To-At-36, the prevalence of bone infection is generally higher in other subadult series examined. Key words: bioarchaeology, post-Lapita skeletons, health, dental pathology, Polynesia, Tonga

The Journal of Island and Coastal Archaeology, 2019

Using a variety of skeletal and dental indicators (e.g., stature, linear enamel hypoplasia, cribra orbitalia, infection, trauma, dental pathologies) recorded in 33 adult and 11 subadult skeletons from the To-At-36 site at Ha'ateiho, Tongatapu, this study examines the health, diet, and lifestyle of precontact Tongans during the Tongan Chiefdom Period (ca. 750-150 BP). Limited comparisons with skeletons from the 'Atele mound sites (To-At-1 and To-At-2) on Tongatapu and other Pacific Island series are also made. Very few differences in the indicators of health were observed between the adult male and female skeletons from the To-At-36 site and between To-At-36 and the 'Atele skeletons. Regional comparisons indicate that precontact Tongans and Polynesians were relatively tall and less subject to physiological stress than other Pacific Islanders. Bone infection, most likely attributable to yaws, was more prevalent in early Tongans. Although not significant, the frequency of bone fractures, including spondylolysis, is higher in the Tongan skeletons compared to other precontact Pacific Islanders. Advanced degenerative joint disease in precontact Tongans is comparable to other Pacific Island series. The oral-dental health of early Tongans was generally good. Overall, the frequencies of skeletal and dental indicators of health observed in the precontact Tongan skeletons fall in the medium range and are most similar to those reported for

Scientific Reports

Remodelling is a fundamental biological process involved in the maintenance of bone physiology and function. We know that a range of health and lifestyle factors can impact this process in living and past societies, but there is a notable gap in bone remodelling data for populations from the Pacific Islands. We conducted the first examination of femoral cortical histology in 69 individuals from ca. 440–150 BP Taumako in Solomon Islands, a remote ‘Polynesian Outlier’ island in Melanesia. We tested whether bone remodelling indicators differed between age groups, and biological sex validated using ancient DNA. Bone vascular canal and osteon size, vascular porosity, and localised osteon densities, corrected by femoral robusticity indices were examined. Females had statistically significantly higher vascular porosities when compared to males, but osteon densities and ratios of canal-osteon (~ 8%) did not differ between the sexes. Our results indicate that, compared to males, localised fe...

American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 2000

This article focuses on the differential diagnosis of pathologic lesions recorded on the limbs and crania of 17 subadults from two pre-European burial mounds in Tonga, western Polynesia. All affected subadults were between the ages of 6 months and 3 years at death. The lesions described consist primarily of subperiosteal new bone deposition on the limbs and endocranial surface. However, the presence of cribra orbitalia in a number of individuals indicates concurrent iron-deficiency anaemia. A differential diagnosis of haematogenous osteomyelitis, congenital syphilis, yaws, scurvy, hypervitaminosis A, trauma, Caffey's disease, and iron-deficiency anaemia is discussed. It was concluded that the most likely cause for the lesions observed is a synergistic relation between infection (weanling diarrhoea, yaws) and metabolic disease (scurvy and possibly hypervitaminosis A). Trauma is not ruled out as contributing to the development of some pathologic lesions. It is concluded that, in the Pacific Islands at least, multiple causes for skeletal pathology in subadults should be considered rather than a single aetiology. Am

Scattered and fragmentary human remains in Pacific archaeological contexts were once assumed to be proof positive of cannibal activity. Only recently have intensive studies produced a definitive set of diagnostic criteria to identify the archaeological signature for cannibalism in the prehistoric Pacific. Careful examination of fracture types, mortuary practise, medical treatment, and the use of human bone for tool manufacture are necessary to fully evaluate a collection of human bone for tangible evidence of cannibalistic activity. A detailed analysis of four discrete assemblages of fragmentary human remains collected from the Ha’apai Islands in Tonga led to the identification of a human fibula fragment which had been modified and heavily used, likely as a sailing or thatching needle. This is one of only three tools of human bone recovered from in situ Lapita associated archaeological deposits in the region. The presence of human bone tools in Lapita aged deposits in Tonga and Fiji and mortuary evidence for the removal of long bones from the cemetery site of Teouma in Vanuatu, warrants further study of assemblages of fragmentary remains recovered across the Pacific to search for tools of human bone. It also suggests that cutmarks and patina observed on human remains within assemblages of scattered human remains may be interpreted as something other than cannibal refuse.

Records of the Auckland Institute and Museum, 1969

A bstract . Individual burials recovered by archa eological excavation from two p rehisto ric T ongan bu rial mounds are descri bed . Re mai ns (often incom plet e) of some 99 individ ua ls ar e analysed wh ere possible according to age an d sex and an assessment of sta t ure and build atte mpted. M orphological and some metrical dat a for bo t h cranial and infr acrani al mat eri al, and nonm et rical dat a on dentition are pr esent ed. A section on pa laeopatho logy is included . Limited co mpa riso ns are drawn bet ween th e excavated sa mp le and modern (c. 1920) T ongans.

Journal of Pacific Archaeology, 2017

In this paper, we examine the health, diet, and lifestyle of the early inhabitants of Fiji using non-specific and specific indicators of health recorded in 42 adult skeletons excavated at the Sigatoka Sand Dunes site, VL 16/1, on Viti Levu, one of the largest samples of prehistoric skeletons from Fiji. The date associated with the burials (ca 1700-1300 cal BP) corresponds to a time during which large-scale movements of people were likely occurring in the Fijian. Limited comparisons with skeletal series from Remote and Near Oceania for understanding the health of the early inhabitants of tropical Pacific Islands are also made. This is the first study that focuses on the health of the people interred in the Sigatoka cemetery. With some notable exceptions, few differences were observed in comparisons of skeletal and dental indicators of health in adult males and females from Sigatoka, differences that can be attributed to gender-related cultural practices (e.g., kava use in males), dietary differences, and age. Regional comparisons indicate the early inhabitants of Fiji were relatively healthy and robust people. Unexpectedly, this examination found no evidence of yaws, a disease that was once highly prevalent in Fiji and the western Pacific.

Journal of Archaeological Science, 2009

The association of osteoporosis and nutrition has long been documented, and nutrition is acknowledged as a major risk factor for bone loss, affecting bone health in distinct ways. Both biomedicine and anthropology (or, more precisely, paleopathology) have strived to fully understand the contribution of diet to bone health, especially the relationship between the physiological economy of calcium and bone maintenance. Taking this into consideration, the present article is intended to summarize and comment the main empirical contributions of paleopathology to the body of knowledge on bone health, specifically the relation between bone loss and nutrition.

In this paper, we examine the health, diet, and lifestyle of the early inhabitants of Fiji using non-specific and specific indicators of health recorded in 42 adult and six subadult skeletons excavated at the Sigatoka Sand Dunes site, VL 16/1, on Viti Levu, one of the largest samples of prehistoric skeletons from Fiji. Because the dates of the Sigatoka cemetery may coincide with contact with later intrusions of people from regions located to the west of Fiji, our research has the potential to inform on the health of prehistoric Fijians during a time of potential stress. Limited comparisons with skeletal series from Remote Oceania for understanding the health of the early inhabitants of tropical Pacific Islands are also made. This is the first study that focuses exclusively on the health of the people interred in the Sigatoka cemetery. With some notable exceptions, few differences were observed in comparisons of skeletal and dental indicators of health in adult males and females from Sigatoka, differences that can be attributed to gender-related cultural practices (e.g., kava use in males), dietary differences, and age. Regional comparisons indicate the early inhabitants of Fiji were relatively healthy and robust people. Unexpectedly, no evidence of yaws was found in the Sigatoka skeletons, a disease that was highly prevalent in Fiji and the western Pacific when the first Europeans arrived. Limited observations of deciduous dental pathology indicate good health in utero and during infancy.