Anthropology

Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://uwspace.uwaterloo.ca/handle/10012/9870

This is the collection for the University of Waterloo's Department of Anthropology.

Research outputs are organized by type (eg. Master Thesis, Article, Conference Paper).

Waterloo faculty, students, and staff can contact us or visit the UWSpace guide to learn more about depositing their research.

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Now showing 1 - 8 of 8

A Comprehensive analysis of Dental Remains from the Early Bronze Age I site of Wadi Faynan 100, Jordan
(University of Waterloo, 2020-12-14) Tucciarone, Julia; Dolphin, Alexis
Five looted Early Bronze Age Tombs were excavated at the site of Wadi Faynan 100, Southern Jordan, in 2019. While archaeological site looting is a common problem worldwide, the lack of research utilizing commingled and fragmented burial assemblages is an inherent bias in bioarchaeological research. This preliminary study uses dental anthropological methodology to learn as much as possible about the individuals buried at Wadi Faynan 100 despite their fragmentation and commingling due to looting, specifically by calculating minimum number of individuals (MNI), recording nonmetric traits, dental wear, tooth development for age-at death, and pathology (enamel defects, caries, and calculus). Results yielded an MNI of 14 using teeth alone and tooth development indicated a large proportion of subadult individuals, particularly in Grave 3. Nonmetric traits were not conclusive but not out of place when compared to other Jordanian archaeological populations. Dental wear rates were quite low, possibly a result of the age profile of the population, and pathology showed a high rate of linear enamel hypoplasia, suggesting childhood stress in the population, an extremely low caries rate and a low calculus rate, which again may be a result of the ages of the individuals. Overall, this research demonstrates the ability to use even fragmented and commingled assemblages to learn about individuals in the past, and guide future research projects.
Doing DNA differently: A bioarchaeological secondary exploration of Brucella in ancient metagenomes in the NCBI SRA
(University of Waterloo, 2024-05-23) Bhattacharya, Aparajita; Dolphin, Alexis
The use of biomolecular methods in bioarchaeological studies of health and disease offer novel insights into the dynamics of disease presence and prevalence in the past, such as pathogen evolution, human–pathogen–environmental interactions, and contexts of disease transmission. However, a growing awareness among public stakeholders and anthropologists of the ethical imperative to preserve human remains wherever possible has given rise to non- and minimally-destructive methods for biomolecular research. Metagenomic approaches represent one such avenue for research when applied to secondary analyses of previously sequenced aDNA. To this end, this study screened for the presence of Brucella aDNA in archaeological human metagenomes published in the NCBI Sequence Read Archive (SRA) using three methods—one alignment-based and two alignment-free. The results suggest the possible but still unconfirmed presence of Brucella or related sequences in a set of sequencing runs from two Late/Final Jomon individuals from the Sanganji Shell Mound site, Japan (ca. 2994 ± 19 BP and ca. 3061 ± 19 BP). Given the inconclusive results, alternate explanations are also explored and future analyses in this regard are proposed. In situating the utility of bioinformatics approaches and tools within a research framework inspired by biocultural theory, this study presents a heuristic approach to integrating non-destructive secondary analyses of mined metagenomic data with anthropological insights.
Echoes of contamination: Investigating heavy metal exposure at Wadi Faynan 100, Jordan
(University of Waterloo, 2025-01-23) Ruddell, Kasiah; Dolphin, Alexis
Located in southern Jordan, Wadi Faynan was once a center for copper mining, smelting, and trade during the Early Bronze Age (EBA). The legacy of pollution in Wadi Faynan is visible in the contemporary landscape in the form of spoil tips and over 250 copper mines. The largest and possibly most significant EBA site in Wadi Faynan is Wadi Faynan 100 (WF100), which dates to EBA Ib (3300-3000 BCE) and has clear evidence of copper production including copper ores, slag, and copper casting molds. This research employed laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) to measure trace element concentrations of lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), and arsenic (As) in human enamel from WF100 to determine if copper production during EBA Ib introduced heavy metal toxicity into the population. The sample consisted of 29 human teeth divided into three groups representative of different early life stages: first molars, premolars, and third molars. Although seven samples were excluded from the main analysis, the others all had trace amounts of Pb, Cd, and As. The samples were categorized into four different groupings for Pb based on their pattern of exposure across the growth layers of enamel: stable exposure, variable exposure, increasing exposure, and decreasing exposure. For Cd and As, each sample was identified as having concentrations above or below their limit of detections. Examination of the distribution of these heavy metals revealed inter- and intra-individual variation in exposure providing insight into participation in copper production activities and possible mobility patterns practiced at WF100.
Exploring the Origins and Mobility of the Medieval Monastic Inhabitants of a Cave Church in Gurat, France using Strontium Isotope Analysis
(University of Waterloo, 2018-01-22) Meijer, Jacqueline; Dolphin, Alexis
Researchers inevitably must destroy a portion of their sample to conduct stable isotope analyses and obtain the chemical signatures embedded within biological hard tissues such as tooth or bone. However, the degree to which a sample is destroyed depends upon the chosen analytical technique. In order to conduct strontium (Sr) isotope analysis on dental and skeletal tissues acquired from Gurat, France the research presented here employs laser ablation multi- collector inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (LA-MC-ICP-MS). The comparison of 87Sr/86Sr values allows researchers to explore past individual and/or population mobility. Within Gurat, a small village located in the region of Poitou-Charentes in southwestern France, is a hand-carved limestone cave church that is one of several mid-sized structures that likely developed from a hermitic site to a centre for monasticism by the High Middle Ages. Gurat is unique in that abundant archaeological data and a collection of unstudied human remains are available for analysis after remaining in storage for fifty years. This research therefore represents the first effort to understand who the people at Gurat were and what the meaning of the site may have been locally and regionally. Overall, the study showed that many of the Gurat individuals were in fact migrants to the village. In turn, this reflects and reinforces the regional importance of this medieval monastic centre. This research also highlights the ability of laser ablation to minimize destruction of irreplaceable bioarchaeological material.
Health and Disease in Byzantine Greece: A Dental Analysis of the Temple of Ismenion Apollo, Thebes
(University of Waterloo, 2024-04-05) Wood, Robyn; Dolphin, Alexis
Through a dental analysis, this study aimed to develop an understanding of the demography and health of the population at the archaeological site of Ismenion Hill, Thebes, Greece, dating to the early years of the Byzantine period (416-537 AD). Population demography was examined by determining the number of individuals present and their ages-at-death. It was suggested that 210 people were buried at Ismenion Hill and 60% of the population were nonadults. Further, diet was evaluated through the prevalence of dental calculus and caries, which suggested the population relied more heavily on plant food than meat, and that they possibly practiced a mix subsistence custom of both hunter-gatherer and agriculturalism. Overall health was explored through the presence of linear enamel hypoplasia, which indicated a possible stress period during weaning. Additionally, this study aimed to investigate any signs of leprosy on the dental remains, as previous assessments have indicated multiple individuals suffered from the disease (Liston 2017). It was proposed that four individuals had dental traits characteristic of leprosy. Ultimately, this research demonstrated the wealth of information generated from a dental analysis and deepened our understanding of the lifeways of the population at Ismenion Hill.
A Mobility Study of Neolithic People from Roquemissou in Southern France using Strontium Isotopes
(University of Waterloo, 2020-01-16) Coffin, Jeffrey; Dolphin, Alexis
This thesis examines the patterns of changing 87Sr/86Sr isotope ratios across the growth bands of 17 third molars belonging to people buried at the site of Roquemissou in Southern France. These ratios reflect the isotopic composition of the landscape that these people inhabited during the ages of 8 to 13 when these molars developed in the maxilla. The landscape of the Massif Central - where the site is located - is quite variable in its strontium isotopic ratios, and the ratios within these teeth reflect that variation. The isotope ratios in the teeth of these individuals suggest that they come from across the Massif Central region, with only a small number matching the expected range of ratios at the site. There is some variation across the layers of enamel to suggest that a number of individuals moved around the landscape, but there are also several individuals with very stable ratios over time which indicates that they were sedentary. These data suggest that the people who lived at this time period (roughly 5000 years ago) may have adopted different subsistence strategies and migration patterns ranging from seasonal mobility to sedentism. Despite living across the Massif Central and practicing different lifeways, these people were all buried at the site of Roquemissou. This is not unusual for Late Neolithic cultures in the region and suggests that the people buried at Roquemissou shared a common cultural affiliation, despite living all across the landscape of Southern France.
An Osteological Study of the Individuals Buried in Grave 3 at Wadi Faynan 100, Jordan
(University of Waterloo, 2021-04-21) DiBiase, Serena; Dolphin, Alexis
The main objective of this thesis is to address the paucity of research focussing on human remains at Jordanian archaeological sites by conducting an osteological analysis of Early Bronze Age individuals from a charnel house excavated at Wadi Faynan 100 (WF100) in Southern Jordan. This research provides the first preliminary analysis of the remains at WF100. Five graves were excavated in total during the 2019 field season, however, the remains analyzed and discussed here are from one large charnel house (Grave 3). Osteological analyses include estimation of the minimum number of individuals, sex estimates, age-at-death estimates, and observations of pathology. During excavation within these charnel houses, significant looting was noted, thus the impacts of looting are also taken into consideration when considering the human remains from Grave 3. The minimum number of individuals from the Grave 3 assemblage was estimated to be fourteen adults and eight subadults. While the fragmentary and commingled nature of this collection limits the ability to determine sex and age-at-death, the analyses for Grave 3 identified one female and two males. The age range for individuals within this assemblage is 22-40 years for adults and 6 months-14 years for subadults. The individuals of Grave 3 primarily demonstrated osteoarthritis in the vertebrae, bony growth shown on two of the phalanges and several phalanges had enlarged muscle attachments. This thesis provides preliminary insights into the lives of those interred in the Grave 3 charnel house at Wadi Faynan 100, and as such, provide a useful reference for burials to be excavated at the site, as well as laying the groundwork for comparisons between the populations of WF100 and other EB I burials in Jordan.
A Trace Element Analysis of Lead in Human Tooth Enamel from Wadi Faynan 100, Jordan
(University of Waterloo, 2022-01-17) Tan, Kaithleen; Dolphin, Alexis
The environmental pollution that persists in the Wadi Faynan region of Jordan can be attributed to copper mining and smelting activities that flourished during the Early Bronze Age I (EBAI) (ca. 3600-3000 BCE). Previous surveys and limited excavations at the site of Wadi Faynan 100 (WF100) sought to understand the context this site and its role in copper metal production, but research has yet to be done on the individuals living there during the EBAI. This study examines lead (Pb) concentrations in human dental enamel to explore changes in exposure throughout individuals’ development using Laser Ablation Inductively-coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS). There are 17 samples from 15 individuals recovered from 5 different graves. Although 3 samples were excluded from analysis due to diagenetic alterations in the Ca/P, others provided insights on the variable nature of Pb exposure at WF100. The samples were categorized into 4 patterns of exposure: none (n=6), decreasing (n=2), and increasing (n=2) Pb exposure with age, and variable exposure (n=4). The results reveal that the pollution exposure for children is more variable than expected. It is likely that majority of these individuals may not have had direct involvement in the copper mining and smelting activities that may have occurred in Wadi Faynan 100.

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Browsing Anthropology by Author "Dolphin, Alexis"