Journal ArticleDOI
Changes in osteoarthritis associated with the development of a maritime economy among southern California Indians
P. L. Walker,S. E. Hollimon +1 more
TLDR
Data show that the rate at which people developed osteoarthritis increased through time, which suggests that the adaptive shift toward more intensive exploitation of the marine environment resulted in an increase in the time people spent in strenuous physical activity.Abstract:
The severity of osteoarthritis was studied in human skeletal remains from archaeological sites in the Santa Barbara Channel area of southern California. These remains were analyzed to better understand changes in activity patterns associated with the economic shift from hunting and gathering to intensive fishing and craft specialization that occurred in this area. The joints of 967 burials from seven archaeological sites occupied between 3500 B.C. and the time of European contact were scored for osteoarthritis. These data show that the rate at which people developed osteoarthritis increased through time. This suggests that the adaptive shift toward more intensive exploitation of the marine environment resulted in an increase in the time people spent in strenuous physical activity. The increase in osteoarthritis affected males to a greater extent than females. One interpretation of this is that the work load of men increased with the economic importance of fishing.read more
Citations
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Journal ArticleDOI
Osteoarthritis revisited: a contemporary review of aetiology
Elizabeth Weiss,Robert Jurmain +1 more
TL;DR: An updated review of skeletal perspectives on osteoarthritis expands and supports conclusions discussed in the earlier review and suggests that sex differences may often be a consequence of hormones, body size and anatomy, rather than activity related.
Journal ArticleDOI
On the Interpretation of Health From Skeletal Remains
TL;DR: The basis for the study of the thickening observed in certain Pleistocene crania is the analysis of the tournaisian thickening, a feature of Homo sapiens that has been observed in recent times in Europe.
Book ChapterDOI
Bioarchaeology's Holy Grail: The Reconstruction of Activity
TL;DR: Most contributors to this volume focus on pathological conditions as identified in human remains, and some of the bone changes seen in osteoarthritis that have routinely been used to reconstruct activity are also sometimes pathological.
Journal ArticleDOI
Prehistoric Arthritis in the Americas
TL;DR: Osteoarthritis in prehistoric Amerindians and on what may be inferred from its prevalence about differences in the level and type of activities in these groups are focused on.
Journal ArticleDOI
Physical anthropological evidence for the evolution of social complexity in coastal Southern California
TL;DR: In this paper, osteological data was used to evaluate theories about the rise of chiefdoms in southern California, and they examined skeletal evidence for changes in diet, disease and violence in Santa Barbara Channel area populations.
References
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MonographDOI
Patterns of Activity-Induced Pathology in a Canadian Inuit Population
TL;DR: Analyse de la pathologie degenerative et traumatique presentee par une serie de squelettes Inuit de la Baie d'Hudson (Sadlermiut du site de Native Point dans l'ile Southampton, Territoires du Nord-Ouest): relations entre les travaux accomplis par les hommes and les femmes (travail des peaux, chasse, peche) and leur pathologies osseuse as discussed by the authors.
Journal ArticleDOI
Stable nitrogen and carbon isotope ratios in bone collagen as indices of prehistoric dietary dependence on marine and terrestrial resources in Southern California
TL;DR: Differences in 15N/14N and 13C/12C ratios of individuals from mainland sites dating from the early and late prehistoric periods show that the marine component of the diet increased substantially through time.
Journal ArticleDOI
Stress and the etiology of osteoarthritis
TL;DR: Comparative osteological analysis of the knee, hip, shoulder, and elbow joints of 789 individuals from four human skeletal populations indicates that age of onset, frequency, and location of degenerative changes are directly related to the nature and degree of environmentally associated stress, as reflected by the variable life styles of the populations sampled.
Journal ArticleDOI
Dental evidence for prehistoric dietary change on the northern Channel Islands, California.
TL;DR: Santa Rosa Island skeletal collections, dating from between 4000 and 400 B.P., showed trends in dental health appear to reflect changes in diet and sexual division of labor associated with a subsistence shift from the exploitation of roots, tubers, and other cariogenic plant foods to the intensive exploitation of fish.
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