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| Home: Resources: Journal: Volume 1: Owsley: 2.2 Osteological Analysis |
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| Recovery and Analysis of Jamestown Rediscovery South Churchyard Burials from the 1999 Field Season Douglas Owsley, Karin Bruwelheide, and Rebecca Kardash | |||
2.2 Osteological Analysis Age: 50-59 years Sex: Male Ancestry: Euro-American This burial is the incomplete skeleton of a white male aged 50 to 59 years. The cranium is fragmented and in poor condition. The intact portion of the cranium is represented by the anterior vault, partial parietals and most of the face. Separate but present are the temporals and fragments of the occipital. The mandible is nearly complete but essentially edentulous. The bones show postmortem breakage with pronounced erosion of the outer table. Only a few cranial measurements were possible due to the fragmentary and distorted condition of the cranium, but those taken are fairly accurate. The postcranial skeleton is incomplete and exhibits postmortem breakage with erosion of the outer cortices. All of the bones have been treated with preservative. Green staining is present on several bones of the right hand including the hamate, lesser multangular, greater multangular, capitate, two proximal phalanges, and the second and third metacarpals. Other locations of possible staining, characterized by dark brown or green discoloration, are the internal surface of the anterior right ilium and the ventral aspects of the left and right femoral heads. These stains are likely attributable to the metal buttons recovered with the burial. The stain on the anterior right ilium measures approximately 43 mm S-I by 33 mm A-P. Age is based on antemortem loss of the mandibular dentition with advanced resorption of the alveolar bone. Thinning of the cranial bone and slight degenerative changes noted on the postcranial skeleton support an older age assessment. Sex is based on features of the skull and pelvis. Despite its poor condition, this skeleton is more robust than the female identified as Burial 5 (JR320D). The cranium is moderate in size and larger than the cranium of the female. The moderately narrow greater sciatic notch and flat auricular surfaces of the innominates and the marked curvature of the sacrum are all features associated with males. Additionally, the femoral heads are large, which also suggests this individual is a male. Caucasian ancestry is based on a moderately narrow interorbital width, a sharply defined inferior nasal border, a narrow nasal cavity width, a v-shaped palate and lack of alveolar prognathism. |
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Copyright 2000 by The Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities Comments Editor |
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