Papers by Holger Schutkowski
American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 2019
Objectives: Breastfeeding and childhood diet have significant impact on morbidity and mortality w... more Objectives: Breastfeeding and childhood diet have significant impact on morbidity and mortality within a population, and in the ancient Near East, it is possible to compare bioarchaeological reconstruction of breastfeeding and weaning practices with the scant textual evidence. Materials and Methods: Nitrogen stable isotopes (δ 15 N) are analyzed here for dietary reconstruction in skeletal collections from five Bronze Age (ca. 2,800-1,200-BCE) sites in modern Lebanon and Syria. We employed Bayesian computational modeling on cross-sectional stable isotope data of collagen samples (n = 176) mainly from previous studies to test whether the bioarchaeological evidence aligns with the textual evidence of breastfeeding and weaning practices in the region, as well as compare the estimated weaning times to the global findings using the WARN (weaning age reconstruction with nitrogen isotope analysis) Bayesian model. Results: Though the Near East sites in this study had different ecological settings and economic strategies, we found that weaning was introduced to the five sites at 0.5 ± 0.2 years of age and complete weaning occurred around 2.6 ± 0.3 years of age on using the WARN computational model. These weaning processes are within the time suggested by historical texts, though average estimated weaning age on the Mediter-ranean coast is later than inland sites. Discussion: Compared globally, these Near Eastern populations initiated the weaning process earlier but completed weaning within the global average. Early initial weaning may have created short spacing between pregnancies and a high impact on demographic growth within these agricultural populations, with some variation in subsistence practices accounting for the inland/coastal discrepancies.
Paléorient, 1989
Contrairement aux périodes précédentes et suivantes, le mode de vie et l'alimentation des po... more Contrairement aux périodes précédentes et suivantes, le mode de vie et l'alimentation des populations du 2e millénaire dans le Golfe Arabique sont encore mal connus. Des squelettes humains du cimetière de Shimal, Ras al-Khaimah (EAU) ont été analysés afin de retrouver la ...
Journal of Archaeological Science, 2009
... 223 Spencer R. Hall, Kevin D. Lafferty, James M. Brown, Carla E. Cdceres, Jonathan M. Chase, ... more ... 223 Spencer R. Hall, Kevin D. Lafferty, James M. Brown, Carla E. Cdceres, Jonathan M. Chase, Andrew P. Dobson, Robert D. Holt, Clive G. Jones, Sarah E. Randolph, and Pejman Rohani Chapter Eleven Microbial Disease in the Sea: Effects of Viruses on Carbon and Nutrient ...
Zeitschrift für Morphologie und Anthropologie
Ecological Studies, Vol. 182 Analysis and Synthesis Edited by MM Caldwell, Logan, USA G. Heldmaie... more Ecological Studies, Vol. 182 Analysis and Synthesis Edited by MM Caldwell, Logan, USA G. Heldmaier, Marburg, Germany RB Jackson, Durham, USA OL Lange, Wiirzburg, Germany HA Mooney, Stanford, USA E.-D. Schulze, Jena, Germany U. Sommer, Kiel, Germany
Anthropologischer Anzeiger
The amount of information provided by cremations is primarily determined by the general state of ... more The amount of information provided by cremations is primarily determined by the general state of preservation. Consequently the possibilities of sex determination by means of morphognostic methods are limited due to a mostly poor representation of fragments which can be of diagnostic value. Therefore an improval of methods has to focus on those skeletal elements that occur in every or almost every batch. These are in particular fragments of the diaphyses and the cranial vault. Wall thicknesses are measured and the values of those individuals that cannot be sexed by conventional methods are compared to an intragroup reference. Following the principle of the morphognostic series about 25% of previously not sexable individuals can now be assigned.
Zeitschrift für Morphologie und Anthropologie
Zeitschrift für Morphologie und Anthropologie
Zeitschrift fur Rechtsmedizin
Based on a sample of petrous bones of known sex (47 males and 47 females) discriminant functions ... more Based on a sample of petrous bones of known sex (47 males and 47 females) discriminant functions were worked out for sexing both uncremated and cremated petrous bones. Classification values were certain to range from 70.2% to 76.6% for uncremated petrosals and from 67.0% to 73.4% for cremated ones. The results do not support the more promising values suggested by Wahl (1981).
The amount of information provided by cremations is primarily determined by the general state of ... more The amount of information provided by cremations is primarily determined by the general state of preservation. Consequently the possibilities of sex determination by means of morphognostic methods are limited due to a mostly poor representation of fragments which can be of diagnostic value. Therefore an improval of methods has to focus on those skeletal elements that occur in every or almost every batch. These are in particular fragments of the diaphyses and the cranial vault. Wall thicknesses are measured and the values of those individuals that cannot be sexed by conventional methods are compared to an intragroup reference. Following the principle of the morphognostic series about 25% of previously not sexable individuals can now be assigned.
Anthropologischer Anzeiger
In connection with increasing theory-bound investigations in prehistoric anthropology age and sex... more In connection with increasing theory-bound investigations in prehistoric anthropology age and sex diagnosis of children's skeletons is gaining importance. Developmental stages of the tympanic plate are introduced as an additional criterion for ageing infants. Discriminant functions derived from ilium and femur measurements allow preliminary access towards a metric sexual diagnosis of fetal and neonate individuals.
Anthropologischer Anzeiger
The sites of Neresheim and Kösingen are located in the easternmost part of the Swabian Alb in clo... more The sites of Neresheim and Kösingen are located in the easternmost part of the Swabian Alb in close proximity, but belong to separate natural units characterized by clearly different ecological properties. By investigating early mediaeval skeletal samples of the populations, two questions were addressed: (1) to what extent can modes of subsistence be explained by the ecological context, and (2) does this affect patterns of nutritional and social differentiation within the populations? Reconstruction of dietary bases by trace element analyses revealed a mixed diet consisting of both crops and animal-derived products at Neresheim, while the nutrition at Kösingen suggests the consumption of food components enriched in dietary calcium with a stronger emphasis on animal products. These results are in accordance with what may be expected based on the options available in the respective habitat. People in Neresheim mostly relied on crop farming in the fertile areas of their environment and may have used less favourable sections for livestock farming. In Kösingen, subsistence was based primarily on pastoral agriculture supplemented by horticulture and reflects a close adjustment to the ecological potential. Cluster-analytical treatment of trace element data led to the formation of groups differing in diet, and we investigated whether this difference corresponded with social affiliation. In Neresheim, a non-random congruence of higher social status and access to high-quality food was revealed, while such patterns were not observable in Kösingen. These interpopulational differences can be explained by bio-cultural interrelations between ecological properties of the natural units and reconstructed living conditions.
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On the basis of the reconstruction of general nutritional patterns by trace element data on histo... more On the basis of the reconstruction of general nutritional patterns by trace element data on historic populations, an examination on occupational Ba intakes in the skeleton was carried out for a historical metallurgy population. The concentrations of the trace elements Ba, Sr, and Pb as well as the matrix element Ca were determined by AAS analysis. Their correlations within the population were analysed statistically. Evidence of a correlation between Ba and Sr concentrations and the lack of a correlation between Ba and Pb concentrations is interpreted as evidence for a probably solely dietary-related Ba intake in the skeleton. Ba intake from working in ore smelting plants is therefore unlikely or at least insignificant. These conclusions are supported by analysis results of modern food items from the catchment area of the historical population. A sufficient Ba supply through rye was determined, thereby explaining the concentration of Ba in the bone material of the historic population.
Anthropologischer Anzeiger
"During the 5th to 7th century AD, the Alamannic population of Pleidelsheim reveals distinct... more "During the 5th to 7th century AD, the Alamannic population of Pleidelsheim reveals distinct patterns of social organization, self representation, and display encoded in the combined biocultural data of the archaeological record and the human remains. In a time characterized by socio-political transition and the formation of emerging ethnic entities, the certainty of marked identity in death is crucial under the fluidity of an open rank society during life. The study of 214 individuals (skeletal analysis) and a subsample of 98 (isotope analysis) in balanced proportions of males and females results in the following observations: The funerary evidence suggests that gender identity is generally accentuated in both adult males and females in those burials that contain grave goods, providing the expression of an organizing societal principle that is also associated with the life course. The skeletons of both genders display signs of an active lifestyle throughout as presented by patterns of entheseal changes, while at the same time they were prone to suffer from any observed pathological condition, irrespective of funerary context. However, those males and females buried with grave goods exhibit a number of exclusive conditions that clearly distinguish them from other burial groups (e.g. trauma, spondyloarthropathy and dental disease). Carbon and nitrogen isotope ratios of human bone collagen and associated faunal samples (n=30) of two populations reveal a number of complementary and corroborating principles. Both genders display age-related trends towards higher levels of protein intake; males show a strong association of grave good and artefact quality with dietary choice, a pattern which is mirrored by females for whom burial type is a good predictor of protein consumption. The findings demonstrate the possibility to detect overall congruent patterns of social display of engendered identity through subtle differences in dietary behaviour, burial rite and skeletal indicators of activity and health."
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Papers by Holger Schutkowski