OBJECTIVES:In the 19th and early 20th centuries, many fetuses and infants were collected for anatomical study. Yet little research has explored their origins or the ethical implications of holding and using these individuals in teaching and research. MATERIALS AND METHODS:This paper reviews the literature on fetal and infant skeletal collections and presents a case study from the W. D. Trotter Anatomy Museum in Aotearoa New Zealand that uses the lens of biopower and necropolitics to examine the acquisition and use of these individuals in anatomical education. This model highlights how societal and institutional powers and medicine regulate reproductive bodies and determine the perceived worth of fetuses and infants within specific cultural, historical, and medical contexts. RESULTS:This case study shows that individuals were often acquired from marginalized populations-unwed parents, the impoverished, and institutionalized women-whose reproductive autonomy was politically and socially negated. The paper explores how biopower and the necropolitics of reproduction in colonial New Zealand operated to control populations and individuals. DISCUSSION:Biopower and the necropolitics of reproduction were enacted through eugenic sentiment, structural inequality in healthcare, alongside medical and institutional control over the living and the dead. This contributed to higher infant mortality for marginalized mothers and infants, a loss of autonomy over the fate of deceased bodies, and the suppression of grief. The anatomization of fetuses rendered them objects of scientific value, whilst simultaneously erasing their personhood and socio-historical context, thus extending the structural violence their families experienced during life into their postmortem "life" history (necro-violence).

Abstract Anthropology—and by extension, bioarchaeology—has long held the potential to engage meaningfully with the world’s most pressing social issues. From the early activism of some of the discipline’s founders to more recent engagements with intersectionality, Black feminist theory, decolonial thought, queer theory, and feminist theory, anthropologists occupy a unique position at the nexus of scholarship and social transformation. By embedding commitments to social justice, equity, and inclusivity within our research and practice, we can foster a discipline that is not only reflective but also responsive to contemporary global challenges. We define what academic activism can look like using a conceptual framework of s cholar-activism rooted in three key components: criticality, normative orientation, and active engagement. Paired with a Theory of Change (ToC) approach, this framework enables scholars to anchor their work in a clear understanding of how systematic transformation can be enacted—from identifying root causes of inequity to implementing strategies that promote long-term structural change. The chapters of this volume are ordered into three sections: social justice within academia; structural violence, marginalization and systems of colonialism; and community bioarchaeology, stakeholders, and ethics. The chapters illustrate some of the different ways in which we can contribute to activism but are by no means exhaustive of the work that bioarchaeologists do in this area. Importantly, the chapters demonstrate how we can use our work to effect social change and offer practical steps for building this activist lens.

Abstract This chapter highlights the relevance of the bioarchaeology of the fetus to the interrogation of current pressing social justice issues including inequities in health of pregnant people and infants, discrimination against marginalized pregnant people, reproductive rights, stigma surrounding pregnancy loss, and ethical issues of the use of fetal remains in legacy collections. Historically overlooked, fetal remains are now recognized as critical indicators of health of the pregnant person, environmental stress, and social conditions. The chapter discusses methodological advances in identifying fetal remains and estimating gestational age, and the interpretation of burial contexts to infer cause of death and social attitudes toward pregnancy loss. It also critically examines the representation and treatment of fetuses in mortuary and anatomical contexts, highlighting how marginalized individuals—particularly babies of unmarried and poor parents—were disproportionately represented due to systemic inequities. Ethical considerations surrounding the use of fetal remains in anatomical collections are addressed, with calls for informed consent, transparency, and cultural sensitivity in teaching and research. Using a social justice framework, the chapter analyzes how factors such as race, gender, class, and colonization shaped pregnant person and fetal health outcomes and their use in anatomical contexts.

This paper is an introduction and review for the special issue of AJBA on the Curation and Use of Human Skeletal Remains for Teaching and Research , which emerged from an organized session at the American Association of Biological Anthropologists in 2022. The authors of this special issue describe the ethical challenges surrounding the collection, curation, and use of human skeletal remains in biological anthropology, focusing particularly on the historical exploitation of marginalized communities, such as Indigenous and African American populations. These remains were often acquired without consent through colonial exploitation and unethical practices like grave robbing. This introduction presents a historical review of the dehumanization of these remains, which have been treated as scientific specimens rather than as individuals with complex histories. We highlight the ongoing misuse of human remains in academic settings and the perpetuation of structural violence. The papers in this special issue call for the development of ethical guidelines that emphasize transparency, respect for descendant communities, and the consideration of non-destructive research methods. The authors advocate for rehumanizing these remains, fostering collaboration with descendant communities, and supporting efforts for repatriation. This special issue aims to encourage biological anthropologists to pause and critically reflect on the discipline's colonial and racist foundations, taking meaningful steps toward a more ethical and just treatment of human remains in teaching and research.

The use of black chromophores, or colored chemical compounds, in pottery is a recurrent theme in post- Formative period ceramics within Andean archaeology. However, the chemical components of these and thus the potential health repercussions for potters during ceramic manufacture are unknown. To test this we analyzed the black stains and paint on Arica ceramics (n = 55) from several periods in northern Chile to assess the presence of manganese (Mn). This mineral can be highly toxic to humans, particularly through the inhalation of Mn dust particles and fumes. The analysis of 11 Formative ceramic containers (ca. 1500 BCE-500 CE) show the absence of Mn paint, which contrasts with the post-Formative ceramics (Middle to Late Periods, n = 44, ca. 900-1530 CE) that reveal black Mn based paint was recurrently used to decorate post-Formative ceramics (Mn mean 19.8 %, range 4.41 % to 42.09 %). All post-Formative cultural periods (Middle to Late) showed Mn concentration greater than 15 %. We posit that the cha & icirc;ne operatoire of Mn production (acquisition, grinding, painting, etc.) and possibly fumes during firing of pots most likely placed ancient Andean populations at occupational health risks. The potential hazards associated with Mn mining and firing pots need to be considered when investigating the ancient health and economic aspects of pre-Columbian ceramic production.

OBJECTIVES:In skeletal sex estimation, some morphological methods assume relationships between soft tissue (muscle/ligament) size, skeletal robusticity (enthesis size), and sexual dimorphism, where larger muscles theoretically lead to larger entheses (typical male morphology). However, these relationships have not been thoroughly examined. This study assessed these relationships for three skeletal traits used for sex estimation (nuchal crest, mastoid process, rhomboid fossa) and associated soft tissues. MATERIALS AND METHODS:Muscle size, ligament mass, enthesis surface area, and skeletal sex estimation scores were tested for sex and population differences. This was done through the dissection, three-dimensional scanning, and skeletal analysis of elderly cadavers from New Zealand and Thailand (n = 20). RESULTS:No population differences were found for muscle or enthesis sizes. Sex differences were observed for all Thai muscle groups, but no New Zealand muscle groups. Sex differences were found for enthesis areas in the New Zealand (1/5) and Thai samples (2/5). Additionally, positive correlations between muscle size and enthesis area (4/10) were found; however, only one of 10 exhibited significant sex differences. Further, morphological sex estimation methods were accurate for both samples, but showed no significant relationships with muscle or enthesis size. DISCUSSION:These results suggest there may be a relationship between muscle and enthesis size, but there may not be a relationship between muscle size and skeletal robusticity in sex estimation. This research challenges the assumption that this skeletal sexual dimorphism is closely related to soft tissue size, suggesting that larger muscles may not always lead to the robust skeletal traits anthropologists use for sex estimation.

Variations in human subsistence and settlement patterns have been documented at Holocene archaeological sites across Island and Mainland Southeast Asia. Although climate is frequently invoked as a causal mechanism underlying this variation, direct evidence of ancient rainfall variability on the scale of human lifetimes has thus far been elusive. Here we use a novel time-resolute method for in situ measurement of human tooth enamel 618O values (n = 2629 near-weekly measurements sampling 51 years) to assess past rainfall seasonality patterns in Southeast Asia. Seasonal fluctuations in enamel 618O values of ancient humans from several different periods are compared to modern rainfall recorded in Vietnam, Philippines, and Indonesia by the Global Network in Isotopes in Precipitation (GNIP). The likelihood that the ancient humans reflect local precipitation patterns is established through measurement of bulk enamel 87Sr/86Sr ratios. Comparison of the archaeological individuals and the modern rainfall datasets shows that the seasonal variabilities in ancient 618Oenamel are consistent with seasonal variabilities in modern 618Oprecip across the study locations (highest in Vietnam, lowest in Indonesia, intermediate in the Philippines). Strong seasonal 618Oenamel trends in four of five hunter-gatherers from Con Co Ngua, Vietnam, facilitate the inference of birth approximately six months prior to the onset of monsoons, consistent with tropical subsistence societies where food availability correlates with rainfall. High-resolution analysis of human tooth enamel represents a powerful new tool for seasonality reconstructions across different regional and climatic settings.

An editorial by Co-Editors-In-Chief, Siân Halcrow and Gwen Robbins Schug, and Founding Co-Editors-In-Chief, Sabrina Agarwal and Brenda Baker

Food is a biological imperative as well as a core material that humans use in socializing ourselves, and the things we choose to consume are infused with cultural meanings. Children, especially very young children, have little agency in subsistence decisions, and therefore the foods that caretakers feed to children may hold profound information about cultural value systems and reveal social processes and idealized identities. Here we focus on relationships between food, sex, and gender in early life by studying the childhood diets of 57 Eastern Zhou period individuals from the Central Plains region of China (771- 221 BCE). Using stable isotope analysis of incremental dentin samples, we create detailed dietary histories of childhood years. From very early in life, the average delta 15N value for boys is notably higher than the average for girls, indicating slightly more protein consumption for most males, and this continues across childhood. Foods such as meat and millet were highly valued in ancient China and, whether intentional or not, become associated with aspects of sex and gender through preferential feeding to male children. These isotopic data reveal a key aspect of the socializing processes of children across generational interactions with caretakers, with food communicating information about social worth and gender, which becomes embodied in the developing child.

Fetal and infant skeletal remains in anatomical collections remain an underutilized yet important source of information on the interactions of gender, class, and religion during pregnancy and infant loss. The W. D. Trotter Anatomy Museum at the University of Otago in New Zealand, founded in the nineteenth century, houses more than 2,000 models and anatomical "specimens," with many of the skeletal remains lacking provenience information. This research aimed to both provide an inventory of the fetal and infant skeletal remains and identify through archival analysis the social context of those whose remains were obtained by the museum. An osteological analysis was carried out to assess the minimum number of individuals (MNI), estimate age- at- death, and provide evidence for pathology and dissection. The results are interpreted in the context of the archival accession data and historical information at the time to provide the social context in which these people lived and therefore information that may be related to their deaths and acquisition of their bodies by the university. Most of the infants within the collection died around the time of full- term birth, and some individuals have evidence for developmental pathology, birth trauma, and/or postmortem dissection. The historical context and legislation around body donation suggests structural inequality played a role in the acquisition of these infants' remains from mothers (primarily poor and/or unmarried women) and that these remains went through a process of commodification and objectification and were retained as developmental teaching "specimens" and examples of pathology.

The Eastern Zhou (770-221 BCE) was an important period of social transformation in ancient China. The development of class- and gender-based stratification of this period had profound effects on human diet. We aim to examine the relationships among diet, class, and sex (as a proxy for gender) during this period through comparative investigations of noble individuals and sacrificial human companions. We analyzed the stable carbon and nitrogen isotope values of bone collagen of 61 human (26 nobles and 35 sacrificial companions) and 32 faunal samples from the Dahan (sic) cemetery (an Eastern Zhou archaeological site). There are statistically significant class-based dietary differences, with the nobles consuming more socially valued foods (high protein food and millets) compared with sacrificial companions, which is also supported by paleopathological evidence. Sex-based differences were specific to class, with no significant dietary differences found in the nobles, whereas males may have had better diets than females in the lower classes. Our dietary analysis suggests that some sacrificial companions may have benefited from the resources of their noble masters, however, most sacrificial companions had a poorer diet. In addition, one noble individual possibly experienced social mobility in his lifetime, as shown by the discrepancy in his burial treatment and his long-term diet. This cemetery-wide study of dietary differences between nobles and sacrificial companions allows for novel insight into the intersection of class, gender, and diet during the Eastern Zhou period.

This research assesses the potential for misidentification of sex in individuals of South Asian ancestry using the Walker (2008) morphological skull sex estimation standard [1]. Chromosomal sex was assessed using proteomic analysis targeting sex chromosome-specific amylogenic peptides. Results showed that the Walker method produced incorrect classification for 36.7 % of individuals. Overwhelmingly, those incorrectly assigned were chromosomally male. Misidentification was due to males within the group having lower trait scores (i.e., more gracile traits) than the standard would predict. There was also a high level of overlap in trait scores between male and females indicating reduced expression of sexual dimorphism. The use of established multivariate statistical techniques improved accuracy of sex estimation in some cases, but larger osteological data sets from South Asian individuals are required to develop population-specific standards. We suggest that peptide analysis may provide a useful tool for the forensic anthropologist when assessing sex in populations without population specific osteological standards.

AbstractThe COVID-19 pandemic triggered the adoption of online education across all sectors worldwide, which was particularly challenging for disciplines that rely on hands-on learning such as bioarchaeology. Although the impacts of this rapid transition have been well investigated in fields such as anatomy and forensic anthropology, there has been little research into its effects within bioarchaeology. We address this deficit by investigating two common perceptions around online learning from a bioarchaeological perspective: (1) online techniques are inadequate for teaching practical skills, and (2) online learning environments lack a sense of community, thereby negatively affecting learner experiences. To gauge learner perceptions around online practical education in this field, we conducted a qualitative survey of participants in a bioarchaeology masterclass series. Results suggest that students perceive online learning to be as effective for practical training as in-person alternatives and that online learning may engender a sense of community when offered using a collaborative, interactive approach. Based on our results we provide several key recommendations for online education in bioarchaeology, including an active emphasis on social engagement and relationship building, culturally appropriate teaching, and the use of resources to encourage flexibility in learning. A Thai-language abstract is available as Supplemental Text 1.

We provide the first application of a quantitative microscopic approach that does not rely on the presence of perikymata for the identification and comprehensive analysis of linear enamel hypoplasia (LEH) to a large archaeological sample from Southeast Asia. Additionally, we introduce MicroPolySharp, a new computer program that automates the assessment of these stress episodes, and we present new dental crown width/height ratios for the region.Enamel surface depth profiles were measured from epoxy dental replicas generated from 48 individuals using a confocal microscope. The identification and analysis of LEH episodes was undertaken using MicroPolySharp, which combines three recently published methods specifically suited to worn archaeological samples. Ten pa-rameters were examined: frequency, prevalence, episode duration, stress duration, recovery duration, age at first onset, age at last onset, total growth disruption, proportion of available enamel affected, and periodicity.Results revealed a high prevalence of LEH: 97.92 % (47/48) individuals affected. LEH frequency averaged 2.5 episodes per individual (range = 1 to 4 episodes). The chronology of episodes averaged 3.66 years (range = 1.4 to 5.5 years). The age of earliest episode occurrence averaged 3.1 years (range = 1.4 to 4.2 years). While the age of last episode averaged 4.3 years (range = 2.9 to 5.5 years). Duration of growth disruptions (stress + recovery) averaged 103 days (range = 27 to 269 days). Consistent with other studies, the average duration of the stress portion of episodes was 56 days (range = 9 days to 6.4 months) while the duration of the recovery portion averaged 47 days (range = 8 days to 5 months). The total amount of growth disruption for individuals averaged 263 days (range = 87 to 543 days). The proportion of available crown height affected by growth disruption averaged 21 % (range = 6 % to 42 %), while LEH periodicity for the sample averaged 8.6 months (range = 2.4-23 months). Stress and recovery durations, along with age at first episode, were the most sensitive and useful parameters for discerning differences between the subgroups of interest. Finally, the effects of any amount of variable crown height wear within the study group was found to have a significant confounding effect on all aspects of LEH results and interpretation if not properly controlled. Given the high prevalence, all individuals were, for the most part, equally affected. Future analysis of samples from the periods prior to and leading up to the Late Iron Age from nearby sites will be required to provide much needed context to the high levels of systemic stress observed at Non Ban Jak.

This monograph is the 7th in the British Archaeological Report series on Archaeology in Roman Britain. It presents a synthesis of Romano British infant and childhood paleopathological data on mortality and morbidity to assess if there were any differences in ‘health’ between rural and urban cemetery samples. The series Archaeology in Roman Britain is described as committed to “big data studies” and “the application of theoretical approaches,” which this monograph nicely encapsulates. This research is ambitious in scope, with a total sample of more than 1600 individuals spanning 28 sites, combining data the author has collected themselves (n = 953 individuals) and from previous research. Although this monograph is based on the work of a PhD thesis undertaken in 2015 (University of Reading), Rohnbogner has engaged with some more recent research in the introductory chapters and weaved this into the discussion. The paleopathological methods are robust, and the author is careful in their interpretation of the data given the inherent issues of sample bias and non-specificity of stress indicators. With the recent methodological developments in paleopathology, this work opens a multitude of areas for future research of specific diseases during this period. To this end, the author provides an open data statement. The author provides an introduction that briefly sets out the background on the present understanding of the health consequences of social marginalization in Roman Britain and why there may be differences in health outcomes between rural and urban areas. From a perspective of a researcher not immersed in Roman period bioarchaeology, I would have benefited from a more detailed review and nuanced discussion of this apparent dualism in health outcomes in the introductory chapters. However, it is acknowledged that this series is largely for experts in this area, although not necessarily conversant with the bioarchaeological literature of Roman Britain. Chapter two reviews the archeology of childhood, with a focus on the field's development and the place of social bioarchaeology for understanding the life course. This provides an excellent outline of the social bioarchaeological and archeological work that investigates infant mortuary treatment, including the interpretations of grief, and the paleopathological methodological approaches used. Chapter three outlines some of the previous paleopathological research in Roman Britain and a review of what is known about the experience of childhood in Britain and inside Rome itself from the classical literature. It ends by acknowledging the lack of understanding of the experience of children outside of Roman Empire, including the dearth of information on the health of children in rural Roman Britain, with studies in this region predominantly focusing on urban populations or specific regions within Britain. Rohnbogner's monograph therefore fills this gap through undertaking a comparative synthesis of health and stress experiences of children in rural and urban Britannica as a whole. Chapter four presents the materials (sites and burial samples) and paleopathological methods used in this research, comprising the analysis of individuals from 15 sites and use of data from a further 13 sites from various sources. The sites and skeletal samples chosen covered a wide spatial distribution from southern and central Britannia, comprising a mixture of rural, minor urban, and major urban sites, dating from the 1st to 5th centuries AD, with most from after the 3rd century. The methods for age estimation, each skeletal indicator of stress, specific pathology that can be used in differential diagnoses of infectious and metabolic disease, growth analyses, and trauma were well described. The results are split into two chapters. Chapter 5 presents the age at death and extensive analysis of paleopathological data for rural, minor urban and major urban sites for both the primary data collected by the author, and then all the sites combined. These results are further compared with Iron Age and post-Medieval data. This is followed by a short chapter on an analysis of the paleopathology of individuals compared with their burial status. However, the methods and results were not presented in a way that could be replicated or compared in the future. Although an important endeavor for assessing aspects of the relationship between social identity and health, it was not explicit how this related to the authors' research questions. Chapter 7 is a discussion of the results within the context of Roman British society followed by a conclusion. The author quite rightly talks about an under-representation of infants in urban environments, which limits the comparative mortality analysis, but then unfortunately incorrectly presents the number of preterm and neonatal deaths in the rural and urban sites. I note this error because this is one of the differences between rural and urban sites that the author highlights in their discussion when presenting their arguments for comparative health. Rohnbogner argues that the paleopathological evidence for more physiological stress and evidence for nutritional disease in the rural settlements was likely because of the restriction of diet compared with the urban areas due to social marginalization of the rural population. Conversely, they present evidence that the risk of infectious disease was similar between rural and urban environments potentially because of migration of children between these areas. This monograph is a substantial contribution to understanding the place that social inequality had on the lives of infants and children among those in urban and rural settings in Roman Britain. I recommend this work to all those interested in the archeology and paleopathology of this period, and to those interested in bioarchaeology in general as an example of a thorough paleopathological investigation that is nicely socially contextualized. Siân Halcrow: Writing – original draft (lead). There are no data associated with this media review.

Climate change is an indisputable threat to human health, especially for societies already confronted with rising social inequality, political and economic uncertainty, and a cascade of concurrent environmental challenges. Archaeological data about past climate and environment provide an important source of evidence about the potential challenges humans face and the long-term outcomes of alternative short-term adaptive strategies. Evidence from well-dated archaeological human skeletons and mummified remains speaks directly to patterns of human health over time through changing circumstances. Here, we describe variation in human epidemiological patterns in the context of past rapid climate change (RCC) events and other periods of past environmental change. Case studies confirm that human communities responded to environmental changes in diverse ways depending on historical, sociocultural, and biological contingencies. Certain factors, such as social inequality and disproportionate access to resources in large, complex societies may influence the probability of major sociopolitical disruptions and reorganizations-commonly known as "collapse." This survey of Holocene human-environmental relations demonstrates how flexibility, variation, and maintenance of Indigenous knowledge can be mitigating factors in the face of environmental challenges. Although contemporary climate change is more rapid and of greater magnitude than the RCC events and other environmental changes we discuss here, these lessons from the past provide clarity about potential priorities for equitable, sustainable development and the constraints of modernity we must address.

This paper investigates the possible sources of manganese (Mn) acquisition for the Chinchorro population of Arica, in northern Chile. To accomplish this, we analyse Mn distribution using digital geological map data and SEM/EDX and XRD analysis to chemically characterize twenty-five samples. Of these, eighteen were taken from geological sediments and seven from black pigments related to the Chinchorro mummification tradition (ca. 6950-2950 BP) from the archaeological sites of Maestranza 1, Morro 1, and Playa Miller 8. In contrast with previous highland Mn acquisition hypotheses, our results show that the lowland and coastal geological sediments near the Lluta river mouth have high Mn concentration, with a granular form that was easy to mine and process. The archaeological samples show that the Chinchorro used a high-grade Mn, without the need to use large mining tools (e.g. hafted hammers). This supports the proposition that there was a local (lowland and coastal) acquisition of good quality Mn, minimizing long-distance travel to the highlands for Mn procurement. The abundance of local finely-ground Mn sources can explain the cultural centrality of this pigment for several millennia during the Archaic period.

Gout has been part of human history for thousands of years. Skeletal evidence of the disease among past people in Europe is often associated with high-status individuals whose lifestyles comprised risk factors for gout, including increased sedentism and greater access to rich, high-caloric, food. A growing body of evidence, however, has shown that multiple factors other than lifestyle also contribute to gout development. In 2011, Buckley presented a review of modern and pre-modern gout cases in which she proposed that selective pressures may partly underlie the high prevalence of gout in the population history of the Pacific region. In this paper, we provide an update on Buckley’s 2011 review of gout in human history. We also review early life stress as a potential underlying factor to consider for gout development, particularly among small prehistoric communities where opulent lifestyles traditionally associated with gout were unlikely to have occurred.