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Waltenberger L, Heimel P, Skerjanz H, Tangl S, Verdianu D, Rebay-Salisbury K. Lateral angle: A landmark-based method for the sex estimation in human cremated remains and application to an Austrian prehistoric sample. Am J Biol Anthropol 2024; 184:e24874. [PMID: 37982358 DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.24874] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/25/2023] [Revised: 10/03/2023] [Accepted: 11/03/2023] [Indexed: 11/21/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Estimating the sex of cremated human remains is difficult. The petrous bone frequently survives the cremation due to its density. Wahl observed the lateral angle to be sexually dimorphic in the 1980s. Previous studies showed various cut-off points to separate females from males, which are hardly replicable and difficult to apply. We want to test the Wahl method and compare it to a new landmark-based version. MATERIALS AND METHODS In this study, we measured the lateral angle of 35 cremated petrous bones from late bronze age Austria using micro-CT scans. Technical errors of measurement were calculated for two different methods to intersect the internal acoustic meatus virtually in the midline (manual or landmark-based intersection). Furthermore, sex was estimated based on morphological features and metric measurements. This information was used in logistic regression modeling to define a cut-off point in our sample. RESULTS The technical errors of measurement suggested that a landmark-based method was more precise in comparison to a manual intersection which was much more intuitive. Inter- and intra-observer errors were low which improved reliability. The logistic regression model produced good results in our sample (p = 0.02, R2 = 0.38, accuracy = 0.8). The mean lateral angle was similar to studies which focused on prehistoric cremated petrous bones. DISCUSSION The proposed landmark-based method was precise, quick, and could be easily applied, even by unexperienced researchers. The size of the lateral angle seemed to be population-specific but also dependent on the method applied. We recommend to use the proposed landmark-based method which is more precise.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lukas Waltenberger
- Austrian Archaeological Institute, Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna, Austria
- Institute for Prehistory and Historic Archaeology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Patrick Heimel
- Core Facility Hard Tissue and Biomaterial Research, Karl Donath Laboratory, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
- Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Traumatology, The Research Center in Cooperation with AUVA, Vienna, Austria
- Austrian Cluster for Tissue Regeneration, Vienna, Austria
| | - Hannah Skerjanz
- Austrian Archaeological Institute, Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna, Austria
| | - Stefan Tangl
- Core Facility Hard Tissue and Biomaterial Research, Karl Donath Laboratory, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
- Austrian Cluster for Tissue Regeneration, Vienna, Austria
| | - Domnika Verdianu
- Austrian Archaeological Institute, Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna, Austria
| | - Katharina Rebay-Salisbury
- Austrian Archaeological Institute, Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna, Austria
- Institute for Prehistory and Historic Archaeology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
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Waltenberger L, Bosch MD, Fritzl M, Gahleitner A, Kurzmann C, Piniel M, Salisbury RB, Strnad L, Skerjanz H, Verdianu D, Snoeck C, Kanz F, Rebay-Salisbury K. More than urns: A multi-method pipeline for analyzing cremation burials. PLoS One 2023; 18:e0289140. [PMID: 37647251 PMCID: PMC10468036 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0289140] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/03/2023] [Accepted: 07/11/2023] [Indexed: 09/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Burial rites of archaeological populations are frequently interpreted based on cremated remains of the human body and the urn they were deposited in. In comparison to inhumations, information about the deceased is much more limited and dependent on fragmentation, selection of body regions, taphonomic processes, and excavation techniques. So far, little attention has been paid to the context in which urns are buried. In this study, we combined archaeological techniques with anthropology, computed tomography, archaeobotany, zooarchaeology, geochemistry and isotopic approaches and conducted a detailed analysis on a case study of two Late Bronze Age urns from St. Pölten, Austria (c. 1430 and 1260 cal. BCE). The urns were recovered en-bloc and CT-scanned before the micro-excavation. Osteological and strontium isotope analysis revealed that the cremated remains comprised a young adult female and a child that died at the age of 10-12 years. Both individuals had been subject to physiological stress and were likely local. Animal bones burnt at different temperatures suggested different depositional pathways into the urn and pit as part of the pyre, food offerings, and unintentional settlement debris. Eight wild plant and five crop plant species appeared as part of the local landscape, as food offerings and fire accelerants. Sediment chemistry suggests that pyre remains were deposited around the urns during burial. Multi-element geochemistry, archaeobotany, and zooarchaeology provide insights into the Late Bronze Age environment, the process of cremation, the gathering of bones and final funerary deposition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lukas Waltenberger
- Austrian Archaeological Institute, Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna, Austria
- Unit of Forensic Anthropology, Center for Forensic Medicine, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Marjolein D. Bosch
- Austrian Archaeological Institute, Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna, Austria
| | - Michaela Fritzl
- Austrian Archaeological Institute, Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna, Austria
| | - André Gahleitner
- Clinical Division of Radiology, University Clinic of Dentistry, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Christoph Kurzmann
- Clinical Division of Conservative Dentistry, University Clinic of Dentistry, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
- Center of Clinical Research, University Clinic of Dentistry, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Maximilian Piniel
- Austrian Archaeological Institute, Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna, Austria
| | - Roderick B. Salisbury
- Austrian Archaeological Institute, Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna, Austria
- Department of Archaeology, Faculty of Arts, Comenius University, Bratislava, Slovakia
| | - Ladislav Strnad
- Laboratories of the Geological Institutes, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Hannah Skerjanz
- Austrian Archaeological Institute, Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna, Austria
| | - Domnika Verdianu
- Austrian Archaeological Institute, Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna, Austria
| | - Christophe Snoeck
- Multidisciplinary Archaeological Research Institute, Department of Art Sciences and Archaeology, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussel, Belgium
- Research Unit: Analytical, Environmental & Geo-Chemistry, Department of Chemistry, Vrije Universiteit, Brussel, Brussel, Belgium
| | - Fabian Kanz
- Unit of Forensic Anthropology, Center for Forensic Medicine, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
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