Osteoarthritis in Siberia's Cis-Baikal: Skeletal indicators of hunter-gatherer adaptation and cultural change.
This examination of osteoarthritis in Siberia's Cis-Baikal region focuses on the reconstruction of mid-Holocene mobility and activity patterns with particular interest in an alleged fifth millennium BC biocultural hiatus. Five cemetery populations--two representing the pre-hiatus Kitoi culture (6800-4900 BC) and three the post-hiatus Serovo-Glaskovo (4200-1000 BC)-are considered. The objective is to investigate osteoarthritic prevalence and distribution (patterning) within and among these populations in order to reconstruct mobility and activity patterns among the Cis-Baikal foragers, and to test for possible disparities that may reflect differing adaptive strategies. The data reveal that levels of activity remained relatively constant throughout the mid-Holocene but that mobility and specific activity patterns did not. Although results are consistent with the current understanding of distinct Kitoi and Serovo-Glaskovo subsistence regimes, specifically the lower residential mobility and narrower resource base of the former, they also draw attention to adaptive characteristics shared by all occupants of the Cis-Baikal.
Lieverse
Angela R
AR
Department of Anthropology, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John's, NL A1C 5S7, Canada. lieverse@mun.ca
Weber
Andrzej W
AW
Bazaliiskiy
Vladimir Ivanovich
VI
Goriunova
Olga Ivanovna
OI
Savel'ev
Nikolai Aleksandrovich
NA
D000220:Adaptation, Biological / Q000502:physiology; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D002648:Child; D003469:Culture; D005260:Female; D005580:Fossils; D005843:Geography; D049690:History, Ancient; D006801:Humans; D007596:Joints / Q000473:pathology*; D008297:Male; D009043:Motor Activity / Q000502:physiology; D010003:Osteoarthritis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000266:history* / Q000473:pathology*; D010164:Paleopathology; D015995:Prevalence; D012800:Siberia / Q000453:epidemiology