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This article presents new information pertaining to the demographic profile of the juvenile burial assemblage (n = 39) from a Late Holocene site located on the eastern shore of the San Francisco Bay. CA-ALA-329 is commonly referred to as Ryan Mound and now bears the Muwekma Ohlone name Mánni Muwékma Kúksú Hóowok Yatiš Túnnešte-tka , which means "place where the people of the kúksú (bighead) pendants are buried." This site has been extensively studied and has contributed significantly to our understanding of life on the bay during the Middle and Late Periods. However, most of the previous studies have focused on adults. The goal of the present study was to identify patterns in the profiles of those who died prematurely: their sex, the degree of stress they experienced based on skeletal indicators of disease/malnutrition, and their social status based on associated grave goods. Results show high incidence of skeletal indicators in the sample consistent with nutritional deficiency, disease/infection, and/or metabolic disorders. This suggests that this population was experiencing stress. Individual circumstances, such as age and sex, may also have contributed to poor health because infants have the highest prevalence of cribra orbitalia and periostitis. The distribution of wealth, as evidenced by burial goods associated with the sample, shows some correlation with age at death and types of artifacts. Distribution of wealth also differs temporally. Inequality seems to have been highest in the Middle Period, whereas inequality decreased but overall wealth increased into the Late Period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT Objectives The majority of anthropological studies on dermatoglyphics examine the heritability and inter-population variation of Level 1 detail (e.g., pattern type, total ridge count), while forensic scientists concentrate on individual uniqueness of Level 2 and 3 detail (e.g., minutiae and pores, respectively) used for positive identification. The present study bridges the gap between researcher-practitioner by examining sex, ancestral, and pattern type variation of Level 2 detail (e.g., minutiae). Materials and Methods Bifurcations, ending ridges, short ridges, dots, and enclosures on the right index finger of 243 individuals ( n = 61 African American ♀; n = 61 African American ♂; n = 61 European American ♀; n = 60 European American ♂) were analyzed. The overall effect of sex, ancestry, and pattern type on minutiae variation was assessed using a MANCOVA. ANOVA was used to identify Level 2 detail variables responsible for the variation. Logistic regression was used to classify individuals into groups. Results The effect of sex is insignificant. Ancestry is significant (Wilks' λ = 0.053 F value = 2.98, DF = 4,224, P value = 0.02), as is pattern type (Wilks' λ = 0.874 F value = 2.57, DF = 12,592.94, P value = 0.003). The ANOVA reveals that bifurcations are responsible for the variation between ancestral groups, while bifurcations and ending ridges vary between patterns. Logistic regression results suggest that total bifurcations can predict the ancestry of an individual (ChiSq = 6.55, df = 1, Prob > ChiSq = 0.01). Discussion Significant minutiae variation between ancestral groups yields information that is valuable in both a forensic and anthropological setting. Am J Phys Anthropol 160:625-632, 2016. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Though radiocarbon dating has been common practice in archaeology, it has yet to be regularly and consistently applied in forensic anthropology. Rather, forensic anthropologists analyze human remains using methods established on the basis of skeletal biology, such as estimating ancestry using characteristics that vary between breeding populations and estimating time-since-death based on the degree and pattern of weathering on the bones. Time since death is an essential question because this is what will determine whether the remains have forensic or historical significance. However, these methods are dependent on many extrinsic factors that include preservation and available contextual information regarding how and where the individual was placed or buried, as well as any personal effects included within the burial. In addition, the postmortem interval based on weathering is inaccurate and very difficult if not impossible to assess with any accuracy. Therefore, traditional methods such as skeletal weathering are not recommended. Thus, we recommend adopting radiocarbon dating as standard forensic practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]