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Osteological data, such as biological sex, constitute a base for research in paleodemography and palaeopathology, as well as for understanding past socio-cultural practices. Despite extensive research efforts concerning cremated human remains over the past decades, an internationally acknowledged, standardized osteological protocol is not fully agreed upon. Furthermore, assessing cremation research practices from the literature is challenging because analysis reports are often written in the national languages of practitioners, which makes them difficult to access by an international audience. This study addresses this gap by directly reaching out to experts working with cremated human remains through an online questionnaire in Lime Survey. The aim is to identify and characterize patterns in cremation analysis practices. A particular emphasis was put on the methods of biological sex estimation. While the significance of these data is widely acknowledged, the ways in which they are obtained in practice are seldom examined. The results of this survey reveal an absence of standardization in protocols of analysis, and data collection, as well as in reporting on the cremated remains in publications and reports. Notably, the findings reveal regional preferences in methodological choices and inconsistent institutional training. A majority of respondents expressed a preference for traditional morphological methods over recently published metric and alternative methods for sex estimation. These variations underscore the complexity of establishing standardized cremation analysis protocols and highlight the importance of considering regional contexts and training in shaping future research practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The high temperatures reached during cremation lead to the destruction of organic matter preventing the use of traditional isotopic methods for dietary reconstructions. Still, strontium isotope (87Sr/86Sr) and concentration ([Sr]) analyses of cremated human remains offer a novel way to assess changing consumption patterns in past populations that practiced cremation, as evidenced by a large amount of new data obtained from Metal Ages and Gallo-Roman human remains from Destelbergen, Belgium. The Gallo-Roman results show significantly higher [Sr] and a narrower interquartile range in 87Sr/86Sr (0.7093–0.7095), close to the value of modern-day seawater (0.7092). This contrasts with the Metal Ages results, which display lower concentrations and a wider range in 87Sr/86Sr (0.7094–0.7098). This typical Sr signature is also reflected in other sites and is most likely related to an introduction of marine Sr in the form of salt as a food preservative (e.g. salt-rich preserved meat, fish and fish sauce). Paradoxically, this study highlights caution is needed when using 87Sr/86Sr for palaeomobility studies in populations with high salt consumption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: The Falys–Prangle‐method assesses age‐related morphological changes to the sternal clavicle end (SCE), enabling the observation of mature adults from the 5th decade onwards in unburnt human skeletal remains. The aim of this study is to investigate the applicability of the Falys–Prangle‐method on burnt human remains. Materials and methods: Fifty‐two SCE of 40 cremated individuals (out of 86) from the William M. Bass collection of the Forensic Anthropology Center (Knoxville, Tennessee) of known age‐at‐death and sex are available for assessment. Surface topography, porosity, and osteophyte formation are evaluated, after which the calculated composite score is associated with the corresponding age range as described by Falys and Prangle. The method is also applied on an archaeological case study from Oudenburg, Belgium, dating to the Roman period. Results: The assessed age ranges strongly agree with the true age ranges (α = 0.828), suggesting the Falys–Prangle‐method to be applicable on burnt human remains. The case study from Oudenburg yields markedly improved age‐at‐death estimates, significantly enhancing our understanding of the age distribution within this community. Discussion: Information on age‐at‐death is key in the construction of biological profiles of past individuals. The mature adult is often invisible in the archaeological record since most macroscopic age estimation methods do not distinguish beyond 46+ years old. Our study stresses the usefulness of a large‐scale application of the Falys–Prangle‐method, which will increase the visibility of mature adults, especially in archaeological burnt human skeletal collections, where such information is, at present, extremely difficult to obtain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The limestone islands of the Bahamian archipelago provide a challenging environment for human settlement, one that was not taken up until after AD 700. The analysis of human skeletal remains offers new insights into how this challenge was met. A substantial program of AMS 14C dating on pre-Columbian humans (n = 66) provides a robust chronological framework for the period ca. AD 1000–1600, with the latter date suggesting the possible persistence of an indigenous Lucayan presence on the islands for some decades later than previously thought. Associated stable carbon (δ 13C) and nitrogen (δ 15N) isotope analyses imply an early focus on near-shore marine resources that seems to have rapidly led to their local over-exploitation, resulting in a shift towards horticulture based mainly on root crops. The Medieval Warm Period is very likely to have been a factor in the initial settlement of the islands; the impact of the Little Ice Age is less clear, with no marked changes in either δ 13C or δ 15N. Strontium isotope results are consistent with an origin of most individuals within the archipelago, with a limited (but potentially important for maintaining connections) presence of incomers from the Greater Antilles, and perhaps even further afield. Despite the relatively short history of pre-Columbian occupation, Lucayan adaptations to the Bahamian archipelago were dynamic and demonstrate resilience in the face of both human resource depletion and climate change. • Initial settlement of the Bahamian archipelago coincides with the Medieval Warm Period. • Over-exploitation of near-shore resources offset by increased use of terrestrial resources. • Even small human populations can have an impact on 'pristine' environments. • Pre-Columbian Lucayan populations were resilient to these changes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]