studying indian remains

8/8/2019 Studying Indian Remains

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Studying IndianRemains ProvidesUseful Informationby Patricia M. Landau and D. Gentry Steele

About the authors: Patricia M. Landau is a forme r graduate student in the de

partment of anthropology at Texas A& M University. D. Gentry Steele is a professor of anthropology at Texas A& M University and the author o f several articles on prehis toric anthropology.

One of the most controversial kinds of studies anthropologists undertake isthat of the biological remains of Native Americans. The motivations of physicalanthropologists to study human remains often seem unfathomable to somemembers of Native American communities, and our methods seem also to bemisunderstood. We recognize the differences between the values and spiritual

beliefs of Native Americans and those of other Americans, and we respect theright of all people to maintain their personal belief and ethical systems. Wewant to explain the reasons why some physical anthropologists value the studyof human biology and history, and why we place so much importance on thestudy of human remains. We also want to explain what kinds of information canbe gained from such studies, the methods used in them, and the impact of theseon the remains being studied.

The Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA, PL .10 1-60 I) calls for the repatriation of Native American remains whose cultural

affiliation can be determined by a preponderance of evidence. Physical anthropologists are willi ng to comply wit h NAGPRA's terms, but the need remains forlong-term study of some skeletal collections before repatriation.

An Innate Need to Know

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Chapter J Native American Rights

though the subjects of our inquiry may vary from culture to culture. Physicalanthropologists have an interest in learning just who humans are- the i r originsand their heritage. Allhough no simple statement can explain all the reasonswhy some physical anthropologists study human remains, one very fundamen-tal reason is that human remains offer direct, tangible evidence of ou r history,how we have become biologically

suited to the many environments inwhich we live, and how we behave.

Other people have similar interestsin origins and heritage, but the meansused to answer these questions varywidely. Ho w we come to know ourselves varies from individual to individual aswell as from society to society. Some societies rely on personal revelation, onthe advice of spiritual leaders, or on oral traditions. Physical anthropologists,Ii ke other scientists, adhere to methods that have their roots in the ancient soci-eties of the MediterTanean and North Atlantic. Explanations or hypotheses areproposed to explain relationships between facts or conditions of the physical

world. These explanations are then tested by observation of additional measur-able facts or physical conditions; if an explanation is supported by these addi-tional observations, it can be accepted as valid or true. Th e results of the tests ofhypotheses or explanations must be repeatable: if an explanation is tested a sec-ond or third time the resuIts must be the same as the results of the first test, andif the explanation is tested using the same method on other material, the resultsof that test must also be the same or very similar. Further, observers should beinterchangeable; any trained individual perfonning the test must get the same orvery si milar results. If any of these conditions are not met, the explanation isspeculative at best, or must be rejected.

This method of acquiring knowledge and understanding is based on a beliefsystem that relies on empirical data gathered from the observation of the mate-rial world. KnOWledge, for those who share this belief system, is gainedthrough the accumulation of many interTelated insights about the issue beingstudied.

In examining our heritage, physical anthropologists seek to understand thebiological history and origins of all humans in all geographical areas. Our fo-cus is on all humankind. While each human society has its ow n history, all hu-man societies can be linked by migration and intermarTiage through time to becategorized as a single species, Homo sapiens, humankind. Each society's bio-logical history is an integral part of the complete and continuing story of allhumankind.

Why is the information we get from skeletal remains unique, an d why can't il

be acquired from living peop les? There are three ways in which data is gatheredabout past populations: I) by the study of the artifacts left behind, 2) by the


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Native American RightsChapter J

ulations as they came into contact with Europeans, Th e examination of prehistoric skeletal remains in the New World, however, has documented the presenceof the disease in the Americas before the arrival of Columbus. Ample evidencealso exists for the presence of syphilis or other treponema I diseases in Europeprior to Columhus' return to the New World. Knowing this, it has become evident that the disease, probably in the form of a new and virulent strain, rein

fected historic Native American populations with tragic results. Th e study ofsyphilis, with the use of prehistoric human remains as evidence, has providedhumankind with on e of the best documented records of the complex origin,spread, and reinfestation of a population by a contagious and deadly disease.Our understanding of ou r relationship to all contagious diseases has been dramatically improved by ou r unraveling of the history of treponema) diseases.

Study Provides Unique Data

A brief examination of the history of cranial modification in the Americasprovides another example of how the study of the biological remains of pastpeoples furnishes unique and valuable evidence. Th e basic shape of the human

head is roughly globular, but this shape ca n be modified by placing unevenpressures on the head o f a growing child. This uneven pressure can be broughtabout unintentionally by placing a baby in the same resting position time aftertime, such as in a cradle board or crib, Intentional alteration of cranial shapealso has been practiced on a worldwide basis, Although intentional cranialmodification is usually no t practiced in North America today, many early Native American groups deliberately altered skull shapes by compressing th eheads of infants with bands or fIat surfaces, Ninety-two percent of all individuals in a prehistoric Adena population displayed evidence of the intentional moditication of cranial shape, and an early study o f an Ohio population revealedthat 77 percent of all crania exhibited evidence of intentional modification. Byhistoric times, however, these societies had changed and cranial shape alterationbecame much less widely practiced. Without the information provided by thestudy of biological prehistoric remains, the widespread nature of this practice inthe Mississippi valley would not beknown,

A 1993 study of the biological remains of a Mimbres population in theAmerican Southwest by D.H.Y Holliday has added an interesting twist tothe story o f cran ial shape modi fication in the Americas. Her work hasdocumented that, not uncommonly, infections developed in the bone at th epoint of contact at which pressure was applied. In some cases this infection was


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Chapter I

degeneratiou and bone spurs in the lower portion of the vertebral column associated with generalized stress and lateral bending and flexion.

Although daily activities like these might be inferred to occur in past populations. skeletal and dental markers offer direct, empirical proof of their Commonoccunence. These reconstructions of mundane daily behaviors of past peoplesare important because they provide indications of everyday activities that were

important, and in some cases necessary in the lives of our ancestors, . . .Archeological Studies Benefit the Living

How does the study o f hU/non remains. particularly the study o f Native Arner-icon remains, benefit !iving people? The study of treponemal disease in pastpopulations and its ancient distribution has provided valuable information onhow epidemics spread among populations. Other studies of medical disordersaffeCting past populations have had measurable impact on modern health andtreatment of disease as well.

The study of rheumatoid diseases like arthritis is such an example. Human remains offer unique oppor1unities for the study of rheumatoid diseases becausean entire bony joint can be examined three-dimensionally, an option not available in the study of living individuals. This is impor1ant because diagnosis byvisual assessment of bony changes has proven to be much more sensitive thanassessment by x-ray of the impaired joint. In a recent study, rheumatoid anomalies were readily detected by visual examination in sixteen of twenty-fourskeletal specimens, while the analysis of x-rays of the same material revealedabnormalities in only two of the same twenty-four individuals. It is possible togather detailed information about changes in bony joints during the early stagesof rheumatoid disorders using visual inspection that might escape detection.Therefore. the study of prehistoric and historic skeletal samples has aided inour understanding of the patterns of early development of this disorder and thisknOWledge in turn may be used eventually in the early diagnosis and treatmentof living peoples suffering from rheumatoid ar1hritis.

Information gathered from the reconstruction of ancient diets, accomplishedin part through the chemical analysis of human remains, is helpful in tacklingmodem health problems, The causesof chronic kidney failure, or endstage renal disease in children are notfully understood, but informationgathered from the study of the dietsof past populations is giving new insight il1\o its causes and, most importantly, its treatmenl. Data indicatesthat prolonged hyperfiltration, excessive filtering of liquid in the kidneys, playsan important role in the development of this condition. Hyper-filtration occurs inhealthy kidncv\ a'- a re'rnn,e to a

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