Ergebnisse
Results
Sex and age estimation using standard anthropological methods suggested the adult was a female of 25–30 years of age. The commingled bones of the young infant belonged to a 4-5 year old child whereas the older infant had an age of 11-13 years. Epigenetic traits of the teeth suggest a possible familial relationship between the female and the older child. The teeth of the adult showed irregular attrition, numerous chippings of the tooth enamel and a high level of calculus. In future research, samples of the calculus will provide information about the diet of these people. The irregular attrition may be evidence for habitual work-related activities using the teeth. Maybe the woman was braiding baskets and used her teeth as a third hand, as the people still do nowadays. The chipping of the enamel is connected to biting hard substances, e.g., cracking nuts. Food processing in daily life requires such actions.
The burials turned out to be regular, the position of the skeletons being more or less the same as people are buried nowadays. The apparently missing parts of the skeletons, that had been used to suggest possible cannibalism, had simply shifted out of anatomical position and could be recovered. Additionally, no other signs of cannibalism, such as cut marks in particular areas of the skeleton, intentional breakage of the long bones, or the impact of heat, could be detected, excluding the possibility of cannibalism of the skeletons.
Further research on the pathological findings that reveal clear signs of the hard life the three individuals lived, will be presented in the near future.
Contributors
Solomon Islands National Museum (Director Tony Heorake, Chief Archaeologist Lawrence Kiko), Ministry of Culture and Tourism Solomon Islands (Director of Culture Dennis Marita), Radiocarbon dating: AMS-Labor Erlangen, Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nürnberg, Germany; Beta Analytic, Miami, Florida, USA)
