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THE
TEXAS JOURNAL
OF
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The Texas Journal of Science (ISSN 0040-4403) is published quarterly at Lubbock, Texas, U.S.A. Periodicals postage paid at San Angelo, Texas and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes, and returned copies to The Texas Journal of Science, Box 43151, Lubbock, Texas 79409-3151, U.S.A. The known office of publication for The Texas Journal of Science and The Texas Academy of Science is 24 Kilt Road, San Angelo, Texas 76901-9512, U.S.A. ; Dr. Michael J. Carlo, Treasurer.
THE TEXAS JOURNAL OF SCIENCE
Volume 52, No. 1
February, 2000
CONTENTS
Fossil Crocodylians from the Eocene Devil’s Graveyard and Canoe Formations,
Brewster County, Texas.
By Christopher A. Brochu . . . 3
An Archaic Human Burial from Yoakum County, Texas: The Crossroads of Bioarchaeology and Forensic Anthropology.
By Robert R. Paine and Patrick J. Lewis . 13
A Revision of the Land Snail Helicina orbiculata (Gastropoda: Prosobranchia) from the Southern United States.
By Ned E. Strenth and Thomas G. Littleton . 25
Effects of the American Swallow Bug ( Oeciacus vicarius) on Reproductive Success in the Barn Swallow (II ir undo rustica).
By J. G. Kopachena, A. J. Buckley and G. A. Potts . 33
A Variation of Line Intercept Sampling: Comparing Long Transects to Short Transects.
By Eric E. Jorgensen, Stephen Demarais and Tony Monasmith . 48
Centroids in Unitary Spaces.
By Ali R. Amir-Moez and Themistocles M. Rassias . 53
A Note on Eventually Computable Functions.
By T. G. McLaughlin . 59
General Notes
An Inexpensive Method to Avoid Tail Damage to Kangaroo Rats (Dipodomys spp.) when using Sherman Traps.
By J. Jeffrey Root, Nicole L. Marlenee, Eric E. Jorgensen
and Stephen Demarais . 65
New County Record for the Mexican Long-Tongued Bat (Choeronycteris mexicana) from Texas.
By Marie K. Fernandez, Steven A. Smith and Rodolfo Escamilla . 68
Additional Occurrence of the Filarioid Nematode, Litomosoides westi, in Geomys spp. in Texas.
By Richard M. Pitts, Norman O. Dronen and John W. Bickham . 69
First Records of the Suckermouth Minnow Phenacobius mirabilis from the Canadian River, Texas.
By Gene R. Wilde and Timothy H. Bonner . 71
Book Review - Texas Wildlife Resources and Land Uses.
By Terry C. Maxwell . 75
Author Instructions
77
THE TEXAS JOURNAL OF SCIENCE EDITORIAL STAFF
Managing Editor:
Ned E. Strenth, Angelo State University Manuscript Editor:
Frederick B. Stangl, Midwestern State University Associate General Editor:
Michael J. Carlo, Angelo State University (Ret.)
Associate Editor for Botany:
Robert I. Lonard, The University of Texas-Pan American Associate Editor for Chemistry:
John R. Villarreal, The University of Texas-Pan American Associate Editor for Computer Science:
Nelson Passos, Midwestern State University Associate Editor for Environmental Science:
Thomas LaPoint, University of North Texas Associate Editor for Geology:
Ernest L. Lundelius, University of Texas at Austin Associate Editor for Mathematics and Statistics:
E. Donice McCune, Stephen F. Austin State University Associate Editor for Physics:
Charles W. Myles, Texas Tech University
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Dr. Frederick B. Stangl TJS Manuscript Editor Department of Biology Midwestern State University Wichita Falls, Texas 76308
Scholarly papers reporting original research results in any field of science, technology or science education will be considered for publication in The Texas Journal of Science. Instructions to authors are published one or more times each year in the Journal on a space-available basis, and also are available from the Manuscript Editor at the above address. They are also available on the Academy’s homepage at:
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The Texas Journal of Science is published quarterly in February, May, August and November for $30 per year (regular membership) by The Texas Academy of Science. Periodical postage rates (ISSN 0040-4403) paid at Lubbock, Texas. Postmaster: Send address changes, and returned copies to The Texas Journal of Science , PrinTech, Box 43151, Lubbock, Texas 79409-3151, U.S.A.
TEXAS J. SCI. 52(1):3-12
FEBRUARY, 2000
FOSSIL CROCODYLIANS FROM THE EOCENE DEVIL’S GRAVEYARD AND CANOE FORMATIONS, BREWSTER COUNTY, TEXAS
Christopher A. Brochu
Department of Geological Sciences University of Texas at Austin Austin , Texas 78712 Present Address:
Department of Geology Field Museum, 1400 S. Lake Shore Drive Chicago, Illinois 60605
Abstract. —Fragmentary crocodylian remains from the Lower Eocene of west Texas represent at least three taxa; these are the extinct generalized taxon Borealosuchus , the terrestrial Pristichampsus and a derived alligatoroid closely resembling forms given the name Allognathosuchus . These remains are significant, as they preserve the youngest known occurrence of Borealosuchus and may be the southernmost known occurrence of A llognathosuchus .
Although most vertebrate paleontological work in the Eocene se¬ quence of western Texas has focused on mammals (e.g., Wilson 1967; 1971; 1974; 1977; Wilson & Schiebout 1981; Gustafson 1986; Runkel 1988), nonmammalian tetrapods are known. These include croco- dylians, turtles, squamates and lissamphibians (Wilson 1986; Runkel 1988). However, only one nonmammalian vertebrate has been described from the Eocene of this region, Pristichampsus , which may have been a terrestrial rather than semiaquatic predator (Busbey 1986). Material described herein derives from the Devil’s Graveyard and Canoe Forma¬ tions, both of which are exposed in Brewster County, Texas. The Devil’s Graveyard Formation is a sequence of fluviolacustrine sand¬ stones and mudstones interbedded with tuffs spanning the Uintan and Chadronian North American Land Mammal Ages (N ALMAs; Stevens et al. 1984; Runkel 1988). The Canoe Formation is predominantly sandstone, and is correlative with the lower part of the Devil’s Graveyard Formation (Runkel 1988). All localities from which crocodylians have been collected are regarded as early Uintan in age based on associated large mammals (Stevens et al. 1984; Wilson 1977; 1984; 1986; Wilson & Schiebout 1981) and K-Ar dates obtained from underlying and overlying volcanic deposits in the Devil’s Graveyard Formation (Henry & McDowell 1986; Schucker & Nelson 1988).
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THE TEXAS JOURNAL OF SCIENCE-VOL. 52, NO. 1, 2000
Specimens described by Busbey (1986) and some of those described herein are derived from the Whistler’s Squat Local Fauna, which refers to several localities in the Agua Fria region of Brewster County northwest of Big Bend National Park (Wilson 1986). Others are from assemblages and local faunas from elsewhere in Brewster County con¬ temporaneous with Whistler’s Squat Local Fauna (Runkel 1988).
The purpose of this report is to briefly describe the crocodylian taxa diagnosable from this unit based on material deposited in the Vertebrate Paleontology Laboratory, Texas Memorial Museum, Austin, Texas (TMM). One, Pristichampsus, has already been described from this area, representing a stratigraphic extension into the Uintan (Busbey 1986). A partial skeleton from the Canoe Formation indicates an exten¬ sion into the Uintan for Borealosuchus , and a small alligatoroid of uncertain affinities (but closely resembling several blunt-snouted taxa from the North American Tertiary) can also be recognized.
Systematic Paleontology
EUUSUCHIA Huxley 1875 CROCODYLIA Gmelin 1789 Borealosuchus Brochu 1997
Referred material.— TMM 40146-6, associated vertebral centra, osteoderms, phalanges, teeth.
Occurrence . —Canoe Formation, Canoe A Local Fauna (Runkel 1988), White Amphitheater, Big Bend National Park, Brewster County, Texas.
Discussion . —The material catalogued under TMM 40146-6 was found in association and probably represents a single individual. The vertebral column is represented by procoelous mid-dorsal centra from which the neural arches have completely separated.
Among the osteoderms (Figure If) is the anterior ossification from a bipartite ventral element. Bipartite ventral osteoderms such as these are known in three separate crocodylian lineages: extant caimans, the European al 1 igator oid Diplocynodon , and Borealosuchus, a North Ameri¬ can lineage including several taxa formerly classified as Leidyosuchus by Huxley (1859), Buscalioni et al. (1992) and Brochu (1997). By itself,
BROCHU
5
Figure 1. Osteoderm fragments (TMM 40146-6) from Borealosuchus sp. Item F is the anterior ossification from a bipartite ventral osteoderm; the sutural surface for its corresponding posterior element can be seen. Scale = 1 cm.
the isolated ventral element does not allow one to distinguish among these three lineages, but the remaining osteoderms, which include dorsal elements (e.g., Figure le), are unkeeled, arguing against affinities with both Diplocynodon and caimans. Given the absence of Diplocynodon in North America during the Tertiary, but the ubiquity of Borealosuchus in Lower Tertiary deposits of this continent, including the underlying Black Peaks Formation in Big Bend (Brochu 2000), identity with Borealosuchus appears most likely.
The anterior ventral element associated with TMM 40146-6 bears a single row of large pits immediately posterior to a broad, flat region that would have passed dorsal to the osteoderm immediately in front of it. In caimans and Diplocynodon, the anterior ossification usually bears small pits posterior to the imbrication zone, and these pits are not arranged in a single discrete row (e.g., Ludwig 1877: plate 14). How¬ ever, a single row of large pits is characteristic of anterior ossifications in Borealosuchus wilsoni from the Lower Eocene of western North America. The nature of pits in Diplocynodon varies, and so caution must be observed when using this feature to diagnose ventral ossifica¬ tions in crocodylians.
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THE TEXAS JOURNAL OF SCIENCE- VOL. 52, NO. 1, 2000
If these remains are from Borealosuchus , then they represent a strati¬ graphic extension of the taxon. The youngest previous occurrence of Borealosuchus is B. wilsoni , which ranges across the Wasatchian and Bridgerian NALMAs of the Bridger, Bighorn, and Green River Basins (Mook 1959; Bartels 1980; 1983; Brochu 1997). Borealosuchus has not been reported from units younger than the Bridgerian north of the Big Bend area.
PRISTICHAMPSINAE Kuhn 1968 Pristichampsus Gervais 1853
Referred specimens— TMM 42952-113 (in part) teeth; TMM 42953- 11, tooth. Many more dental, cranial, and mandibular specimens were listed by Busbey (1986).
Occurrence. — TMM 42952-113: Devil’s Graveyard Formation, in an assemblage correlative with the Whistler’s Squat Local Fauna (Runkel 1988), Dogie Mountain, Brewster County, Texas. TMM 42953-11: Canoe Formation, Canoe A Local Fauna (Runkel 1988), Crusher Big Yellow, Big Bend National Park, Brewster County, Texas. The speci¬ mens listed by Busbey (1986) were all from the Whistler’s Squat Local Fauna.
Discussion.— The material described by Busbey (1986) includes cranial and mandibular remains as well as isolated teeth. This is important, as the flattened, serrated teeth characteristic of Pristichampsus and its presumed close relatives appeared independently in several other crocodyliform lineages (Benton & Clark 1988). The additional speci¬ mens listed here merely add to the number of formations and local faunas from which Pristichampsus has been found in the Uintan of Big Bend.
These remains are among the youngest reported for Pristichampsus in North America, which is otherwise best known from the Wasatchian and Bridgerian NALMAs of North America (Troxell 1925; Langston 1975; Golz & Lillegraven 1977; Bartels 1980; Gingerich 1989) and units correlative with the Bridgerian in Europe (Berg 1966; Kuhn 1938; Rauhe & Rossmann 1995; Efimov 1993; Rossmann 1998). Uintan pristichampsines have also been collected from California (Bramble & Hutchison 1971).
BROCHU
BREVIROSTRES von Zittel 1890 ALLIGATOROIDEA Gray 1844 GLOBIDONTA Brochu 1999
7
Referred material.— TMM 41576-7, fragments of left dentary and splenial; TMM 42952-113 (in part), isolated teeth.
Occurrance. — TMM 41576-7: Devil’s Graveyard Formation, Whistler’s Squat Local Fauna, Wax Camp, Brewster County, Texas; TMM 42952-113: Devil’s Graveyard Formation, in an assemblage correlative with the Whistler’s Squat Local Fauna (Runkel 1988), Dogie Mountain, Brewster County, Texas.
Discussion . —The rounded dorsal profile and stoutness of the symphy¬ sis (Figure 2a) suggests a placement deep within Alligatoroidea. The dentary bore a large fourth alveolus, but a small third. Alveoli posterior to the fourth are covered with matrix, but a natural mold of one of these alveoli, visible in cross section on the posterior surface of the specimen, indicates that they were very small. These are features consistent with members of Globidonta, which includes the crown-group Alligatoridae and a few of its closest extinct relatives such as Brachychampsa and Stangerochampsa ; (refer to Brochu 1999). The relative sizes of the anterior alveoli are consistent with several extinct members of this assemblage, but are different from those of the horned alligatorid Ceratosuchus , in which the fourth alveolus is not much larger than the third (Bartels 1984).
The dentary symphysis extended back to approximately the same posterior extent as the sixth or seventh alveolus. The splenials met at the midline, and a distinct anterior foramen inter mandibular is oralis is preserved (Figure 2a). Presence of a splenial symphysis rules out identity with the large alligatorid from the Paleocene Black Peaks Formation of Big Bend National Park (Brochu 1996), in which the splenials did not meet at the midline.
The second mandibular fragment represents a posterior segment of the left dentary (Figure 2b). The dorsal surface slopes anteriorly, and three alveoli are preserved. The splenial is not preserved, but the space for its attachment along the medial face of the dentary can be seen; the splenial nearly bordered the posteriormost of the preserved alveoli, and the dorsal splenial-dentary suture would have projected ventrally toward
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THE TEXAS JOURNAL OF SCIENCE- VOL. 52, NO. 1, 2000
Figure 2. Fragments of left mandible from an alligatoroid (TMM 41576-7). (A)
Symphyseal region of dentary and splenial. (B) Fragment of dentary probably comprising the tenth through twelfth alveoli. Abbreviations: fio - anterior foramen intermandibularis oralis; sp - splenial. Scale = 1 cm.
the symphysis. This fragment corresponds closely with the region of the dentary bearing the tenth through twelfth alveoli in Allognathosuchus polyodon, A. wartheni , A. mooki and Wannaganosuchus brachymanus (cf. Mook 1961; Case 1925; Simpson 1930; Erickson 1982); it is less similar with those of Procaimanoidea (cf. Gilmore 1946; Mook 1941; Wassersug & Hecht 1967) or basal members of Alligator , in which this region of the jaw is more elongate.
TMM 42952-113 comprises several isolated crocodylian teeth and osteoderms. Some of the teeth are flattened and serrated, and may be referred to Pristichampsus (see above), but two of them are dorso- ventrally flattened and globular, closely resembling the enlarged teeth found in the back of the dentary and maxillary toothrows of several extinct alligatorids, such as Allognathosuchus , Procaimanoidea , Hassiacosuchus , Ceratosuchus and some extinct Alligator. Indeed, globular posterior teeth are also characteristic of the immediate sister taxa to Alligatoridae (Norell et al. 1994; Wu et al. 1996) and are very likely plesiomorphic at the level of the crown group (Brochu 1999).
These remains are most consistent with any of several taxa given the nam q Allognathosuchus . However, phylogenetic analysis of fossil alliga-
BROCHU
9
torids (Brochu 1999) suggests the nonmonophyly of Allognathosuchus as currently used in the literature. As such, assigning this jaw to Allognathosuchus is premature; some taxa currently named Allognatho¬ suchus (e.g., Allognathosuchus mooki ) may be renamed in the future, and it is not currently known to which Allognathosuchus species the Texas alligatoroid is most closely related. Indeed, there are no characters in this specimen unambiguously placing it within the crown-group Alligatoridae. For these reasons, this specimen is not identified beyond the level of Globidonta. However, this material is biogeographically significant in representing the southernmost known occurrence of a blunt- toothed alligatoroid in the Tertiary of North America.
Acknowledgments
The basis for this note is an extensive Eocene vertebrate collection developed over four decades by J. A. Wilson, J. Schiebout, J. and M. Stevens, A. Runkel, and their associates. I thank M. Norell (American Museum of Natural History, New York), R. Purdy (U.S. National Museum, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC), B. Erickson (Science Museum of Minnesota, St. Paul), G. Buckley (Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago), and P. Holroyd (University of California Museum of Paleontology, Berkeley) for access to specimens that proved invaluable for comparative purposes, and J. Sankey for providing infor¬ mation on relevant material in the Louisiana State University collections. M. Winans provided curatorial assistance. Funding was provided by NSF Dissertation Improvement Grant DEB-9423428 (to T. Rowe), the Roosevelt Fund of the American Museum of Natural History, the Paleontological Society, and the University of Texas Geology Foundation.
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CAB at: cbrochu@fmppr.fmnh.org
TEXAS J. SCI. 52(1): 13-24
FEBRUARY, 2000
AN ARCHAIC HUMAN BURIAL FROM YOAKUM COUNTY, TEXAS: THE CROSSROADS OF BIOARCHAEOLOGY AND FORENSIC ANTHROPOLOGY
Robert R. Paine and Patrick J. Lewis
Department of Sociology, Anthropology and Social Work Texas Tech University, Lubbock Texas 79409-1012 and Department of Biological Anthropology, Duke University Durham, North Carolina 27705-5000
Abstract.— A human burial from Yoakum County in northwest Texas was recently discovered and analyzed. Radiocarbon dating (ca.2940 ± 40 B.P.) revealed this to be a late- Archaic period burial. The remains were identified as a female approximately 30 years old at the time of death. Skeletal evidence showed that she had suffered from mild non-life threatening health problems (i.e. slight osteoarthritic lesions of the back and hip). Dental examination indicated carious lesions and evidence of an early childhood nutritional deficiency. The only artifactual material recovered was red ochre. The burial is significant specifically because there is a lack of archaic period skeletal remains on the southern plains of west Texas. The lack of archaic burials limits the ability to draw specific conclusions concerning prehistoric Native American health for this time period and region.
Archaic human burials are seldom recovered on the Southern High Plains of Texas (Jurgens 1979; Owsley et al. 1989 ). In fact, less is known about the Archaic Period of the Southern High Plains than any other period (Holliday 1987:23). The lack of archaic burials for this region and the surrounding area is well illustrated by the work of Hartnady & Rose (1991). They examined the dental lesions of an archaic population from the Lower Pecos and for comparison purposes had to turn to the Indian Knoll archaic burial population (Hartnady & Rose 1991).
It is the intention of this study to provide paleopathological data recently obtained from the burial site found in Yoakum County, Texas; data that was recovered within the context of forensic anthropological services. A broader discussion of archaic burials from other southern plains localities is beyond the scope of this paper.
When a human burial with the potential of extreme antiquity was recently discovered on private property in Yoakum County, Texas, an extraordinary opportunity for study presented itself. At the time of discovery, Yoakum County had merely a single recorded archaeological site (41YK1), highlighting a lack of reported prehistoric material in the
14 THE TEXAS JOURNAL OF SCIENCE- VOL. 52, NO. 1, 2000
Figure 1. Southern High Plains map denoting the location of the Yoakum burial site (41YK2) (adapted from Holliday 1997).
region. The objectives of this study were to confirm the age of the remains through radiocarbon testing, compile a biological profile, and determine the state of health for the Yoakum County burial (41YK2).
PAINE & LEWIS
15
Forensic anthropological involvement with this burial began after a local artifact collector discovered the skeletal remains and reported the find to the Yoakum County law enforcement authorities. The Yoakum County criminal investigators were obligated to declare the site a crime scene until it could be shown to be otherwise. Subsequently, to determine the medicolegal significance of the remains the investigators contacted the Forensic Anthropology Lab at Texas Tech University, Lubbock, Texas, for assistance in an evaluation and recovery of the burial. Inspection of the site and examination of the dental morphology revealed that this burial was not of medicolegal importance. This was indicated by several criteria including: (1) the extreme occlusal wear of the teeth, typically seen in individuals who consume a course/gritty diet specific to prehistoric Americans; (2) the orientation the burial; (3) the extreme weathering of the bones indicative of prolonged exposure; (4) the presence of red ochre on the skeletal remains, and burned caliche and lithic debris in the immediate vicinity. Each of these criteria suggested that this was an archaeological burial rather than a recently deceased, modern individual.
The context of the burial, located in the sand dunes of west Texas (Fig. 1) suggested that it might be of archeological importance. Indi¬ vidual burials, some of extreme antiquity (Archaic & Paleoindian) , have been reported in similar dune fields in western Texas (Brown 1979; Jurgens 1979; Holliday 1997), and as such, the burial from site 41YK2 warranted removal and analysis. Due to the threats of destruction that weathering and potential human disturbance imposed, immediate re¬ covery of the burial was necessary. Local authorities aided in obtaining the landowner’s permission for excavation and removal of the remains to the forensics lab at Texas Tech University. An agreement was made to ensure that the burial would be returned along with any artifactual material and reburied to a safe depth at its original location, and that a report of the findings would be provided to the Yoakum County Sheriffs department. The spatial distribution of the remains was recorded before the burial was removed and transported to Texas Tech University.
A site report and assessment of the remains were deemed appropriate due to the paucity of known archaic burials and the poor understanding of the Archaic Period on the Southern High Plains (Holliday 1987; Owsley et al. 1989). An assessment of the site, therefore, was performed and sent to the Texas Archeological Research Laboratory
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THE TEXAS JOURNAL OF SCIENCE- VOL. 52, NO. 1, 2000
8
Figure 2. A sketch of the Yoakum burial and the red ochre feature. The light gray shading shows the extent of the ochre stain, the dark gray shows ochre concentration. The skeletal elements are labeled: (1) atlas and axis; (2) scapula; (3) proximal humerus; (4) radius; (5) humeral shaft; (6) distal humerus; (7) right pelvis; (8) left pelvis; (9) sacrum; (10) proximal femur; (11) distal femur; (12) femoral shaft.
(TARL) for official archaeological site recording. Thus, this burial labeled 41 YK2 has become the second recorded site in Yoakum County. The apparent lack of official sites in the county (n= 2) is likely a result of a failure to recognize or record them rather than an actual absence of them. The apparent high frequency of artifact collecting by local avocational archaeologists in the region supports the notion of that there is considerable archaeological wealth for this area.
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17
Site Description
The skeletal remains were found on the windward side of a large sand dune of the Lea- Yoakum dunefield. These anastomosing dunes are an eastward extension of the Mescalero Dunes that formed in the Pecos River Valley adjacent to the Southern High Plains escarpment (Holliday 1997). The burial setting indicated an Archaic Period age as the limited work within this dunefield suggests they are middle- to early-Holocene features (Johnson et al. 1986). The shifting nature of dune fields made stratigraphic correlation between the burial and nearby surface artifacts speculative. A test unit excavated near the burial exhibited uniform stratigraphy, and screening did not recover in situ artifacts. The ranch landmanager explained that the area surrounding the burial had yielded both Paleoindian and Archaic lithic artifacts. Burned caliche and lithic debris, primarily Edwards (outcrops found in central Texas) and Alibates chert (outcrops found in northern Texas Panhandle), were noted near the skeletal material. An ASM radiocarbon date performed by Beta Analytic lab on 10 grams of unexposed vertebral bone (sample #1 19926) returned a corrected age for the burial of ca. 2940 ± 40 years B.P. This places the burial in the late Archaic of the Southern High Plains, which extends from ca. 4500-2000 B.P. (Holliday 1987).
The exposed burial was discovered in a fetal position, laying on its right side, with the top of the cranium pointing east and the face looking north (Fig. 2). Due to severe weathering, most of the remains were extremely fragmented. The right side of the cranium, the right humer¬ us, the proximal ends of the right forearm and femur, and several vertebrae were intact (Table 1). Most of the left side of the body, however, was missing or badly damaged.
A dark- red, grainy matrix appearing to be ochre was located at the mid-section of the burial (Fig. 2) and was the only artifactual material recovered. A preliminary analysis of the ochre preformed by Dr. B. L. Allen (Department of Plant and Soil Science, Texas Tech University) determined it to be hematite with a small amount of quartz. The red ochre probably originated from an outcrop of the Hickory Formation located near the Mason community of central Texas (Allen, pers. comm.), indicating either long range procurement of material or trade.
Skeletal Inventory
Several cranial and post-cranial, partially intact bones from the right
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THE TEXAS JOURNAL OF SCIENCE-VOL. 52, NO. 1, 2000
Table 1. Cranial and postcranial elements available, excluding long bones.
Cranial Bones |
Left |
Right |
Frontal |
X |
|
Parietal |
X |
|
Occipital |
X |
|
Temporal |
X |
|
TMJ |
X |
|
Maxilla |
X |
X |
Palatine |
X |
X |
Mandible |
X |
|
Postcranial Bones Clavicle |
X |
X |
Scapula (body only) |
X |
X |
Ribs 1st |
X |
X |
Os Coxae ilium |
X |
X |
acetabulum |
X |
X |
auricular surface |
X |
X |
Vertebrae |
Centra |
Neural arches |
Cl |
X |
X |
C2 |
X |
X |
Cl |
X |
|
T10 |
X |
|
Til |
X |
|
T12 |
X |
|
L2 |
X |
X |
L3 |
X |
X |
L4 |
X |
X |
L5 |
X |
X |
Sacrum |
X |
X |
Vertebrae Grouped C3-C6 |
4 |
4 |
T1-T9 |
5 |
side of the body were suitable for analysis (Tables 1 and 2). Dental remains from the right side were also well represented allowing a detailed description of the teeth (Fig. 3). From the preserved elements, it was possible to construct a biological profile of the individual.
An age assessment was obtained by examining several criteria: the iliac articular surface wear pattern (Lovejoy et al. 1985; Buikstra & Ubelaker 1994); scoring the cranial anterior-lateral suture closure (Meindl & Lovejoy 1985; Buikstra & Ubelaker 1994); and estimating molar occlusal wear (Brothwell 1981; Hillson 1996). A general age estimation of 20-40 years was obtained using these criteria, with a narrower range of 25-35 years indicated once each criterion was cross-checked.
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Table 2. Long bone skeletal elements available.
Long Bones |
Proximal |
Proximal |
Middle |
Distal |
Distal |
Epiphysis |
Third |
Third |
Third |
Epiphysis |
|
Left Humerus |
X |
X |
|||
Right Humerus |
X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
Left Radius Right Radius |
X |
X |
|||
Right Ulna |
X |
X |
|||
Left Femur |
X |
X |
|||
Right Femur Left Tibia |
X |
X |
X |
Since the skull is only partially represented by the right cranial bones (see Table 1), standard craniometric multivariate discriminant analyses (Giles & Elliot 1963; Giles 1970) used for sex determination are not possible. Therefore, sex determination was based on several quantitative and qualitative variables (Table 3). Qualitative indicators included the sciatic notch size, and supra-orbital ridge and margin (Buikstra & Ubelaker 1994; Bass 1995). The four quantitative measurements were taken: the mastoid length, femoral head diameter, humeral epicondylar breadth and glenoid fossa length. Each of these criteria taken as a group offers a convincing argument that this adult individual was a gracile person possessing feminine features. Hence, it is assumed that the remains are of an adult female.
Health Assessment
Paleopathological assessment of the skeletal elements of this burial revealed that this female did not exhibit bony lesions that indicate long term or chronic health problems, which might be linked to her cause of death. Skeletal lesions found for this burial are indicative of health problems typical for archaic hunter and gatherers, who can be character¬ ized as experiencing a very physically demanding way of life (Arme- lagos 1991; 1997).
A minor osteoarthritic problem of the lower back region is indicated in the lumbar and sacral bones by slight osteophytic lipping of the vertebral bodies (Kenndey 1989). Small periostitic lesions on the left femoral head and corresponding acetabulum also suggest a mild infection of the hip joint and the beginning of an osteoarthritic problem in this area as well (Mann & Murphy 1990).
OC&lUSAt
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THE TEXAS JOURNAL OF SCIENCE- VOL. 52, NO. 1, 2000
MAXILLARY
BUCCAL
1 2 |
3 4 5 8 7 8 |
8 10 11 12 13 14 15 |
18 |
32 31 |
30 28 28 27 28 25 |
24 23 22 21 20 18 18 |
17 |
MANDIBULAR
Figure 3. This diagram shows the dental remains recovered. Missing teeth are indicated with dark gray shading, black shading indicates caries, light gray shows weathering. The mandibular left central incisor exhibits an enamel hypoplasia line.
The teeth show moderate to extreme occlusal wear. The posterior teeth also exhibit large carious lesions (Fig. 3). These lesions are associated with dietary habits. In general, caries are the result of a bacterial build up from a sugar-based diet (Hillson 1996). The occlusal wear of the molars indicates a course diet that may have actually lessened the number and severity of the caries. High rates of dental caries have been seen for other Archaic populations in the southwest Texas region. Archaic populations (8000 to 1000 B.C.) of the Lower Pecos, for example, were found to have higher rates of caries than expected (Hartnady & Rose 1991). The high number of caries in these Archaic populations were suggested to be due to a high carbohydrate diet based on wild foods like sotal, prickly pear fruit and lechugilla (Hartnady & Rose 1991). These wild plants common the southwest Texas environment exhibit a sticky sugar-base diet that would account for the high frequency of posterior dental caries. These wild plants are most likely the major factor in the large number of carious lesions
PAINE & LEWIS
21
Table 3. Skeletal measurements taken from the right side of the body. (* Indicates sexing criteria.)
Measurements |
Length (cm) |
Cranial Length |
17.2 |
Cranial Height |
12.9 |
Orbital Height |
3.4 |
Orbital Width |
3.4 |
Mastoid Length* |
2.5 |
Palate Length |
4.8 |
Mandibular Ramus Height |
|