Abstract

Bioarchaeological studies of human remains from the Marshall Islands have reported dental, aDNA, and some biological profile data, but no behavioral reconstructions have been conducted. In this case study, histology was examined in a fragmented set of long bone and rib samples to test whether strenuous arm use, linked to traditional Marshallese gardening, food collection, and fishing activities, can be inferred from markers of bone remodeling. Cortical bone samples from the right posterior midshaft femur, left proximal radius, right posterior distal humerus, and an unsided and unnumbered rib shaft were examined in a middle-aged adult male excavated from a village site (MLEb-5) on Ebon Islet, Ebon Atoll. The interment is associated with a 1720 BP date making it the oldest burial in the Marshall Islands. Haversian canal area and density were recorded and compared intra-skeletally. The humerus and radius had denser and smaller canals compared to the femur. This suggests that the upper limb bones in this individual might have experienced frequent, strain suppressed, remodeling events. Bone adaptation to rigorous arm loading is inferred, demonstrating value in histological sampling of fragmented human remains for lifestyle interpretations in the ancient Pacific.

摘要

来自马绍尔群岛的人类遗骸的生物考古研究报告了牙齿、aDNA 和一些生物特征数据，但尚未进行行为重建。在本案例研究中，对一组碎片化的长骨和肋骨样本进行了组织学检查，以测试与传统马绍尔人园艺、食物收集和捕鱼活动相关的剧烈手臂使用是否可以从骨骼重塑的标记中推断出来。在从 Ebon 岛 Ebon 岛的村庄遗址 (MLEb-5) 挖掘的一名中年成年男性中检查了来自右后股骨中轴、左桡骨近端、右后肱骨远端和无边无编号的肋骨干的皮质骨样本环礁。该埋葬与 1720 BP 日期有关，使其成为马绍尔群岛最古老的墓葬。记录哈弗斯管面积和密度并在骨骼内进行比较。与股骨相比，肱骨和桡骨有更密集和更小的管。这表明该个体的上肢骨骼可能经历了频繁的、应变抑制的、重塑事件。推断骨骼对严格的手臂负荷的适应，证明了碎片化人类遗骸的组织学取样对古代太平洋生活方式解释的价值。