BIOARCHAEOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF A BRONZE AGE SKELETAL SAMPLE FROM THE QIJIA CULTURE CEMETERY MOGOU (1750-1100 BCE) IN GANSU PROVINCE, CHINA

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Johnson, E. (2019). BIOARCHAEOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF A BRONZE AGE SKELETAL SAMPLE FROM THE QIJIA CULTURE CEMETERY MOGOU (1750-1100 BCE) IN GANSU PROVINCE, CHINA. Unc Charlotte Electronic Theses And Dissertations.
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Abstract

Bronze Age China has consistently been an area of research foci for both domestic and international researchers. However, paleopathological analysis of certain cultures within the "Northern Zone" is relatively new and demands scholarly exploration. Located along the northern borders of modern-day China, this area was a critical arena for interregional contact which aided technological and cultural diffusion. The following research analyzes skeletal stress markers to make inferences about the health and lifestyles of Qijia (2200-1400 BCE) individuals, paying particular attention to trends that would indicate sex-based social inequality. To do this, a small sub-sample (n=44) from the Qijia culture cemetery Mogou (1750-1100 BCE) was analyzed for nonspecific indicators of stress, including osteomyelitis, periosteal reaction, porotic hyperostosis, cribra orbitalia, dental pathologies, and trauma. Results indicate that the population at Mogou was in relatively "good" health, displaying majority healed skeletal lesions. Additionally, there are no significant differences in pathology or trauma between the sexes, suggesting that individuals at Mogou were not subjected to sex-based inequality to a degree that resulted in differences in skeletal lesions.

Details
Author

Johnson, Elizabeth

Title

BIOARCHAEOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF A BRONZE AGE SKELETAL SAMPLE FROM THE QIJIA CULTURE CEMETERY MOGOU (1750-1100 BCE) IN GANSU PROVINCE, CHINA

Physical Description

1 online resource (75 pages) : PDF

Date

2019

Degree Granting Institution

University of North Carolina at Charlotte

Abstract

Bronze Age China has consistently been an area of research foci for both domestic and international researchers. However, paleopathological analysis of certain cultures within the "Northern Zone" is relatively new and demands scholarly exploration. Located along the northern borders of modern-day China, this area was a critical arena for interregional contact which aided technological and cultural diffusion. The following research analyzes skeletal stress markers to make inferences about the health and lifestyles of Qijia (2200-1400 BCE) individuals, paying particular attention to trends that would indicate sex-based social inequality. To do this, a small sub-sample (n=44) from the Qijia culture cemetery Mogou (1750-1100 BCE) was analyzed for nonspecific indicators of stress, including osteomyelitis, periosteal reaction, porotic hyperostosis, cribra orbitalia, dental pathologies, and trauma. Results indicate that the population at Mogou was in relatively "good" health, displaying majority healed skeletal lesions. Additionally, there are no significant differences in pathology or trauma between the sexes, suggesting that individuals at Mogou were not subjected to sex-based inequality to a degree that resulted in differences in skeletal lesions.

Genre

masters theses

Subjects--Topics

Physical anthropology
Archaeology
Area studies

Subjects--Places

Asia

Degree

M.A.

Keywords

Bioarchaeology
China
Mogou
Paleopathology
Qijia
Trauma

Subject Area

Anthropology

Advisor(s)

Juengst, Sara

Committee Members

Berger, Elizabeth
Marks, Jonathan

Degree Note

Thesis (M.A.)--University of North Carolina at Charlotte, 2019.

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Rights Holder Information

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Identifier

Johnson_uncc_0694N_12136

Permalink

http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.13093/etd:1825