The application of 3D geometric morphometrics and laser surface scanning to investigate the standardization of cranial vault modification in the Andes

Abstract Cranial vault modification and the social significance of permanent body modification have long been an important topic of interest in Andean archaeology. While previous studies have enriched our understanding of these practices among prehistoric Andean populations, the introduction of 3D surface scanners and geometric morphometric methods in archaeology enable us to examine head-shaping practices in novel ways. In this pilot study, we used a NextEngine 3D Laser Surface Scanner to generate high resolution models of artificially modified crania from four archaeological sites dating to the Archaic (2300–1600 BCE), Formative (500 CE), late Middle Horizon/early Late Intermediate period (LIP) (750–1100 CE) in Chile and late LIP crania (circa 1350 CE) from central, highland Peru. Landmarks were recorded on the 3D digital models of crania and these data were analyzed to assess variation in vault shape within and between the samples. Results of the PCA analysis showed graphical separation of the annular, tabular erect, and some tabular oblique types even when gross morphological assessments proved challenging. We documented marked variation within the general modification type traditionally identified as tabular oblique, which suggests more detailed classifications within this type are needed. We also investigated how standardized (i.e., similar) particular cranial modification types were at each site, and results show that the coastal sites of Morro 1 and Playa Miller 7, and the highlands Huari-Vegachayoc Moqo site show higher levels of standardization than the other four samples. This study highlights the utility of 3D imaging and geometric morphometric methods for straightforward, objective assessments of cranial modification and levels of standardization within sites and within particular modification types. This has implications for understanding the broader social and cultural significance of this practice, such as whether there were shared cultural norms about how a head should be modified, which could have led to highly uniform modification practices and head shapes in the Andes.

[1]  B. Arriaza,et al.  Chinchorro Culture: Pioneers of the Coast of the Atacama Desert , 2008 .

[2]  Calogero M. Santoro,et al.  Patrón funerario arcaico temprano del sitio Acha-3 y su relación con Chinchorro: Cazadores, pescadores y recolectores de la costa norte de Chile , 2004, Latin American Antiquity.

[3]  Susan C. Kuzminsky,et al.  A Re-Appraisal of the Early Andean Human Remains from Lauricocha in Peru , 2015, PloS one.

[4]  H. Niemeyer,et al.  Interaction, social identity, agency and change during Middle Horizon San Pedro de Atacama (northern Chile): A multidimensional and interdisciplinary perspective , 2014 .

[5]  J. Buikstra,et al.  Artificial Cranial Deformation at the Omo M10 Site: A Tiwanaku Complex from the Moquegua Valley, Peru , 1995, Latin American Antiquity.

[6]  W. J. Oakes,et al.  Artificial deformation of the human skull: A review , 2006, Clinical anatomy.

[7]  R. Sutter.  A Bioarchaeological Assessment of Prehistoric Ethnicity Among Early Late Intermediate Period Populations of the Coastal Azapa Valley, Chile. , 1999 .

[8]  H. Bocherens,et al.  Marine food consumption in coastal northern Chilean (Atacama Desert) populations during the Formative Period: Implications of isotopic evidence (C, N, S) for the Neolithic process in south central Andes , 2016 .

[9]  B. Arriaza,et al.  Formative Adaptations, Diet, and Oral Health in the Azapa Valley of Northwest Chile , 2010, Latin American Antiquity.

[10]  R. Sutter,et al.  Nonmetric cranial trait variation and prehistoric biocultural change in the Azapa Valley, Chile. , 2004, American journal of physical anthropology.

[11]  E. Sharp,et al.  Patterns of Violence and Diet Among Children During a Time of Imperial Decline and Climate Change in the Ancient Peruvian Andes , 2016 .

[12]  C. Klingenberg.  MorphoJ: an integrated software package for geometric morphometrics , 2011, Molecular ecology resources.

[13]  D. Blom.  Embodying borders: human body modification and diversity in Tiwanaku society , 2005 .

[14]  S. Manríquez,et al.  DEFORMACIÓN INTENCIONAL DEL CRÁNEO EN POBLACIONES ARQUEOLÓGICAS DE ARICA, CHILE: ANÁLISIS PRELIMINAR DE MORFOMETRÍA GEOMÉTRICA CON USO DE RADIOGRAFÍAS CRANEOFACIALES , 2006 .

[15]  B. Arriaza,et al.  Influence of cranial deformation on facial morphology among prehistoric South Central Andean populations. , 2006, American journal of physical anthropology.

[16]  M. Okumura.  Differences in types of artificial cranial deformation are related to differences in frequencies of cranial and oral health markers in pre-Columbian skulls from Peru , 2014 .

[17]  P. Gerszten.  An investigation into the practice of cranial deformation among the Pre‐Columbian peoples of northern Chile , 1993 .

[18]  Noreen von Cramon-Taubadel,et al.  Global human mandibular variation reflects differences in agricultural and hunter-gatherer subsistence strategies , 2011 .

[19]  Susan C. Kuzminsky,et al.  Three-dimensional laser scanning: potential uses for museum conservation and scientific research , 2012 .

[20]  B. Kemp,et al.  Genetic continuity after the collapse of the Wari empire: mitochondrial DNA profiles from Wari and post-Wari populations in the ancient Andes. , 2009, American journal of physical anthropology.

[21]  G. E. Smith.  Artificial Cranial Deformation: a Contribution to the Study of Ethnic Mutilations , 1932, Nature.

[22]  J. Relethford,et al.  Detection of differential gene flow from patterns of quantitative variation. , 1990, Human biology.

[23]  Tiffiny A. Tung.  VIOLENCE AFTER IMPERIAL COLLAPSE: A STUDY OF CRANIAL TRAUMA AMONG LATE INTERMEDIATE PERIOD BURIALS FROM THE FORMER HUARI CAPITAL, AYACUCHO, PERU , 2008 .

[24]  Tiffiny A. Tung.  Agency, ‘Til Death Do Us Part? Inquiring about the Agency of Dead Bodies from the Ancient Andes , 2014 .

[25]  B. Hallgrímsson,et al.  Tiwanaku 'colonization': bioarchaeological implications for migration in the Moquegua Valley, Peru. , 1998, World archaeology.

[26]  C. Santoro,et al.  Consumption of animals beyond diet in the Atacama Desert, northern Chile (13,000–410BP): Comparing rock art motifs and archaeofaunal records , 2015 .

[27]  Eli R. Hooten,et al.  Capturing Complexity , 2014, Advances in Archaeological Practice.

[28]  K. Knudson,et al.  EXAMINING THE LIFE HISTORY OF AN INDIVIDUAL FROM SOLCOR 3, SAN PEDRO DE ATACAMA: COMBINING BIOARCHAEOLOGY AND ARCHAEOLOGICAL CHEMISTRY , 2007 .

[29]  Annett Baier.  Huari Administrative Structure Prehistoric Monumental Architecture And State Government , 2016 .

[30]  H. Livermore,et al.  Royal Commentaries of the Incas and General History of Peru, Parts One and Two , 1966 .

[31]  J. Munizaga.  Intentional cranial deformation in the preColumbian populations of ecuador , 1976 .

[32]  Kevin J. Vaughn,et al.  Introduction: US AND THEM: ARCHAEOLOGY AND ETHNICITY IN THE ANDES , 2005 .

[33]  B. Arriaza,et al.  Tooth Wear Related to Marine Foraging, Agro‐Pastoralism and the Formative Transition on the Northern Chilean Coast , 2013 .

[34]  Matthew C. Velasco.  Mortuary Tradition and Social Transformation during the Late Intermediate Period (A.D. 1100-1450): A Bioarchaeological Analysis of Above-Ground Burials in the Colca Valley, Peru , 2016 .

[35]  D. Ubelaker,et al.  Standards for Data Collection from Human Skeletal Remains , 1994 .

[36]  D. Kurin.  The bioarchaeology of collapse: Ethnogenesis and ethnocide in post-imperial Andahuaylas, Peru (AD 900--1250) , 2012 .

[37]  F. Rothhammer,et al.  MORPHOMETRIC AND mtDNA ANALYSES OF ARCHAIC SKELETAL REMAINS FROM SOUTHWESTERN SOUTH AMERICA , 2011 .

[38]  V. Tiesler,et al.  The Bioarchaeology of Artificial Cranial Modifications: New Approaches to Head Shaping and its Meanings in Pre-Columbian Mesoamerica and Beyond , 2013 .

[39]  K. Reinhard,et al.  CRANIAL DEFORMATION AS THE CAUSE OF DEATH FOR A CHILD FROM THE CHILLON RIVER VALLEY, PERU , 2008 .

[40]  M. Lahr,et al.  A metric study of three types of artificial cranial modification from north‐central Peru , 2010 .

[41]  Susan C. Kuzminsky,et al.  Paleodiet in northern Chile through the Holocene: extremely heavy δ15N values in dental calculus suggest a guano-derived signature? , 2013 .

[42]  Christina TorresRouff,et al.  Cranial Vault Modification and Ethnicity in Middle Horizon San Pedro de Atacama, Chile1 , 2002, Current Anthropology.

[43]  Tiffiny A. Tung,et al.  Patterns of War in the Andes from the Archaic to the Late Horizon: Insights from Settlement Patterns and Cranial Trauma , 2013 .

[44]  Tiffiny A. Tung.  From Corporeality to Sanctity , 2007 .

[45]  C. Boston.  Investigations of the Biological Consequences and Cultural Motivations of Artificial Cranial Modification Among Northern Chilean Populations , 2012 .

[46]  Juan R. Munizaga.  Deformación craneana intencional en América , 2011 .

[47]  S. I. Perez,et al.  Artificial cranial deformation in South America: a geometric morphometrics approximation , 2007 .

[48]  H. David Sheets,et al.  Geometric morphometrics for biologists : a primer , 2004 .

[49]  J. Verano,et al.  Modified Human Skulls from the Urban Sector of the Pyramids of Moche, Northern Peru , 1999, Latin American Antiquity.