Reconstruction of Demographic Profiles from Ossuary Skeletal Samples: A Case Study from the Tidewater Potomac

Ubelaker, Douglas H. Reconstruction of Demographic Profiles from Ossuary Skeletal Samples: A Case Study from the Tidewater Potomac. Smithsonian Contributions to Anthropology, number 18, 79 pages, 27 figures, 45 tables, 1974.—The excavation and analysis of two Late Woodland ossuaries from the Juhle site (18CH89) in southern Maryland are described in detail. The report includes a discussion of archeological features of the ossuaries, but emphasizes the reconstruction of population profiles derived from the analysis of the recovered skeletal samples. Ethnohistorical and archeological sources are consulted to suggest that ossuaries contain nearly all individuals who died in the contributing populations during culturally prescribed numbers of years and, consequently, offer somewhat unique opportunities for demographic analysis. Several methods are employed to estimate the chronological age at death of individuals in both ossuaries. Subadult ages are derived from the formation and eruption of the teeth and from the maximum length of the femora. Adult ages are calculated from examinations of the symphyseal faces of the pubes and the degree of microscopic cortical remodeling in the femora. The latter method involved the preparation of 151 ground thin sections taken from the anterior cortices of the right femora, and it represents the first application of Kerley's relatively new method (1965) to a large archeological population. The resulting death curves are compared and the methods evaluated. Data from the most reliable of these age-determinative methods are used to calculate curves of mortality and survivorship, life tables, and crude mortality rates for the populations represented. Population estimates are attempted by utilizing the crude mortality rates (calculated from the life tables), the length of time represented by each ossuary (calculated from archeological data) , and the total numbers of individuals in the ossuaries. The resulting population size estimates are considered against both archeological and ethnohistorical data to suggest the nature of the sociopolitical unit serviced by the ossuaries. Finally, both local and regional population-size estimates are compared with those estimated by others using different types of data. OFFICIAL PUBLICATION DATE is handstamped in a limited number of initial copies and is recorded in the Institution's annual report, Smithsonian Year. SI PRESS NUMBER 4958. Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Ubelaker, Douglas H. Reconstruction of demographic profiles from ossuary skeletal samples. (Smithsonian contributions to anthropology, no. 18) Bibliography: p. 1. Indians of North America—Maryland—Anthropometry. 2. Juhle site, Md. I. Title. II . GN1.S54 no. 18 [E78.M3] 573'.6'09701 73-16117 For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office Washington, D.C. 20402 Price $2.25 (paper cover) Stock Number 4700-00287