Poster presentation at the 2004 meeting of the American Association of Physical Anthropologists
Human skeletal remains from the Island of the Sun, Lake Titicaca, Bolivia.
C. Torres-Rouff. Department of Anthropology, The Colorado College
In 1895 Adolph Bandelier collected 37 crania from the Island of the Sun, Bolivia for the American Museum of Natural History. The Island of the Sun was a shrine and pilgrimage center of interregional importance that was incorporated into the state activities of the both the Tiwanaku and the Inka. While a very small sample, these crania are among the few human remains available from the Island of the Sun. As such, a bioarchaeological analysis provides some insight into individual lives in this important area.
The crania come from five pre-Columbian sites that include the moments of state occupation and are all adults (16 female, 20 male, 1 indeterminate). There are low rates of osteoarthritis (n=1; 2/7%), cribra orbitalia (n=3; 8.1%) and porotic hyperostosis (n=2; 5.4%). Osteological indicators suggest that the population is in generally good health. In contrast, rates of healed cranial trauma are rather high (n=8; 21.6%). There are no significant differences between the sexes (X2=0.122, p≤0.727, ns). This may be the result of a sampling bias or error, or perhaps, given the nature of the Island, reflect ritual activity. Cultural modifications are also present. One female and three males (10.8%) had evidence of trepanation. Additionally, all 37 crania had pronounced annular cranial modification. This is consistent with results from elsewhere in the Altiplano. These analyses indicate that the Island of the Sun’s population shared many traits with those in surrounding areas and that their health most likely benefited from state support.
This research was supported by NSF #0124594.
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