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Mummification VS. Fossilization  

2/21/2016

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       In a previous blog I spoke of ancient Egyptians and how they mummified their pharaohs (http://anthropologicalconcepts.weebly.com/blog/-are-you-my-mummy), and briefly spoke of how the elements could mummify dead bodies. That said, why do we not have mummified Australopithecus or Neanderthals? In the following blog I will discuss how the environment has to be just right to mummify or to fossilize.
​       The most famous case of mummification is in ancient Egypt, but that was a process that took much time. In several cases there is such a thing as accidental mummification. An example of this accidental mummification are the “Greenland Mummies.” In 1972 a group of a six month old baby, a two year old boy, and six women were found in a shallow cave, and three women found in a second grave that dated back to 1475 c.e. It seemed to be meant as a mass family grave because after their DNA was studied it was found that all, except one, were related (it is theorized the one that did not have DNA in common was family by marriage). All of who was buried were dead before placed there, that is everyone but the six month old baby (image below), who "was found to have Down’s Syndrome and may have been left out to die of exposure because of his condition," also his mother had died earlier, so there was no one to watch over him. These bodies were mummified naturally by two factors. First was the temperature, which was sub-zero, and second were the winds. When there is wind in sub-zero temperatures it is a dry, dehydrating wind (image below). So, in a sense, the six month baby was mummified alive. In my blog about human soap (http://anthropologicalconcepts.weebly.com/blog/-human-soap), I described how bog bodies are formed. They are another example of accidental mummification. 
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       Now in my mummy blog I said “When you live in a country where most of it is dry and sandy, it is very easy to get mummified by the elements,” of which I was speaking of Africa. It is easy to get distracted from the Africa in our recorded history and to think that it has always been the way. If it had always been that way, then all the fossils that are not found in the deserts or dry environments would have been mummified, so...how? Well, the key words that I have just said “our recorded history.” The history of which the fossils of early hominids that were fossilized came from a more fertile Africa. There are many fish, plant, animal, and hominid fossils in areas in which are now just sand. This means it had to have been just right for these fossils to form. For a fossil to form you need for the organism to be buried quickly under sand, earth, mud, or volcanic ash. Once buried, and as time passes, layer after layer of earth is accumulated (this is where stratigraphy comes in), and before you know it, a million years have passed, and they are being excavated by paleontologists or paleoanthropologists if they are hominid (paleontologists study extinct animals, while paleoanthropologists study human evolution). “The heat and pressure from being buried in sediment can sometimes cause the tissues of organisms — including plant leaves and the soft body parts of fish, reptiles and marine invertebrates — to release hydrogen and oxygen, leaving behind a residue of cardon” (and this is where carbon dating comes in). 
       But what happened to all of our evolutionary ancestors that they were able to be fossilized? They could have drowned and their body deposited in the water bed covered by sediment (this one is ideal), they could have suffocated on ash during a volcanic eruption, or just buried (there is evidence that pre-historic hominids buried their dead). That said, most of the dead we have buried through the ages probably have begun to fossilize (the caskets rot away leaving the body, or what is left of it, to the earth).Yet, even though mummification and fossilization look completely different in the outcome, they are in the end, fossilized.
       
Please feel free to comment on what you thought of the blog, or other physical anthropological subjects you would like me to cover.
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Evolution of Anthropologists

2/14/2016

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       Most things we know about our species, Homo sapiens, have come from at least one area of anthropology; whether it be cultural, archaeology, linguistics, or physical, all these are part of who we are. Modern anthropologists go to great lengths to get information for the masses. They participate, they observe, they participate and observe, or organize and conduct digs. It seems like they are an active bunch, but it was not always this way; or it is better to say it began that way but then shifted.
       The man who is seen as the Father of American (U.S.) Archaeology is also the Father of the Declaration of Independence; Thomas Jefferson. He had always been interested in the Native Americans of Virginia. “
Jefferson studied and made note of the similarities and differences between over forty tribal languages in Virginia.” Unfortunately most of those notes were lost when a wagon transporting his belongs from the White House to Monticello was ransacked. But this linguistic study was just the start to his curiosity. He had learned of mounds located in Virginia, and one in his neighbourhood, which he was determined to open and examine thoroughly. His notes on the excavations were very detailed; I am tempted to say that he did a better job with the Native American mounds than Howard Carter with King Tut. “Jefferson wrote that the mound was 'of spheroidical form, of about 40 feet diameter at the base, and had been of about twelve feet altitude...I first dug superficially in several parts of it, and came to collections of human bones, at different depths, from six inches to three feet below the surface.'” The key words in this are “I...dug.” He was willing to do the hard work to satisfy his curiosity. Even though, in Jefferson's era, archaeologists were seen as digging and so on a hobby (Speculative Period, 1492 – 1840), in everything he did was so meticulous, he was a practicing field archaeologist. (below: on the left is a mammoth tooth fossil Jefferson found; on the right is an example of a Native American burial mound.)
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       Although, in the late 19th early 20th centuries there was a huge change in how anthropology was done. I would go as far to say that it really was not done. Sure there were scholars and anthropologists working, but they were working from the comfort of their homes, not going out into the field to gather information or to see events with their own eyes and draw from that; these types of anthropologists are called “arm-chair anthropologists” because they would just sit and speculate. It is enough to say that the Speculative Period should have been this period. They would go through artifacts that were brought or sold to them and just make conclusions or using their imagination on what they had in front of them. Even though E.B. Tylor founded cultural anthropology in this time period, it lead to racism and ethnical stereotypes. It was a dark time for anthropology. The reason I say this is because being an anthropologist is to make assessments with the leg work, not without it.
       Modern anthropologists do just that, they go do the research for themselves. They go to different states for research with like minded anthropologists, they go to completely different countries to observe other cultures, they go to isolated areas to dig, sometimes with just a party of five people including them. For physical anthropologists, the dig is something we look forward to; because if we are digging that means we are digging towards something. But to get the funds to go dig is a totally different story; you needs grants and definite proof that the excursion will be worth it. But even though going to different countries for research is the epitome for an anthropologist (besides getting published), just going to the next state over to broaden your knowledge or research qualifies as leg work. Just do not make assumptions and conclusions from a computer or television screen while sitting comfy on your chair. If you condense what an anthropologist
has to do, it is leg work...and publication.
       
Please feel free to comment on what you thought of the blog, or other physical anthropological subjects you would like me to cover.
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The Worries of Bones

2/7/2016

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       We like to think bones as part of the body that just needs a lot of calcium, and when you get older, more care. If you are your everyday human, you go to school or work, come home, and have family time; your bones never cross your mind. But what about those whose bones are in danger every time they do their job? For example, those who participates in sports. I am sure their minds are on the game, and not on their bones; they must think that their outfits will protect them. But...what happens when it does not do the job? In the following blog I will address the most common sports breaks.
​       If you have taken a look at the section of this website titled “Labeled Human Skeleton (http://anthropologicalconcepts.weebly.com/labeled-human-skeleton.html),” you have seen how many bones look like they are prime to be broken if not protected. The most common bone that is broken will take you by surprise (it surprised me); it is the clavicle. But after researching how it can fracture it does not seem so surprising. It is settled between the manubrium and scapula, and in reality it is just floating there. If the actual clavicle is hit with enough force it will, of course, break, but there are other ways it can fracture. For example if someone is tackled or hits the ground with enough force on their side, that force could cause pressure on the clavicle and in turn cause it to break. And landing on the side with the arm close to the body or extended over the head, both can cause a clavicle to fracture. 

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       Now we have broken arms, but an arm is made up of three bones, humerus, radius, and ulna. Just like the clavicle, and for other bones I will speak of, the major deciding factor for a bone to break is pressure. If the pressure is just too much, it will give in. In football, for example, they constantly use their arms to clear their path and to defend the ball (“Fall on an outstretched arm, often during sports or from a height” can cause both the ulna and radius to break; the area of the radius closest to the thumb is what usually breaks resulting in a broken wrist). When the arm is in a defense position, the ulna is the bone that gets the beating, and when they are pushing their way through, it is the humerus. Humeral fractures can be proximal (closer to the top), distal (closer to the bottom), or to the shaft. A proximal fracture has the highest percentage. Just like with the ulna, a fall or a direct hit can cause it to break. 
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       Next we have the calcaneus. Seeing how much running is done in sports it is no surprise that this is a bone that is one of the commonly broken ones. Even if you do not participate in sports, just taking a wrong step or a bad fall from your bike can cause a broken calcaneus. “In some cases when you twist an ankle you might think you have something like a sprain, but broken ankles and sprains can seem similar.” The sports in which these are common are soccer, football, basketball, and rugby. Another bone, or bones that are also in your foot are at a high risk of fracture, these are the phalanges of the foot. Seeing how close to 25% of your bones are in your feet, it is not surprising to see the toes on this list. The bones of the feet are strong, strong enough to support us when running, walking, jumping, doing anything that requires locomotion. Of these bones, the phalanges and calcaneus are very exposed. In sports that require kicking, like football or soccer, this is common. But it is also common in basketball and ballet. In ballet it seems to be a normal occurrence due to stress these small bones undergo when they take certain poses. 
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       The next bone is most commonly broken in contact sports, like boxing, football, and rugby, that is the nasal bone. With this one, just like the calcaneus, you do not have to participate in these sports to have a broken nose. Just being in a fight that someone takes a swipe to your face, or falling on your face can easily break this bone. Unlike the rest of the skull, which is make up of thicker bone, the nasal bone is thinner and unluckily, more prominent than the rest of your skull. “Fractures often cause the nose to become misshapen as well as resulting in pain and swelling; a person may also have difficulties with breathing and a black eye.” With a broken nose, it is lucky that the orbit sustains no damage; although, again, depending on the force of the hit, it just may. 
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       You may have noticed that neither the tibia, fibula, or femur were amoung the ones I have spoken of, with good reason. The femur is the strongest bone in the body that can withstand 160 PSI (pound-force per square inch), and is stronger than steel (not to mention much more malleable). So when you put pressure on the femur, it takes most of it to keep the tibia and fibula with less pressure. When playing sports, or just going about your everyday life, I think it is important to take your bones into account. Because, as you have just read, they can fracture, some with intent some by just taking the wrong step. This goes out to all my readers; I hope you never have to go through the pain of a broken bone, mostly because the time can vary with what kind of fracture is sustained. Below are examples of different fractures and their names.
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“Transverse fractures go more or less straight across the bone.
Oblique fractures are diagonal breaks across the bone.
Spiral fractures happen when one or both halves of the bone are twisted.
Comminuated fractures break the bone into more than two pieces.
Avulsion fractures mean pieces of the bone have been pulled apart.
Impacted fractures are the opposite of avulsion fractures. These happen when a piece of bone is pushed down into another piece of bone.
Fissure fractures are cracks in the bone.
Greenstick fractures happen when the bone bends and breaks partially, but not completely."

       Please feel free to comment on what you thought of the blog, or other physical anthropological subjects you would like me to cover.

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    A recently made anthropologist who has been set loose to study the humans of the then, today, what's to come, and beyond. 

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