Citation

Jurmain R. Am. J. Phys. Anthropol. 2001; 115(1): 13-23.

Affiliation

Department of Anthropology, San Jose State University, San Jose, California 95192-0113, USA. rjurmain@email.sjsu.edu

Copyright

(Copyright © 2001, Wiley-Blackwell)

DOI

10.1002/ajpa.1052

PMID

11309746

Abstract

Skeletal trauma was investigated in a large collection of human remains from central California (N = 162 aged and sexed adults). Lesions investigated included cranial and long bone fractures, projectile wounds, and dislocation. Long bone fractures were found in 10.5% of individuals; overall, incidence by element was 2.3%. In addition, cranial injuries were found in 4.4% of complete adult crania. Projectile wounds were seen unambiguously in four individuals (with embedded obsidian fragments) and strongly suggested in two other individuals with partially healed lesions. Finally, one case of traumatic hip dislocation was also observed. In both incidence and patterning of injuries, this population is similar to other archeological groups from California. This evidence further supports earlier reports indicating that interpersonal aggression was quite common in prehistoric California.

Language: en