PhD Dissertation by Marianna Koukli
ΑBSTRACT Adult human stature is one of the four main biological traits, along with sex, age-at-de... more ΑBSTRACT Adult human stature is one of the four main biological traits, along with sex, age-at-death and ancestry. It is essential for all subfields of physical anthropology, such as bioarchaeology and osteoarchaeology. Stature isinfluenced by both genetic and environmental factors,and it can provide information concerning issues related to past human-individual biographies‖ and to the evolution of physical characteristics of past societies. Two major methodologies have been proposed to estimate body height from skeletal remains: the Anatomical, which is considered to provide the most accurate estimations, and the Mathematical, which employs regression equations as stature prediction models. The present study aims to fill in the gaps in our knowledge of body height trends in ancient Greece and to present new methodological pathways in stature estimation. The osteological sample used in the present research consists of 1060 individuals. Out of the above sample, the anthropometric data of 599 skeletons were measured by the author, whereas for 461 bone measurements were collected by the original publications. All 1060 individuals originate from many settlements of ancient Greece and they are dated from the Mesolithic to early Byzantine times. Out of the above, 129 almost perfectly preserved individuals were used as the reference sample. Population-specific equations from and for ancient Greek populations have been generated for the first time here, presenting also a profoundly well application to various test populations. Comparisons between Ordinary Least Square (OLS) and Reduced Major Axis (RMA) sets of formulae showed that the former can provide slightly better estimations. A new, promising methodological method, the Logarithmic Human Stature Index (LHSI) is introduced aiming to simplify inter-and intra-populations anthropometric comparisons. Mean stature trends of the ancient Greeks throughout the Hellenic antiquity ranged from 161.1 cm to 170.6 cm for males and from 155.6 cm to 159.5 cm for females Furthermore, three significant patterns of stature fluctuations have been observed: the increasing tendency in body heights of both sexes from the Mesolithic to the Bronze Age, the general stabilization of stature values during the early historic centuries (⁓11 th-8 th c. B.C.) and the radical increase from the Roman till the Byzantine times. The above trends are similar to their neighboring populations from Europe.
Thesis Chapters by Marianna Koukli
Published Papers by Marianna Koukli
Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences, 2023
Stature is critical for our understanding of human morphology and evolution. This necessitates th... more Stature is critical for our understanding of human morphology and evolution. This necessitates the development of accurate stature estimation methods. The aim of the present study is to generate population-specific equations for ancient Greece and to explore the diachronic stature trends over the last 10,000 years. In parallel, it introduces the Logarithmic Human Stature Index (LHSI) as a new tool for inter-population comparisons. We collected anthropometric data and reconstructed stature using the anatomical method from 77 males and 59 females from Greece (3rd c. BC-9th c. AD). We utilized this dataset to generate population-specific equations. We then applied the new formula to 775 individuals (10th millennium BC-9th c. AD) from Greece exploring stature secular trends. We tested the new equations to different populations of European origin (662 males and 498 females). Ordinary least square sets based on lower limbs provided the best estimations with the smaller errors. Male and female stature in ancient Greece in the last 10,000 years ranged from 159.7 to 170.6 cm and from 153.1 to 160.4 cm, respectively. We observed a decrease from the Mesolithic to the Neolithic period, a gradual increase from the Bronze Age to the Archaic/Classical periods, and a steady increase from the Roman period onwards. Stature secular trends in Greece are in accordance with historic, archaeological, and genomic data and similar to European patterns. LHSI is a valuable tool for anthropometric comparisons between reference series and thus can contribute to the choice of the optimal stature estimation formula.
Anthropologischer Anzeiger, 2021
Stature is a key concept in the study of human past since along with the biological information i... more Stature is a key concept in the study of human past since along with the biological information it provides overall trends about the standards of living. However, stature data on historic and prehistoric populations are still limited, especially for key temporospatial settings of antiquity such as ancient Greece. We collected osteometric data from 35 male and 33 female individuals (n = 68) from a Roman Period necropolis (146 BC–330 AD) in northern Greece and we applied the anatomical stature estimation method (Raxter et al. 2006). We compared this estimation with the results of 20 regression equations (both ordinary least squares and reduced major axis methods) and we examined the factors that affect their accuracy such as body proportions and the chronology and geography of reference series. For our analyses, we calculated the percent prediction error (%PE) produced by each regression equation for males and females separately. We introduced the total %PE to evaluate each equation’s effectiveness on both sexes simultaneously. We calculated long bone ratios and the Euclidean distance between the Greek dataset and the reference series. According to the anatomical method, males from Northern Greece had a mean stature value of 168.2 cm ± 5.38 and females of 156.9 cm ± 5.27. The regression equations of Vercellotti et al. (2009) provided the best estimations in both sexes. Estimation errors (%PE) were not statistically different between the ordinary least squares and reduced major axis equations. The chronological affinity in body proportions between the target population and the reference series could provide significant evidence for the prediction of the optimal regression formulae. With this paper we provide the first osteometric dataset for the anatomical stature estimation method from ancient Greece and we suggest the most suitable regression equations for this key region of the ancient World.
Conferences by Marianna Koukli
4th CAA-GR2020-N.C.S.R. “Demokritos”, Conference_"Computer Applications and Quantitative Methods in Archaeology" Greece., 2020
6th Stochastic Modeling Techniques and Data Analysis International Conference, Barcelona., 2020
The 89th Annual Meeting of the American Association of Physical Anthropologists, Los Angeles, California, U.S.A., 2020
38th Conference of Hellenic Society for Biological Sciences, Kavala, Greece, 2016
publication description20th Annual Conference of BABAO, Cranfield University, 2018
25th Annual meeting of the European Association of Archaeologists, Bern., 2019
6th International Anthropological Congress of Dr. Aleš Hrdlicka, 3-5 September, Czech Republic, 2019
2nd International Congress on Archaeological Sciences in the Eastern Mediterranean and Near East. Cyprus, 2019
Books by Marianna Koukli
ΙΣΤΟΡΙΑ, ΚΟΙΝΩΝΙΑ, ΠΟΛΙΤΙΣΜΟΣ ΕΡΕΥΝΗΤΙΚΑ ΖΗΤΗΜΑΤΑ ΚΑΙ ΠΡΟΚΛΗΣΕΙΣ - ΑΦΙΕΡΩΜΑΤΙΚΟΣ ΤΟΜΟΣ ΓΙΑ ΤΑ 30 ΧΡΟΝΙΑ ΤΟΥ ΤΜΗΜΑΤΟΣ ΙΣΤΟΡΙΑΣ ΚΑΙ ΕΘΝΟΛΟΓΙΑΣ ΣΥΛΛΟΓΙΚΟ, ΕΚΔΟΤΙΚΟΣ ΟΙΚΟΣ ΣΤΑΜΟΥΛΗ, 2022
in Applied Modelling Techniques and data analyses (Eds. Y. Dimotikalis, A. Karagrigoriou, C. Parpoula & C.H. Skiadas). John Wiley & Sons., 2021
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) was initially reported in China in l... more Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) was initially reported in China in late 2019 and rapidly spread across the world. On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) characterized the situation as a global pandemic. In response to the pandemic, the primary objectives of European countries were: to limit the spread of the virus, to protect the most vulnerable and health workers and to provide a clear quantification of the virus's process. This chapter focuses on the first phase of the pandemic. Diagnosis of a COVID-19 case includes a number of criteria such as epidemiological characteristics, the underlying symptomatology of the probable patient and laboratory confirmation. Coronaviruses present a distinctive genetic characteristic among all other viruses, which is also related to their variability. The particular characteristics of the SARS-CoV genome sequence have raised many questions as to its taxonomic classification.
Papers by Marianna Koukli
Anthropologischer Anzeiger, 2021
Stature is a key concept in the study of human past since along with the biological information i... more Stature is a key concept in the study of human past since along with the biological information it provides overall trends about the standards of living. However, stature data on historic and prehistoric populations are still limited, especially for key temporospatial settings of antiquity such as ancient Greece. We collected osteometric data from 35 male and 33 female individuals (n = 68) from a Roman Period necropolis (146 BC-330 AD) in northern Greece and we applied the anatomical stature estimation method (Raxter et al. 2006). We compared this estimation with the results of 20 regression equations (both ordinary least squares and reduced major axis methods) and we examined the factors that affect their accuracy such as body proportions and the chronology and geography of reference series. For our analyses, we calculated the percent prediction error (%PE) produced by each regression equation for males and females separately. We introduced the total %PE to evaluate each equation's effectiveness on both sexes simultaneously. We calculated long bone ratios and the Euclidean distance between the Greek dataset and the reference series. According to the anatomical method, males from Northern Greece had a mean stature value of 168.2 cm ± 5.38 and females of 156.9 cm ± 5.27. The regression equations of Vercellotti et al. (2009) provided the best estimations in both sexes. Estimation errors (%PE) were not statistically different between the ordinary least squares and reduced major axis equations. The chronological affinity in body proportions between the target population and the reference series could provide significant evidence for the prediction of the optimal regression formulae. With this paper we provide the first osteometric dataset for the anatomical stature estimation method from ancient Greece and we suggest the most suitable regression equations for this key region of the ancient World.
Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences
Stature is critical for our understanding of human morphology and evolution. This necessitates th... more Stature is critical for our understanding of human morphology and evolution. This necessitates the development of accurate stature estimation methods. The aim of the present study is to generate population-specific equations for ancient Greece and to explore the diachronic stature trends over the last 10,000 years. In parallel, it introduces the Logarithmic Human Stature Index (LHSI) as a new tool for inter-population comparisons. We collected anthropometric data and reconstructed stature using the anatomical method from 77 males and 59 females from Greece (3rd c. BC–9th c. AD). We utilized this dataset to generate population-specific equations. We then applied the new formula to 775 individuals (10th millennium BC–9th c. AD) from Greece exploring stature secular trends. We tested the new equations to different populations of European origin (662 males and 498 females). Ordinary least square sets based on lower limbs provided the best estimations with the smaller errors. Male and fe...
Το Αρχαιολογικό Έργο στη Μακεδονία και στη θράκη, 2023
Στο πλαίσιο του έργου της συντήρησης των τοιχογραφιών και ανάδειξης του ναού του Αγίου Νικολάου τ... more Στο πλαίσιο του έργου της συντήρησης των τοιχογραφιών και ανάδειξης του ναού του Αγίου Νικολάου του Κυρίτζη στην Καστοριά, ενταγμένου στο ΕΣΠΑ 2014-2020, προέκυψε η ανάγκη εξυγίανσης του δαπέδου του κυρίως ναού, κάτω από το οποίο εντοπίστηκαν οι πρώτες ταφές. Από την ανασκαφική έρευνα αποκαλύφθηκε ο νότιος τοίχος της αρχικής φάσης του μνημείου που οικοδομήθηκε στα μέσα του 14ου αι. και επεκτάθηκε στο πρώτο μισό του 17ου αι.. Ερευνήθηκαν συνολικά 14 χριστιανικές ταφές, αποκαλύφθηκε ο φυσικός βράχος έδρασης του μνημείου, καθώς και ικανός αριθμός αποθετών λαξευμένων σε αυτόν. Προέκυψαν, επίσης, αξιόλογα ευρήματα, όπως νομίσματα, αβαφής και εφυαλωμένη κεραμική, καθώς και μεταλλικά αντικείμενα που ρίχνουν φως σε άγνωστες πτυχές της κατοίκησης στην πόλη.
Genealogy
The examination of demographic patterns and their variables is essential for our understanding of... more The examination of demographic patterns and their variables is essential for our understanding of the anthropological and cultural processes that shape modern societies. Greek Thrace plays an important role in such analyses due to the cultural and socioeconomic variability it presents. This study is based on vital registration data of the 20th century, derived by various populations that inhabit the Department of Rhodopi, which are defined by discrete socio-economic, cultural, and historic backgrounds. We analyze and present various aspects of the social lives observed in these populations: marriage patterns, mean age at marriage of the spouses, mean age of mothers at first and last child, reproductive span, the children ever born, as well as other parameters related to reproduction. Our analyses show that several changes in marriage patterns have been undertaken throughout time, indicating an ongoing fertility transition. In that way, this study contributes to our knowledge on the ...
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PhD Dissertation by Marianna Koukli
Thesis Chapters by Marianna Koukli
Published Papers by Marianna Koukli
Conferences by Marianna Koukli
Books by Marianna Koukli
Papers by Marianna Koukli