Christopher King

... Journal of Archaeological Science 26: 65l-659. Kealhofer L. l996. The human environment during the terminal Pleistocene and Holocene in northeastern Thailand: preliminary phytolith evidence from Lake Kumphawapi. Asian Perspectives 35: 229-254. ...

ABSTRACT Problem: Curricula are developed to educate health professions students to provide efficient and effective health services. In addition to learning their disciplinary perspective, today’s students must master the concepts of multidisciplinary team care. Traditionally, curriculum was developed based primarily on the perspectives of the discipline faculty, administration and accrediting agencies. However, now there are multiple groups (other academic educators, consumers and employers of health care providers) who may hold differing perspectives about outcomes expected from these programs.

Purpose: The purpose of this investigation was to use an innovative methodology to
generate and validate a curriculum for health professions students from multiple
disciplines.

Method: A multi-phased method using focus groups, surveys, dissemination and affirmation was presented to identify the concepts and best practices that should be included.

Results: Several performance-based themes evolved during the interviews and a
questionnaire was generated. Academic educators, consumers and employers of health care providers indicated agreement that the components on the survey were realistic and important for health professions students to achieve. Thus, outcomes for a curriculum were validated. The faculty rated several components of the curriculum as less realistic for students to achieve than did the consumers and employers. This investigation suggests it may be necessary for faculty to assist providers and parents in developing more realistic expectations about what students can achieve during their educational program. The approach used in this current project moves the field of the health professions curriculum development to a different level when compared with the traditional curriculum development approaches and should be used by others concerned with multi-professional education to assure the validity of the curricula.

This study focuses on the gross anatomy, anatomic relations, microanatomy, and the meaning of three enigmatic, geographically patterned, and quasi-continuous superstructures of the posterior cranium. Collectively known as occipital superstructures (OSSs), these traits are the occipital torus tubercle (TOT), retromastoid process (PR), and posterior supramastoid tubercle (TSP). When present, TOT, PR, and TSP develop at posterior cranial attachment sites of the upper trapezius, superior oblique, and sternocleidomastoid muscles, respectively. Marked expression and co-occurrence of these OSSs are virtually circumscribed within Oceania and reach highest recorded frequencies in protohistoric Chamorros (CHamoru) of the Mariana Islands. Prior to undertaking scanning electron microscopy (SEM) work, our working multifactorial model for OSS development was that early-onset, long-term, and chronic activity-related microtrauma at enthesis sites led to exuberant reactive or reparative responses in...

Last paragraph of article.
"This case illustrates two significant points for anthropologists. First, teaching social science methods from the safety of home is not sufficient to ensure that instruction is not misused; having a daily presence at the site where research is done provides a far more valuable opportunity to instruct. Second, anthropologists or other social scientists may try to sequester our research results to prevent misuse, but if our work is sanitized, what then is its utility? As an anthropologist, I would rather see our discipline engage the world directly rather from the classroom alone, such that our cultural insight may assist decision-makers in working toward informed, positive outcomes."

Using northeast Thailand as a model, this dissertation uses stable isotopes of carbon (δ13Ccollagen and δ13Capatite) and nitrogen (δ15Ncollagen) to infer paleodietary change in subtropical monsoon Asia. It is hypothesized that in northeast Thailand during the prestate Metal Age (2000 B.C. to A.D. 500) there are distinct differences among the populations during this time period which coincide with human induced environmental changes and developments of alternative subsistence technologies. It is further hypothesized that female and male diets differed, possibly from social circumstances, such as sex related food accessibility. The archaeological skeletal series is from Ban Chiang, Ban Na Di, Ban Lum Khao, and Noen U-Loke. Stable isotope analysis of local flora and fauna provide a baseline for interpreting stable isotope data from human samples for this and future studies of paleodiet.

Temporal variation (sexes combined) in isotopic results show a statistically significant positive shift in δ13Ccollagen, δ15Ncollagen, and δ13Capatite values. Individuals from both the second and first millennium B.C. have varied diets consisting principally of C3 plants, C3 terrestrial animals, and freshwater fish.

During the second millennium B.C., the δ15Ncollagen values suggest consumption of a wider array of protein sources for females than for males. During the first millennium B.C., δ15Ncollagen and δ13Capatite values in females suggest an increase in open field carbohydrate foods and a shift to a greater consumption of either fish and/or carnivorous animals. For males, evidence suggests the consumption of more domesticated animals and less emphasis on wild game.

This dissertation makes a significant contribution to studies of subsistence changes from extensive to intensive agriculture in subtropical monsoon Asia. These stable isotope data substantiate archaeological and paleoenvironmental evidence, and corroborate bioarchaeological information from paleodemography and dental pathological conditions that suggest changes in dietary patterns over time and between the sexes. The use of stable isotopes from human remains from northeast Thailand has provided a direct indication for diet change from pre-state Metal Age societies. This research is relevant to debates of agricultural change as well as the effect of cultural changes on subsistence patterns and the evolution of human diet.

Using northeast Thailand as a model, this work uses stable isotopes of carbon and nitrogen to infer paleodietary change in subtropical monsoon Asia. It is hypothesized that in northeast Thailand during the pre-state Metal Age (2000 B.C. to A.D. 500) there are distinct differences among the populations during this time period which coincide with human induced environmental changes and developments of alternative subsistence technologies. It is further hypothesized that female and male diets differed, possibly from social circumstances, such as sex related food accessibility. The archaeological skeletal series is from Ban Chiang, Ban Na Di, Ban Lum Khao, and Noen U-Loke. Stable isotope analysis of local flora and fauna provide a baseline for interpreting stable isotope data from human samples for this and future studies of paleodiet. This work makes a significant contribution to studies of subsistence changes from extensive to intensive agriculture in subtropical monsoon Asia. This research is relevant to debates of agricultural change as well as the effect of cultural changes on subsistence patterns and the evolution of human diet.

These stable isotope data substantiate archaeological and paleoenvironmental evidence, and corroborate bioarchaeological information from paleodemography and dental pathological conditions that suggest changes in dietary patterns over time and between the sexes. The use of stable isotopes from human remains from northeast Thailand has provided a direct indication for diet change from pre-state Metal Age societies.

The sample of this study consists of 102 documented individuals from a contemporary collection housed at Chiang Mai University Hospital, Thailand. Stepwise discriminant function analysis produced an average accuracy of 94%. Analysis of individual dimensions revealed classification accuracy from 68% (min circumference) to 89% (distal breadth). This work reveals that intra- and inter-population variation in sexual dimorphism are clear in both degree of expression and its distribution within a single bone.

Identification of sex from the skeleton is an important demographic assessment in medicolegal investigations. Studies have demonstrated that populations differ from each other in size and proportions and that these differences can affect the metric assessment of sex. It is therefore vital to determine if population differences are great enough to necessitate group-specific standards. To date, there have been no attempts to create standards of assessment for modern Thais. Therefore the purpose of this research is to establish standards from which to determine sex from the femur using a new skeletal collection housed at the Chiang Mai University Department of Anatomy. The sample is composed of 104 individuals (70 males, 34 females). Six standard osteometric dimensions including maximum length, maximum head diameter, midshaft circumference, midshaft anterior-posterior and transverse diameters, and bicondylar breadth were measured and analyzed by stepwise discriminant function statistics. To understand population differences, formulas derived from Chinese, South African whites and American whites and blacks using the same method and variables were tested on the Thai sample. Results indicated that maximum head diameter and bicondylar breadth are the optimal combination for sex diagnosis and yielded 94.2% accuracy. Direct analysis using predetermined single or multiple variables also revealed bicondylar breadth as the best single dimension (93.3%). In cross-tests on the Thais, the Chinese formula gave the most favorable outcome with unsatisfactory results for all other groups. The present research confirms that sexual dimorphism is better reflected in breadth dimensions than in bone length. Comparisons showed that Thais are very different metrically from whites and blacks, and although they most resemble the Chinese, these two groups are not identical. These findings underscore the need for population-specific formulas for identification of sex from the skeleton.

Determination of sex from the skeleton is vital to medicolegal investigations. There is no longer any question that populations differ in size and proportions and these differences affect the metric assessment of sex. The extent of variation in sexual dimorphism among Asian Mongoloids within and between regions has not been quantified by discriminant function analysis, nor have standards for most groups been introduced for the humerus. Therefore, the purpose of this research is to establish metric standards for sex determination from the humerus of Chinese, Japanese and Thais, as well as to compare size and sexual dimorphism in these Asian Mongoloid populations. The database for this study consisted of documented skeletal samples from China (N = 87), Japan (N = 90), and Thailand (N = 104). Six standard dimensions, including maximum length, vertical head diameter, minimum midshaft diameter, maximum midshaft diameter, midshaft circumference, and epicondylar breadth were taken and subjected to stepwise and direct discriminant function analysis. Of dimensions selected by the stepwise function, vertical head diameter and epicondylar breadth were the only elements common to all three groups. Overall, mean accuracies were highest using formulae produced by the stepwise procedure and ranged from 86.8% in the Chinese to 92.4% in the Japanese to 97.1% in the Thais. Group comparisons also revealed that while the Chinese had the largest measurements, they were the least dimorphic. The reverse was true for the Thais and the Japanese were intermediate on both counts. In cross validation tests, classification accuracy decreased in all cases where a formula from one group was applied to another. It was therefore concluded even though all individuals were Asian Mongoloids, these regionally diverse populations exhibited significant metric differences that affect sex determination from the skeleton. These findings confirm those of previous studies that there is a need for group specific metric standards of assessment.

Cranial and postcranial research on East and Southeast Asians has shown population variability between and within these two regions. Moreover, as populations vary by sex, sex differences vary by population. The purpose of this study is to provide the first descriptive and comparative analysis of two recently curated samples of complete, documented, contemporary skeletons from Thailand (N=104) and Hong Kong (N=94) that have not been previously studied. Sex differences reveal Hong Kong males and females as larger but less dimorphic than Thais. Stepwise discriminant function analysis of the Thai humerus and femur allowed 94%-96% sex classification accuracy. In conclusion, this research has increased our knowledge of sex and population differences in Asia and has important applications to demographic and medicolegal investigations.