Michele Toomay Douglas
University of Hawaii at Manoa, Anthropology, Department Member
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Research Interests: Geography and Archaeology
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Research Interests: History and Archaeology
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Two multivariate statistical procedures, stepwise discriminant function analysis and Mahalanobis' distance, are applied to nine mandibular measurements recorded in Neolithic (Nankuanli East site) and Iron Age (Shihsanhang) Taiwanese... more
Two multivariate statistical procedures, stepwise discriminant function analysis and Mahalanobis' distance, are applied to nine mandibular measurements recorded in Neolithic (Nankuanli East site) and Iron Age (Shihsanhang) Taiwanese and comparative series from East and Southeast Asia and the Pacific for assessing the population history of Taiwan and the origin of Polynesians. Taiwan's role as the homeland of a Neolithic expansion of Austronesian-speaking agriculturalists, an expansion that would eventually extend from Madagascar in the west to Polynesia in the east, is examined. The results of this biological distance study indicate that Neolithic and Iron Age inhabitants of Taiwan are more closely related to cranial series from Northern Asia than they are to each other. While Iron Age Shihsanhang reveals connections with some of the Pacific Island series, the earliest Neolithic inhabitants of Taiwan are unrelated to the inhabitants of Remote Oceania. Larger and additional samples, including Taiwan's modern Indigenous groups, will enhance future research.
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Micronesia began to be peopled earlier than other parts of Remote Oceania, but the origins of its inhabitants remain unclear. We generated genome-wide data from 164 ancient and 112 modern individuals. Analysis reveals five migratory... more
Micronesia began to be peopled earlier than other parts of Remote Oceania, but the origins of its inhabitants remain unclear. We generated genome-wide data from 164 ancient and 112 modern individuals. Analysis reveals five migratory streams into Micronesia. Three are East Asian related, one is Polynesian, and a fifth is a Papuan source related to mainland New Guineans that is different from the New Britain–related Papuan source for southwest Pacific populations but is similarly derived from male migrants ~2500 to 2000 years ago. People of the Mariana Archipelago may derive all of their precolonial ancestry from East Asian sources, making them the only Remote Oceanians without Papuan ancestry. Female-inherited mitochondrial DNA was highly differentiated across early Remote Oceanian communities but homogeneous within, implying matrilocal practices whereby women almost never raised their children in communities different from the ones in which they grew up.
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<p>Intentional dental modification was observed in Pre-Latte and Latte Period bioarchaeological samples from western Micronesia. These purposeful cultural alterations include multilinear incisions and horizontal abrading of labial... more
<p>Intentional dental modification was observed in Pre-Latte and Latte Period bioarchaeological samples from western Micronesia. These purposeful cultural alterations include multilinear incisions and horizontal abrading of labial tooth surfaces in the Mariana Islands and tooth blackening in Palau. To understand the biological impacts of intentional modification, over ten pre-European Contact (before AD 1521) dental samples from the Mariana Islands were examined to test for a correlation between intentionally modified teeth and two indicators of oral-dental health: caries and periapical abscesses. Although differences in data collection methods and poor bone preservation prevented the use of both indicators across the board, preliminary results indicate that horizontal abrading in at least one sample appears to be associated with carious lesions while dental incising is not.</p>
Research Interests: Medicine and Oral health
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Nankuanli East Site Sample • Earliest Neolithic (5000-4500 BP) skeletons from Taiwan (see map) • Excavations in Tainan Science Park (TSP), southwestern Taiwan from 2002-2003 • Extended supine burials with associated pottery and other... more
Nankuanli East Site Sample • Earliest Neolithic (5000-4500 BP) skeletons from Taiwan (see map) • Excavations in Tainan Science Park (TSP), southwestern Taiwan from 2002-2003 • Extended supine burials with associated pottery and other funerary objects including domesticated and wild animals • Subsistence: extensive marine exploitation, hunting, plant collecting, & early farming including the cultivation of foxtail millet Tooth Ablation in Indigenous Peoples of Taiwan
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Skeletal and dental indicators (e.g., stature, linear enamel hypoplasia, cribra orbitalia, trauma, dental pathologies, and other evidence of disease) recorded in 45 subadult and 36 adult skeletons from the NHaa 1 site at... more
Skeletal and dental indicators (e.g., stature, linear enamel hypoplasia, cribra orbitalia, trauma, dental pathologies, and other evidence of disease) recorded in 45 subadult and 36 adult skeletons from the NHaa 1 site at Ha&#39;atuatua, Nuku Hiva, northern Marquesas, are used to examine the health, diet, and lifestyle of precontact Marquesans during the Expansion Period (ca. A.D. 1300-1600). Limited comparisons with skeletons from Hane on Ua Huka and other Pacific Island series augment this study. In addition to elevated numbers of subadult deaths, many during the first year of life, significant palaeopathology suggestive of infection, anemia, or metabolic disease was noted for seven subadults. In contrast, very little palaeopathology was noted in the adults and no significant sex differences for most indicators of health. With few exceptions, the skeletal and dental indicators of health in the Ha&#39;atuatua and Hane series were very similar. Compared to other precontact Pacific series, the Ha&#39;atuatua males were tall and similar to other East Polynesians. Higher frequencies of stress fracture in the lower back at Ha&#39;atuatua may be linked to activities associated with landscape changes and the construction of stone megalithic structures. The skeletal and dental indicators of health observed in the Ha&#39;atuatua burials are most like those reported for other East Polynesian series. The precontact inhabitants of the Marquesas were generally healthy, contrary to expectations of increased disease frequencies and evidence of warfare during the Expansion Period at Ha&#39;atuatua. These new bioarchaeological data broaden our understanding of the health and lifestyle of precontact Polynesians.
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Evidence of cultural dental modification in a precontact (pre-1521) skeletal sample from the Academy of Our Lady of Guam gymnasium site in Agana, Guam, is documented. Two of the four individuals recovered at the Academy Gym site exhibit... more
Evidence of cultural dental modification in a precontact (pre-1521) skeletal sample from the Academy of Our Lady of Guam gymnasium site in Agana, Guam, is documented. Two of the four individuals recovered at the Academy Gym site exhibit modification of the maxillary teeth. One individual displays vertical incising of a single tooth, and the other exhibits horizontal abrading of the anterior teeth which may be a purposeful or an incidental alteration. Although deliberate alteration of the dentition, including tooth extraction, notching, filing, and drilling, has been documented in human groups worldwide, little has been written about these cultural practices in the Mariana Islands. Examination of the available literature on precontact human remains from the region reveals at least three patterns of dental incising and similar cases of dental abrasion. While the origins of these practices are not known, the presence and style of these cultural alterations may be sex-specific, cosmetic in nature, or an indication of status in a ranked society. Alternatively, they may signify membership in a particular group or lineage, or mark a rite of passage. Because the comparative samples are limited in number and small, and the provenience of many of the skeletons is obscure, temporal variation cannot be ruled out.
Research Interests: Ancient History, Evolutionary Biology, Archaeology, Anthropology, Medieval History, and 14 moreBiology, Medicine, Ancient Greece (History), American Journal of Physical Anthropology, Humans, Paleodontology, Female, Male, Micronesia, Dentition, Tooth Extraction, Tooth, cultural characteristics, and Anterior teeth
The human skeletal material recovered from the Nan Medal islets in Ponape, Federated States of Micronesia, was excavated during the spring of 1984 by Drs. J. Stephen Athens and Joyce Bath. A forensic examination of this material was... more
The human skeletal material recovered from the Nan Medal islets in Ponape, Federated States of Micronesia, was excavated during the spring of 1984 by Drs. J. Stephen Athens and Joyce Bath. A forensic examination of this material was undertaken at the University of Hawaii-Manoa during the 1984-85 academic year. The bone collections come from eight different sites among the islets; some are from excavated test units, others are bone caches found in the crevices between the stones of several walls in the vicinity of Nandauwas Islet. Much of the material is badly weathered and fragmentary. Preservation of bone was found to be poor.
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Late prehistoric/early historic human remains of 27 individuals excavated during the first and second phases of work at the Fort Kamehameha Wastewater Treatment Plant, Pearl Harbor, O'ahu, are analyzed and described. Twenty-three burials... more
Late prehistoric/early historic human remains of 27 individuals excavated during the first and second phases of work at the Fort Kamehameha Wastewater Treatment Plant, Pearl Harbor, O'ahu, are analyzed and described. Twenty-three burials represent adults, three are adolescents, and one is a young child. The proportion of males and females is about equal. The oldest individuals in this series are male. The mean age-at-death for adults is 37.9 years. Aspects of cranial, dental and skeletal morphology are broadly comparable to previously examined Hawaiian skeletal series. The majority of the burials are of Hawaiian and/or Asian ancestry. Overall, the oral-dental health in these remains is good. Examples of dental infection, dental enamel hypoplasia, third molar agenesis, peg-shaped teeth, tooth winging, enamel discoloration, dental abscessing, periodontal disease and tooth wear are observed. Two individuals exhibit evidence of tooth ablation and two others exhibit possible evidence for occupational use of their teeth. The estimated stature for adult males is 173 em (5' 8.5") and for females it is 163 em ( 5' 4'} The Fort Kamehameha series has relatively elevated frequencies of supraclavicular foramen and septal aperture suggestive of a familial relationship. There is a relatively high frequency of healed bone fracture in these remains suggestive of inter-personal violence. The bones fractured include the mandible, ulna, radius, humerus, rib, and metacarpal. Spondylolysis, a stress fracture of the fifth lumbar vertebra, occurs in two individuals. Three individuals exhibit skeletal lesions consistent with treponemal infection, or syphilis. Other paleopathological conditions observed in these remains include cribra orbitalia, cranial vault thickening, benign bone tumors, bone cysts, nasal abscessing, osteoarthritis, osteophytosis, and bone fusion. Three of the burials further exhibit evidence ofbone disturbance attributable to ancient grave vandalism.
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The largely incomplete disturbed skeletal remains of approximately 15 individuals recovered from additional archaeological excavations at the Kahoma Stream Flood Control Project area, Lahaina, Maui, are described. The majority of the... more
The largely incomplete disturbed skeletal remains of approximately 15 individuals recovered from additional archaeological excavations at the Kahoma Stream Flood Control Project area, Lahaina, Maui, are described. The majority of the remains are associated with historic coffins and the rest from the backfill. Six adult males, four adult females and five individuals of unknown sex (two adults, 1 child, an adolescent and a fetus) are represented. The exact ancestry of these remains cannot be determined, some exhibit Polynesian characteristics while others suggest non-Polynesian ancestry. Paleopathological evidence includes periostitis, vertebral fusion (possible congenital scoliosis), tooth caries and dental abscessing. There is no evidence for the cause of death of any of the individuals examined.