A new study conducted by Chris Stringer and colleagues have led to a fascinating possibility that variation in the size and shape of the frontal sinuses can be linked to the development of the frontal lobe; the part of the brain accountable for emotion, planning, and speech. Frontal sinuses are “cavities inside the frontal bone located at the junction between the face and the cranial vault and close to the brain” (Balzeau, 2022). Yet, despite knowing the job and role of the frontal sinuses, there is still very little knowledge on the evolutionary aspect of it.

Located right above the nose, the frontal sinus which has often been forgotten historically now offer possible insight to past relationships with ancient hominids.

As mentioned, Stringer and his team were able to undergo multiple studies to link the size of the frontal sinus among previous fossil hominids with the frontal lobe. First off, they conduced CT scans on 94 individuals, which were from more than 20 species of human fossil hominids. From this, they created 3D models of their frontal sinuses and compared them with one another. Their length and widths, as well as their shapes were recorded which led to further observations. For example, the team were able to determine that “species such as Homo erectus, Homo neanderthalensis and Homo sapiens have distinct ranges of sinus size, which researchers suggest could be linked to evolutionary constraints caused by the development of characteristics such as larger brains” (Bartek, 2022). This shows the evolutionary aspect of the human, emphasizing in the different amount of space the brain had to grow for each species. A common denominator that was found among the 3D models was the sinuses and the size of the frontal lobe starting from homo erectus and onwards. The size of the sinuses proved to be persistent and correlate with the development of one of the brain’s lobes (short extension) compared to the other. Studies suggest this part of the brain plays a role in determining humans dominant hand and is shared amongst most humans today.

However, as much discovery that was made, there were also many unanswered questions and confusion amongst the group. Homo rhodesiensis, for instance, display a very unusual large sinus size compared to their relatives. Although there is no clear explanation for their large sinus size, the team hypothesized that they are a specialized group. This means that their way of living and the environment they were exposed to was different from their relatives.

These species have extremely large brow ridges, which leads many to hypothesize their role in social signaling.

Although these new studies provided new insight and discoveries towards our human past and evolutionary progress, more studies will have to be done to answer questions like these. Sinuses should be evaluated and looked more upon for future studies conducted, as they will help us understand how todays human species came to be.

Further Readings: 

Clues to Apes and Human Evolution

To understand human evolution, follow the trail of sinuses

References: 

Saraceni, Jessica, 2022. “Frontal Sinuses in Hominin Skulls May Offer Clues to Evolution.” Archeology. https://www.archaeology.org/news

Balzeau, Antoine, 2022. “Frontal sinuses and human evolution.” Science. https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.abp9767

In response to a variety of factors including a changing climate, lack of traditional food availability, and relations with neighbors, several indigenous groups in North America migrated to the great plains in the late prehistoric period and changed their way of life to revolve around a new primary food source; bison. Indigenous people living in the central plains previously did not subsist primarily off of the bison or have a mobile lifestyle – archaeological evidence shows remnants of permanent dwellings and commonly found animal bones from small game in a food context, while bison bones were found much less frequently, and those that were appeared to be artifacts from tools, not necessarily food. (Ritterbush 2002). In contrast, two groups entered the plains area in the late prehistoric period; the Algonquians (also called the Illinois) and the Oneota. Both of these groups came from an area east of the plains where they primarily subsisted on different sources of food like agriculture and small game.

Figure 1: Many Native American stereotypes come from the common image of indigenous people from the great plains – teepees specifically are an iconic stereotype of the Native American, when in fact they are only typical of groups living mobile lifestyles in the Great Plains (“Lighting of the Teepees: Illuminating Indigenous Peoples’ Day” n.d.). 

The Algonquians left their previous lands near the great lakes due to climate change that made agriculture much more difficult, as well as a lower human population on the plains. They did not move with the goal of continuing their agricultural traditions, instead, they changed tactics and became pedestrian bison hunters (Morrissey 2015). This change had a massive effect on their social organization – whereas before there would be small hunting parties for small game, buffalo required large teams, entire villages devoted to following, trapping, and killing these animals. This caused a shift in Illinois group dynamics – groups became much larger and more mobile, permanent villages were uncommon (Morrissey 2015).

The Oneota had a similar trajectory – they came from sites near the Great Lakes to the Central Plains, possibly driven by intra-group fissions and the promise of endless bison herds (Ritterbush 2002). Once in the central plains they dominated the pre-existing groups, who lived in mostly small family groups, whereas the Oneonta had the large groups (300 or more members) that were necessary for bison hunting. They were attracted by the lack of population in the plains, and possibly driven by an overpopulation and lack of resources around the Great Lakes. Archaeological evidence of bison remains supports the idea that these groups migrated to exploit this food niche. An abundance of specific types of bones used for tools suggested long-distance trade with more western groups, and findings of those bones in more eastern areas signifies that the trade network may have continued further to the east (Ritterbush 2002). The new resource of bison and the larger social networks that the hunt for bison requires enabled growth of long-distance trade in the Midwest and more complex social groups. 

Figure 2: A map of the locations of Oneota settlements from further east, near the Great Lakes, and the sites they moved to further west in the Great Plains (Ritterbush 2002).

Both of these groups, the Illinois and the Oneota, followed the bison from the Great Lakes to the Central Plains. This movement and the social changes it required created larger, more interconnected and mobile social groups that dominated the region and facilitated long-distance trade. 

Further Reading:

The importance of bison, and their history in North America: https://www.nps.gov/articles/bison_badl.htm

The history of bison in the United States and how the US government endangered them: https://www.flatcreekinn.com/bison-americas-mammal/

Humans like to focus a lot on patterns and recurring behavior. This is apparent in topics ranging from individual social patterns to global patterns concerning climate change. The “paleo diet,” for example, is meant to emulate a past diet in order to achieve a modern goal. However, this diet was last used thousands of years ago; making the dietary needs and bodily composition of modern day humans and paleolithic humans very different. Culture plays a heavy role in this phenomenon of looking to the past to find answers for modern day issues as opposed to learning about the past as a way of predicting future human and natural patterns. As seen in class, archeology extends far past the study of humans. Since the influence of humans on the climate is so intense, patterns developed by animals and the earth itself have been disrupted. Wildfires have destroyed forests and even archeological artifacts. (Image 1) In an article about changes concerning Yellowstone park, Staffan Peterson concludes that “Future work should, of course, include strengthening the science needed to better understand future events and ways to respond to them. At present we do not have the tools needed to choose the most appropriate management action when new impacts are likely.” Natural cycles have either been accelerated or made impossible to complete altogether. This goes back to the “paleo diet.” What is working as a short term solution is often mistaken as normal and unchangeable. Finding one piece of the past that we think could work for us now doesn’t account for the changing dietary needs of humans for example. Nick Stehr in his article “Trust and Climate” examines how social interactions affect our approach to climate change.  “One of the keys to understanding the social construct of climate is not accomplished by examining the semantics of “normal” climate, but rather by examining how climatic extremes are dealt with and explained by society.” The ideology of reaching a breaking point before needing to deal with something like climate change is a big issue. Additionally, with the way human behavior and culture has evolved now makes climate change and even dietary choices a very public and even political thing. Society is based upon patterns, rules, and consistency. Since our society has evolved into a greenhouse gas dependent one, it makes bigger societal change much more convoluted. 

Stehr, Nico. “Trust and Climate.” Climate Research 8, no. 3 (1997): 163–69. http://www.jstor.org/stable/24864640.

Peterson, Staffan. “Archeology & Adaptation to Climate Change in Yellowstone.” VOLUME 26 ISSUE 1: ARCHEOLOGY IN YELLOWSTONE

https://www.nps.gov/articles/archeology-adaptation-to-climate-change.htm

IMAGE 2: Risk category change under historic and projected climate scenarios (acres). 

IMAGE 1: Left, unburned obsidian artifact, right, burned.

Zooarchaeology, “is the systematic study of animal remains recovered from archaeological sites, with the goal of understanding past human life, in historic and prehistoric times” (University of Tennessee 2013). By looking at the fluctuation of animal species and numbers, archaeologists are able to identify how humans altered the environment, how they interacted with animals, or how their culture shifted over time. Turtles are one of the keystone species in the Mediterranean. Keystone species are a species that an ecosystem largely depends on. They are also a sensitive species to change, which makes them a good subject to study. By studying the fluctuation of turtle populations over time, archaeologists can attempt to discover not only how humans interacted with turtles but also how humans altered the environment that the turtles live in. 

Around 10 years ago, Canan Cakirlar conducted a study of several different turtle species in the Mediterranean. Canan Cakirlar is the head of the zooarchaeology department at Groningen Institute of Archaeology. The study took place at five different sites that were previously fishing harbors and marine ports. These sites included Clazomenae, Kinet, Fadous, Beirut, and Burak in Lebanon. The study examined interactions between humans and turtles in the premodern past. There was no specific time period, rather it was a study of how premodern interactions led to the current population size of turtles in the areas (Cakirlar, Canan, Francis Koolstra, and Salima Ikram 2021).

Figure 1: A map of the turtle study area in the Mediterranean

The specimens collected were examined by context, what type of bone they were, weight, and any form of mark from butchery or gnawing. It was also determined whether the sea turtle was a Loggerhead, Green Sea Turtle, or a Nile soft shelled Turtle. The methods of calculating relative abundance utilized were %MNI (minimum number of individuals) and %NISP (number of identified individuals).

The study found that humans exploited turtles for their shells and meat. There was a sudden increase in the amount of turtle specimens found during the Iron Age, which is believed to be linked to increased access to metal tools and seafare. It is interesting to note that climate impacted the availability of turtles to humans in different places throughout time. The climate had an impact on nesting locations and availability of food. The weather can also affect the archaeology of human and turtle interactions. It is also a possibility that as new people moved into the Mediterranean they utilized the new animal to reduce food insecurity. Two of the more interesting finds were the decrease in size of bones which may have been due to domestication of turtles and that turtle specimens were almost nonexistent at the sites during the Upper Paleolithic and Epipalaeolithic periods.

Even though we know that humans had an impact on the turtle population in the Mediterranean throughout time, the overall significance of past human interactions on the present turtle population is not certain.

Figure 2: Depiction of a Loggerhead Sea Turtle

Obviously the exploitation of turtles for resources contributed to the diminished turtle populations now, but it cannot be said for certain it was all humans since the climate and state of nesting sites play important roles in the survival of turtles as well. More studies surrounding the speciesof turtles in the Mediterranean are being conducted in order to see the severity of impact on the turtle populations today. 

References 

Cakirlar, Canan, Francis Koolstra, and Salima Ikram

  2021  Tracking turtles in the past: zooarchaeological evidence for human-turtle interactions in the ancient Eastern Mediterranean. Antiquity 95(379):125–141.

Casale, Paola

  2007  A model of area fidelity, nomadism, and distribution patterns of loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta) in the Mediterranean Sea. Heidelberg 152(5): 1039-1049.

Canan Cakirlar, Jort Bosman, and Salima Ikram

  2019  Archaeozoology of the Near East XII. Barkhuis, Port Angeles

University of Tennessee

  2013  Zooarchaeological Research. Department of Archaeology, Knoxville 

Image References

https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/antiquity/article/tracking-turtles-in-the-past-zooarchaeological-evidence-for-humanturtle-interactions-in-the-ancient-eastern-mediterranean/9D52B371BDF59EDB000B4F2C5671791A 

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/reptiles/facts/loggerhead-sea-turtle 

Additional Content/Readings (Bibliography)

https://www.oceano.org/en/resources/which-sea-turtles-live-in-the-mediterranean/ 

https://www.iucn.org/news/mediterranean/202008/iucn-calls-greater-protection-mediterranean-sea-turtle-nesting-sites

New DNA evidence has emerged about dire wolves, a North American species that went extinct 13,000 years ago. Dire wolves became TV’s most popular wolves after they were featured on the show Game of Thrones, but new analysis has changed their entire species classification.

Much about dire wolves has been unknown throughout history. Fossils evidence of their bones and teeth showed that they were anatomically similar to gray wolves, but 20% bigger. This led scientists to classify them in the same species group as gray wolves. However, a new 2021 study done by archaeologists at Durham University in collaboration with scientists from around the world has proven this to be false. The study examined multiple full genomes, and revealed that dire wolves are evolutionarily very different from gray wolves. Dire wolves evolved in the Americas, completely separately from gray wolves in Eurasia. Dr. Alice Mouton, one of the co-lead authors stated that “We have found the dire wolf is not closely related to the grey wolf. Further we show that the dire wolf never interbred with the grey wolf…Dire wolves likely diverged from grey wolves more than five million years ago, which was a great surprise that this divergence occurred so early. This finding highlights how special and unique the dire wolf was” (Milligan 2021). The fact that there is no evidence that dire wolves ever interbreed with other wolves further highlights how separated they were as a species. 

The research drew on archaeological evidence from a number of places. One of the primary sites for dire wolf fossils is the La Brea Tar Pits in Los Angeles, which consists of sticky asphalt. Predators would follow their prey into the pits and then get stuck there, becoming fossilized forever. However, the pits are not the best preservation site for DNA samples, because of how hot the environment is. In order to get further DNA evidence co-author Angela Perri traveled across the US to various university and museum collections in order to find more samples. The team was eventually able to put together five different dire wolf genetic profiles to analyze. The results that revealed dire wolves to be so dramatically different from gray wolves were shocking to the team. Their hypotheses had placed dire wolves as a subspecies or branch of gray wolves, rather than a totally different evolutionary species. Perri remarked that “I think I can speak for the whole group when I say the results were definitely a surprise” (Black 2021). 

This study answered questions about dire wolves that scientists have been asking for years. But questions around the extinction of dire wolves still remain. Factors such as climate change, competition from other wolves, diseases, and humans could have all contributed. While further research might be able to help answer these questions we may never be able to gain a complete picture of dire wolves. However, this study demonstrates the value of archaeological research in being able to shift entire understandings and perspectives of the past.

Further Reading:

https://museum.msu.edu/game-of-wolves-the-dire-wolf-between-nature-and-culture/ 

https://a-z-animals.com/animals/dire-wolf/ 

References:

Anderson, Andrea. 2021. “Dire wolves were real—and even stranger than we thought.” National Geographic. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/dire-wolf-dna-study-reveals-surprises.

Black, Riley, Angela Perri, and Kieren Mitchell. 2021. “Dire Wolves Were Not Really Wolves, New Genetic Clues Reveal.” Scientific American. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/dire-wolves-were-not-really-wolves-new-genetic-clues-reveal/.

Grimm, David. 2021. “The legendary dire wolf may not have been a wolf at all.” Science. https://www.science.org/content/article/legendary-dire-wolf-may-not-have-been-wolf-all.

Marsh, Calum. 2019. “Why Game of Thrones Had to Shoo Away Its Direwolves.” Vulture. https://www.vulture.com/2019/05/game-of-thrones-direwolves-effects-difficulty.html.

Milligan, Markus. 2021. “Ancient DNA Reveals Secrets of Dire Wolves.” HeritageDaily. https://www.heritagedaily.com/2021/01/ancient-dna-reveals-secrets-of-dire-wolves/136780.

Randall, Keith. 2021. “DNA Reveals Lineage Of Ancient Dire Wolves – Texas A&M Today.” Texas A&M Today. https://today.tamu.edu/2021/01/13/dna-reveals-lineage-of-ancient-dire-wolves/.

Figure 1. This image from Game of Thrones indicated how dire wolves had been thought to look and how they have been represented in pop culture. New evidence points to their fur having been redder and their ears being rounder. Photograph from Vulture.

Figure 2. A representation of what dire wolves may have looked like. Drawing by Maurico Anton.

The striking difference in the disposal of nonprofitable working animals versus their successful counterparts in the world of horse racing.

Thousands of racehorses live, train, and race at the Saratoga Race Track in New York  each year. Since the track’s opening in 1863, only five horses have been buried on site (MacAdam, 202021). Used for their strength and speed to compete in sport, racehorses are considered working animals during their racing career. This lifestyle differs from that of a “pet” horse, which in contrast can be thought of as a longer term companion who provides more utility than just their monetary worth (Avles, 2018).

Each of these five champions of the Saratoga track are buried beneath gravestones that emphasize their success in winning races and earning money for their owners. Buried along a walking tour route of the race track, these horses are clearly marked and honored as champions in plain sight to the general public. The memorialization of these five horses creates a bias in the archaeological record towards remembering the lucrative winners through their respectful burial and careful documentation, and consequently leaves behind the horses who were less successful money makers on the track.

The gravestone of Four Star Dave, buried right along the path that is heavily trafficked by eager tourists during Saratoga’s racing season (Figure 1), states his lifetime earnings: a whopping $1,636,520 (Bouyea, 2018). There are no human names on this gravestone, which is one common note amongst both most pet graves and these 5 horses buried at Saratoga. Instead, there is a list of achievements to emphasize that he was good at his job. The focus on monetary achievement is dissimilar to the words of praise for a friendly temperament or silly nicknames found on many pets’ graves, as noted by Gradwohl’s observations of a pet cemetery (Gradwohl, 2000). The pet gravestones typically show an emotional bond with the buried animal, whereas the race horse gravestones are more explicitly focused on the value extracted from their body through work.

Figure 1. Gravestone of Four Star Dave, buried at the Clare Court track in Saratoga Springs, New York. Photograph by Adam Coglianese.

There are unsuccessful racehorses in the industry. Some find another job as a show horse or companion for pleasure, but others are shipped internationally to slaughter houses and killed for their meat (Figure 2). Moving these animals far from where they used to live and race is symbolic of the common phrase “out of sight, out of mind.” There is a clear archaeological record of the successful horses, who are buried in easily viewable locations at racetracks, but a much more muddled archaeological record of horses who have gone down the auction to slaughter pipeline.

Figure 2. An unsuccessful, former racehorse horse loaded on a trailer to be slaughtered. Photograph by Michael Mulvey.

This is a quiet ridding of some unsuccessful racehorses, whether on purpose or through a series of mishaps. The intense contrast in the memorialization of a horse who was paid for by the pound at auction versus the champion whose gravestone is publicly displayed shows the significant disinterest in what happens to unsuccessful or worn out working animals in the United States.

Links to Additional Resources:

Video: https://www.nbcnews.com/video/horse-slaughter-to-resume-amid-foreign-demand-for-meat-44892739553

Article: https://www.visitlex.com/guides/post/secretariats-grave/

References

Alves, Rômulo Romeu Nóbrega. 2018. “The Ethnozoological Role of Working Animals 

in Traction and Transport ∗.” In Ethnozoology, 339–49. Elsevier. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-809913-1.00018-1.

Bouyea, Brien. “Fourstardave: 3 Things Everybody Should Know about the ‘Sultan of 

Saratoga’.” Saratoga Living, July 30, 2018. https://saratogaliving.com/fourstardave-3-things-everybody-should-know-about-the-sultan-of-saratoga/.

Gradwohl, David. May/June 2000. “Parakeet to Paradise.” Archaeology Vol. 53 (No. 3): 

24. 22-24.

MacAdam, Mike, and Photo Provided. “Horse-for-the-Course Quick Call Memorialized 

at Saratoga Race Course.” The Daily Gazette, July 14, 2021. https://dailygazette.com/2021/07/14/horse-for-the-course-quick-call-memorialized-at-saratoga/.

Image Credits

Gravestone of Four Star Dave [online image]. Photograph taken by Adam Coglianese.

https://saratogaliving.com/fourstardave-3-things-everybody-should-know-about-the-sultan-of-saratoga/

A horse being sent to slaughter [online image]. Photograph taken by Michael Mulvey.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/horseracing/2019/10/31/breeders-cup-horses-go-racetracks-slaughterhouses/2485345001/