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  Counting Chins to Count People: Determining MNI for Umm an-Nar Tombs from Mandibular Fragments

  Chaylee Arellano, Quentin Burke, Lesley A. Gregoricka, and Jaime M. Ullinger

  Background: The Umm an-Nar period (2700-2000 BCE) was a time of rapid transformation within the Oman Peninsula, characterized by changes in mortuary practices, agriculture, and settlement. Located in the United Arab Emirates, Unar 1 (2400-2200 BCE) and Unar 2 (2300-2100 BCE) are two large Umm an-Nar tombs that held commingled, fragmented remains, posing a challenge in determining the minimum number of individuals (MNI). Based on the larger size of Unar 2, we hypothesized that the number of interred individuals would increase over time.

  Methods: MNI was calculated using the zonation and landmark methods for the mandible. MNI and tomb size of Unar 1 and 2 were also compared to six other Umm an-Nar tombs in the region.

  Results: The mental spines from the landmark method provided the highest MNI for both Unar 1 (n=101) and Unar 2 (n=290). While the zonation method generated a lower MNI for Unar 1 (n=86) and Unar 2 (n=263), both methods resulted in a statistically similar MNI within each tomb (X²=0.08, df=1, p=0.78). Regionally, no association between Umm an-Nar tomb size and MNI was found (Spearman’s r = 0.048, p=0.91).

  Conclusions: Although both tombs were used for roughly 200 years, their different MNI counts suggest that over time, more individuals within the community were permitted access to the larger Unar 2 tomb. The comparison of tomb diameter and MNI revealed that tomb size was not simply a function of the number of people interred for Umm an-Nar communities, but instead perhaps had some social meaning.

  Funding statement: This research was funded by a National Science Foundation Research Experiences for Undergraduates Award (#1852426).

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  Sex Estimation for Early Bronze Age Arabian Tombs using the Temporal Bone

  Victoria Calvin, Jeremy Simmons, Lesley A. Gregoricka, and Jaime M. Ullinger

  Background: The Umm an-Nar period (2700-2000 BCE) in the United Arab Emirates was marked by the appearance of settlements, oasis agriculture, and fortification towers, suggesting increasing stratification. Conversely, mortuary practices indicate equality based on commingling of community members. Based on other tombs in the region, it was hypothesized that sex ratios would not differ between tombs Unar 1 (U1; 2400-2200 BCE) and Unar 2 (U2; 2300-2100 BCE).

  Methods: Sex was estimated using robusticity of the mastoid process and the lateral angle of the internal auditory meatus for the temporal bone. As cremation was part of the mortuary ritual and could affect bone morphology, the Munsell Soil Color Book was used to identify bone color.

  Results: Results indicated no significant difference (Fisher’s Exact: p > 0.05) in sex ratios between U1 (15% male, 65% female, 20% indeterminate) and U2 (16% male, 70% female, 14% indeterminate) for the mastoid process. However, more females were in both tombs, unlike more equitable sex distributions in nearby tombs. On the other hand, the lateral angle method estimated a greater percentage of males (U1: 30%, U2: 36%). Concordance between methods was relatively similar when looking at burned and unburned bone (Fisher’s Exact: p > 0.05), suggesting cremation practices did not affect sex estimation techniques.

  Conclusion: These outcomes suggest the mastoid process may not be the best sex estimation method for this population; the lateral angle method may be more accurate. Moreover, the surplus of females in both tombs may allude to the maintenance of gender stratification over time.

  Funding statement: This research was funded by a National Science Foundation Research Experiences for Undergraduates Award (#1852426).

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  An Examination of Sex Distributions in Umm an-Nar Tombs from Bronze Age Arabia using the Distal Humerus

  Charles Downey, Silvio Ernesto Mirabal Torres, Lesley A. Gregoricka, and Jaime M. Ullinger

  Background: Umm an-Nar (2700-2000 BCE) communal tombs from southeastern Arabia contain human skeletal remains characterized by extensive commingling and variable degrees of burning. Because of this, few bioarchaeological studies have been conducted examining the proportions of males to females in these monumental tombs. We hypothesized that increased social stratification in the late Umm an-Nar period would lead to a higher number of males interred in Umm an-Nar tombs over time.

  Methods: To estimate sex, we measured four features of the distal humeri from tombs Unar 1 (2400-2200 BCE) and Unar 2 (2300-2100 BCE). Heat-induced changes to bone from cremation were also assessed using the Munsell Soil Color Book due to the possibility that shrinkage and warping might affect measurements.

  Results: Techniques designed for evaluating sex for burned and unburned humeri resulted in frequencies of 37.5-47.1% male and 35.3-37.5% female for Unar 1, and 50.6-59.2% male and 34.7-39.2% female for Unar 2. Our results showed no significant difference (X²=0.06, df=1, p=0.81) in the proportions of males and females between the tombs. Additionally, there was no significant difference in the proportion of calcined to uncalcined bones between Unar 1 (46.3% calcined) and Unar 2 (62.2%) (X²=2.12, df=1, p=0.15).

  Conclusion: Our results did not support the hypothesis that increasing social stratification in the latter part of the Umm an-Nar period led to the interment of a higher number of males over time; this could indicate that social stratification was important for the living, but was intentionally limited in mortuary contexts.

  Funding statement: This research was funded by a National Science Foundation Research Experiences for Undergraduates Award (#1852426).

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  A Tali of Two Tombs: Calculating MNI and Bone Calcination in Commingled Remains from Two Bronze Age Tombs in the UAE

  Alyssa McGrath, Rachel Heil, Lesley A. Gregoricka, and Jaime M. Ullinger

  Background: The Umm an-Nar period (2700-2000 BCE) is known for its dichotomy between the rise in social hierarchy during life, seen in the construction of monumental towers and emergence of oasis agriculture, and equal treatment in death, seen in the commingling of all community members within monumental tombs. Umm an-Nar tombs Unar 1 (2400-2200 BCE) and Unar 2 (2300-2100 BCE) were part of the Shimal Necropolis in the United Arab Emirates. Archaeologists initially hypothesized that these tombs each contained 400+ people, but these estimates were not based on bioarchaeological methods.

  Methods: Using the talus, the landmark and zonation methods were compared to assess the minimum number of individuals (MNI) within Unar 1 and 2. As some individuals underwent cremation before interment, a Munsell Color Chart was used to assess the extent of heat-related changes to bone.

  Results: The landmark (Unar 1: 87; Unar 2: 227) and zonation (Unar 1: 88; Unar 2: 228) methods produced comparable MNI results for each tomb but far below original MNI estimations made by archaeologists. Far fewer individuals were cremated at high temperatures earlier in the Umm an-Nar period, with Unar 2 showing a much higher percentage of calcined bone (63%) than Unar 1 (26%) (X²= 200.738, df=2, p<0.0001).

  Conclusion: Results suggests that the population may have grown over time, and that later residents needed a larger tomb to house more of their dead. Increasing frequencies of calcined bone indicates a shift in mortuary practices over time in which cremation may have become more important in processing the dead.

  Funding Statement: This research was funded by a National Science Foundation Research Experiences for Undergraduates Award (#1852426).

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  MNI and Sex Estimation in Two Umm an-Nar Tombs from the UAE

  Jaime M. Ullinger, Lesley A. Gregoricka, Chaylee Arellano, Quentin Burke, Victoria Calvin, Charlie Downey, Rachel Heil, Alyssa McGrath, Silvio Ernesto Mirabal Torres, and Jeremy Simmons

  Commingled tombs are often overlooked in bioarchaeological studies because of the difficult nature of analysis, despite their prevalence across the ancient world. Tombs Unar 1 (U1) and Unar 2 (U2), located in the United Arab Emirates, date to the Umm an-Nar period (2700-2000 BCE), when people witnessed shifts in mortuary practices likely reflective of broader changes in subsistence and social organization. A collaborative project that trains undergraduates in anthropological research has examined tomb membership for U1 and U2 by estimating MNI and sex. Despite early descriptions of U1 and U2 holding similar numbers of individuals, this project found that MNI was greater in U2 when counting non-duplicating elements from the talus (U1: 88; U2: 228), mandible (U1: 101; U2: 290), and petrous portion of the temporal (U1: 190; U2: 403) whether using landmark or zonation methods. Metric analyses of the humerus found a relatively similar proportion of males and females in each tomb (X²=0.06, df=1, p=0.81). While an assessment of the lateral angle of the internal auditory meatus and the mastoid process found greater numbers of women entombed in both tombs, there was no difference in sex distribution between the tombs (Fisher’s exact: p>0.05 for both techniques). These results suggest that U2 was open to the interment of a larger number of individuals; however, while different sex estimation methods produced similar sex distributions between the tombs, the methods themselves varied considerably in estimating overall frequencies of males and females. Future research using additional sex estimation techniques is warranted.