Pitted-Ware Skeletons and Boreal Temperatures

Abstract

In the following papet adaptations to cold stress are discussed with respect to two osteological characters, the Nasal Index and the Crural Index. The Nasal Index measures the constriction of the nasal opening. The Crural Index measures the relative shortening of the distal segment of the lower extremity. Based on data supplied by Howells (1989) and Trinkaus (1981), the functional relationship between these osteological characteristics and Mean Annual Temperature was assessed. The empirical findings thus produced were confronted with data from archaeological contexts, in order to elucidace the climatological experiences that the prehistoric populations may have encountered. The results of the present analysis firmly suggest that the bearers of the Pitced-Ware tradition were adapted to cold stress, and that the populations buried in South Scandinavian collective graves, i.e. Middle and Late Neolithic populations, were not. Further, some of the implications of this finding are discussed, especially with regard to the diet of the Pitted-Ware tradition.