Reading the Bones of La Florida - Essay Example

Native Americans In Reading the Bones of La Florida, Clark Spencer Larsen explores the activities of Native Americans after the arrivals of Europeans, specifically Christopher Columbus settlement in 1492 in the Caribbean. According to Larsen, the health of Native Americans declined because of diseases as well as a change in living circumstances and diet. Larsen explores the engagement of Southeast Spanish missions in La Florida, identifying the cultural and traditional diet and work habits of the natives prior to the settlement of Europeans. Larsen capitalizes on the recent development and advancement of bio-archeology to present his arguments concerning health deterioration of the natives. Because human tissues contain stable isotopes such as nitrogen and carbon elements, bioarcheologists may utilize this information to reconstruct and determine the diets of ancient humans. Larsen revisits findings of carbon three and carbon four chemical signatures, different ratios of carbon 12 and carbon 13 isotopes, and different ratios of nitrogen 14 and nitrogen 15 isotopes in human beings to argue that the Native Americans on La Florida experienced a change of diet after the settlement of Europeans. Larsen focuses on research evidence on the chronological and geographical variations from Margret Schoeninger, Nikolaas van der Merwe, and Lynnet Norr concerning the difference in diet. The article emphasizes on three tribes: the Guale, the Timucua, and the Apalachee, all served by Spanish missions in coastal Georgia and Florida (Hunter, 2007). Larsen builds a strong case against the change of diet as a major cause of health deterioration, providing the readers with bioarcheological bone evidence. Furthermore, he analyzes the working habits and living conditions, as well as the occurrence of rampant infections and easy onward transmission as other propagating factors to the poor health of the native Indians. With respect to the work habits, Larsen examines the working bones in the human skeleton. He argues that the human skeleton responds to physical activities in their entire lives, changing the structure and shape of the individual’s bones in order to respond to the mechanical forces acting upon them. Larsen further argues that the body weight or the pull of muscles triggers cellular activities that cause remodeling of the skeleton (Guatelli-Steinberg, 2001). This is in accordance with his findings from the La Florida Bioarcheology Project. Larsen’s arguments and evidence ventures into the world of forensic science, particularly bio-molecular archeology in analyzing and studying DNA traces in ancient bones. The relatively new study of DNA focuses on fossilized teeth and bones. Moreover, adopted methods form immunology, analytical chemistry, and protein biochemistry enables scientists to investigate and analyze the fate of individual human communities. With particular emphasis has been the study of agriculture invention in human populations, diseases, and health. The great agricultural revolution of Mesopotamia that led to humans planting food crops and domesticating animals had a profound impact on human history. Nonetheless, the traditional assumption has been that this transition from a hunter-gatherer and foraging diet to another based on crops would enhance the health of humans (Guatelli-Steinberg, 2001). This is where Larsen begins his arguments, stating that the revolution had both positive and negative impacts. Larsen refers to the agricultural revolution as an environmental catastrophe that led to the decrease in the quality of life for many human populations, with emphasis on La Florida. It is evident that the lives of Native Americans living in La Florida had an impact, but concluding that the revolution had similar impacts in other communities occupying other areas may be incorrect. Interestingly, critiques of industrial revolution express similar sentiments, arguing that the revolution minimizes the quality of human life. The assumption therefore is that majority of the greatest changes in the history of humans result to a decline in the quality oh human life and health. The fact that the agricultural revolution in La Florida had both indirect and direct impacts to the native residents is doubtless. It significantly imposed new diet restrictions from a variety of fruits, meat, fish, and vegetables to a few or single staple crops such as corn (Brown). Consequently, the lack of key nutrients might have led to malnutrition. However, Larsen does not indicate any positive impacts of the agricultural revolution. Despite its impact in La Florida, the revolution had some positive aspects in marginal areas experiencing scarcity in naturally occurring foods, as they provided a reliable source of food. According to immunological research on protein residues of pottery by Collins and his colleagues, dairy farmers of the Outer Hebrides in Scotland converted fodder to a source of milk supply in the Iron Age. This supplemented beneficial nutrients to the health of the farmers, a fact omitted by Larsen. The arrival of Europeans in La Florida and the introduction of the agricultural revolution had other indirect human impacts. The fat that the Spanish missions facilitated increase in population densities created an optimal environment for the spread and emergence of transmittable diseases and infections such as smallpox, measles, and leprosy, perhaps the first time in the history of humans. After the settlement of Europeans, Spanish missions became social and religious life centers. Bioarcheology has also facilitated the study and analysis of diseases famous in the bible such as leprosy through combining sequences of bacterial or viral DNA from similar sources. However, reports from various studies indicate that the origin of the diseases was in the Old World, spreading to subsequent human migrations with time (Hunter, 2007). Correlating the ancient DNA from teeth and bones to the DNA sequence of living bacteria and viruses, bioarcheologists argue that these diseases increased or became prevalent during the agricultural revolutions in La Florida and other parts of the world. Agriculture and the subsequent change of diet were generally bad for the natives of La Florida, but invasions and conquests had more impacts that are dramatic. According to written records on the accounts of Christopher Columbus’s landing in Caribbean Islands led to the elimination and decimation of Native American populations by various epidemics. Larsen’s study tries to connect the pieces of history from that era through the application of bio-molecular archeology to reflect a complex concept where the change of diet combined with the transmission of diseases from Europe led to massive collapse of well-established populations (Guatelli-Steinberg, 2001). The large-scale study highlights the importance of measuring nitrogen and carbon isotopes in ancient skeletal bones found beneath missionary churches in Georgia and Florida. The fact that the agricultural revolution arrived with a big bang and the impact of imported diseases from Europe significantly affected the quality of health and living conditions of the Native Americans. The application of bio-molecular archeology concepts in Larsen’s study enhances the credibility of the study. The human DNA provides the most viable clues in ancient human research, as well as examining bacterial and viral infections hosted by human bodies. However, teeth and bones sources restrict such analysis to locations of discovery. Luckily, DNA of ancient humans occurs widely in sediments and soils rather than confinement in particular archeological sites, thus providing an efficient archeological investigation. However, the main problem of ancient DNA is the possibility of contamination with a recent DNA of related or similar origin. Despite the merits of biomolecular archeology, the technique faces possible constraints at the location of work (Brown). During building development, the site is unearthed giving archeologists limited time to perform a comprehensive analysis. Moreover, the preservation of specimens for subsequent analysis is often a concern. Additionally, new technologies and tools do not enlighten people of the history of humans and early civilizations. While it may be true that the health of Native Americans deteriorated because of Europeans migrations and their influence on the natives’ living style and diet, there is need for more research and study on the issue. Moreover, the biomolecular archeology techniques highlights that the disease agents originated form the Old World, evolving through subsequent generations and later transmitted to animals (Hunter, 2007). Indeed, there is need for more studies and research without the emphasis of ancient DNA to determine the real cause of health deterioration among the Native Americans of La Florida. Larsen’s study presents a strong argument based on empirical evidence from biomolecular archeology examination, but it is not conclusive. This is partly due to the fact that ancient DNA is prone to contamination with more recent strains of DNA of related or similar origin. References Brown, T. How Ancient DNA May Help in Understanding the Origin and Spread of Agriculture. The Royal Society. Retrieved on Feb 27, 2012, from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1692457/pdf/RYWRPVPFLLN997JK_354_89.pdf Guatelli-Steinberg, D. (2001). What can developmental defects of enamel reveal about physiological stress in non-human primates? Evolutionary Anthropology 10: 138-151. Retrieved on Feb 27, 2012, from http://anthropology.osu.edu/bioarch/PDF/What%20can%20developmental%20defects%20of%20enamel.pdf Hunter, P. (2007). Dig This. Biomolecular Archeology Provides new Insights into Past Civilizations, Cultures and Practices. European Molecular Biology Organization. 8(3): 215–217. Retrieved on Feb 27, 2012, from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1808043/ Read More