Papers by Victoria Gibbon
Forensic human identification: retrospective investigation of anthropological assessments in the Western Cape, South Africa
International Journal Of Legal Medicine, Jul 30, 2022
Homo-journal of Comparative Human Biology, May 1, 2017
The purpose of this study was to evaluate the distribution and incidence of two forms of alveolar... more The purpose of this study was to evaluate the distribution and incidence of two forms of alveolar bone resorption known as fenestration and dehiscence across time and space. To accomplish this a Medieval French population was studied and the results were compared with other studies to examine incidence and distribution of alveolar bone resorption. Thus, 1175 teeth were analysed for 81 individuals, from an agropastoral Medieval (12th-14th century) archaeological site of Vilarnau located in the South of France. Tooth presence and absence as well as dental alveolar resorption were recorded. A new standardised methodological approach to record alveolar resorption is presented and can be used for any skeletonised series. Measurements of dehiscence were made in the midline on each root in relation to the cemento-enamel junction and fenestration was considered as resorption restricted to alveolar bone. Through analyses of the distribution and incidence of alveolar bone resorption overtime in a Medieval French population, along with nine other studies, we present a list of predictive factors for alveolar bone resorption. Among these factors tooth position and function were the most important; anterior teeth were more commonly affected, bone resorption was more common on the labial/buccal versus palatal/lingual surfaces, fenestration was also more common on the maxilla and dehiscence on the mandible (p ≤ 0.001). These patterns do not vary through time or space, and therefore, provide predictive factors for health practitioners in oral therapy to improve patient recovery and post oral treatment success. Résumé Il nous paraît intéressant, d'apporter de nouvelles informations, quant à l'incidence et à la répartition de la résorption alvéolaire, tant en Anthropologie qu'en thérapeutique dentaire. Notre étude a pour but d'évaluer la répartition et l'incidence des deux types de résorption alvéolaire, la déhiscence et la fenestration, dans une population médiévale française, et de comparer nos données à celles déjà établies par des travaux antérieurs, dans un large éventail de populations, au cours de différentes époques. Nous présentons une nouvelle approche méthodologique, standardisée et reproductible. Nous avons étudié 1175 dents appartenant à 81 individus, d'une population agropastorale médiévale (12 e-14 e siècle) provenant du site archéologique de Vilarnau, dans le sud de la France. Nous avons relevé les dents présentes et absentes, ainsi que les déhiscences et les
Homo-journal of Comparative Human Biology, Oct 1, 2016
ing the Warring States and Han dynasty retained their cultural and genetic Mongolian identity. Th... more ing the Warring States and Han dynasty retained their cultural and genetic Mongolian identity. These data add valuable bioarchaeological information regarding the peopling of northern China during a crucial period of cultural and political change in the Early Bronze Age and Iron Age.
Forensic Science International: Genetics Supplement Series, Dec 1, 2019
Research investigating DNA recovery from samples exposed to seawater is lacking and limited to ar... more Research investigating DNA recovery from samples exposed to seawater is lacking and limited to artificial or semi-realistic environments. This pilot study assessed DNA recovery from pig (Sus scrofa) teeth (n = 28) submerged in-situ in a natural marine environment of South Africa. Amplification of nuclear DNA was successful in 60% (17/28) of samples for a 96 bp fragment, and in 46% (13/28) for 200 bp fragment. By comparison, mitochondrial DNA was detected in 57% (16/28) for a 486 bp fragment. DNA was more consistently amplified in teeth submerged during winter, suggesting colder seawater temperatures contributed towards DNA preservation. Non-specific amplification was linked to a marine microbe origin. The hypothesis being marine bacteria may contribute towards DNA degradation. The study demonstrates the complexity in understanding the effect seawater has on DNA recovery. Future research on human samples is required to improve success rates of identifying marine wash-ups.
International Journal of Osteoarchaeology, Mar 6, 2012
Using morphological and radiographic methods, we analysed the dentitions of 24 individuals from I... more Using morphological and radiographic methods, we analysed the dentitions of 24 individuals from Ingombe Ilede and Isamu Pati Zambian Iron Age archaeological sites. In this study, we determined the frequency and distribution of attrition, pathological conditions and dental trauma. This research also presents the first view of dental health for an Iron Age population in southern Africa. In total, 482 teeth were available for this study with 287 teeth missing, where 50 of these were lost antemortem and one individual had an erupted supernumerary first mandibular incisor. With the use of radiography and morphology, 21.5% (104/482) of the analysed teeth had at least one pathological condition or evidence of dental trauma. Some interesting dental aspects found and discussed in this paper are linear enamel hypoplastic lesions, radicular resorption, periapical lesions, fractures, dental modification and carious lesions. Many of these features were diagnosed with radiography, and this was especially important for those found below the cemento-enamel junction (p = 0.0202) that are less obvious with macroscopic investigation alone. Additionally, the quantity and direction of dental attrition was studied. There were observed sex differences with the direction of wear, likely representing a sex-specific cultural practice of using teeth as tools. Overall, the results show that this sample suffered relatively little from dental problems, and many of those observed features were associated with the traumatic procedure of dental modification, whereas others were age and diet-related. Additionally, with the use of radiography, rare dental fractures and other features were diagnosed; these results demonstrate the requirement for its application in dental studies on archaeological assemblages.
Forensic Science International, Jul 1, 2020
The version in the Kent Academic Repository may differ from the final published version. Users ar... more The version in the Kent Academic Repository may differ from the final published version. Users are advised to check http://kar.kent.ac.uk for the status of the paper. Users should always cite the published version of record.
Homo-journal of Comparative Human Biology, 2017
Comparative Human Biology xxx (2016) xxx-xxx pour Les Treilles le haut niveau d'usure correspond ... more Comparative Human Biology xxx (2016) xxx-xxx pour Les Treilles le haut niveau d'usure correspond à des aliments à la fois fibreux et résistantes. A Marsan, le niveau d'usure moins élevé était probablement du à la consommation de bouillies de céréales, nécessitant une moindre mastication. Cependant, la direction de l'usure est associée à plusieurs facteurs et peut être corrélée à des pratiques de subsistance mixte. Cette étude démontre la nécessité, de recherches supplémentaires, quant au processus complexe de mastication et d'une méthode standardisée pour examiner l'usure dentaire d'échantillons archéologiques.
Assessment and improvement of sex estimation standards for application in Holocene San and Khoekhoe populations
International Journal of Osteoarchaeology, Mar 11, 2023
Accurate population‐specific sex estimation standards do not exist for southern African Holocene ... more Accurate population‐specific sex estimation standards do not exist for southern African Holocene San and Khoekhoe populations. Due to markedly small stature, skeletal gracility, and physically active lifestyle, this population exhibits reduced sexual dimorphism, complicating application of standards developed elsewhere. The effectiveness of common sex estimation approaches were assessed and optimized for San and Khoekhoe populations. One‐hundred seventy‐five adult archaeological San and Khoekhoe skeletons were studied. Sex estimates from seven morphological traits (cranial and mandibular) and six metrical parameters (mandibular, humeral, and femoral) were compared with pelvic (Phenice) sex estimates to assess agreement. Results were analyzed using chi‐squared tests, univariate statistics, and cross‐validated discriminant function analysis. The effectiveness of individual cranial and mandibular traits varied: The mastoid process and mandibular shape produced the highest agreement rates with pelvic sex estimates (73% and 72%, respectively), while mental eminence and nuchal crest produced the lowest (both 53%). The nuchal crest exhibited a strong sex bias. All mandibular and long‐bone metrical parameters were sexually dimorphic; femoral and humeral vertical head diameter (FHD and HVHD) were the most discriminatory. The discriminant function equations showing the highest agreement with pelvic sex estimates were direct multivariate bicondylar breadth, FHD and HVHD (77%), univariate FHD (75%), and stepwise multivariate FHD and HVHD (73%). All variables were sexually dimorphic, but the reduced sexual dimorphism in this population necessitates careful choice of traits. Trait scores considered diagnostic of males and females may require adjustment to improve discriminating power. This study identified the most accurate areas to target for sex estimation and generated the first discriminant functions specific to archaeological San and Khoekhoe people.
Metastatic cancer along ancient Silk Road: A possible case from Xinjiang (China)
International Journal of Paleopathology, Jun 1, 2022
OBJECTIVE Palaeopathological evidence of cancer, especially metastatic cancer, is rare in China. ... more OBJECTIVE Palaeopathological evidence of cancer, especially metastatic cancer, is rare in China. This paper describes and diagnoses a cranium with multiple lytic lesions recovered from the Sampula cemetery in Xinjiang, attempting to diagnose the type of disease that could have caused the pathological lesions observed. MATERIAL A cranium from an adult male (#00106) was recovered from the Sampula cemetery (dated to 55 BCE to 335 CE) located in the Luopu County, the Hotan River oasis on the southern edge of the Tarim Basin in southern Xinjiang. METHODS The cranium was assessed macroscopically and radiographically (CT). RESULTS Multiple osteolytic lesions with irregular and "moth-eaten" margins were detected in cranium #00106. CT scans revealed the development of the lesions began at the diploe and identified a "button sequestrum". CONCLUSIONS Based on lesion characteristics, metastatic carcinoma was likely the cause of lesions found in cranium #00106. SIGNIFICANCE This case has expanded our knowledge of the malignant neoplasms of ancient populations in northwest China and discusses the possible risk factors in the occurrence of cancer in the Sampula site, as well as the possible impacts of skeletal metastases on the individual. LIMITATIONS The distribution of osteolytic lesions over the complete skeleton cannot be observed because of the unavailability of postcranial bone. SUGGESTIONS FOR FUTURE RESEARCH With the increasing number of reports describing diseases in ancient China, the patterns of diseases occurrence and development can be further explored from spatial and temporal perspectives.
Informing regional taphonomy research using retrospective forensic anthropology cases in the Western Cape, South Africa
Science & Justice, Mar 1, 2023
The effect of clothing on decomposition in the cooler months in Cape Town, South Africa
The 89th Annual Meeting of the American Association of Physical Anthropologists, Los Angeles, CA, 2020
Individual centred social‐care approach: Using computer tomography to assess a traumatic brain injury in an Iron Age individual from China
International Journal of Osteoarchaeology, Nov 4, 2020
In bioarchaeology, cranial trauma studies generally have focused on the frequency in the populati... more In bioarchaeology, cranial trauma studies generally have focused on the frequency in the population to explore violence within or between society. They focus less on further discussion of the consequences and interactions of the injured individual with the surrounding. In this study, macroscopic observation and computed tomography scans (endocast reconstruction) were used to explore a special cranium in the Sampula site of northwest China. The model of bioarchaeology of care (BoC) was used to further analyse the individual's disability experience, related health care and the broader social meaning of caring behaviour. The results showed that the individual numbered Sampula I M2:103 was an adult male who suffered severe antemortem cranial trauma that led to brain injury. Short‐term health care involving wound treatment and nutritional support, as well as long‐term assistance in social and rehabilitation, was available in the Sampula Iron Age society. Although there were limitations to the analysis, the individual's ability to survive in the Iron Age was a testament to those who cared for him, as well as the level of care and medicinal knowledge in this society. The BoC allowed for a more human‐centred approach to understanding the lives of those in the past, and its application can provide more insight into past societies, cultures, groups and individual identity.
Forensic Science International: Reports, Nov 1, 2019
South Africa is faced with a serious issue of unidentified human remains. The aim of this study w... more South Africa is faced with a serious issue of unidentified human remains. The aim of this study was to assess the impact of anthropological analysis on local death investigations and case resolution for the busiest medico-legal laboratory within Cape Town, South Africa. Cases referred to the Forensic Anthropology Cape Town (FACT) laboratory between 2008-2018 from Salt River Mortuary were used. This study highlights the contribution forensic anthropological analyses provides to death investigation in Cape Town. Despite the challenges forensic anthropology faces in South Africa, it is helping with social and criminal justice through research, case resolution and scarce skill development.
Forensic sciences research, Aug 13, 2020
Forensic taphonomy as a discipline requires standardization to satisfy Daubert criteria for scien... more Forensic taphonomy as a discipline requires standardization to satisfy Daubert criteria for scientific data to be admissible in court. In response, there has been a shift towards quantification of methodology and estimating the post-mortem interval. Despite these advances, there are still biases and limitations within the discipline not explicitly addressed in the early stages of experimental design nor in final published works. In this article, unresolved debates with respect to the conductance and reporting of forensic taphonomic research are reviewed, beginning with the nature of experimental cadavers, human or animal analogues and their body size, and second, the forensic realism of experimental setups, specifically with respect to caging, clothing and number of carcases. Pigs, albeit imperfect, are a good model to gain a general idea of the trends that may be seen in humans in subsequent validation studies in facilities where human donors are available. To date, there is no consensus among taphonomists on the extent of the effect that body mass has on decomposition progression. More research is required with both human cadavers and non-human analogues that builds on our current knowledge of forensic taphonomy to answer these nagging questions. This will enable the discipline to make the reliable assumption that pigs and donor decomposition data can be applied to homicide cases. A suite of experimental design aspects is suggested to ensure systematic and standardized data collection across different biogeoclimatic circumstances to identify and quantify the effects of potential confounding variables. Such studies in multiple, varied biogeographic circumstances with standardized protocols, equipment and carrion will facilitate independent global validation of patterns. These factors are reviewed to show the need for adjustments in experimental design to ensure relevance and applicability of data within locally realistic forensic situations. The initiation of a global decomposition data network for forensic taphonomists is recommended. KEY POINTS Pigs are a valuable, albeit imperfect, proxy for human decomposition studies. There are few or conflicting data on effects of carcase size, carrion ecology, exclusion cages and scavengers. We recommend single, clothed, uncaged carcases for baseline research to reflect regionally specific forensic casework.
PLOS ONE
We describe a process of restitution of nine unethically acquired human skeletons to their famili... more We describe a process of restitution of nine unethically acquired human skeletons to their families, together with attempts at redress. Between 1925–1927 C.E., the skeletonised remains of nine San or Khoekhoe people, eight of them known-in-life, were removed from their graves on the farm Kruisrivier, near Sutherland in the Northern Cape Province of South Africa. They were donated to the Anatomy Department at the University of Cape Town. This was done without the knowledge or permission of their families. The donor was a medical student who removed the remains from the labourers’ cemetery on his family farm. Nearly 100 years later, the remains are being returned to their community, accompanied by a range of community-driven interdisciplinary historical, archaeological and analytical (osteobiographic, craniofacial, ancient DNA, stable isotope) studies to document, as far as possible, their lives and deaths. The restitution process began by contacting families living in the same area w...
Forensic human identification: retrospective investigation of anthropological assessments in the Western Cape, South Africa
International Journal of Legal Medicine
Pressing need for national governmental recognition of forensic anthropology in South Africa as illustrated in a medico-legal case
Science & Justice
Nature, 2021
We are a group of archaeologists, anthropologists, curators and geneticists representing diverse ... more We are a group of archaeologists, anthropologists, curators and geneticists representing diverse global communities and 31 countries. All of us met in a virtual workshop dedicated to ethics in ancient DNA research held in November 2020. There was widespread agreement that globally applicable ethical guidelines are needed, but that recent recommendations grounded in discussion about research on human remains from North America are not always generalizable worldwide. Here we propose the following globally applicable guidelines, taking into consideration diverse contexts. These hold that: (1) researchers must ensure that all regulations were followed in the places where they work and from which the human remains derived; (2) researchers must prepare a detailed plan prior to beginning any study; (3)
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2021
Significance The microbiome plays key roles in human health, but little is known about its evolut... more Significance The microbiome plays key roles in human health, but little is known about its evolution. We investigate the evolutionary history of the African hominid oral microbiome by analyzing dental biofilms of humans and Neanderthals spanning the past 100,000 years and comparing them with those of chimpanzees, gorillas, and howler monkeys. We identify 10 core bacterial genera that have been maintained within the human lineage and play key biofilm structural roles. However, many remain understudied and unnamed. We find major taxonomic and functional differences between the oral microbiomes of Homo and chimpanzees but a high degree of similarity between Neanderthals and modern humans, including an apparent Homo -specific acquisition of starch digestion capability in oral streptococci, suggesting microbial coadaptation with host diet.
Forensic human identification: Investigation into tooth morphotype and DNA extraction methods from teeth
Science & Justice, 2021
When a body is decomposed, hard tissues such as teeth may provide the only DNA source for human i... more When a body is decomposed, hard tissues such as teeth may provide the only DNA source for human identification. There is currently no consensus as to the best DNA extraction method, and there is a lack of empirical data regarding tooth morphotype and condition that may impact DNA recovery. Therefore, this study sought to investigate which variables significantly improved DNA concentration, integrity and profiling success. A total of 52 human teeth were assessed, representing all tooth morphotypes from three deceased individuals. DNA was extracted using both the QIAamp® DNA Investigator Kit and the phenol-chloroform method. DNA concentration and degradation index were assessed using real time PCR, prior to conventional DNA profiling. Contrary to international guidelines promoting the use of molars, DNA profiling from molars was the least successful, with premolars, followed by canines, performing the best. The presence of fillings reduced the DNA quantity and quality obtained and may explain the poor performance of molars. DNA from the maxillae were significantly less degraded when the QIAamp® was used, although this did not influence DNA profiling success. A significant increase in DNA concentration, integrity and profiling success was observed in diseased teeth (periodontitis) compared to those without disease. This may be due to increased white blood cell presence at the site. There was no significant difference in DNA profiling success between the two DNA extraction methods. However, different teeth yielded failed DNA profiles for each extraction method, suggesting that repeated attempts, using alternative DNA extraction methods, is recommended. The recovery of additional DNA profiling information from degraded samples may help to ultimately reduce the burden of unidentified human remains.
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Papers by Victoria Gibbon