Practitioner preferences in the analysis of cremation deposits in archaeology and biological anthropology: An overview of current osteoarchaeological practices with a focus on sex estimation

Hlad, Marta; Löffelmann, Tessi; Griffith, Jacob I.; James, Hannah F.; Vercauteren, Martine; Snoeck, Christophe; Veselka, Barbara

Abstract

Osteological data, such as biological sex, constitute a base for research in paleodemography and palaeopathology, as well as for understanding past socio-cultural practices. Despite extensive research efforts concerning cremated human remains over the past decades, an internationally acknowledged, standardized osteological protocol is not fully agreed upon. Furthermore, assessing cremation research practices from the literature is challenging because analysis reports are often written in the national languages of practitioners, which makes them difficult to access by an international audience. This study addresses this gap by directly reaching out to experts working with cremated human remains through an online questionnaire in Lime Survey. The aim is to identify and characterize patterns in cremation analysis practices. A particular emphasis was put on the methods of biological sex estimation. While the significance of these data is widely acknowledged, the ways in which they are obtained in practice are seldom examined. The results of this survey reveal an absence of standardization in protocols of analysis, and data collection, as well as in reporting on the cremated remains in publications and reports. Notably, the findings reveal regional preferences in methodological choices and inconsistent institutional training. A majority of respondents expressed a preference for traditional morphological methods over recently published metric and alternative methods for sex estimation. These variations underscore the complexity of establishing standardized cremation analysis protocols and highlight the importance of considering regional contexts and training in shaping future research practices.

Citation

Hlad, M., Löffelmann, T., Griffith, J. I., James, H. F., Vercauteren, M., Snoeck, C., & Veselka, B. (2024). Practitioner preferences in the analysis of cremation deposits in archaeology and biological anthropology: An overview of current osteoarchaeological practices with a focus on sex estimation. PLoS ONE, 19(12), Article e0310380. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0310380

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Aug 29, 2024
• Online Publication Date: Dec 2, 2024
• Publication Date: Dec 2, 2024
• Deposit Date: Dec 16, 2024
• Publicly Available Date: Dec 16, 2024
• Journal: PLOS ONE
• Electronic ISSN: 1932-6203
• Publisher: Public Library of Science
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 19
• Issue: 12
• Article Number: e0310380
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0310380
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/3211462