| This dissertation tests the hypothesis that agriculture, as practiced by prehistoric Mississippian Indians, was physically more demanding than hunting-and-gathering was for the earlier Archaic Indians from the same region of northwestern Alabama. Two types of data are used: anthropometric measurements of the long bones and geometric properties of femoral and humeral diaphyseal cross-sections. These yield information on size and estimates of diaphyseal rigidity under bending and torsional loading.;The Mississippian men have larger and stronger long bone diaphyses in the lower extremity only. Mississippian male femora are much more massively constructed than are those of the Archaic males, possessing both greater total cortical area and significantly higher strengths under bending and torsional forces throughout the diaphysis. There are no significant differences in male humeral size or strength between the two groups, however, although radial and ulnar diaphyseal dimensions are generally larger in the Mississippian males.;These findings document that the agricultural group had long bones which in general were resistant to higher levels of mechanical stress than those of the pre-agricultural sample. In addition, more widespread changes occurred in the women, which correlates with historic evidence that Southeastern Indian women were responsible for the bulk of the agricultural work. The relatively large increases in arm strength (especially on the left side) in agricultural women may be related to the cultural practice of grinding corn. The increase in leg strength alone in the agricultural males is tentatively suggested to be related to the increasing participation in games-playing and warfare.;The agricultural group in general is shown to have thicker long bone diaphyses which are more resistant to bending and torsional loads. Mississippian women are significantly larger than Archaic women for most long bone diaphyseal dimensions (circumferences and diameters). Their femora and humeri are generally significantly stronger than are those of the Archaic women under bending and torsional loads (as estimated by area and polar moments of inertia). The greatest differences between females of these two groups occur in the arms, while the legs show fewer changes. |
