| The purpose of this study was to reassess the relationship between two skeletal markers of stress known as cribra orbitalia and porotic hyperostosis. These conditions have often been used in bioarchaeological analyses as indicators of iron deficiency anemia and as indicators of "health." Recently the etiology of these stress markers has been reimagined and, in doing so, the relationship between these conditions has come into question. To reassess the relationship between cribra orbitalia and porotic hyperostosis, data were collected from 355 Mississippian individuals in the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) archaeological collection curated at the McClung Museum of Natural History and Culture at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Statistical analyses found a significant association between cribra orbitalia and porotic hyperostosis. These results superficially suggest that these conditions have a close relationship; however, this thesis argues that this statistical association instead reflects the co-occurrence of overlapping etiologic factors of each stress marker. |
