Evaluating Entheseal Changes from a Commingled and Fragmentary Population: Republic Groves

The most direct way available to modern day researchers to reconstruct individual
and population level behavior is to analyze markers of activity from skeletal remains
(Ruff et al., 2004). An analysis of the population at the Republic Groves site (8HR4) was
conducted, using the entheseal change score system, the Coimbra method, developed by
Henderson et al. (2015). This study examined the implication of analyzing a commingled
and fragmentary population with this methodology. Reconstructing specific behavior
cannot be done with this type of approach; however, entheseal changes can be compared
to specific patterns of behavior for consistency. An atlatl was found with the human
remains and thus provided a suggestion of behavior for comparison. Entheses were
chosen in line with a throwing motion of the atlatl and focused exclusively on the
humerus, radius, and ulna. The application of the Coimbra methodology to the Republic
Groves population was successful, at least in part. Overall, there was low variability of
results, mostly 0, some 1, and with very few high 2 scores. The entheseal changes from Republic Groves were consistent with the throwing of an atlatl; however, this does not
mean that this is the only behavior that could have generated that kind of change.