Van Voorhis, Laura

New data on human skeletal remains from Site 35 in Salango, Ecuador is combined with existing data presented by Jastremski 2006 to compile a more comprehensive report about the health conditions of the people from this locale. Site 35, which is associated with the Manteno culture that flourished in the Integration period from A.D. 500 – 1532, has been determined to comprise a singular population that is represented by a minimum of 27 individuals.
<br>In addition to more comprehensive conclusions about Site 35, this thesis uses the compiled data from Site 35 in an extended comparison of health among prehistoric sites from six additional sites to observe general trends over time and across geography. Through an in-depth analysis of six distinct health traits, it can be concluded that the most dramatic trend observed across time was a decline in the overall quality of health.
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New data on human skeletal remains from Site 35 in Salango, Ecuador is
combined with existing data presented by Jastremski (2006) to compile a more
comprehensive report about the health conditions of the people. Site 35, which is
associated with the Manteño culture that flourished in the Integration period from A.D.
500 – 1532, has been determined to comprise a singular population that is represented by
a minimum of 27 individuals. In addition to more comprehensive conclusions about Site 35, this thesis uses the data from Site 35 in an extended comparison of health among prehistoric sites from six additional sites to observe general trends over time and across geography. Through an indepth analysis of distinct health traits, the general conclusion matches previous reports that the overall quality of health in Ecuador declined over time. However, the present analysis shows a less dramatic decline for coastal sites than for inland sites.