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He Vik VOLUME 78

Number 1

Jour nal of the March, 1988

WASHINGTON

ACADEMY ., SCIENCES

ISSN 0043-0439

: ¢ AQYO }

é a ane Issued Quarterly

Ns f at Washington, D.C.

CONTENTS

DOUGLAS H. UBELAKER: Skeletal Biology of Prehistoric Ecuador: An

DESDE PF sgeeie a Provera s gs eee are ean rr eee Te

DOUGLAS H. UBELAKER: Human Remains from OGSE-46, La Libertad,

apaa ome RONNIE Al CUAG ON gta uisfeiecs lone Ook pci FS ASA bit Staley ie oie a: Wine je dele e

DOUGLAS H. UBELAKER: A Preliminary Report of Analysis of Human

Remains from Agua Blanca, a Prehistoric Late Integration Site from Coastal

Ecuador

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DOUGLAS H. UBELAKER: Prehistoric Human Biology at La Tolita, Ec-

TRIO, WAN LEIS TTT Te Pei al XS of 0 ie eel CCS OAS oc tie ne en

JOSEPH E. ALICATA: Angiostrongyliasis Cantonensis (Eosinophilic Men-

ingitis): Historical Events in its Recognition as a New Parasitic Disease of

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DANIEL BANES: The Portuguese Voyages of Discovery and the Emergence

of Modern Science

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ATLEE L. STROUP and RONALD W. MANDERSCHEID: The Devel-

opment of the State Mental Hospital System in the United States: 1840—

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ROBERT S. RUSKIN and SHERMAN ROSS: Report on the Scientific Sym-

posium of the Consortium Research Fellows at the U.S. Army Research

Institute

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class postage paid at Arlington, Va. and additional mailing offices.

Journal of the Washington Academy of Sciences,

Volume 78, Number 1, Pages 1-2, March 1988

Skeletal Biology of Prehistoric

Ecuador: An Ongoing

Research Program

Douglas H. Ubelaker

Department of Anthropology, NMNH 350, Smithsonian Institution,

Washington, D.C. 20560

In 1973, excavation and analysis of a

large Late Integration Period cemetery at

the site of Ayalan on the southern coast

of Ecuador resulted in the first detailed

scientific glimpse at the complex biolog-

ical variation and evolution of the pre-

historic inhabitants of Ecuador.’ Since

then, the Smithsonian Institution and the

museums of the Banco Central del Ec-

uador in Guayaquil and Quito launched

a long term program of collaboration in

the excavation and analysis of key pre-

historic mortuary sites. With Banco Cen-

tral support of Ecuadorean and foreign

archeologists and Smithsonian support

for human skeletal analysis, considerable

progress has been made.

Our understanding of prehistoric biol-

ogy has been enriched by published

reports of culturally modified teeth,”

skeletal effects of activity-induced pos-

ture,*° and of the general skeletal biology

of samples from the pre-ceramic site of

OGSE-80 on the Sta. Elena Peninsula’,

the highland site of Cotocollao dating

from about 540 B.C.,’ the Jambeli coastal

site of San Lorenzo del Mate in Guayas

Province® and the coastal Guangala site

(100 B.C.) of OGSE-MA-172.? These

published reports allowed in 1984 the first

synthetic review of biological temporal

trends within prehistoric Ecuador.'? At

that time the data suggested a general

temporal increase in certain pathological

conditions, and other indicators of pop-

ulation stress.

Articles within this volume of the Jour-

nal of the Washington Academy of Sci-

ences report on recent analysis of human

remains from three additional important

Ecuadorean coastal sites, La Libertad

(OGSE-46) dating from the Engoroy Pe-

riod, 900 B.C. to 200 B.C.; Agua Blanca

(OMJPMN180) representing the Man-

teno culture of the Late Integration Pe-

riod, 800 A.D. to 1500 A.D.; and the

northern coastal site of La Tolita, dating

from’ 200 B.C. to-195 A-D. These three

reports result from analysis conducted in

Ecuador during the summer months of

1986 and considerably augment the pre-

viously available information on Ecuado-

rean prehistoric biology. The new data

confirm many of the temporal correla-

tions suggested in 1984, but also suggest

more variation and complexity than pre-

viously thought. New evidence is sug-

gested for cranial deformation involving

2 DOUGLAS H. UBELAKER

the use of a band at La Libertad, the oc-

currence of metatarsophalangeal altera-

tions (kneeling facets) on both males and

females (previously known in South

America only in females from Ayalan),

greater living stature at La Libertad and

La Tolita then previously known from

prehistoric Ecuador and the highest re-

ported frequencies of trauma, infectious

_ disease, and alveolar abscesses from La

Tolita. Lack of porotic hyperostosis in the

three newly reported samples, low fre-

quencies of dental hypoplasia and caries

at La Tolita and absence of carious lesions

at Agua Blanca clearly show that tem-

poral correlations of at least these path-

ological conditions are much more

complex than previously suspected.

References Cited

1. Ubelaker, D. H. 1981. The Ayalan Cemetery,

A Late Integration Period Burial Site on the

South Coast of Ecuador. Smithsonian Contri-

butions to Anthropology, No. 29. Washington:

Smithsonian Institution Press.

2. Ubelaker, D. H. 1977. Drilled Human Teeth

from the Coast of Ecuador. Journal of the

Washington Academy of Sciences, Vol. 67, No.

2, pp. 83-85.

10.

. Ubelaker, D. H. 1987. Dental Alteration in Pre-

historic Ecuador, A New Example from Jama-

coaque. Journal of the Washington Academy of

Science, Vol. 77, No. 2, pp. 76-80.

. Ubelaker, D. H. 1979. Skeletal Evidence for

_ Kneeling in Prehistoric Ecuador. American

Journal of Physical Anthropology, Vol. 51, No.

4, pp. 679-685.

. Ubelaker, D. H. 1985. Evidencia Esquelitica de

Postura Arrodillada en el Ecuador. Miscelania

Anthropologica Ecuatoriana, Vol. 5, pp. 35-46.

. Ubelaker, D. H. 1980. Human Skeletal Re-

mains from Site OGSE-80 A Preceramic Site

on the Sta. Elena Peninsula, Coastal Ecuador.

Journal of the Washington Academy of Sci-

ences, Vol. 70, No. 1. pp. 3-24.

. Ubelaker, D. H. 1980. Prehistoric Human Re-

mains from the Cotocollao Site, Pichincha Prov-

ince, Ecuador. Journal of the Washington

Academy of Sciences, Vol. 70, No. 2, pp. 59-

74.

. Ubelaker, D. H. 1984. Prehistoric Demography

of Coastal Ecuador. National Geographic So-

ciety Research Reports, Vol. 15, pp. 695-703.

. Ubelaker, D. H. 1983. Human Skeletal Re-

mains from OGSE-172, an Early Guangala

Cemetery Site on the Coast of Ecuador. Journal

of the Washington Academy of Sciences, Vol.

73, No. 1: 16-26.

Ubelaker, D. H. 1984. Prehistoric Human Bi-

ology of Ecuador: Possible Temporal Trends

and Cultural Correlations. Chapter 19 in

Paleopathology at the Origins of Agriculture,

Cohen and Armelagos, editors. New York: Ac-

ademic Press.

Journal of the Washington Academy of Sciences,

Volume 78, Number 1, Pages 3-16, March 1988

Human Remains from OGSE-46

La Libertad, Guayas Province,

Ecuador

Douglas H. Ubelaker

Department of Anthropology, NMNH 350, Smithsonian Institution,

Washington, D.C. 20560

ABSTRACT

Excavations conducted in 1984 at Site OGSE-46, La Libertad Ecuador, produced 13

burial features dating from the Engoroy Period, circa 900 B.C. to 200 B.C. Analysis of

the human remains in 1986 suggests the sample was biased against immature individuals,

but otherwise indicates a population with tall stature, high frequencies of infectious disease

and rapid dental attrition, but low frequencies of dental caries and no examples of trauma

or porotic hyperostosis.

From July 16 to July 31, 1984, excavations

were conducted by Karen Stothert in one

section of a large site called OGSE-46, in

the present town of La Libertad in

Guayas Province, Ecuador. The excava-

tion was sponsored by the Museo Antro-

pologico of the Banco Central del

Ecuador, Guayaquil and was concen-

trated in an area known as La Florida,

near the Colegio Sta. Terecita and the

Hotel Samarina. According to Stothert

(Pers. Com.), this portion of the site con-

tains refuse from Valdivia and Machalilla

cultures with some Engoroy and Guan-

gala material from the upper levels. Thir-

teen burial features were located and

removed in the excavation. The few cul-

tural associations present suggest with

one possible exception that all of the bur-

ial features relate to the Engoroy period

of cultural development and thus date

from about 900 B.C. to 200 B.C. The ex-

ception may be the extended primary

skeleton of Feature 14 that may date to

the historic period.

In July of 1986, human remains from

these 13 burial features were transported

to the author’s makeshift laboratory out-

side of Quito for analysis. After arrival,

the plastic bags of bones were removed

from the cardboard cartons, and sorted

by feature. The human remains were then

washed using water and a soft brush,

dried, inventoried, analyzed, photo-

graphed, and repacked into the original

cartons. Most of the procedure outlined

above was conducted between July 20,

1986 and August 4, 1986. Following anal-

4 DOUGLAS H.

ysis, the cartons were transported back to

Guayaquil for permanent storage and cu-

ration.

The following is a discussion of the re-

sults of that analysis, including a detailed

description of the contents of each burial

feature. Information on positions and as-

sociations observed in situ was graciously

provided by Stothert. Note that all meas-

urements are in mm unless otherwise in-

_ dicated. Methodology employed and the

measurements and observations utilized

follow those outlined by Ubelaker.'”

Feature 1: This secondary feature was

located at Cut A at a very superficial

level. The material had been moved prior

to excavation and was possibly associated

with a broken vessel.

Human remains present consist of one

right humerus, one left and one right

ulna, one right scapula, one left temporal,

one right maxilla, three left and two right

mandibles, one lumbar vertebra, and one

left hand navicular.

All three of the individuals present here

appear to represent females. The left tem-

poral shows a very small mastoid process

and the three left mandibles all show fe-

male characteristics.

Two of the mandibles show consider-

able antemortem loss of teeth with the

probable associated bones showing po-

rosity and thinning of the cortex, sug-

gesting an age at death of between 45 and

55 years. A third mandible shows consid-

erable anterior dental wear, but little at-

trition on the posterior teeth. An age at

death of between 35 and 40 years is sug-

gested. No estimates of stature could be

made from these fragmentary remains.

No evidence of disease was noted.

For the cranium and first mandible,

only five maxillary teeth are present while

all of the mandibular teeth had been lost

antemortem. One of the five teeth present

is carious with loss of the distal half of the

crown. No evidence of alveolar abscess

was noted and calculus varied from slight

to moderate.

UBELAKER

The second mandible shows antemor-

tem loss of the left premolars and molars.

The third mandible has six teeth with

one molar missing antemortem. One car-

ious lesion 1mm in length was noted in

the occlusal surface of the left second mo-

lar. Alveolar abscesses are present in as-

sociation with the left and right first

molars. Calculus deposits are all slight.

Measurements and observations of one

mandible are confined to height of as-

cending ramus, 50, minimum breadth of

ascending ramus, 27; and corpal length,

76. Mylohyoid bridge is absent bilaterally

and accessory mental foramen is present

on the left but absent on the right.

Observations on another mandible con-

sist of the presence of mylohyoid bridge

on both sides, and the absence of acces-

sory mental foramen, auditory exostoses,

marginal foramen of tympanic plate and

tympanic dehiscence.

Feature 3: This secondary burial of an

incomplete skeleton was found in Cut A,

20 cm below the surface.

Human remains present consist of one

left radius, one right ulna, both femora,

the left tibia, one fibula fragment, both

temporals, both maxillae, one right man-

dible, the first and second cervical ver-

tebrae, the left hand navicular, the right

calcaneus, and the left talus.

Male sex is suggested by large mastoid

processes and general robusticity.

Age at death of about 35 to 40 years is

suggested by well developed bone cortex

and the extent of dental attrition.

The estimated length of a right femur

of 375 suggests a living stature of about

151 cm (4 feet 11 inches) using the for-

mulae of Genoves.?

No evidence of disease was noted, but

the incomplete cranium shows lambdoi-

dal deformation. The occipital is very flat

with a slight depression extending around

the upper superior surface of the occipital

perhaps indicating the use of a band.

Twelve teeth are present with two miss-

ing antemortem. None are carious, but

evidence for alveolar abscesses is present

HUMAN REMAINS FROM OGSE-46 5

bilaterally at the sites of the maxillary sec-

ond and third molars. Calculus varies

from slight to large.

The following measurements and ob-

servations were recorded: nasal breadth,

25; maxillary alveolar length, 42; maxil-

lary alveolar breadth, 65; palatal length,

31; palatal breadth, 40; minimum breadth

of ascending ramus, 29; height of man-

dibular symphysis 31; corpal length, 86;

absence of mylohyoid bridge, accessory

mental foramen, infraorbital suture,

Squamoparietal synostosis, auditory ex-

ostoses, and tympanic dehiscence; pres-

ence of marginal foramen of tympanic

plate on the left but absence on the right.

Feature 4: This secondary burial of mul-

tiple individuals was found concentrated

within a 50 x 45 cm area within Cut A at

about 20 cm below the surface. The ver-

tebral column, leg and foot regions were

still articulated.

The following bones were present rep-

resenting two individuals: two left and

one right humerus, two left and two right

radi, two left and two right ulnae, two

left and two right femora, two left and

two right tibiae, one left fibula, one left

and two right clavicles, two left and two

right scapulae, two left and two right max-

illae, two left and two right mandibles,

two left and one right innominate, one

left patella, one first and one second cerv-

ical vertebrae, four other cervical verte-

brae, 14 thoracic vertebrae, six lumbar

vertebrae, one sacrum, one right lunate,

one right capitate, two left and two right

hamates, the following metacarpals; one

left first, one left and one right second,

one left and one right third, one left and

one right fourth, one left and one right

fifth; six proximal hand phalanges, five

middle hand phalanges, one left calca-

neus, one left and one right first meta-

tarsals, and 16 ribs.

Morphology of the pubic bones sug-

gests that the older individual is probably

female. The innominates show wide

sciatic notches, rough auricular areas,

deep preauricular sulci, and a wide right

pubis. Sex cannot be estimated reliably

for the other younger individual.

Epiphyses are not yet attached on the

distal left radius, distal right ulna, distal

femur, proximal tibia, and proximal right

first metatarsal. The left ischium is not

united to the ilium. The second molars

have erupted, but show roots only 75 per-

cent formed. Collectively, these data sug-

gest an age at death of about 10 years.

The extent of dental attrition and other

factors suggest an age at death for the

adult of between 30 and 35 years.

An estimated length of the right femur

of 398 suggests a living stature of about

153 cm or 5 feet 0 inches, using the for-

mulae of Genoves.°

No observations of disease were made

for either individual.

Twenty-seven teeth of the adult are

present with none absent antemortem.

Two of the teeth are carious with lesions

4mm in length on the occlusal surface of

the mandibular right third molar and 2

mm in length on the occlusal surface of

the left mandibular third molar. No al-

veolar abscesses are present, but eight of

the teeth show hypoplastic defects (Figure

1). The positions of the defects on the

crown surfaces suggest they were formed

at about the ages of two and six years.

Calculus deposits ranged from absent to

moderate deposits.

Twenty-six permanent teeth are pres-

ent belonging to the immature individual.

Only the mandibular third molars are ab-

sent antemortem, probably reflecting

congenital absence. One carious lesion

was located on the buccal crown surface

of the mandibular right second molar.

Calculus varied from absent to slight.

The following measurements and ob-

servations were recorded for the adult:

upper facial height, 71; nasal height, 52;

nasal breadth, 26; orbital height, 34; or-

bital breadth, 38; minimum breadth of as-

cending ramus, 33; height of mandibular

symphysis, 31; presence of mylohyoid

bridge and supraorbital foramina; and ab-

sence of accessory mental foramen and

infraorbital suture.

6 DOUGLAS H. UBELAKER

Fig. 1. Hypoplastic defect on left maxillary canine of adult from feature four.

Feature 5: This apparently represents a

primary burial from Cut C that had been

disturbed prior to excavation. The skel-

eton had flexed legs and was facing east.

Bones consisted only of the following:

one radius fragment; one ulna fragment;

one left femur; one left clavicle; one left

and right innominate; one lumbar verte-

bra; one right fifth metacarpal; various

hand phalange fragments; one left talus;

one right fifth metatarsal; and various rib

fragments.

A narrow sciatic notch and flat auri-

cular area on the innominates suggest

male sex.

The appearance of the bone cortex,

lack of degenerative change and extent of

fusion and remodeling of the iliac crest

epiphysis suggest an age at death between

20 and 30 years.

No measurements were possible and no

evidence of disease was noted.

Feature 10: A secondary burial located

at Cut E between 15 and 55 cm below the

surface. This collection of bones was lo-

cated on top of a shell spoon in association

with a green bead of serpentine. The long

bones were positioned vertically in the

soil.

The following bones of two adults are

present: one left and one right humerus;

one left and two right radii; one left and

one right ulna; two left and two right fe-

mora; two left and one right tibia; one left

and one right fibula; one left and one right

clavicle; one left and one right scapula;

one left and one right temporal; two left

and two right innominates; one left and

two right patellae; one first, one second

and four other cervical vertebrae; eight

thoracic vertebrae; one right hand navi-

cular; one left greater multangular; one

left capitate; one right second, third, and

fourth metacarpal; eight proximal hand

phalanges; two middle hand phalanges;

one left and right calcaneus; one left cu-

boid; one right first metatarsal; one left

second metatarsal; one right third meta-

tarsal; and ten ribs.

HUMAN REMAINS FROM OGSE-46 7

Morphology of the bones suggests that

one male and female are present.

The female skeleton lacks a cranium

and mandible, but considerable porosity

within the long bone cortex and other de-

generative changes suggest an age at

death between 45 and 55 years.

An age at death for the male skeleton

of between 45 and S50 years is suggested

by the extent of cranial suture closure and

metamorphosis of the pubic symphysis.

Measurements of the left radius (237),

right radius (236), left ulna (256), left ulna

(256), and left clavicle (159) suggest a liv-

ing stature of about 166 cm (5 feet 5

inches) for the male using the formulae

of Trotter and Gleser.*

Both tibiae and fibulae of the female

show porosity within the cortex and per-

iosteal apposition (well remodeled) over

most of their shafts (Figure 2). The distal

femora show slight indications of well re-

modeled periosteal apposition as well. In

addition, a right third metatarsal has a

bony extension 7 mm long on its medial

proximal border.

The male cranium shows occipital flat-

tening with a slight depression extending

around the superior posterior portion of

the occipital (Figure 3). The nature of the

depression suggests a band may have been

held against the skull with pressure for a

considerable time while the individual

was immature.

Only nine teeth are present on the male

skull and mandible. No carious lesions are

present but alveolar abscess was present

in the area of the mandibular left second

molar. Nine teeth were absent antemor-

tem and calculus ranged from slight to

moderate.

The following measurements and ob-

servations were collected: auricular

height, 136; porion-bregma, 132; cranial

length, 160; cranial breadth, 156; mini-

mum frontal breadth, 93; bigonial

breadth, 102; height of ascending ramus,

53; minimum breadth of ascending ramus,

28; height of mandibular symphysis, 35;

absence of mylohyoid bridge, accessory

mental foramen, frontal grooves, wor-

mian bones, parietal process of temporal

squama, squamoparietal synostosis, au-

ditory exotoses, marginal foramen of tym-

panic plate, and tympanic dehiscence;

presence of supraorbital foramen on the

left but absence on the right.

One immature right femur is also pres-

ent. An estimated maximum length of 90

mm suggests an age at death of about six

months.

Feature 11: This secondary burial with

some articulated parts was found in Cut

B, 50 cm below the surface. Human re-

mains present consist of the following:

one left humerus; one left radius; one left

ulna; one left and one right femur; one

Fig. 2. Remodeled periosteal bone apposition on tibia and fibula of female from feature 10.

8 DOUGLAS H.

UBELAKER

Fig. 3. Deformed male cranium from feature 10.

left and one right tibia; one left fibula;

one left clavicle; one mandible; one ster-

num; one left innominate; one left and

one right patella; one first cervical ver-

tebra; one right hand navicular; one right

lunate; one right triquetral; one right cap-

itate; one right and one left hamate; one

left and one right first metacarpal; one

left second metacarpal; one right third

metacarpal; one right fourth metacarpal;

one left and one right fifth metacarpal;

eight proximal hand phalanges; seven

middle hand phalanges; one left calca-

neus; one left talus; one left and one right

cuboid; one left and one right navicular;

one right cuneiform; one left and one

right second cuneiform; all 10 metatar-

sals; two proximal first foot phalanges; 3

other proximal foot phalanges; three mid-

dle foot phalanges; one first distal foot

phalanx; one other foot phalanx; and var-

ious rib fragments.

A flat auricular area and a narrow

sciatic notch on the left ilium, a femoral

HUMAN REMAINS FROM OGSE-46 9

head diameter of 45 mm and other ob-

servations suggest male sex.

The extent of dental attrition suggests

an age at death between 25 and 30 years.

The estimated length of the left ulna

(268) suggests a living stature of 170 cm

(5 feet 7 inches) using the formulae of

Trotter and Gleser.*

Fourteen teeth are present showing no

carious lesions. No teeth are absent an-

temortem and no alveolar abscesses were

noted. Calculus deposits varied from

slight to moderate.

Feature 14: This primary skeleton was

found in extended position in Cut K, at

15 cm below the surface. The cranium was

separated from the skeleton by a distance

of 30 cm. Bones present consist of two

mandibles and the following other bones:

one left humerus; one left and one right

femur; fragments from a tibia and fibula;

one left clavicle; one left scapula; one left

and one right temporal; one right patella;

one left second metacarpal; three proxi-

mal hand phalanges; two middle hand

phalanges; two distal hand phalanges; one

right talus; two proximal foot phalanges.

Both individuals appear to originate

from adult females.

One mandible shows dental attrition

with some dentin exposure and both show

loss of teeth. The cranial sutures are still

open on the skull present and the long

bones show a robust cortex with no po-

rosity. These data collectively suggest that

age at death of both individuals was be-

tween 30 and 35 years.

No evidence of disease or deformation

is present.

The one tooth present lacks caries and

has only slight calculus deposits. Four

mandibular teeth were absent antemor-

tem on one mandible and seven on an-

other. No alveolar abscesses were noted.

The following observations were noted

on the mandibles: absence of accessory

mental foramen (4); auditory exostoses

(1); marginal foramen of tympanic plate

(1); tympanic dehiscence (1).

Stothert (Pers. Com.) believes this fea-

ture may represent a more recent historic

burial, that could relate to an early Chris-

tian cemetery dating to the 16th or 17th

century A.D. that was located nearby.

Features 15 and 22: Originally feature

15 referred to an articulated skeleton,

buried seated and facing south, and fea-

ture 22 to a secondary bone assemblage

located immediately above the former in

Cut K. Apparently during and after ex-

cavation the bones of the two features

were intermixed to the point that the two

features can no longer be differentiated.

Accordingly, data collected from the

bone assemblages labeled as the two fea-

tures were merged to produce the follow-

ing adult totals: one left and two right

humerii; two left and one right radius; one

left and two right ulnae; four left and

three right femora; one left, one right and

one side undetermined tibia; one right fi-

bula; two left and one right clavicle; one

left scapula; three left and three right tem-

porals; three left and three right maxillae;

One mandible; one sternum; one left in-

nominate; one right navicular; one right

capitate; two left and one right first me-

tacarpal; one left second metacarpal; one

left third metacarpal; one left fourth me-

tacarpal; one left and one right fifth me-

tacarpal; one proximal hand phalanx; two

right calcanea; one left and two right tali;

one left navicular; one right first cunei-

form; one left and one right metatarsal;

two right metatarsals; one right third met-

atarsal; two left and two right fourth met-

atarsals; two left fifth metatarsals; one

first proximal foot phalanx; and various

rib fragments. Parts of four crania are

present.

Morphology of the crania suggests that

one female and three males are present.

Age at death of the female appears to

be from 28 to 33 years. Two of the male

skulls are between 20 and 25 years and

age at death of the remaining male skull

is 28 to 35 years. These estimates are

based upon the extent of cranial suture

~

10 DOUGLAS H. UBELAKER

Oo 1 2 3 4 5 6CM

es

Fig. 4. Unerupted canines of young adult male

from feature 15.

closure, dental attrition, and other ob-

servations of the skeleton.

Estimate of living stature is possible for

only one male. Measurements of the left

radius (238) and right ulna (250) suggest

a living stature of about 165 cm (5 feet 5

inches).

No evidence of disease or trauma was

noted, however, both maxillary canines

of one of the young males have not

erupted. They remain in the middle of the

maxilla, still in correct anatomical ori-

entation (Figure 4).

For the female cranium, only one max-

illary right third molar is present which

displays no carious lesions and only slight

calculus deposits.

One of the young adult male crania has

8 teeth present with no carious lesions.

One maxillary right third molar was ab-

sent antemortem and no alveolar ab-

scesses were noted. Calculus deposits

vary from slight to moderate.

The other young adult male has 17

teeth present with one 3mm carious lesion

on the proximal root of the maxillary left

first molar. One maxillary right third mo-

lar and one mandibular right third molar

were absent antemortem, but no alveolar

abscesses are present. Calculus deposits

vary from slight to moderate.

The third male cranium has only two

teeth present which lack caries and have

slight calculus deposits. One maxillary left

second premolar was absent antemortem.

No alveolar abscesses were present.

The female cranium shows some occip-

ital flattening. The following measure-

ments and observations were recorded:

cranial length, 147; minimum frontal

breadth, 92; orbital height, 33; orbital

breadth, 38; absence of frontal grooves,

supraorbital foramina, wormian bones,

auditory exostoses, marginal foramen of

tympanic plate; presence of squamopari-

etal synostosis, and tympanic dehiscence.

Measurements and observations on the

first male cranium are as follows: mini-

mum frontal breadth, 95; orbital height,

34; orbital breadth, 37; absence of su-

praorbital foramina, infraorbital suture,

Squamoparietal synostosis, auditory ex-

ostoses, marginal foramen of tympanic

plate, and tympanic dehiscence.

Measurements and observations on the

male mandible are as follows: minimum

breadth of ascending ramus, 30; height of

mandibular symphysis, 34; absence of my-

lohyoid bridge, and accessory mental for-

amen.

Observations of another male cranium

are as follows: absence of squamoparietal

synostosis, auditory exostoses, marginal

foramen of tympanic plate, and tympanic

dehiscence.

Immature remains from these com-

bined features consist of one left ulna, one

left tibia, one right temporal and the right

half of one thoracic vertebra. The length

of the bones suggests the individual died

between one and six months of age.

Feature 16: A secondary interment lo-

cated above a large concentration of shells

in Cut K. Bones present consist of the

following: two left and one right humerus;

one left and one right radius; one left and

one right ulna; two left and two right fe-

mora; two left and one right tibiae; three

fibulae; two left and two right clavicles;

one left scapula; two left and two right

temporals; two left and two right maxil-

lae; two left and one right mandible; gla-

diolus; right innominate; right patella;

one first cervical vertebra; two second

cervical vertebrae; six other cervical ver-

tebrae; 10 thoracic vertebrae; six lumbar

HUMAN REMAINS FROM OGSE-46 11

vertebrae; one sacrum; one right hamate;

one left and one right first metacarpal;

one second left metacarpal; one left and

one right third metacarpal; one right fifth

metacarpal; six proximal hand phalanges;

one middle hand phalanx; one left and

one right calcaneus; one left and one right

talus; one left cuboid; one left and one

right navicular; one left and one right foot

navicular; one left and one right first cu-

neiform; one second left cuneiform; one

left and one right first metatarsals; two

left and one right second metatarsals; one

left third metatarsal; one left and one

right fourth metatarsal; one left and one

right fifth metatarsal; two proximal first

foot phalanges; one other proximal foot

phalanx; and six ribs.

A narrow sciatic notch and flat auri-

cular area on the right innominate, and

the size and appearance of the other

bones suggest male sex for both individ-

uals.

The right pubic symphyseal face shows

a complete ventral rampart, no distinct

rim formation and no vestigial billowing

which in consideration of the extent of

dental attrition and other data suggest an

age at death of between 40 and 45 years

for one of the males. The second male

appears to be slightly younger, between

30 and 35 years.

The maximum length of the right radius

(230) suggests a living stature of 162 cm

(5S feet 4 inches) for one of the individuals.

No evidence of disease was noted.

The cranium and mandible from one

adult male have 13 teeth present with no

caries, none missing antemortem and no

alveolar abscesses. Calculus deposits

range from slight to large.

Another mandible from the older male

shows six teeth were absent antemortem

on the left side. No teeth were present

for examination. The younger male cran-

ium displays marked occipital flattening

(Figure 5) with a band indentation lo-

cated approximately 25 to 30 mm below

lambda. Measurements are as follows: au-

ricular height, 122; porion-bregma, 119;

cranial length, 162; cranial breadth, 143;

minimum breadth of ascending ramus, 29;

absence of accessory mental foramen,

wormian bones, parietal process of tem-

poral squama, squamoparietal synostosis,

auditory exostoses, marginal foramen of

tympanic plate, and tympanic dehiscence.

Mylohyoid bridge is present on the left

and absent on the right.

The older male also displays marked

occipital flattening with a band indenta-

tion located about 25 mm below lambda.

Measurements and observations are as

follows: auricular height, 128; porion-

bregma, 124; cranial length, 158; cranial

breadth, 145; height of mandibular sym-

physis, 36; absence of supraorbital fora-

mina, wormian bones, squamoparietal

synostosis, auditory exostoses, marginal

foramen of tympanic plate, and tympanic

dehiscence; presence of accessory mental

foramen and frontal grooves.

Feature 19: Field notes describe this

feature as a primary burial of one skeleton

buried seated and facing west. The pres-

ence of two adults in this feature is con-

firmed by the occurrence of two right

tibiae. Other bones present consist of a

left and right humerus, left and right ra-

dius, left and right ulna, left femur, left

tibia, left and right fibula, left and right

clavicle, left and right scapula, left and

right temporal, left and right maxilla, left

and right mandible, left and right innom-

inate, left and right patella, one first, one

second and three other cervical vertebra,

one thoracic vertebra, one left and one

right hand navicular, one left and one

right lunate, one right greater multan-

gular, one left and one right capitate, one

left hamate, one left and one right first,

second, third, and fifth metacarpals, 10

proximal hand phalanges, 4 middle hand

phalanges, 3 distal hand phalanges, one

left and one right calcaneus, one left and

one right talus, one right cuboid, one right

navicular, one left first cuneiform, one

left and one right first, second, fourth and

fifth metatarsals, the right third metatar-

sal, two first proximal foot phalanges, six

12 DOUGLAS H. UBELAKER

Fig. 5. Deformed younger male cranium from feature 16.

other proximal foot phalanges, and one

distal first foot phalanx.

Male sex is suggested by a narrow

sciatic notch and a flat auricular area on

the innominates, and other data.

The morphology of the pubic sym-

physis, extent of dental attrition and cra-

nial suture closure as well as other factors

suggest an age at death of. between 33 and

38 years.

An estimated maximum length of a left

tibia of 320 suggests a living stature of

about 156 cm (5 feet 1 inch), using the

formulae of Genoves.?

No evidence of disease was noted, al-

though the skull present shows some oc-

cipital flattening.

Fourteen teeth are present that lack

caries and have calculus deposits ranging

from absent to large. Eleven teeth were

missing antemortem and two alveolar ab-

scesses were noted, at the sites of the

mandibular first molars.

Measurements and observations on the

slightly deformed male cranium are as

follows: auricular height, 122; porion-

bregma, 121; cranial length, 162; cranial

breadth, 155; minimum frontal breadth,

HUMAN REMAINS FROM OGSE-46 13

94; orbital breadth, 41; bicondylar

breadth, 125; bigonial breadth, 97; height

of ascending ramus, 53; minimum breadth

of ascending ramus, 31; height of man-

dibular symphysis, 32, corpal length, 89;

absence of mylohyoid bridge, accessory

mental foramen, frontal grooves, su-

praorbital foramina, wormian bones,

squamoparietal synostosis, auditory ex-

ostoses, marginal foramen of tympanic

plate, and tympanic dehiscence.

Feature 20: Concentration of disarticu-

lated human bone and debris between

Cuts I and K. Only a few long bone frag-

ments from an adult are present. One

maxillary third molar is also present. The

extent of attrition on the tooth and the

condition of the fragments suggest an age

at death of between 28 and 40 years. No

estimate of sex or stature can be made.

The tooth lacks caries and has no calculus

deposits.

Feature 23: A few disarticulated human

bones found in the wall of Cut A. Bones

present consists of one lumbar vertebra,

one left cuboid, one left first cuneiform,

the left and right first and third metatar-

sals, second left metatarsal, right fourth

metatarsal, right fifth metatarsal, and one

proximal first foot phalanx. The bones are

those of an adult, but a more accurate

estimate of age and sex is not possible.

Burial Features

Of the twelve burial features reported

here, field notes suggest that five con-

sisted of secondary bone assemblages,

one primary burial of a single individual,

one primary burial with an extra mandi-

ble, two primary burials with associated

secondary deposits and one secondary

burial with some bones in articulation. In-

formation is not available for two of the

features, but very few bones were pres-

ent, strongly suggesting secondary burial.

Most of the secondary burials were very

incomplete, lacking especially the small

bones of the extremeties, suggesting that

many of these bones were lost during the

transfer from primary repository to sec-

ondary burial. Obviously, this suggests

that bones were selected from the primary

repository for burial rather than a com-

plete transfer of all remains in the original

wrappings or container.

The variety of type of interment and

burial position suggests marked complex-

ity in funerary behavior. Multistage treat-

ment was involved for most individuals

and even the primary burials were of both

sexes and one of these included an extra

mandible.

Individuals Represented

At least 24 individuals are represented

in the 12 features. Five features contained

only one individual (all adults) while at

least five were represented in the large

combined features of 15 and 22. Of these

24 individuals, 21 (88 percent) are adults,

while only three are immature. Such an

age distribution can only be explained by

sampling problems, since normally one

would expect a prehistoric Ecuadorean

cemetery sample to show a high propor-

tion of infant and other immature deaths.’

In this sample, only the incomplete re-

mains of two infants of about six months

and one ten year old child are present.

The sex distribution of the adults is fairly

uniform with 10 males, 8 females, and 3

of undetermined sex.

Age at death of adults varies from 20

to about 55. The upper age limit is es-

pecially difficult to assess due to the frag-

mentary nature of the remains. Those

ages suggested here represent the best es-

timates possible, but certainly do not rule

out the possibility of even older ages for

some individuals. The mean age at death

for all adults is 35 years. The value is

slightly higher for females (39) than for

males (32).

14 DOUGLAS H.

Stature

Estimated living stature for males var-

ied from 151 cm (4 feet 11 inches) to 170

cm (5 feet 7 inches) with a mean of 162

cm. The only female value is 153 cm (5

feet 0 inches). Both the male and female

values are within the upper range of those

previously reported from Ecuador.°

Cultural Modifications

Four of the adult crania present dis-

played deformation while only one adult

female cranium lacked deformation. The

deformed skulls were from three males

and one female. All consisted of occipital

flattening, although one male also showed

evidence that a narrow band may have

been used in the upper occipital area.

No artificial dental alterations, meta-

tarsophalangeal alterations or other cul-

tural indicators were detected.

UBELAKER

Disease

Evidence of non-dental disease is con-

fined to the well-remodeled periosteal le-

sions of feature 10, and the unusual bony

extension on the right third metatarsal of

that same feature. This suggests a ratio of

adult bones with evidence of infectious

disease to the number of adults in the

sample of .29. In comparison with other

samples from prehistoric Ecuador, the

value is high, but short of the .44 figure

from the Guangala site of OGSE-MA-

172.° No examples of trauma or porotic

hyperostosis were noted. The only other

abnormalities noted were the unerupted

canines in the young adult male from fea-

tures 15 and 22.

Dental Data

Eighteen individuals were complete

enough to allow dental observations. A

total of 166 permanent teeth were ex-

amined from individuals ranging in age

Table 1.—Cranial and mandibular measurements (mim).

Males

Measurement No. Mean S.D.

auricular height 4

porion-bregma - ;

cranial length i. 161 129

cranial breadth 4

minimum frontal breadth 3

upper facial height

nasal height

nasal breadth il DS 0.0

orbital height 2 38 4.9

orbital breadth 1 Si 0.0

maximum alveolar length 1 42 0.0

maximum alveolar breadth 1 65 0.0

palatal length 1 Sik 0.0

palatal breadth 1 40 0.0

bicondylar breadth if 125 0.0

bigonial breadth 2 100 355

height ascending ramus 1 53 0.0

minimum breadth asc. ramus 5 29.4 i

height mandibular symphysis 5 33.6 Dail

corpal length 2 87.5 Pag

Females

Range No. Mean S.D. Range

122-136

119-132

158-162 if 147 0.0 147-147

143-156

93-95 92 0.0 92-92

1

1 WAL 0.0 TATA

1 52 0.0 52-52

25-25 1 26 0.0 26-26

Z

Z

34-41 38 0.7 33-34

37-37 38 0.0 38-38

42-42

65-65

31-31

40-40

125-125

97-102

53-53 1 50 0.0 50-50

28-31 2 30 4.2 27-33

31-36 1 31 0.0 31-31

86-89 1 76 0.0 76-76

HUMAN REMAINS FROM OGSE-46 15

from 10 to about 50 years. Sixty-eight

teeth were absent antemortem compared

with 295 observations on the presence or

absence of teeth, a ratio of .23. The figure

is below that of the Guangala site of

OGSE-MA-172, but higher than most

other samples.

Only six carious teeth were found, a

frequency of only four percent. This fig-

ure also falls into the low range for Ec-

uador, compared with three percent from

Cotocollao and Sta. Elena, eight percent

from Ayalan non-urn component and

OGSE-MA-172 and 11 percent from the

Ayalan urn sample.°

Nine examples of alveolar abscesses

were detected in the sample. Observa-

tions on abscesses were possible at 203

tooth locations on the alveolus, a ratio of

about .04. This figure falls nearly in the

middle of the range of values reported

from other sites.°

Observations of dental calculus were

made on 145 permanent teeth. On the

buccal surface, 25 teeth (17 percent)

lacked calculus, 79 (54 percent) had slight

calculus, 37 (26 percent) moderate de-

posits, and four (3 percent) large deposits.

On the lingual surface, 27 (19 percent)

lacked calculus, 97 (67 percent) showed

slight deposits, 20 (14 percent) moderate

deposits, and only one (1 percent) with

heavy deposits. The data suggest that cal-

culus is slightly more concentrated on the

buccal surface than on the lingual surface.

A Pearson Correlation matrix revealed

a positive age correlation, significant at

the .05 level for teeth absent antemortem.

This indicates that the frequency of teeth

lost before death increases with increasing

age. The matrix also revealed significant

negative correlations of age at death with

the absent and slight calculus categories.

Obviously, this means that the greater

frequencies of low calculus scores are con-

centrated in the lower age groups. The

size of calculus deposits increases with age

except in those mostly older individuals

where excessive dental attrition has -de-

stroyed most of the crowns and the as-

sociated calculus.

Measurements and Observations

Measurements and observations are

summarized in Tables 1-2. The male

crania appear very broad headed in re-

lation to other Ecuadorean samples, but

this could be influenced by artificial cra-

nial deformation.

Summary

The twelve burial features culminating

from complex mortuary procedures con-

Table 2.—Frequency of non-metric cranial and mandibular observations.

Observation Absent

mylohyoid bridge yi

accessory mental foramen 10

frontal grooves 4

supraorbital foramen 7

infraorbital suture 3

wormian bones 8

parietal process of temporal squama 5)

squamoparietal synostosis 13

auditory exostosis 14

marginal foramen tympanic plate 13

tympanic dehiscence 14

Male Female

Present Absent Present

1 4 3

1 4 1

2 2 0

1 2 1

0 1 0

0 2 0

0 0 0

0 0 1

0 3 0

1 2 1

0 2 1

16 DOUGLAS H.

tained at least 24 individuals, primarily

adults. Adult mean age at death was

about 35 years with some individuals liv-

ing at least into the 50’s. Estimated mean

living statures of 170 cm for males and

153 cm for females fall within the upper

limits of values reported from prehistoric

Ecuadorean samples. Some artificial cra-

nial deformation was noted and consisted

of the occipital flattening as well as a form

of indentation suggesting the use of a

band.

The frequency of infectious disease was

relatively high in the sample, although no

examples of trauma or porotic hyperos-

tosis were noted. The frequency of car-

ious lesions (four percent) is relatively

low, while frequencies of alveolar ab-

scesses and teeth lost antemortem are

within the established range. The popu-

lation had a relatively rapid rate of dental

attrition which produced dentin exposure

before the age of 20 and loss of most of

the crown by age 50.

UBELAKER

References Cited

1. Ubelaker, D.H. 1978. Human Skeletal Remains,

Excavation, Analysis, Interpretation. Washing-

ton: Taraxacum.

2. Ubelaker, D.H. 1981. The Ayalan Cemetery, A

Late Integration Period Burial Site on the South

Coast of Ecuador. Smithsonian Contributions to

Anthropology, No. 29. Washington: Smithsonian

Institution Press.

3. Genovés, Santiago. 1967. Proportionality of the

Long Bones and Their Relation to Stature

Among Mesoamericans. American Journal of

Physical Anthropology, Vol. 23, No. 1, pp. 67—

Us

4. Trotter, Mildred and Goldine C. Gleser. 1958.

A Re-Evaluation of Estimation of Stature Based

on Measurements of Stature Taken During Life

and of Long Bones after Death. American Jour-

nal of Physical Anthropology, Vol. 16, No. 1, pp.

79-123.

5. Ubelaker, D.H. 1984. Prehistoric Human Biol-

ogy of Ecuador: Possible Temporal Trends and

Cultural Correlations. Chapter 19 in Paleopath-

ology at the Origins of Agriculture, Cohen and

Armelagos, editors. New York: Academic Press.

6. Ubelaker, D.H. 1983. Human Skeletal Remains

from OGSE-172, and Early Guangala Cemetery

Site on the Coast of Ecuador. Journal of the

Washington Academy of Sciences, Vol. 73, No.

1: 16-26.

Journal of the Washington Academy of Sciences,

Volume 78, Number 1, Pages 17-22, March 1988

A Preliminary Report of Analysis

of Human Remains from Agua

Blanca, a Prehistoric Late

Integration Site from

Coastal Ecuador

Douglas H. Ubelaker

Department of Anthropology, Smithsonian Institution,

Washington, D.C.

ABSTRACT

Analysis of human remains recently excavated at the Coastal Ecuadorean site of Agua

Blanca revealed seven individuals were present, representing both sexes and a high per-

centage of infants and children. the data suggest a comparatively healthy population, in

spite of the late date of the site.

Agua Blanca represents a large multi-

component archeological site located

about 8 km inland from the coastal towns

of Puerto Lopez and Machalilla in Manabi

Province, Ecuador. The vestiges of sev-

eral hundred stone walled structures are

visible on the surface and these appear to

represent the Manteno occupation of the

Late Integration Period (800 A.D. to

Spanish Contact).

Survey and mapping conducted by

Colin McEwan in 1979 and 1981 revealed

a pattern of public architectural com-

plexes which form the nucleus of the site

and are surrounded by an array of satellite

settlements comprising mainly domestic

structures.

Excavations in 1985 and 1986 directed

by Colin McEwan and sponsored by the

Museo Antropologico del Banco Central,

Guayaquil and the British Museum, Lon-

don, have located several burial features

in one of these satellite settlements which

underlies the present community of Agua

Blanca.

In July of 1986, the author was invited

by the archeological team to analyse hu-

man remains recovered by that time from

the site. The four burial features were

packed and transported from Agua

Blanca to the author’s laboratory outside

of Quito for analysis. There the remains

were carefully unpacked and washed with

water and a soft brush. The remains were

18 DOUGLAS H. UBELAKER_ .

then dried, reconstructed, inventoried,

and analyzed by the author.

The remains are relatively well pre-

served, although fragmentary. Some

bone surfaces show erosion, bleaching

and other evidence of surface exposure.

Most however, suggest they were in a rel-

atively protected soil environment with

minimal exposure to those factors of ex-

treme moisture, acidity or temperature

shifts which can cause rapid fragmenta-

tion.

Burial 1 (Site MN-C4-54 Structure 2)

Burial 1 was found 2 meters south of

the southwest corner of site MN-C4-54,

Structure 2. The burial and the associated

Burial 2 (Figure 1) were accidently dis-

covered by villagers excavating a trench

for the installation of a water supply.

When first exposed, the burial was cov-

ered by a large everted funerary urn.

The remains represent an adult and an

infant. The adult is fragmentary, but

nearly complete, lacking only the left sca-

pula, and several vertebrae, ribs, hand

and foot bones. The position of the ven-

tral arc, a flat medial portion of the ischio-

pubic ramus and the lack of a subpubic

concavity on a left pubis all strongly sug-

gest male sex. The mastoid processes and

the general skeleton are small for a male,

but deep grooves posterior to the mas-

toids and the muscle markings are well

within the male range. Maximum diam-

eters of heads of the femur and humerus

of 41 mm are small for a male. |

The ventral rampart of the left pubis is

completely formed, with no rim forma-

tion and some vestigial billowing, sug-

gesting an age at death between 36 and

42 years. This estimate is supported by

lack of union of the sutures of the cranial

Fig. 1. Burials 1 (human remains within ceramic urn) and 2 (concentration of human remains outside

of urn in upper left of photograph), site MN-C4-54 Structure 2.

ANALYSIS OF HUMAN REMAINS FROM AGUA BLANCA 19

ie) 2 4 6 8CM

Fig. 2. Superior view of reconstructed crania from

Burial 1, showing flattening on the right occipital.

vault, solid bone cortex with no visible

porosity and slight extensions on the ster-

nal ends of the ribs.

Bone measurements of maximum

length are left clavicle, 142 mm; left hu-

merus, 290 mm; left radius, 212 mm. Us-

ing Trotter and Gleser’s formulae for

Mongoloids and Mexicans,’ these meas-

urements suggest a living stature of about

157 cm.

No evidence of disease was observed.

The reconstructed skull revealed a

marked flattening on the posterior right

side. The deformation appears to have

been intentional and produced a very

asymmetrical shape (Figure 2), with the

right petrous portion of the temporal dis-

placed markedly inward and upward. Be-

cause of the deformation, measurements

of the cranial vault were not taken. Over-

all however, the deformed skull was very

small. Cranial and mandibular measure-

ments taken are as follows: nasal breadth,

26 mm; bigonial breadth, 104 mm; min-

imum breadth of ascending ramus, 33

mm; and corpal length, 87 mm. Obser-

vations included the bilateral absence

of mylohyoid bridge, accessory mental

foramina, frontal grooves, infraorbital

sutures, squamoparietal synostosis,

auditory exostosis and marginal foramen

of tympanic plate; and bilateral presence

of wormian bones. Supraorbital foramina

and tympanic dehiscence occurred on one

side but not the other.

Three cervical, eight thoracic and three

lumbar vertebrae display stage one osteo-

phytosis, while two thoracic vertebrae

show stage two.' No arthritic lipping was

observed on the head of a humerus, prox-

imal tibiae, distal tibiae, patellae and the

cuboid facet of a calcaneus. Similarly no

breakdown was observed on the proximal

and distal tibia, distal fibula, two facets

of the calcaneus, distal humerus, proxi-

mal and distal radius, proximal and distal

ulna, and distal femur. Spicule formation”

was absent on the tibia, patellae, and cal-

caneus. These observations are compati-

ble with the age estimate of between 36

and 42 years and further suggest that long

term physical stress was greater at the in-

dividuals back (bending, lifting) than at

the joints of the shoulder, elbow, wrist,

knee or ankle.

Metatarsophalangeal alterations were

lacking on the metatarsals, but present on

the foot phalanges suggesting that habit-

ual work and/or rest posture included at

least some hyperdorsiflexion of the toes

(bending of the toes while in a kneeling

or squatting posture.

All teeth were present except the right

maxillary third molar, and the following

mandibular teeth: right lateral incisor,

right canine, right third molar, left inci-

sors and canine and left second and third

molars. The mandibular third molars had

been lost antemortem. Many of the teeth

showed some dentin exposure due to at-

trition, and slight to moderate calculus

deposition, especially, on the buccal sur-

face. No carious lesions or hypoplasia was

observed.

The infant of Burial 1 is represented

only by a few cranial fragments, both hu-

20 DOUGLAS H.

merii, a right femur, both temporals, a

left mandible, a right ilium, three ribs and

one sacral vertebra. No teeth are present

but the size of the spaces for the teeth

within the mandible suggests they were

not yet with calcified crowns. The length

of the left humerus suggests the individual

was either a very small newborn infant or

a fetus approaching term.

Burial 2 (Site MN-C4-54 Structure 2)

This burial feature contains the frag-

mentary remains of an adult and an in-

fant. It was found in association with

Burial 1 and excavated on July 5, 1986.

The adult is represented by a fragmentary

skull, both humerii, radii, ulnae, femora,

tibiae, and fibulae, the left clavicle, both

temporals, right mandible, first cervical,

one thoracic and one lumbar vertebra, the

left hamate, both first metacarpals, the

right second metacarpals, both fourth me-

tacarpals, five proximal hand phalanges,

six medial hand phalanges, three distal

hand phalanges, the left talus, right cu-

boid, two cuneiforms, six metatarsals,

two foot phalanges and several ribs.

Small mastoid processes on the tem-

porals and general gracility of the skele-

ton strongly suggest female sex.

The extent of dental attrition, vertebral

osteophytosis and long bone cortical

thickness suggest an age at death of be-

tween 30 and 35 years. The mandibular

premolars and canine show some dentin

exposure. Three thoracic vertebrae and

one lumbar vertebra show stage one ver-

UBELAKER

tebral osteophytosis. The cervical verte-

bra lacks osteophytic involvement.

The length of the left clavicle (122 mm)

and the right humerus (260 mm) suggest

a living stature of about 151 cm using

Trotter and Gleser’s formulae for Mon-

goloids and Mexicans.'

One large fragment (170 mm) repre-

senting most of the shaft of a right tibia

shows well remodelled periosteal appo-

sition on two areas of the medial surface

(Figure 3). The two areas measure 45 mm

and 42 mm in length respectively and rep-

resent a deposit of several mm. The le-

sions appear to have been produced by

localized infectious disease, probably

many months before death. The disease

was not active at the time of death and

was not observed in any other bones.

The cranium was too fragmentary to

reconstruct. It lacked auditory exotoses,

marginal foramina of the tympanic plate

and tympanic dehiscense on both sides.

The proximal radii lack breakdown as

well as osteophytic involvement. The

metatarsals and foot phalanges lack al-

terations.

The following teeth were present: max-

illary right lateral incisor, second and

third molars, maxillary left lateral incisor,

mandibular right lateral incisor; canine

and premolars, and mandibular left pre-

molars. The maxillary incisors show slight

hypoplasia at the base of their crowns.

This suggests a developmental disturb-

ance at about the age of four. No carious

lesions were observed. Dental calculus

was slight for both surfaces of most teeth,

although the mandibular right lateral in-

cisor displayed large deposits on most sur-

Fig. 3. Areas of periosteal apposition on right tibia from Burial 2.

ANALYSIS OF HUMAN REMAINS FROM AGUA BLANCA 21

Fig. 4. Burial 3, Site MN-C4-54 Structure 1.

faces, perhaps indicating that the adjacent

central incisor had been lost long before

death.

The following infant remains were

found mixed with those of the adult: both

humerii, right radius, left ulna, both fe-

mora, left scapula, both temporals, right

mandible, and several ribs. No teeth were

present. The following bone measure-

ments suggest the individual was either a

very small newborn or fetus approaching

term: maximum lengths of left femur, 63

mm; right humerus, 57 mm; right radius,

47 mm; and breadth of left scapula, 28

mm.

Burial 3 (Site MN-C4-54 Structure 1)

Burial 3 was accidently uncovered very

close to the present ground surface ap-

proximately 20 meters east of the east wall

of MN-C4-54 Structure 1 (Figure 4). Ma-

terials consist of several fish vertebrae and

the remains of two infants. The larger in-

fant is represented by a left humerus

(maximum length 95 mm), left frontal

orbit, left ilum (maximum length 53

mm), right femur (maximum length 120

mm), right temporal, right ulna, right hu-

merus, right radius (maximum length

74mm), basilar (maximum length 21 mm),

left radius and left pubis (maximum

length 24 mm). Two deciduous maxillary

lateral incisors show crowns completely

formed and roots 75% formed. The

crown of the permanent maxillary first

molar is 25% formed. Collectively, these

data suggest an age at death of about

nine months.

The smaller infant is represented by a

left and right femur (maximum length 70

mm), a right frontal orbit, a right tibia

(maximum length 63 mm), right humerus

(maximum length 62 mm), right and left

ulna (maximum length 58 mm), left radius

(maximum length 51 mm), left tibia (max-

imum length 62 mm), left mandible, left

scapula (maximum breadth 27 mm, height

34 mm) basilar, and a fibula (maximum

length 56 mm). No teeth are present but

the size of the bones suggests the individ-

ual was either a very small newborn or a

fetus approaching term.

No evidence of disease was observed in

either individual.

Burial 6

This disturbed burial was found during

the surface collection of the lower terrace

of the west sector of site MN-C4-1 (a ter-

raced mound).

The remains consist of the very frag-

mentary cranial and post-cranial bones

and teeth of a child of between 10 and 11

years of age. Bones present include a right

temporal and various fragments of the

skull and skeleton. Permanent teeth pres-

ent include a right second incisor, both

maxillary first molars, a maxillary canine,

both mandibular first molars, the four

22 DOUGLAS H.

mandibular premolars, and two mandi-

bular canines. All of the teeth show slight

attrition on their occlusal surfaces. The

molars all lack distal facets suggesting the

second molars had not yet erupted. A de-

ciduous maxillary second molar was pres-

ent showing considerable attrition. The

presence of the deciduous tooth and the

stage of formation and eruption of the

permanent teeth, collectively suggest an

age at death of between 10 and 11 years.

No evidence of disease was observed

and no measurements were possible due

to the extreme fragmentation.

Obviously, conclusions about the Agua

Blanca population and comparison with

others are limited by the small sample size

and must await additional excavation.

Several preliminary observations can be

made however.

The four burial features from Agua

Blanca produced seven individuals: three

large fetuses or small newborns, one in-

fant age nine months, one child age 10-—

11 years and two adults. The features re-

veal that individuals of different ages and

sexes were buried in a variety of combi-

nations rather than in a fixed, predictable

pattern.

The presence of both sexes and the

wide distribution of ages suggests that the

sample may be randomly drawn from the

population, and not subjected to obvious

cultural segregation. The large sample

from the Late Integration site of Ayalan?

also from the Ecuadorean coast also pro-

duced adults of both sexes and a high per-

centage of infants and children (38%

below the age of five).

Of the 44 teeth recovered, only two (5

percent) show hypoplasia and none were

carious. This compares with Ayalan fre-

quencies of hypoplasia 6 percent and car-

ies 11 percent. The lack of caries at Agua

Blanca is surprising considering its late

date, but may only reflect the small sam-

ple size. Three permanent teeth (molars)

were lost prior to death. This represents

six percent of the total number of obser-

vations on the presence of teeth (52). Fif-

teen percent of the Ayalan sample were

UBELAKER

lost. No alveolar abscesses were observed

at Agua Blanca, while four percent of the

Ayalan teeth showed associated ab-

scesses. Dental calculus appears to have

occurred in a pattern similar to Ayalan.

The Agua Blanca data tentatively suggest

superior general dental health over Ay-

alan.

Non-dental disease at Agua Blanca is

confined to the inactive periosteal lesions

on the tibia from Burial 2. The ratio of

the number of bones showing infectious

lesions to the number of individuals in the

sample is .14. In the Ayalan urn sample

the ratio was .08. The Ayalan sample also

contained numerous examples of trauma,

porotic hyperostosis, cribra orbitale, and

congenital disorders which are lacking en-

tirely in the small Agua Blanca sample.

Ten of the 15 deformed skulls in the

Ayalan sample displayed the same type

of asymmetrical flattening as present in

the Agua Blanca male from Burial 1.

Both males and females had this defor-

mation at Ayalan.

The slight presence of metatarsopha-

langeal alterations in the foot bones of the

male and not in the female stands in

marked contrast to Ayalan where the trait

seemed to occur exclusively in females.

This may suggest cultural variations in

resting patterns or differing sex roles.

The two adults from Agua Blanca had

living statures of 151 cm (female) and 157

cm (male). For the late Ayalan sample,

females averaged 149 cm and males 159

cm.

The small Agua Blanca sample re-

ported here offers a very preliminary

glimpse of biocultural adaptation at this

important site. Hopefully, continued ex-

cavation will produce a large sample that

will enable more definitive conclusions.

References Cited

1. Ubelaker, D. H. 1978. Human Skeletal Remains;

Excavation, Analysis, Interpretation. Washing-

ton: Taraxacum.

2. Ubelaker, D. H. 1981. The Ayalan Cemetery,

A Late Integration Period Burial Site on the

South Coast of Ecuador. Smithsonian Contri-

butions to Anthropology, No. 29. Washington:

Smithsonian Institution Press.

Journal of the Washington Academy of Sciences,

Volume 78, Number 1, Pages 23-37, March 1988

Prehistoric Human Biology at

La Tolita, Ecuador,

A Preliminary Report

D. H. Ubelaker

Department of Anthropology, NMNH 350, Smithsonian Institution,

Washington, D.C. 20560

ABSTRACT

Recent archeological excavations at La Tolita in Ecuador produced 22 human skeletons

that mostly date from the “La Tolita Clasico” Period, 200 B.C. to 90 A.D. Biological

analysis suggests a population of high stature and high frequencies of trauma, infectious

disease and alveolar abscesses, but low frequencies of dental caries and tooth loss, and

absence of porotic hyperostosis.

Recent excavations at La Tolita, Es-

meraldas Province, coastal Ecuador di-

rected by Francisco Valdez of the Banco

Central del Ecuador, Quito have pro-

duced a small but well documented col-

lection of human remains from that site.

In the past, this well known but heavily

vandalized site has produced only isolated

crania which for the most part have not

been reported in the literature. Because

of the importance of the Tolita site in

trade, metal-working, and general cul-

tural development of prehistoric Ecua-

dor, these human remains offer a highly

desirable and unique look at prehistoric

health and other biological factors.

According to Valdez,’ the skeletons

from La Tolita date from two chronolog-

ical periods. Those recovered from the

‘““Tola del Pajarito Sector”’ all correspond

to the “‘La Tolita Clasico” Period, dated

23

between 200 B.C. and 75/90 A.D. Others

were recovered from a sector termed

Mango Montano. All but one of the fea-

tures from this sector date from the “‘La

Tolita Tardio” Period with associated ra-

diocarbon dates from 90 A.D. to 195

A.D. Feature 9 from this sector was found

at a greater depth than the others and

probably dates from the Classic Period.

By August, 1986, the remains had been

transported to Quito, and cleaned by

project personnel. In early August, the

remains were packed and transported to

the author’s makeshift laboratory outside

of Quito for analysis. All remains from

each feature were inventoried, photo-

graphed and studied in detail for evidence

of disease and other comparative biolog-

ical data. The results of that analysis are

presented here. Note that burial features

were recovered from excavations at the

24 D. H. UBELAKER

two areas mentioned above; Tola del Pa-

jarito and Mango Montano. Descriptions

of the individual features from these two

areas are presented separately, however

summary data group features of the same

date. Note also that all measurements are

presented in mm unless indicated other-

wise. Methods used in analysis are sum-

marized by Ubelaker.””

Area La Tola del Pajarito.

Feature la. (RQ2-714cm).

This child skeleton is generally com-

plete with excellent preservation. Nearly

all bones are present with minimal frag-

mentation. The stage of dental formation

suggests an age at death of between 4.5

and 5.0 years. The cranial occipital shows

some flattening, suggesting deformation.

No reliable estimate of sex can be made

and no evidence of disease is present. The

teeth lack evidence of caries, but do show

a blackish stain. The crowns of the max-

illary canines show buccal pitting which

appears to represent a form of hypoplasia.

Slight dental calculus occurs on one max-

illary molar and one mandibular molar.

Maximum lengths of the following bones

were recorded: left illum, 76; right ilium,

76; left femur, 203; left tibia, 166; left

radius, 109; left humerus, 150; left ulna,

122; left clavicle, 73; right clavicle, 74.

Other measurements are height of the as-

cending ramus of the mandible, 37; corpal

length, 60; minimum breadth of the as-

cending ramus, 28; height of the man-

dibular symphysis, 21; bigonial diameter,

79; and bicondylar diameter, 99.

One adult premolar tooth is also pres-

ent. The tooth lacks dental caries, but

shows large calculus deposits on its buccal

surface and moderate deposits on its lin-

gual surface. The occlusal surface of the

tooth shows some initial dentin exposure

due to attrition.

Feature 2a. (RQ2,3—760cm).

This adult skeleton is generally com-

plete and well preserved. Maximum di-

ameters of the heads of the femora and

humerii of 48 as well as morphological

data on the pubis and skull strongly sug-

gest male sex.

Maximum lengths of the left ulna (260),

right ulna (264), and left radius (240) sug-

gest a living stature of about 167 cm (5

feet six inches). Muscle markings on the

bones further suggest the individual was

quite robust.

Morphology of the pubic symphysis,

extent of dental attrition, closure of cra-

nial sutures, and extent of osteophytosis

and joint changes collectively suggest an

age at death of between 33 and 36 years.

Evidence of skeletal disease is confined

to the cervical vertebrae (Figure 1). Slight

degenerative pitting is present on the in-

ferior body surface of the third cervical

vertebra, the superior body surface of the

fourth cervical vertebra, and the superior

body surface of the seventh cervical ver-

tebra. Marked destruction and remodel-

ing occurs on the inferior body of the fifth

cervical vertebra and the superior surface

of the sixth cervical vertebra. Although

the thoracic and lumbar vertebrae appear

normal, the bony changes in the cervicals

produce a marked kyphosis in that area.

The appearance of the bony changes both

in the gross bone and in radiographs sug-

gest a traumatic origin, at least several

years before death.

The 25 teeth present lack dental car-

ies, but show moderate to large calculus

deposits. Some dentin exposure resulting

from attrition occurs on most teeth. A

large well-remodeled depression on the

lingual alveolus in the area of the missing

mandibular right lateral incisor and

canine probably results from alveolar ab-

scess at that site. No hypoplastic teeth are

present, however, the maxillary right first

molar appears anomalous, rounder than

normal with a slight division through its

longitudinal axis.

PREHISTORIC HUMAN BIOLOGY AT LA TOLITA, ECUADOR 25

10} 1 2 3

oe

“%

sr

6cm

a

Fig. 1. Degenerative pitting and kyphosis of cervical vertebrae from feature 2a, La Tola del Pajarito,

probably induced by trauma.

The skull lacks evidence of disease and

deformation. The following measure-

ments were recorded: auricular height,

113; porion-bregma, 112; cranial length,

183; cranial breadth, 145; minimum fron-

tal breadth, 97; bicondylar breadth, 111;

bigonial breadth, 96; height of ascending

ramus, 64; minimum breadth of ascending

ramus, 29; height of mandibular sym-

physis, 34; and corpal length, 80. A my-

lohyoid bridge was present on the right

but not on the left. The following features

were all absent: accessory mental fora-

men, frontal grooves, supraorbital fora-

men, wormian bones, parietal process of

temporal squama, squamoparietal syn-

ostosis, auditory exostoses, marginal

foramen of the tympanic plate and tym-

panic dehiscence.

Feature 3a. (PO3-725cm).

This secondary deposit consists of the

following adult bones: right humerus,

both radii, left ulna, both femora, right

tibia, one fibula, right clavicle, both

scapulae, both innominates, two lumbar

vertebrae, the skull and mandible and the

left calcaneus.

Female sex is suggested by femoral

head diameters of 42 mm, a wide sciatic

notch on one innominate and general gra-

cility of the long bones.

An age of death of between 27 and 32

years is suggested by the lack of union of

the cranial sutures, lack of osteophytosis,

and the presence of some dentin exposure

of the teeth due to dental attrition.

An estimated length of the left femur

of 394 suggests a living stature of about

152 cm (5 feet 0 inches) using the for-

mulae for females provided by Genovés.*

The fibula shows a well remodeled

periosteal lesion at the mid-shaft. A

slight, well-remodeled depressed fracture

is located on the midline of the frontal,

about 40 mm below bregma. There is also

a small reactive lesion about 11 mm in

diameter on the right parietal 15 mm from

the sagittal suture and 70 mm from the

coronal suture.

The nine teeth present lack dental car-

ies and show slight to medium deposits of

calculus. No examples of hypoplasia or

alveolar abscess were observed.

The following measurements were re-

corded from the undeformed skull and

mandible: cranial length, 170; cranial

breadth, 141, minimum breadth of the as-

cending ramus, 31. The following features

?

26 D. H. UBELAKER

were absent: mylohyoid bridge, accessory

mental foramen, frontal grooves, su-

praorbital foramen, infraorbital suture,

wormian bones, parietal process of tem-

poral squama, squamoparietal synostosis,

auditory exostosis, marginal foramen of

tympanic plate, and tympanic dehiscence.

Feature 4a. (QR1I-—760cm).

This large secondary deposit contains

the skeletal remains of at least five adults,

as suggested by the presence of five left

femora, and five left scapulae. Other |

bones are present in the following num-

bers: four left and three right humeri,

four left radii, four left and four right ul-

nae, two right femora, three left and four

right tibiae, at least six fibulae, two left

and one right clavicle, two right scapulae,

two left and two right temporals, three

mandibles, three left and two right in-

nominates, one left and one right patella,

three first cervical vertebrae, three other

cervical vertebrae, 13 thoracic vertebrae,

15 lumbar vertebrae, one sacrum, one

right second metacarpal, one proximal

hand phalanx, three right calcanea, and

several rib fragments. Note the almost

complete lack of small bones of the feet

and hands, and irregular representation

of the larger bones of the skeleton.

All of the five individuals represented

here appear to be female. The five left

femora are all gracile. The innominates

show wide sciatic notches, deep pre-au-

ricular sulci, and elevated auricular areas.

Female sex is also supported by femoral

We

head diameters of 39, 40, and three of 42,

and by humeral head diameters of 38, 38,

38, 39, and 39.

Data from long bone cortical thickness,

pubic symphysis morphology, cranial su-

ture closure and dental attrition suggest

that one of the females was elderly, prob-

ably between 45 and 50 years, one was

between 38 and 45 years, two were be-

tween 25 and 35 years and one was be-

tween 20 and 25 years.

Only one long bone was complete

enough to allow an estimation of living

stature. The maximum length of a left ra-

dius of 234 suggests a living stature of

about 163 cm (five feet four inches).

Several of the bones show evidence of

disease. One right tibia fragment shows a

well remodeled periosteal lesion at the

lateral surface of the mid-shaft. Another

right tibia shows an area of remodeled

periosteal apposition on the medial sur-

face of the shaft about 45 mm from the

distal end (Figure 2). In addition, two

fibular shaft fragments show areas of well

remodeled periosteal apposition.

One of the crania present was suffi-

ciently intact to enable some measure-

ments and observations. Those from one

undeformed skull are as follows: auricular

height, 121; porion-bregma, 120; cranial

length, 184; cranial breadth, 146; orbital

height, 33; orbital breadth, 37; bigonial

breadth, 103; height of ascending ramus,

54; minimum breadth of ascending ramus,

25, height of mandibular symphysis, 31;

corpal length, 86; absence of mylohyoid

bridge, accessory mental foramen, frontal

Fig. 2. Area of remodeled periosteal apposition on the medial surface of a right tibia from feature 4a,

La Tola del Pajarito.

PREHISTORIC HUMAN BIOLOGY AT LA TOLITA, ECUADOR 27

grooves, wormian bones, parietal process

of temporal squama, squamoparietal syn-

ostosis, auditory exostoses, marginal

foramen of tympanic plate and tympanic

dehiscence, and presence of supraorbital

foramen.

Measurements and observations of a

mandible and additional skull are as fol-

lows: bicondylar breadth, 118; bigonial

breadth, 80; height of ascending ramus,

54; minimum breadth of ascending ramus,

29; height of mandibular symphysis, 33;

and corpal length, 80. Absent were my-

lohyoid bridge, auditory exostoses, mar-

ginal foramen of tympanic plate and

tympanic dehiscence. Accessory mental

foramen and supraorbital foramina are

present on the left but not on the right.

One mandible shows antemortem loss

of 12 teeth with only the left second molar

remaining and alveolar abscesses at the

sites of the three right molars and the left

second molar.

Another mandible shows five teeth

present. The left second premolar has a

carious lesion 5 mm in length on the me-

sial root. All teeth show slight calculus

deposits.

Area E] Mango Montano.

Feature 1. (CD2,3,4-60cm).

This feature was labeled ‘“‘decapitado”’

(Figure 3) since the post-cranial skeleton

was largely articulated, but the skull was

separate. The following bones are pres-

ent: the right humerus, both radii, ulnae,

femora, fibulae, clavicles, the left scap-

ula, the sternum, both innominates,

both patellae, the first, second and four

other cervical vertebrae, 12 thoracic ver-

tebrae, five lumbar vertebrae, the sac-

rum, both hand naviculars, lunates,

triquetrals, capitates, hamates, the left

greater and lesser multangulars, all me-

tacarpals, 11 proximal hand phalanges, 6

middle hand phalanges, 8 distal hand pha-

langes, both calcanea, the left talus, both

Fig. 3. View “in situ” of the skeleton of feature

1, area El] Mango Montano. Note the articulated

cranium and mandible out of normal anatomical po-

sition between the legs.

cuboids, the right foot navicular, both

first and second cuneiforms and the left

third cuneiform, both first, second, third,

and fifth metatarsals, two proximal first

foot phalanges, two other proximal foot

phalanges, and one distal first foot pha-

lanx.

Morphology of the pubic bones and

other aspects of the skeleton suggest male

SEX,

The extent of cranial suture closure,

dental attrition, morphology of the sym-

physeal face of the pubis and other factors

suggest an age at death of between 33 and

38 years.

The maximum length of the right tibia

of 367 mm suggests a living stature of

about 167 cm. or five feet six inches.

No evidence of disease was detected on

the skeleton. |

28 D. H. UBELAKER

All teeth are present except the max-

illary right third molar, missing post-mor-

tem. Only the mandibular right third

molar shows a carious lesion, 2 mm in

diameter on the occlusal surface. Calculus

deposits vary from small to medium.

The skull shows some frontal flattening

(Figure 4). Measurements are as follows:

auricular height, 124; porion-bregma,

120; cranial length, 171; cranial breadth,

142; basion-bregma, 140; basion-porion,

18; minimum frontal breadth, 104; upper

facial height, 76; facial width, 141; nasal

height, 54; nasal breadth, 27; orbital —

height, 37; orbital breadth, 42; maxillary

alveolar length, 55; maxillary alveolar

breadth, 64; palatal length, 32; palatal

breadth, 38; bicondylar breadth, 124; bi-

gonial breadth, 98; height of ascending

ramus, 54; minimum breadth of ascending

ramus, 34; height of mandibular sym-

physis, 33; total facial height, 124; corpal

length, 87. The following traits were ab-

sent: mylohyoid bridge, accessory mental

foramen, frontal grooves, supraorbital

foramen, squamoparietal synostosis, au-

ditory exostoses, pharyngeal fossa,

marginal foramen of tympanic plate,

tympanic dehiscence. Wormian bones

were present.

Feature 2. (C2,3,4—70/80cm).

This feature is from cuadro CD2.3.4.,

Nivel 2a at a depth of 60 cm. The feature

also was labeled “‘decapitado”’ because

Fig. 4. Frontal flattening (deformation) of cranium from feature 1, area El Mango Montano.

PREHISTORIC HUMAN BIOLOGY AT LA TOLITA,

the skull was found separated from the

post-cranial skeleton (Figure 5). Bones

present include the left humerus, both ra-

dii, the left ulna, both femora, both

tibiae, both fibulae, both clavicles, both

scapulae, the right temporal, the mandi-

ble, both patellae, all seven cervical ver-

tebrae, 11 thoracic vertebrae, the five

lumbar vertebrae, the sacrum, the left

hand navicular, both triquetrals, the left

greater and lesser multangulars, both cap-

itates, the left hamate, the left second,

third, fourth, and fifth metacarpal, three

proximal, three middle and four distal

hand phalanges, both calcanea, both tal,

both cuboids, both foot naviculars, the

first and second cuneiforms, the right

third cuneiform, the left metatarsals, the

right first, second and fourth metatarsals,

two proximal first foot phalanges, four

other proximal foot phalanges, three mid-

dle foot phalanges, one distal first foot

phalanx.

ECUADOR 29

Male sex is suggested by a narrow pubis

and a flat auricular area and general mor-

phology of the skeleton.

Morphology of the symphyseal face of

the pubis suggests an age at death of be-

tween 30 and 35 years. This age estimate

is supported by the extent of cranial su-

ture closure, dental attrition and other

age indicators on the skeleton.

The maximum length of the left tibia

of 364 suggests a living stature of 165 cm.

or five feet five inches.

The fifth lumbar vertebra displays a

separate neural arch. No other abnor-

malities or evidence of disease was noted.

No evidence of cut marks suggestive of

intentional defleshing or decapitation was

found on this skeleton or that of feature

1. In spite of this, the fact that the skulls

and mandibles were articulated with each

other but not with the rest of the skeleton

argues for decapitation. If natural decom-

position had advanced to the extent that

5 ee

Fig. 5. “In situ’ view of skeleton from feature 2, area El Mango Montano, also with articulated cranium

and mandible out of normal anatomical position.

30 D. H. UBELAKER

joints would have separated as well. It is

possible that the heads were severed with-

out the instrument used striking bone or

that due to the poor preservation, the

marks were not detected.

Twenty six teeth were present with only

one mandibular right third molar absent

antemortem. Only the maxillary right

third molar has a carious lesion. This

measures 2 mm in length and is located

in the mesial root. No evidence of hy-

poplasia or alveolar abscess was noted but

considerable alveolar resorption is pres-

ent apparently resulting from periodontal

disease. Calculus deposits vary from small

to large.

The following measurements and ob-

servations were collected from the un-

deformed skull and mandible: auricular

height, 103; porion-bregma, 98; cranial

breadth, 137; bicondylar breadth, 123; bi-

gonial breadth, 97; height of ascending

ramus, 55; minimum breadth of ascending

ramus, 28; height of mandibular sym-

physis, 30. The following features were

absent: accessory mental foramen, frontal

grooves, wormian bones, auditory exos-

toses, marginal foramen of tympanic

plate, and tympanic dehiscence. Mylo-

hyoid bridge was bilaterally present and

supraorbital foramen was present on the

left, but absent on the right.

Feature 3. (F5,6-70cm).

Most major bones of this adult are pres-

ent. Absent are the sternum, left carpal

bones, both calcanea, and the right talus.

A second individual is represented by an

additional first cervical vertebra, right

fourth metatarsal and left fifth metatarsal.

A maximum diameter of the left fem-

oral head of 43, a maximum diameter of

the head of the left humerus of 42, a wide

sciatic notch, irregular auricular area, and

a large pre-auricular sulcus all suggest fe-

male sex.

A maximum length of the right radius

of 243 suggests a living stature of 167 cm

(S feet 6 inches).

The vertebral bodies show little ar-

thritic change. The basilar suture is well

united and the bone internal cortex shows

little porosity. The extent of dental attri-

tion 1s extensive with considerable dentin

exposure. Collectively, these observa-

tions suggest an age at death of between

32 and 38 years.

The distal end of the left radius dia-

physis shows a well remodeled Colles

fracture. Typically, this type of fracture is

produced by forward falls, where the in-

dividual lands on his/her hands.

The 32 teeth present lack dental caries

and show calculus deposits ranging from

slight to moderate. Extensive attrition has

produced alveolar abscesses through ex-

posure of the pulp cavity in the maxillary

right second premolar and second molar,

and the six mandibular molars.

Unfortunately, the skull has been

coated with preservative in situ and could

not be reconstructed for detailed meas-

urements. The following measurements

were recorded: nasal breadth, 27; max-

illary alveolar length, 56; maxillary alveo-

lar breadth, 63; bicondylar breadth, 131;

bigonial breadth, 107; height of ascending

ramus, 55; minimum breadth of ascend-

ing ramus, 32; height of mandibular

symphysis, 34; and corpal length, 88.

The following features were all absent

bilaterally; mylohyoid bridge, accessory

mental foramen, parietal process of tem-

poral squama, squamoparietal synostosis,

auditory exostoses and tympanic dehis-

cence. Marginal foramen of tympanic

plate was absent on the left, but present

on the right.

Feature 4. (D2,3—78cm).

The disturbed primary burial consists

of the following bones: one left and one

right humerus, one femur fragment, one

left and one right clavicle, one left and

one right scapula, two skulls, one man-

dible, one right innominate, one right pa-

tella, one left and one right hand

navicular, one left and one right lunate,

PREHISTORIC HUMAN BIOLOGY AT LA TOLITA, ECUADOR 31

one right capitate, one right third meta-

carpal and various rib fragments.

Various morphological criteria suggest

both individuals represented here are fe-

males. One skull and most other bones

appear to belong to an individual aged

between 40 and 50 years. The skull of this

individual shows extensive cranial suture

closure and obliteration, extreme osteo-

porosis on all bones, and extreme dental

wear. The vertebral bodies are extremely

compressed and porous. The head of the

femur shows arthritic changes with exten-

sive remodeling. Well remodeled perios-

teal apposition occurs on the posterior

surface of the distal femur shaft.

The second skull is much younger. Very

slight dentin exposure on the first two mo-

lars suggests an age at death of between

25 and 30 years. No evidence of disease

is present.

The first older skull and mandible con-

tain 19 teeth, which lack dental caries but

show extensive wear and only slight cal-

culus deposits. Lesions and deposits may

once have been present and are not de-

tected now since nearly all of the crowns

have been destroyed by attrition. Alveo-

lar abscesses are located at the sites of the

maxillary right lateral incisor and canine,

the maxillary left lateral incisor and the

mandibular left first molar.

The following measurements and ob-

servations were recorded from the older

skull: minimum frontal breadth, 97; nasal

breadth, 27; minimum breadth of ascend-

ing ramus, 26; accessory mental foramen,

absent; supraorbital foramen, present

bilaterally; squamoparietal synostosis,

absent; auditory exostoses, absent; tym-

panic dehiscence, absent.

The second younger skull contains 12

teeth which lack carious lesions and have

calculus deposits ranging from small to

moderate. No alveolar abscesses were

present.

The following measurements were re-

corded on the undeformed skull: auricu-

lar height, 103; porion-bregma, 99;

cranial length, 169; cranial breadth, 140;

minimum frontal breadth 90; upper facial

height, 69; nasal height, 51; nasal

breadth, 26; orbital height, 39; orbital

breadth, 44; maxillary alveolar length,

51; maxillary alveolar breadth, 63. The

following features were all absent: su-

praorbital foramen, infraorbital suture,

squamoparietal synostosis, auditory ex-

ostoses, marginal foramen of tympanic

plate, and tympanic dehiscence.

Feature 5. (CD2, D3)

This feature consists of an incomplete

skeleton with an extra right humerus.

Bones present consist of two right hu-

merii, one left and one right radius, one

left ulna, one left femur, one left tibia,

one left and one right temporal, one left

and one right maxilla, one right innomi-

nate, four thoracic vertebrae, one lumbar

vertebra, and one right third metacarpal.

Morphology of the right illum suggests~

female sex.

The extent of dental attrition and cra-

nial suture closure suggests an age at

death of between 30 and 35 years.

Maximum length of a left ulna of 243

suggests a living stature of about 159 cm

or 5 feet 3 inches.

Fourteen maxillary teeth are present

with only one right third molar showing

carious lesions. Dental calculus varies

from slight to moderate.

The following observations and meas-

urements were recorded from the skull:

auricular height, 102; porion-bregma,

105; cranial breadth, 137; absence of su-

praorbital foramina, parietal process of

temporal squama, squamoparietal syn-

ostosis, marginal foramen of tympanic

plate and tympanic dehiscence; presence

of auditory exostoses.

The inside surface of the left temporal

shows asmall6mm X 4mm bony nodule

extending over a groove for a blood ves-

sel. No other abnormalities or disease

processes were detected.

Feature 6. (D2,D3-110cm).

This feature consists of a few bones of

one adult with a second adult indicated

32 D. H. UBELAKER

by two left scapulae, two first and two

second cervical vertebrae. Other bones

present include a left and right humerus,

a left and right clavicle, left and right tem-

poral, left and right maxilla, left and right

mandible, left innominate, 9 additional

cervical vertebrae, two lumbar vertebrae,

and several rib fragments.

Small mastoid processes on the tem-

porals, and general gracility of the skel-

eton suggest female sex for one

individual.

Marked osteophytosis in the cervical

vertebrae and extensive dental attrition

suggest an age at death of between 40 and

4S years.

Maximum length of the left humerus of

297 suggests a living stature of about 156

Ciy(S) eet ul neh).

No evidence of disease is present.

Twenty-six teeth are present showing

no carious lesions and only slight dental

calculus. Alveolar abscesses occur at the

sites of the maxillary left second molar,

and mandibular right first and second mo-

lars and the mandibular left first molar.

One partial skull is present, with the

following measurements and observa-

tions: auricular height, 108; porion-

bregma, 102; cranial length, 162; cranial

breadth, 138; minimum frontal breadth,

92; upper facial height, 69; nasal height,

48; nasal breadth, 24; orbital height, 33;

orbital breadth, 43; maxillary alveolar

length, 50; maxillary alveolar breadth, 58;

bigonial breadth, 101; height of ascending

ramus, 54; minimum breadth of ascending

ramus, 29; height of mandibular sym-

physis, 29; corpal length, 79. The follow-

ing features were absent: mylohyoid

bridge, accessory mental foramen, su-

praorbital foramen, auditory exostoses,

pharyngeal fossa, and tympanic dehis-

cence. Marginal foramen of the tympanic

plate was absent on the left but present

on the right.

A small circular button osteoma ap-

proximately 18 mm in diameter is present

on the left parietal.

Feature 7.

Only a calvarium and few other bones

represent this feature. Specific bones

present include the right humerus, left ra-

dius, left femur, right fibula, both tem-

porals, left maxilla, right mandible, left

patella, second cervical vertebra, one

lumbar vertebra, the sacrum, one proxi-

mal hand phalanx, the right second and

third cuneiforms, the right first, second,

fourth, and fifth metatarsals, and one first

proximal foot phalanx.

Size of the skull and long bones sug-

gests female sex.

Lack of union of the cranial sutures,

lack of osteophyte formation on the ver-

tebrae, and the extent of dental attrition

suggest an age at death of between 28 and

33 years.

No evidence of disease is present.

Fourteen teeth are present and none

are missing antemortem. The teeth are

caries free with calculus deposits ranging

from small to medium.

The following measurements were re-

corded: auricular height, 115; porion-

bregma, 112; cranial length, 177; cranial

breadth, 147; minimum frontal breadth,

94. The following traits were absent: ac-

cessory mental foramen, squamoparietal

synostosis, auditory exostosis, marginal

foramen of tympanic plate. The following

were present: frontal grooves, supraor-

bital foramen, and wormian bones. Tym-

panic dehiscence is absent on the left and

present on the right. The skull shows a

large inca bone approximately 40 mm in

length.

Feature 8.

This feature consists of one adult skel-

eton with some infant remains also pres-

ent. The adult bones are as follows: right

humerus, both radii, right ulna, both

femora, left tibia, right scapula, the

mandible, left innominate, right patella,

the first, second and four other cervical

vertebrae, eight thoracic vertebrae,

PREHISTORIC HUMAN BIOLOGY AT LA TOLITA,

five lumbar vertebrae, one right greater

multangular, and various rib fragments.

Morphology of the innominate and

other bones suggests female sex.

An age at death of between 45 and 50

years is suggested by extensive dental at-

trition and extensive osteophytosis and

porosity of the cranial vault.

An estimated length of the right femur

of 380 suggests a living stature of about

148 cm or 4 feet 10 inches.

Well remodeled periosteal apposition

occurs on one ulna midshaft. In addition,

both mandibular condyles are flattened

with considerable pitting, indicating prob-

lems of the temporo-mandibular joint.

Fifteen teeth are present with only two

missing antemortem. No dental caries

were observed. An alveolar abscess oc-

curs at the site of the mandibular right

second molar. Calculus deposits range

from small to large.

Measurements of the mandible are as

follows: bicondylar breadth 118, bigonial

breadth 94, height of ascending ramus 51,

minimum breadth of ascending ramus 28,

height of mandibular symphysis 35. My-

lohyoid bridge was lacking on both sides

while an accessory mental foramen was

absent on the left but present on the right.

Subadult remains from this feature con-

sist only of cranial fragments and one

right mandible. Three deciduous teeth

and one permanent tooth are present.

The deciduous mandibular first molar has

a complete crown with the root 25%

formed. The deciduous mandibular sec-

ond molar and canine have a complete

crown with no root formation. This stage

of dental formation suggests an age at

death of about 10 months.

Feature 9.

This feature consists of most major

bones of an adult male with an additional

right femur of an adult. Specific bones

present are as follows: right humerus, left

and right radius, left and right ulna, one

left and two right femora, one left and

one right tibia, one left and one right

ECUADOR 33

fibula, one right clavicle, one right sca-

pula, one left temporal, one left and one

right maxilla, one right side of a mandi-

ble, one sternum, one left and one right

innominate, all vertebrae, the sacrum,

one left hand navicular, one left lunate,

one left capitate, one left hamate, one left

first, second, fourth, and fifth metacarpal,

one right fifth metacarpal, six proximal

hand phalanges, six middle hand pha-

langes, three distal hand phalanges, one

left and one right calcaneus, one left and

one right talus, the left cuboid, one left

and one right foot navicular, one left first

cuneiform, one right fifth metatarsal and

various rib fragments.

Male sex is suggested by a narrow

pubis, large mastoid processes, and other

morphological features.

An age of about 20 years is suggested

by incomplete closure of the third molar

root tips, extent of dental attrition, and

general lack of degenerative change in the

skeleton.

Measurements of both femora and the

left tibia suggest a living stature of 155 cm

(S feet 1 inch).

Of the 27 teeth present, none show car-

ious lesions and calculus deposits vary

from absence to moderate. No teeth were

observed to be missing antemortem and

no alveolar abscesses were detected.

The skull was fragmentary but unde-

formed. Maxillary-alveolar breadth was

62 and the minimum breadth of the as-

cending ramus of the mandible was 32.

The following traits were absent: mylo-

hyoid bridge, accessory mental foramen,

supraorbital foramen, squamoparietal

synostosis, auditory exostoses, marginal

foramen of the tympanic plate, and tym-

panic dehiscence. Wormian bones were

present bilaterally.

Number of Individuals.

Assuming that individuals are not rep-

resented in more than one of the identi-

fied features, the data suggest that at least

34 D. H. UBELAKER

22 individuals are represented by major

bones in the complete Tolita sample.

Note this figure does not consider that the

extra premolar in Tola del Pajarito rep-

resents a separate individual. Ten of the

22 date from La Tolita Clasico and 12

from La Tolita Tardio. Twenty of the 22

individuals are adult, the only immature

skeletons being the 4.5 to 5.0 year old

child from feature 1 of Tola del Pajarito

and the 10 month old infant from feature

8 of Mango Montano. This unusual age

distribution strongly suggests that some

factor of cultural selection or preservation

has strongly biased the sample. In the

large skeletal sample recovered at Ay-

alan, Ubelaker? reported that nearly half

of the sample was below the age of 20

years.

Assuming a random sample drawn

from a normal distribution of deaths in

the population, one would expect an ap-

proximately equal distribution of males

and females within the adult sample. In

the Tolita sample examined here, only 4

of the 20 adults present are male while 13

are female and three are of undetermined

sex. This irregularity is especially note-

worthy from the La Tolita Tardio Period,

where only one of 8 adults of determined

sex is male. This would suggest an ex-

tremely high female death rate for the

period represented by the sample or more

likely some sexual discrimination in place-

ment within the cemetery areas sampled.

Age Distribution

Ages estimated for the individual skel-

etons range from about 10 months to

about 47 years. The average adult age at

death for the entire sample is 34 years

with a range from 20 to 47 years. Within

the La Tolita Clasico Period, the mean

age at death is 32 with a range from 20 to

47 years, while within the La Tolita Tardio

Period, the mean is 36 years with a range

from 27 to 47 years. The data also show

little variation in the mean age at death

broken down by sex. Overall, the Tolita

sample shows a mean age at death for

adult males of 30.5 and for females of

35.3. Within the La Tolita Clasico sample,

the male mean is 27 years and that for

females 34. Within the La Tolita Tardio

sample, the male mean is 34 years and

that for females 37. Thus while the overall

sample is heavily skewed toward females

over males and adults over immature in-

dividuals, it shows a more normal age dis-

tribution within the adult categories, with

the mean for females slightly greater than

for males in both periods.

Living Stature

Estimates of living stature drawn from

the entire sample range from 148 cm to

167 cm and average 164 (5 feet 4 inches)

for males and 158 (5 feet 2 inches) for

females. Stature was the same for females

in both periods (158 cm), but males were

taller in the La Tolita Tardio Period (166

cm vs. 161 cm). These values are consid-

erably higher than average values re-

ported from other prehistoric sites in

Ecuador.’ Mean male values previously

reported ranged from 159 at Cotocollao

and the Ayalan sample to 161 at Sta.

Elena and OGSE-MA-172. Female stat-

ure values ranged from 148 at Cotocollao

to 152 at OGSE-MA-172.

Trauma

Three individuals show evidence of

traumatic injury. These examples involv-

ing 7 bones consist of the cervical trauma

in feature 2a and the depressed skull frac-

ture in feature 3a of area Tola del Pajarito

and the Colles fracture of feature 3,

Mango Montano. One measure of the fre-

quency and severity of trauma in the pop-

ulation is the ratio of the number of bones

effected to the number of individuals in

the sample. This ratio for the Tolita sam-

ple is .32, one of the highest values yet

PREHISTORIC HUMAN BIOLOGY AT LA TOLITA, ECUADOR 35

reported for prehistoric Ecuador. Figures

for other sites are .33 for OGSE-MA-172,

.18 for Ayalan non-urn sample, .13 for

Ayalan urn sample, .09 for Sta. Elena,

and .03 for Cotocollao’. The trauma in

features 2a and 3a obviously results from

blows to the neck and head. The Colles

fracture of feature 3 was produced by a

fall and is similar to several found at Ay-

alan. Note that six of the seven effected

bones date from La Tolita Clasico, a ratio

of .60. The remaining example from La

Tolita Tardio suggests a ratio of only .11

for that period.

Infectious Disease

Eight bones from four features show

evidence of infectious disease. In all

cases, these take the form of well remod-

eled periosteal lesions and involve ap-

position of bone rather than bony

destruction. All of the skeletons are those

of females and involve the tibia (2), fibula

(3), femur (1), ulna (1), and parietal (1).

The ratio of adult bones showing evidence

of infectious disease to the number of

adults in the sample is .47. Once again,

this is the highest value yet reported for

Ecuador with those previously reported?

ranging from .44 at OGSE-MA-172 to .04

at Cotocollao and Ayalan non-urn sam-

ple. Six of the eight examples date from

La Tolita Clasico, a very high ratio of .80.

The remaining two date from La Tolita

Tardio and suggest a ratio of .22.

Porotic Hyperostosis

No examples of porotic hyperostosis or

the related cribra orbitalia were detected

in the Tolita sample. This may suggest

that anemia was not the problem at Tolita

that it may have been at the sites of

Ayalan? and OGSE-MA-172° where ex-

amples were found.

Dental Hypoplasia

Only one individual in the sample

showed evidence of dental hypoplasia,

the infant of feature la, area La Tola del

Pajarito. Some hypoplastic defects were

detected in the deciduous maxillary ca-

nine crowns. The complete lack of hy-

poplasia in the permanent teeth is unique

in Ecuador since it has been reported

from all other Ecuadorean samples with

frequencies ranging from 0.3% at Coto-

collao to 5.8% in the Ayalan urn sample.°

Dental Caries

Dental carious lesions were relatively

uncommon within the Tolita sample.

Only four of the 246 permanent teeth ex-

amined showed carious lesions, a fre-

quency of only 1.6%. This figure

represents the lowest yet reported from

Ecuador? and falls even below that of the

early site of Sta. Elena (3%). Frequencies

as high as 11% were reported from

Ayalan. This is somewhat surprising,

since other investigations have shown that

caries frequency increases with time

throughout prehistory, especially with the

acquisition of agriculture and consump-

tion of foods laden with starch and simple

sugars. In the Tolita sample, the few car-

ies found were evenly distributed between

males (1.6%) and females (1.4%). The

lesions were both root and occlusal caries,

three from third molars and one from a

mandibular second premolar.

Alveolar Abscesses

Alveolar abscesses refer to bony

changes in the alveolus of the maxilla or

mandible which show evidence of infec-

tion. These are usually formed at the root

tips of teeth whose pulp cavities have

been exposed through attrition, trauma,

or disease processes and subsequently be-

come infected. Nearly all examples in the »

36 D. H. UBELAKER

Tolita sample appear to have resulted

from exposure of the pulp cavity as a con-

sequence of extensive and rapid attrition

of the teeth. Twenty-three examples of

alveolar abscess were noted in the Tolita

sample. Six of these were from maxillary

teeth, while 17 originated from man-

dibular teeth. Seventeen of the 23 ex-

amples involve molars while three are

from incisors, 2 from canines and one

from a premolar.

The ratio of the number of abscesses

observed (23) to the number of obser-

vations (abscesses plus normal, 269) in the

Tolita sample is .09. This represents the

highest figure yet reported in the litera-

ture from Ecuador.° Other values range

from .01 at Sta. Elena to .08 at OGSE-

MA-172. The high figure seems directly

correlated with the very high rate of den-

tal attrition. The figure also varies mark-

edly between the sexes at .02 for males

and .13 for females. Broken down by time

period, the data suggest ratios of .06 for

La Tolita Clasico and .10 for La Tolita

Tardio.

Loss of Teeth

Data on the antemortem loss of teeth

offers another opportunity to view the ef-

fects of dental problems in the Tolita pop-

ulation. Of 333 observations on the

presence or absence of permanent teeth

in the sample, 18 had been lost for a fre-

quency of 5 percent (.04 La Tolita Clasico

and .06 La Tolita Tardio). Two of the lost

teeth were maxillary; the remaining 16

were mandibular. The missing teeth in-

volved 9 molars, 2 premolars, 1 canine

and 6 incisors. Only 3 percent of male

teeth were lost, while 7 percent of female

teeth were missing. This figure is low in

comparison with other populations within

Ecuador,” suggesting that while dental at-

trition and alveolar abscess were largely

responsible for tooth loss in the Tolita

sample, other factors may also have con-

tributed to tooth loss in the other samples.

The comparative figures range from 6

percent at Sta. Elena to 40 percent at

OGSE-MA-172.

Cranial Deformation

Observations on cranial deformation

were possible on only nine of the crania.

Two of these (11 percent) show some evi-

dence of deformation. The child of fea-

ture la, La Tola del Pajarito shows slight

occipital flattening, which may represent

intentional deformation or perhaps just a

cradle board effect. The male of feature

2, El Mango Montano displays flattening

on the frontal which appears to represent

intentional deformation.

Metatarsophalangeal Alterations

Observations on metatarsophalangeal

alterations were possible only on 12 fe-

male tarsal bones and 19 male bones. Al-

terations were observed only in the third

metatarsal of the male from feature 2,

suggesting that he may have had activity

or habitual rest posture that produced

kneeling with hyperdorsiflexion of the

right toes. The trait is best known in Ec-

uador from the site of Ayalan, where it

occurred in much higher frequencies, but

apparently only in females.

Vertebral Osteophytosis

Observations on vertebral arthritic

change are available from six females and

4 males. As in most other populations,

the lumbar vertebrae show more ad-

vanced osteophytosis than do the thoracic

or cervical vertebrae. Females show

slightly more arthritic involvement than

do males.

Evidence of arthritic change elsewhere

in the skeleton was minimal and evenly

distributed between males and females.

PREHISTORIC HUMAN BIOLOGY AT LA TOLITA, ECUADOR 37

Summary

The thirteen burial features analyzed

here contained the remains of at least 22

individuals. The variability of complete-

ness of the individuals reflects cultural

factors more than preservation. Form of

burial varied from primary interment with

some later disturbance to secondary in-

terment of incomplete skeletons. The 22

recovered individuals do not appear to

adequately represent total deaths in the

population. The entire sample is strongly

biased against infants and children and

the sample dating from La Tolita Tardio

Period appears strongly biased against

males. The age distribution of the adults

appears to be similar between the two

areas, with the average age of adults at

about 34 years.

Analysis of the skeletal remains re-

vealed the highest mean values for stature

yet reported for Ecuador for both males

and females. High values were also re-

vealed for frequencies of trauma, infec-

tious disease, and alveolar abscesses. In

contrast, frequencies for dental caries and

loss of teeth are among the lowest re-

ported for prehistoric Ecuador. The den-

tal data suggest that very high rates of

dental attrition in the Tolita population

resulted in the high rate of alveolar ab-

scess. However, the comparatively low

rate of dental caries did not lead to dental

loss as it apparently did in other Ecuado-

rean samples. Thus the frequency of den-

tal loss remained low, in spite of the high

rate of abscess.

The Tolita sample also appears to be

unique in producing record high frequen-

cies of trauma and infectious disease yet

low values for dental caries and complete

lack of porotic hyperostosis. In other

Ecuadorean sites, especially the Guan-

gala site of OGSE-MA-172 infectious dis-

ease, caries, and porotic hyperostosis

occurred together in high frequencies in

what appeared to be a combined response

to problems of nutrition and sanitation

related to the shift with agriculture to

more settled, denser population centers

and to a less varied diet. These interpre-

tations apparently do not apply to La

Tolita and further suggest that the inter-

relationship of these variables is much

more complex than initially thought.

Division of the sample into the La To-

lita Clasico and the slightly later La Tolita

Tardio Periods enables a preliminary look

at intra-site temporal trends. The data

suggest that female stature remained con-

stant, while male stature, antemortem

loss of teeth and metatarsophalangeal al-

terations produced by kneeling increased

through time. The mean age at death, and

frequencies of trauma, infection, caries,

and alveolar abscesses decreased through

time at La Tolita.

Clearly, La Tolita samples are much

too small to substantiate these trends and

interpretations, but they document the

need for continued controlled excavation

at this important site to produce an aug-

mented sample of human remains and a

more complete picture of human biolog-

ical history in northwestern Ecuador.

References Cited

1. Valdez, Francisco. 1987. Proyecto Arqueologico

La Tolita (1983-1986). Quito: Museo del Banco

Central.

2. Ubelaker, D. H. 1981. The Ayalan Cemetery,

A Late Integration Period Burial Site on the

South Coast of Ecuador. Smithsonian Contri-

butions to Anthropology, No. 29. Washington,

Smithsonian Institution Press.

3. Ubelaker, D. H. 1984. Human Skeletal Remains,

Excavation, Analysis, Interpretation, revised

edition. Manuals on Archeology, 2. Washington:

Taraxacum.

4. Genoves, S. 1967. Proportionality of the Long

Bones and their Relation to Stature among

Mesoamericans. American Journal of Physical

Anthropology, 26:67—77.

5. Ubelaker, D. H. 1984. Prehistoric Human Bi-

ology of Ecuador: Possible Temporal Trends and

Cultural Correlations. Chapter 19 in Paleopath-

ology at the Origins of Agriculture, Cohen and

Armelagos ed. New York: Academic Press.

6. Ubelaker, D. H. 1983. Human Skeletal Remains

from OGSE-MA-172, An Early Guangala Cem-

etery Site on the Coast of Ecuador. Journal of

the Washington Academy of Sciences, Vol. 73,

No. 1, pp. 16-27.

Journal of the Washington Academy of Sciences,

Volume 78, Number 1, Pages 38-46, March 1988

Angiostrongyliasis Cantonensis

(Eosinophilic Meningitis):

Historical Events in its

Recognition as a New Parasitic

Disease of Man

Joseph E. Alicata*

Department of Animal Sciences, Parasitology Laboratory, University

of Hawaii, Honolulu, HI 96822

ABSTRACT

In April 1961 the rat lungworm, Angiostrongylus cantonensis was the principal suspect

as the etiological agent of the eosinophilic meningitis epidemics of 1948-1957 in the

Pacific.***° This was affirmed by: (a) presence of rat infection in all areas where the disease

occurred;*’* (b) human infection resulting from ingesting raw slugs*” and freshwater

prawns;” (c) experimental infection of simian primates;*"* and (d) recovery of the parasite

in human cases.*?*>4”5! These epidemics appear related to the spread of the giant African

snail, Achatina fulica, believed responsible for introducing the parasite to the Pacific area.”

Introduction

In the background leading to the rec-

ognition of angiostrongyliasis cantonensis

as a new parasitic disease of man, was the

occurrence of three epidemics of eosin-

ophilic meningitis of unknown etiology

in Micronesia, New Caledonia and Tahiti

from about 1948 to 1957. Rosen and as-

sociates in searching for the etiological

agent, theorized that the disease was

caused by a worm parasite in the skipjack

* Send all correspondence to: 1434 Punahou St.

Apt. 736, Honolulu, HI 96822

38

tuna or related fish eaten raw.” On the

other hand, Alicata in April, 1961,?*°

strongly suspected that the rat lungworm,

Angiostrongylus cantonensis (Fig. 1),

served as the etiological agent. This new

theory was soon confirmed by the inde-

pendent observations of previous and

subsequent investigators reported herein.

Their findings led to recognition of a new

parasitic disease of man, referred to as

angiostrongyliasis cantonensis’’ and Ali-

cata’s Disease.*!

The purpose of this paper is to sum-

marize the more important events that led

to the identification of the cause and

means of transmission of this new disease,

A NEW PARASITIC DISEASE OF MAN 39

Fig. 1. Angiostrongylus cantonensis: adult male

and female. x 1.3 (Alicata and Jindrak, 1970)

and to reflect as to why, previously un-

known in the Pacific, its appearance oc-

curred in this area about the middle of

this century.

Important Historical Dates and Events

1933

Chen in 1933 observed lungworm ne-

matodes among rats in Canton, China,”

and in 1935 described them under the

name of Pulmonema cantonensis.*> Mat-

sumoto in 1937 found similar parasites in

Taiwan;”’ in the same year, Yokogawa de-

scribed them as Haemostrongylus ratti.*

Later the parasite was established tax-

onomically by Dougherty in 1946 as An-

giostrongylus cantonensis.”°

1945

Nomura and Lin, 1945, were first to

observe the presence of young adult ne-

matodes A. cantonensis (but referred to as

H. ratti) in the cerebrospinal fluid that

they had casually recovered from a pa-

tient with symptoms of meningitis.” Al-

though they did not definitely associate

this parasite with the disease, nor make

further investigations, they suspected that

food eaten raw by the patient before the

illness might have been contaminated by

rats. The report of these authors was pub-

lished in Japanese in a local medical jour-

nal but failed to appear in abstracting

journals. The reference was later cited in

English by Hsieh in 1959,*° though this

also remained unknown generally until

1964, when most of the original report

by Nomura and Lin was translated into

English.” This translation, however, ap-

peared after Alicata had already incrim-

inated A. cantonensis as the cause of the

eosinophilic meningitis epidemic in Ta-

hiti.?"°

1948

In 1948, Bailey and two other officers

of the Naval Medical Institute, Bethesda,

Maryland, were assigned to investigate a

supposed epidemic of encephalitis caused

by a viral agent among natives of the is-

land of Ponape, Micronesia.’® In their

original serological investigation of the

disease all findings proved negative for

virus, bacteria, rickettsia, leptospira, and

certain protozoa and helminths. Clini-

cally, however, they recognized that some

of the patients exhibited stiffness of the

neck without true rigidity, presence of

skin hyperesthesia, and pleocytosis with

a high percentage of eosinophils in the

cerebrospinal fluid in about half of the

patients examined. These findings were

finally designated by them as cases of eo-

sinophilic meningitis of a character not

previously reported in the literature and

of unknown etiology.

LODE

Trubert in 1956 reported an epidemic

in New Caledonia of a benign form of

eosinophilic meningitis in more than 930

persons. This was first observed in 1951,

and was of unknown etiology.* Clinically,

it was similar to that reported earlier in

Ponape."®

40 JOSEPH E. ALICATA

1957-1960

Franco et al. in 1960 reported cases of

eosinophilic meningitis in Tahiti of un-

known etiology, which they had observed

since 1957.”

Rosen et al. similarly reported cases in

Tahiti during 1958-1960. In search of

the etiological agent, and as result of ex-

tensive clinical and epidemiological. ob-

servations, they theorized that the disease

was caused by a helminth parasite of the

skipjack tuna or other variety of pelagic

fish commonly eaten raw in the area.

Their speculation of a hypothetical par-

asite as the etiological agent was based on

the presence of an eosinophilic syndrome,

a factor often associated with an invasion

of the host by helminth parasites. As far

as is known, the above theory has not

been confirmed.*°

During 1960, Vaillant et al. from their

clinical and laboratory observation of

cases of fish poisoning (ciguatera) and

eosinophilic meningitis in New Cale-

donia, postulated that a common ther-

mostable toxin resulting from the eating

of certain fish, might be involved in these

maladies.” This theory, as yet unproved,

failed to take into account the absence of

eosinophilic meningitis in the Samoas and

Fiji, where fish poisoning was known to

occur.** The cases of eosinophilic men-

ingitis that occurred in American Samoa

in 1979 were believed to be caused by a

recent introduction of the rat lungworm,

most likely by the giant African snail,

Achatina fulica.*

1961-1967

In 1961 Alicata incriminated the rat

lungworm, Angiostrongylus cantonensis,

as the cause of the eosinophilic meningitis

epidemic then occurring in Tahiti.* This

new theory, first communicated to Dr.

Leon Rosen of the U.S. Public Health

Service in an official letter dated April 5,

1961, stated “It is my strong suspicion that

the syndrome is produced by an invasion

of nematode larvae, and more specifically

>)

a species of Angiostrongylus,” viz. A.

cantonensis. (For full text of this letter,

see Alicata and Jindrak 1970,* p. 6.) This

letter was submitted soon after Rosen and

associates had sent a manuscript for pub-

lication in which they theorized that the

disease in Taihiti was caused by a hel-

minth parasite of the skipjack tuna or

other pelagic fish eaten raw in the area.™

The rat lungworm theory was based on

a 1955 report by Mackerras and Sandars

which revealed that the infective larvae

of A. cantonensis normally and obliga-

torily migrated and partially developed in

the brain of the rat host before migrating

to the lungs, and producing an inflam-

matory reaction.* With the finding in

1960 of the rat lungworm in Hawaii'® Al-

icata suspected that it might have been

introduced recently in Hawaii, because in

1938 the characteristic pulmonary lesions

of angiostrongylosis were not observed

among rats surveyed for trichinosis in the

Hawaiian Islands.’

Beginning in 1961, the following are the

major chronological events in the search

for the causative agent of eosinophilic

meningitis in Tahiti, the then area of at-

tention.

1. According to Massal*° early in 1961,

Rosen and B. J. Myers went to Tahiti

to investigate a variety of marine fish

(“‘ature’’, “orare’’, bonite et thons) in

search of the hypothetical parasite

suspected of being responsible for

eosinophilic meningitis, but they

were unsuccessful.

2. On April 5, 1961, Alicata notified

Rosen of the new proposed rat lung-

worm theory and the need for its in-

vestigation.” In addition, on April 18,

1961, he made plans to travel to Ta-

hiti that June to ascertain the pres-

ence of A. cantonensis in wild rats in

the area.’

3. On May 2, 1961, Rosen*! with the as-

sistance of associates in Hawaii, se-

cured the entire preserved brain of a

mental patient who had died in a local

hospital for diverse pathology, in-

A NEW PARASITIC DISEASE OF MAN 41

cluding eosinophilic meningitis. A

few nematodes were recovered from

this brain and, on May 5, 1961, were

identified by Mrs. M. B. Chitwood

(personal communication) as those of

Angiostrongylus cantonensis. It is of

interest to note that even though this

finding was a direct affirmation of the

rat lungworm theory, Rosen doubted

that A. cantonensis was responsible

for the disease in Tahiti. As a result,

he wrote an official letter dated May

18, 1961 to an associate (Dr. E. Mas-

sal) in Tahiti stating ‘““One direct way

of ruling this parasite out is to show

that it does not occur in rats in Tahiti.

If present however, this fact alone

does not establish it as a causative

agent.

. In June 1961, wild rats in Tahiti were

found to harbor lungworms, A. can-

tonensis.*

. Later in June 1961, an observation

was made in Hawaii of a patient who

developed achy feelings, skin hyper-

esthesia, and eosinophilia in the cere-

brospinal fluid. This occurred ten

days after the patient willfully ate two

veronicellid slugs collected from an

area where similar slugs were later

found to be infected with third-stage

larvae of A. cantonensis.*”

. In the autumn of 1961, late third-

stage larvae of A. cantonensis were

recovered from the brain of a young

squirrel-monkey five days after ex-

perimental infection with homolo-

gous third-stage larvae.*

. In February 1962, freshwater prawns

in Tahiti were found to serve as par-

atenic (carrier) host for infective An-

glostrongylus larvae. It was further

ascertained from questioning patients

that consumption of raw prawns and

“taioro’’—the latter a coconut sauce

prepared by adding prawn juice,

either of which may harbor infective

Angiostrongylus larvae—served as an

important source of human infec-

tion.”

8. In 1962, experiments showed that in-

fective larvae of A. cantonensis pro-

duced eosinophilic meningitis in an

adult monkey, Macacus rhesus."*

9. Experimental data showed that mu-

rine angiostrongylosis was present in

all areas where eosinophilic menin-

gitis had been investigated, including

Hawaii and Tahiti,* New Caledonia,’

Rarotonga” and Micronesia.°

10. It was theorized that the giant African

snail, Achatina fulica, was largely re-

sponsible for the spread of the rat

lungworm infection in Asia and sev-

eral islands of the North Pacific."

Conclusions from the above results of

systematic field, laboratory, and clinical

observations, plus animal experimenta-

tion, led Alicata and associates to prove

the major aspects of the rat lungworm

theory.” This theory was further substan=

tiated by recovering at autopsy the rat

lungworm from the brain of a patient who

had died of eosinophilic meningitis,* plus

similar autopsy reports from Vietnam,”

Thailand,” and Taiwan.” As a result, all

these findings assisted in confirming

the etiological role of the rat lungworm,

A. cantonensis, in cases of eosinophilic

meningitis in the Pacific Basin.*!

Discussion

One of the important features concern-

ing eosinophilic meningitis in the Pacific

was the casual concomitant finding of this

disease in Taiwan with that of A. canto-

nensis,*? a parasite which later was first

theorized and subsequently proven to be

the etiological agent of the disease.*!

Historically, before the above findings,

eosinophilic meningitis was unknown in

the Pacific. As theorized by Alicata,’® the

parasite was introduced in recent times

with the incoming and spread of the giant

African snail, Achatina fulica (Fig. 2), in

the southern and eastern borders of Asia

and several of the northern Pacific islands

(Fig. 3). 3

42 JOSEPH E.

ALICATA

Fig. 2. The giant African snail, Achatina fulica. Natural size. (Alicata, 1966)

A. fulica is not only an ideal interme-

diate host for A. cantonensis but, as a

scavenger, it is also able to travel exten-

sively during wet conditions, feeding on

all kinds of rotting vegetation, dead ani-

mals, and animal excreta. Mead” reports

that man appears to have been directly or

indirectly the chief dispersing agent. A.

fulica was found in Madagascar before

1900, Ceylon in 1900, and Malaya in 1911.

It was later found in eastern China about

1931, Taiwan in 1932, Okinawa in 1934,

and thence was imported into Micronesia

in 1938. It was found in Hawaii in 1936,

and according to Beck et al. 7° in Samoa

about 1975. The effects of this migration

seem to demonstrate how a snail, with the

help of man, enabled A. cantonensis to

bring pestilence to a considerable portion

of the North Pacific Basin.

In connection with the above distribu-

tion of the snail, angiostrongyliasis was

reported in Taiwan, Guam, Hawaii, Pon-

ape, Saipan, and Samoa 12, 25, 23, 8, 20,

and 4 years, respectively after A. fulica

was introduced to those islands. A. can-

tonensis was first observed in the rat pop-

ulation in China in 1933, Taiwan in 1937,

Guam and Ponape in 1955, Saipan in

1963, and the Philippines in 1965.'°

Although A. fulica is not known to oc-

cur in New Caledonia where angiostron-

gyliasis is endemic, it has been suggested

that the parasite was transported there by

infected mollusks or rats from Southeast

Asia before World War II, possibly in

connection with the importation of a large

number of contract laborers for work in

the nickel mines and plantations of New

Caledonia.’® From there, it is likely that

the parasite was introduced by way of

oceanic trade routes to Tahiti and the

Cook islands. In this connection, cases of

eosinophilic meningitis occurred in New

Caledonia in 1951, Tahiti in 1957, and

Rarotonga in 1958. Moreover, evidence

indicates that before 1957, the disease was

unknown in Tahiti. Since the present hu-

man infection in this area is believed to

be acquired largely by consuming fresh-

water prawns, and since the custom of

eating these crustaceans goes back many

A NEW PARASITIC DISEASE OF MAN 43

Altice

yg %%

Trek Pohope

1938 4 8=61938

#

eo" / BY Sslomert gg x8 ESTOS ESTE TO Sey

w40 4, / -* *s

j om we tence ®

1 4 i : — , £jwe : Tohiti |

} 5 A Fm, Srebrides }

ge Ay ; Xe’ A Fiji karctonge a

z ‘ a. -

% Z % a . j

| teabege sca: AE: zs <=” > teledonis |

| befeze 1800 &é Aesirelia .

_a_ * Z i

g A

Cy r

AMT 5 SS a TE os SAAS DED ND A NE |

Fig. 3. Solid lines: routes and approximate dates of dispersal of Achatina fulica from East Africa to the

Pacific Islands (adopted) with revision from Mead (1961) with permission of the University of Chicago

Press). Dashed lines: theoretical method of dispersal of the rat lungworm, Angiostrongylus cantonensis,

from South East Asia to the islands of South Pacific and Australia. Plain stars show where lungworms

have been found in rats. Circled stars show where angiostrongyliasis cantonensis has been reported. (Alicata,

1966)

generations, it is apparent that the in-

fection of prawns with A. cantonensis

occurred in recent times. It appears there-

fore that the surge of epidemics of the

disease in the Pacific occurred because

the islanders were unaware that their

food, commonly eaten raw, had recently

become contaminated by an introduced

parasite in their environment.

Angiostrongyliasis is known to be

found in areas where murine angiostron-

gylosis is endemic. The sources of infec-

tion include a variety of mollusks and

paratenic hosts”!! that infect humans by

being eaten raw or undercooked, being

eaten accidentally with salad greens or

ripe fruits, or eaten raw for supposed ben-

eficial or curative qualities.

Some of the important varieties of hosts

reported in the transmission of A. can-

tonensis to man include:

1. Mollusks: Achatina fulica, a land

snail;*°? Pila ampullacea, an amphib-

ious snail;*’ and Cipangapaludina chi-

nensis, an aquatic snail.*' Included are

the land slugs Laevicaulus alte and

Vaginalus plebeius.'*

2. Paratenic hosts: Macrobrachium sp., a

freshwater prawn; species of land

planarians as suspected in New Cale-

donia;”!’ species of frogs and toads, as

reported in the Ryukyu; and possibly

certain species of amphibious®*® and

land crabs.°

In addition to the above, the pelagic

fish Trachurops crumenophthalmus (also

referred to as “‘ature”’ and “‘akule’’) was

found experimentally in 1967 to serve as

carrier host for third-stage larvae of A.

cantonensis.*° In these experiments, even

though the number of larvae recovered

44 JOSEPH E.

from the fish was found greatly reduced

within a few weeks after infection, some

remained alive and infective for 29 days—

the longest period tested. It was reported

then that to incriminate this fish as a pos-

sible source of human infection, it is nec-

essary to show the presence of the larval

parasites in the fish in nature. This has

not been confirmed to date. There is no

record that marine fish in the Pacific are

a source of angiostrongyliasis. In Hawaii

raw fish (“sashimi’’), derived from at

least six types of marine fish including

‘“akule’’, is eaten by many islanders, es-

pecially those of oriental ancestry. Ac-

cording to the Communicable Disease

Division of the Hawaii State Department

of Health, no case of eosinophilic men-

ingitis (angiostrongyliasis) has yet been

reported in Hawaii as transmitted by the

eating of raw fish ‘‘sashimi’’ (personal

communication, November 6, 1986). Al-

though cases of angiostrongyliasis have

been reported in Hawaii since 1961,”

the source when known has been traced

to the consumption of either raw snails”

or slugs.” In one case, the mother of a

13-month-old-boy found a small snail in

the child’s mouth before the onset of the

illness.”

Conclusion

Evidence indicates that eosinophilic

meningitis first occurred in the Pacific Is-

lands in the middle of this century, fol-

lowing the incoming of the giant African

snail, Achatina fulica, believed responsi-

ble for the introduction of the rat lung-

worm, Angiostrongylus cantonensis in the

area.

The first evidence of the relationship of

the rat lungworm with eosinophilic men-

ingitis was the concomitant finding of

young adult A. cantonensis in the cere-

brospinal fluid of a patient suffering with

symptoms of meningitis in 1945.

In the wake of three epidemics of eo-

sinophilic meningitis in the Pacific be-

ALICATA

tween 1948 to 1957, the rat lungworm was

first theorized and later proven to be the

etiological agent of eosinophilic menin-

gitis, and this became recognized as a new

parasitic disease of man referred to as

“angiostrongyliasis cantonensis’’.

The source of human infection lies in

the consumption of raw mollusks (snails

and slugs), which serve as intermediate

hosts of the parasite, or the consumption

of raw paratenic (carrier) hosts harboring

the infective third-stage larvae derived

from feeding on infected mollusks. Such

carrier or transport hosts thus far reported

include naturally infected freshwater

prawns, land planarians, species of frogs

and toads, and possibly crabs.

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the Hawaiian Islands. U.S. Public Health Serv-

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Rosen, Laboratory of Tropical Diseases, Na-

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dated April 5, 1961, suspecting Angiostrongylus

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Journal of the Washington Academy of Sciences,

Volume 78, Number 1, Pages 47-58, March 1988

The Portuguese Voyages of

Discovery and the Emergence of

Modern Science

Daniel Banes, Ph.D.

The American University, Washington, D.C.

ABSTRACT

The successes of the Portuguese voyages of discovery depended upon the continuous

application of scientific theory and technology to navigational problems. In establishing

its colonial empire, the royal house of Portugal encouraged wide-ranging scientific re-

searches to ensure Portuguese naval supremacy and to enhance trade advantages. Among

the leaders in the Portuguese scientific ventures were scholars of Jewish origin—Yehuda

ibn Verga, Joseph Vizinho, Abraham Zacuto, Garcia da Orta, Pedro Nunes, and others.

Their work, emulated and expanded by scientists in the other maritime nations of Western

Europe, was a major factor in the emergence of modern science.

Introduction

Before the mid-fifteenth century, sci-

entific attainments were seemingly as far

advanced in China, India, Southwestern

Asia and the Levant as in Western Eu-

rope. But the next hundred years wit-

nessed a radical change. Investigations in

several domains of science suddenly pro-

liferated in Western Europe. Researches

abounded in astronomy and mathematics,

in geography and chemistry, in medicine

and physics. During the following cen-

turies, modern science burgeoned in

Western Europe with an ever-accelerat-

ing rate of growth.

Historians have offered a variety of an-

swers to the basic question: Why did early

modern science emerge in Western Eu-

rope when it did, and then develop there

47

almost exclusively? The various causes

adduced have included: the invention of

printing in Western Europe around 1453;

the Turkish dismemberment of the Byz-

antine Empire and the release of Greek

scientific treatises into Western Europe,

especially after the capture of Constan-

tinople in 1453; the recovery of scientific

documents from monastery libraries; the

inspirational example of Renaissance hu-

manists; the rise of the independent, crit-

ical spirit that culminated in the

Reformation; and the seminal antecedent

labors of medieval scholars in the uni-

versities of Paris and Oxford, in Northern

Italy, and elsewhere in Western Europe.

Although closer scrutiny has shown

that some of these alleged causative fac-

tors derived from mythology rather than

verifiable historiography, some of them

48 DANIEL BANES

proved authentic. The mainstream of

evolving science is fed by many rivulets

and by mighty major tributaries. Among

the tributaries insufficiently explored

heretofore have been the scientific cir-

cumstances attending the voyages of dis-

covery in the century and a half between

1400 and 1550. The results of documen-

tary researches are cited here to demon-

_ strate that the Portuguese voyages of

discovery operated as a major contribu-

tary factor in the emergence of early mod-

ern science.

1. Prince Henry the Navigator and the

Catalan Connection

Prince Henry the Navigator provided

the resources and the driving force for an

ambitious project to discover an all-water

route from Portugal around southern Af-

rica to the lands of the Orient. In 1418,

he forsook the court of his father, King

John I, and set up his permanent opera-

tions headquarters in Sagres at the south-

westernmost tip of Europe. He then

proceeded in a manner that has become

characteristic of executives responsible

for administering vast experimental pro-

grams in science and technology. He as-

sembled the qualified personnel available

in Portugal and, finding them inade-

quately trained for his purposes, he ac-

tively recruited experienced scientists and

technicians from foreign sources. He

hired sailors and shipbuilders from Italy

and Scandinavia and Morocco to instruct

his Portuguese crews on the intricacies of

building rugged vessels and on the knack

of sailing long distances over uncharted

waters. In 1419, his mariners sighted and

took possession of Madeira, about 600

miles southwest of Sagres and about 450

miles west of the Moroccan coast. Soon

afterwards, Prince Henry invited an out-

standing Catalonian scientist to serve as

his chief cosmographer, cartographer,

and instrument-maker; to supervise and

coordinate the activities of his growing

scientific staff; and to indoctrinate his

technicians in their professional duties.

John de Barros, writing more than a cen-

tury afterwards, has provided the classical

account of these events. In need of guid-

ance for the exploitation of the recent dis-

coveries, Prince Henry ‘‘summoned

Mestre Jacome, of the isle of Mallorca, a

man who was much learned in the art of

navigation and in making charts and in-

struments; it was at great expense, but he

brought forth in this Realm, by his in-

doctrination of scientific knowledge, a

proficiency in that craft among the Por-

tuguese.”’ [Barros, 1539].

The identity of Mestre Jacome has been

the subject of intense research. Jaime

Cortesao [1980] recently declared that

this identity dispute has been definitively

resolved: Mestre Jacome has been une-

quivocally identified as Jaime de Mal-

lorca, well known as Jafuda son of

Abraham Cresques the cartographer of

Mallorca and author of the celebrated

Catalan Atlas or Mappamundi of 1375.

(It should be noted for the record, how-

ever, that lingering doubts about this

“unequivocally definitive” identification

remain unappeased in some skeptical

quarters. See, for example, Vernet [1978]

and Grosjean [1978]).

The accumulated knowledge exhibited

in Abraham Cresques’ Mappamundi of

1375, and in the Mallorcan portolanos

that preceded it, was a tribute to the ve-

racity of the wide-ranging Catalonian and

Italian explorers. The accuracy of these

charts was particularly impressive when

they were compared to maps of the thir-

teenth century. Regarding these earlier

maps, J. K. Wright [1965] wryly ob-

served: ‘“‘What strikes us first is their ex-

traordinary inaccuracy.” But, “‘when,

during the latter years of the thirteenth

century, the sailors of the Mediterranean,

driven by the necessity of securing reliable

aids to navigation, began piece by piece

to construct marine charts upon which the

contours of the coasts were shown with

an approach to modern correctness, we

have indeed a revolution in cartographic

PORTUGUESE VOYAGES OF DISCOVERY 49

art and geographical science.” [Wright,

1965].

By the middle of the fourteenth cen-

tury, Mallorca had become the chief cen-

ter for portalano construction, and map-

making later became a specialty of Jewish

scientists. The kings of Aragon, eager to

stimulate commerce, encouraged Mallor-

can research in the navigational sciences,

in mathematics and astronomy, and in the

manufacture of magnetic compasses, as-

trolabes, clockworks, and other scientific

instruments. The royal archives of Ara-

gon in the fourteenth century contained

frequent references to Jewish scientists

engaged in these pursuits. According to

Grosjean [1978], Abraham Cresques was

mentioned at least twenty-one times. He

was honored as a “Companion of the

King” and as a ‘““Master of Mappamundis

and Compasses.” Upon Abraham’s death

in 1387, his son and associate Jafuda Cres-

ques was accorded similar encourage-

ments, honors, and titles.

However, after 1391, Mallorcan sci-

entific pursuits and commercial activities

virtually ceased. The cataclysmic po-

groms that swept Spain in 1391 wiped out

the Jewish community of Mallorca. Many

Jews were killed. Some escaped and

found havens in Genoa and Algiers; they,

like Portugal and England, had been for-

mer trading partners of Mallorca. Some

Jews, among them Jafuda Cresques, sub-

mitted to forced conversion. Jafuda was

baptized under the name of Jaime Ribes.

He migrated to Barcelona, the mainland

capital, around 1400. But the new king

showed little interest in the sciences or in

nautical ventures. The ensuing decline in

the maritime activities of Catalonia and

all of Aragon may have been one of the

_ considerations that induced Master Ja-

come of Mallorca to accept Prince Hen-

ry’s invitation to Sagres. Whether Henry’s

imported expert was indeed Jafuda Cres-

ques alias Jaime de Mallorca, or some

other Mallorcan scientist who specialized

in cartography and instruments, he

brought credentials assuring that his Por-

tuguese clients would receive the full ben-

efit of the most recent Catalan advances

in geography and the nautical sciences.

Cresques’ Atlas of 1375, based chiefly

upon the observational data of Catalan

and Genoese explorers and Muslim and

Jewish travelers, showed several groups

of islands off the western coast of Africa,

approximately where Madeira, the

Azores, and the Canaries are actually lo-

cated. Furthermore, the northwest coast

of Africa was depicted in detail to a point

south of Cape Bojador beyond the River

of Gold; and Guinea, Mali, and Timbuktu

were indicated in their proper situation.

The 1413 planisphere of Mecia de Vilad-

estes, identified as a Catalan Jew related

to the Cresques family, reconfirmed these

features and added further intriguing de-

tails. The Atlantic islands west of Africa

and Cape Bojador on the coast became

the immediate objectives of Prince Hen-

ry’s expeditions under the guidance of his

new chief scientist, Jacome of Mallorca.

After years of hesitant probings, unpro-

ductive reconnaissances, and grumbling

in high places about ruinous wastes of re-

sources by quixotic scientists, the Portu-

guese expeditions reached both Cape

Bojador and the Azores in 1434. Soon

thereafter, shiploads of African gold,

ivory, and slaves came into harbor at Lis-

bon and Oporto, rejoicing Prince Henry’s

more materialistic relatives as well.

The terminal date of Mestre Jacome’s

career in Portugal has not been estab-

lished. Some time before 1439, he had

been succeeded as chief cartographer by

the Catalan Jew Gabriel de Valseca,

thought to have been a relative of the

Mallorcan Cresques family. Valseca’s

map of 1439 displayed the Azores archi-

pelago with exact accuracy, and declared

that the islands had been discovered re-

cently by the King of Portugal’s brave

mariners.

When Prince Henry died at Sagres in

1460, his navigators had pushed south-

ward to the Cape Verde Islands off the

coast of Senegal and his pioneers had

reached Sierra Leone on the African

coast, 8° north of the equator. Thereafter,

50 DANIEL BANES

southward progress slackened. One of the

difficulties besetting the enterprise, even

in Henry’s time, was the problem of de-

termining ship’s latitude accurately. The

navigator of a ship north of the equator

can estimate its latitude simply as long as

the north star (the “‘pole star’’) is visible.

It is necessary only to measure the alti-

tude of the north star by means of a sight-

ing instrument such as a quadrant or an

astrolabe. At first approximation, the lat-

itude of the ship is the same as the ob-

served altitude of the north star. But as

the Portuguese explorers approached the

equator, the north star disappeared from

view. It became necessary to develop a

new method for determining latitudes.

A solution to the problem was under-

taken by Yehuda ibn Verga [1457], a

Jewish scientist working at Lisbon,

presumably in collaboration with Prince

Henry’s staff. Several of ibn Verga’s He-

brew manuscripts on scientific subjects

are among the holdings of the Biblio-

théque Nationale in Paris. They include:

Kitzur ha-Mispar (‘An Abridged Arith-

metic’); Keli ha-Ofek, (‘Instrument of

the Horizon’’); L’dat Middoth Kol D’var

(“Method for the Measurement of All

Objects”; B’ohr l Luhot sh’ Ahsa ha-Me-

lekh Don Alfonso (‘‘Explication of the

Alfonsine Tables’’) and Pirush Alfargani

(“Commentary on al-Fargani’s Astron-

omy’’). The contents of these treatises are

highly suggestive. They include edifying

information on the daily positions of the

sun at mid-day, instrumental methods for

measuring these positions accurately, and

rudimentary discussions of astronomy

and arithmetical calculations. These com-

ponents were identical with the basic

elements of the successful procedure

elaborated after 1482 by Abraham Za-

cuto, Joseph Vizinho, Master Rodrigo,

and their colleagues, under the sponsor-

ship of King John II of Portugal.

2. Abraham Zacuto, Joseph Vizinho

and the Almanach Perpetuum

In 1482, King John II energetically re-

sumed the unfinished project of his great-

uncle Prince Henry the Navigator. He ap-

pointed a three-membered junta, a board

of scientific advisors, under the leader-

ship of his Jewish physicians Joseph

Vizinho and Master Rodrigo, with the

charge of solving the latitude problem.

Vizinho consulted his teacher Abraham

Zacuto of Salamanca, distinguished Pro-

fessor of Astronomy at the University of

Saragossa. Zacuto had earlier completed

his Hebrew astronomical treatise Ha-

Hibbur ha-Godol (‘The Great Codex’’)

incorporating the scientific findings of Ye-

huda ibn Verga and many other eminent

predecessors. In particular, Zacuto’s trea-

tise contained elaborately detailed tables

on the position of the sun at mid-day for

every day of the year, as well as: the po-

sitions and visibility of the moon, the

planets and the fixed stars; data for the

prediction of eclipses; and calendrical and

other astronomical information. Using

Yehuda ibn Verga’s approach, Zacuto,

Vizinho, and Rodrigo worked up a the-

oretical method for calculating latitude at

sea by comparing the observed altitude of

the sun at mid-day on shipboard with the

altitude given in Zacuto’s table of solar

declinations for his latitude in northern

Spain.

But many a searching field test was

required before the validity of the theo-

retical method could be established.

According to Barros [1539], Columbus

later reported that Vizinho sailed with

Bartholomeu Dias to the Gulf of Guinea

south of the equator around 1485. There

they conducted experiments on shipboard

sightings of the sun by means of astrolabes

and quadrants, with repeated calculations

of the estimated latitude. They then “ran

down the latitude’ eastward to land on

the African coast, where more accurate

measurements were obtainable, and they

verified the validity of their estimates.

Their procedures prospered so well that

within two years, Bartholomeu Dias

brought the grand experimental project

to its successful culmination when his ves-

sels rounded the Cape of Good Hope and

confidently proceeded northward along

the east coast of Africa. The last leg of

PORTUGUESE VOYAGES OF DISCOVERY 51

the sea route from Portugal to India was

now firmly within the realm of the fea-

sible. Arabic and Jewish merchants had

routinely sailed between the eastern shore

of Africa and harbors in India for many

centuries before 1487.

Vizinho [1496] translated Zacuto’s

treatise into Latin and prepared tables of

the most pertinent information for the use

of the Portuguese navigators. Vizinho and

Rodrigo had earlier combined the data on

solar declinations with a Portuguese ex-

tract of al-Fargani’s ““Rudiments of As-

tronomy” and an exposition on latitude

calculations employing accurate instru-

ments. The result of their work, corrected

by Zacuto, was the Regimento do Astro-

labio e do Quadrante. This compilation,

a fundamental textbook on scientific in-

strument-aided navigation remained in

use for more than a century, and influ-

enced succeeding treatises for many a

century thereafter.

In 1492, when Ferdinand and Isabella

expelled the Jews from Spain, Zacuto mi-

grated to Portugal at the invitation of

King John II. He was appointed Astron-

omer Royal, an appointment that was

renewed by King Manoel when he

succeeded to the throne in 1495.

The duties of Abraham Zacuto as Por-

tuguese Royal Astronomer included tu-

toring pilots and navigators on the

mathematical and astronomical aspects of

their nautical operations; constructing

special astrolabes and quadrants for use

on land or on shipboard; and providing

written documents for the instruction of

officers on the use of the instruments and

observations involving data derived from

the Almanach Perpetuum. The Portu-

guese historians and chroniclers have

noted that he fulfilled all of his duties

most nobly when Vasco da Gama, his of-

ficers, and his crew were briefed before

their departure on the historic voyage of

1497 from Lisbon to India. It was Zacu-

to’s last recorded service to Portuguese

science and scientific technology. In that

year, he parted from Vizinho and quitted

Iberia for exile in Muslim lands, when

King Manoel decreed the forced conver-

sion of all Jews in Portugal to Christianity.

In the same upheaval that resulted in

Zacuto’s departure from Portugal, Joseph

Vizinho submitted to conversion. His sub-

sequent career was far less eventful than

his earlier years when he was chief sci-

entist and confidential advisor to Portu-

guese kings. In that dual capacity, Vi-

zinho had dealt in the 1480s with

Christopher Columbus and his proposal

that the King of Portugal finance an ex-

pedition to reach Cathay by sailing di-

rectly westward from the Azores. After

much discussion in many a conference,

Vizinho recommended to King John II

that the proposal be rejected, for several

cogent reasons.

Vizinho held, correctly, that Columbus

grossly underestimated the distance be-

tween Portugal and China. Even with the

most inspired instrument-aided naviga-

tion, and with the largest and soundest of

vessels, no provisioning or crew could sur-

vive a contemplated voyage of such du-

ration. Besides, the royal exchequer was

already strained because of the continuing

sixty-year investment in the probes down

the African coast—a protracted set of ex-

periments that now, finally, seemed just

at the verge of a successful consumma-

tion. Reason and the scientific facts were

with Vizinho, but destiny was with Co-

lumbus.

It is noteworthy that Christopher Co-

lumbus, who achieved his greatest fame

in his voyages under Spanish sponsorship,

had previously served for many years in

the Portuguese fleets. He received pilot

training under Portuguese officers; he

commanded Portuguese vessels; and he

learned the mathematical and astronom-

ical basis of instrument-aided navigation

by studying the methods of Vizinho and

Zacuto. One of the extant copies of Za-

cuto’s and Vizinho’s Latin version of the

Almanach Perpetuum, now in Seville,

probably belonged to Columbus. It bears

marginal notes said to be in Columbus’

handwriting. It was also said to have

saved the lives of Columbus and his crew

52 DANIEL BANES

during one of his later voyages, when he

overawed and overcame violently hostile

Indians by using Zacuto’s tables to predict

the onset and duration of a complete solar

eclipse, thus showing his magical mastery

of the heavens.

Bartholomeu Dias worked with Vi-

zinho and Zacuto to verify the practical

applicability of their theoretical method

for determining the latitude of a ship at

sea. Vasco da Gama, Cabral (who dis-

covered Brazil) and Ferdinand Magellan

were natives of Portugal who were trained

in the Portuguese maritime service from

the days of their youth. Thus, all of the

five most famous sea captains in the great

age of exploration were indoctrinated in

the scientific schools of Zacuto and Vi-

zinho.

For these and other reasons, Portu-

guese and Spanish historians have ac-

knowledged that Jewish scholars were

preeminently influential in Iberian sci-

entific enterprises before and during the

great age of exploration. In his biography

entitled Christopher Columbus, Salvador

de Madariaga [1949] declared: ‘““Cosmog-

raphy, map-drawing, astronomy were

then, we know, if not exclusively, pre-

dominantly Jewish occupations ...

[There was a] .. . strong proportion of

Jewish master-cosmographers amongst

the men of science whom Prince Henry

had of old gathered at Sagres. At the time

of Colon’s arrival in Lisbon, the leader of

these learned Jews was Mestre Joseph Vi-

zinho, the King’s physician, a pupil of the

celebrated Spanish-Jewish astronomer

Abraham Zacuto.”’

Columbus himself went even further.

As de Madariaga reported on page 93 of

his biography, Columbus had written in

the margin of a book discussing the pro-

ficiency of Jewish astronomers: “‘All peo-

ples received their astronomy from the

Jews.” De Madariaga’s more cautious

formulation almost coincided with the as-

sessment that Albuquerque [1962] as-

cribed to Bensaude: “. . . os astrologos

Judeus desempenhado um papel prepon-

derante em tal dominio.” ““The Jewish as-

tronomers played a predominant role in

that domain.”” Albuquerque’s own con-

clusions were stated on page 275 of his

treatise: ‘““The texts that were used to pro-

duce the guidebooks and manuals for our

poilots reflect the Jewish astronomical

tradition. It was fortunate that Abraham

Zacuto was professor of astronomy at Sal-

amanca while his disciple Joseph Vizinho

was advisor to the King of Portugal. . .

Another favorable circumstance was the

fact that Yehuda Aben Verga, whose ta-

bles Zacuto utilized in composing his Al-

manach Perpetuum resided in Lisbon. . .

Starting in the eleventh and twelfth

centuries, Jews in successive generations

continually improved the tables of

ephemerides, up to the tabulations of Ja-

cob Poel, Ismael Bonfils, Aben Verga. . .

and finally Abraham Zacuto’s, the basis

of the nautical tables used by Portuguese

mariners in the Age of Discoveries... .

[Portugal] . . . was indebted to the rich

exotic learning of the Hebrew commu-

Milby

Abraham Zacuto’s indirect testimony

supported Albuquerque’s conclusions.

Judging from the Almanach Perpetuum,

Zacuto [1496] was an exemplary scientist

with scrupulous regard for accuracy, as

well as scrupulous care in acknowledging

the sources of his information. He named

eighteen scientists as his precursors in as-

tronomical work. Of those who had lived

within two centuries of the publication

date of the Almanach, all were Jews

whose treatises were originally written in

Hebrew (Jacob ben Makhir, Levi ben

Gershon, Jacob Poel, Isaac Alhadib and

Yehuda ibn Verga). Furthermore, of the

many scientific sourcebooks that Zacuto

cited, all were available to him in Hebrew

or Aramaic, including Hebrew transla-

tions of works originally written in Arabic

or Latin or Greek. Among these latter

works were the Alfonsine Tables (Latin)

credited to King Alfonso X and Isaac ibn

Said; the Arabic astronomical treatises

of Moses Maimonides and the Muslim sci-

entists al-Zarqali and Aben Ragel; and

two of the ancient Greek classics, namely

PORTUGUESE VOYAGES OF DISCOVERY 53

Ptolemy’s Almagest and Menelaos’ text

on spherical trigonometry. Zacuto also

approvingly quoted the Hebrew mathe-

matical and astronomical writings of the

medieval savant Abraham ibn Ezra, as

well as scientific statements of the ancient

Talmudic sage Mar Samuel. Thus, the tes-

timony of Abraham Zacuto points to an

uninterrupted chain of influential works

by Jewish scientists that extended from

Hellenistic times through the middle ages

and into early modern times.

The evidence cited here thus far has

demonstrated that the success of the Por-

tuguese voyages of discovery depended

upon the insightful utilization of scientific

technology and theoretical science. The

following sections consider the impact of

Portuguese enterprise on the emergence

of early modern science in the sixteenth

century.

3. The Objectives of Portuguese

Science in the Sixteenth Century

In 1400, before the great age of explo-

ration, Portugal was considered a minor

isolated kingdom, even among the realms

of the Iberian peninsula. Lisbon and

Oporto were merely convenient way sta-

tions for the Genoese and Catalan mer-

chant ships plying between the Mediter-

ranean Sea and ports in Flanders and

England. By 1550, Portugal had become

a world power whose armed fleets oper-

ated along the well-mapped coasts of Ja-

pan, China, India and the East Indies;

along the eastern and northern coasts of

South America; along the western and

eastern coasts of Africa; and in the At-

lantic waters of Europe. Lisbon became

an opulent commercial and financial cen-

ter handling vast and complicated trans-

actions. Lisbon was also the focal point

of the scientific research needed to en-

hance instrument-aided navigation and to

improve Portugal’s trading advantages.

These advantages depended, among other

factors, upon gunnery and firepower

overwhelmingly superior to the weaponry

available to native Asian, African and

Brazilian forces and upon the health and

proficiency of the Portuguese expedition-

ary forces.

Portuguese researches concerned with,

or in support of commercial, naval, and

military projects included far-reaching in-

vestigations on mathematics, drugs, the

practice of medicine, the chemistry of

metals, the physical theory of light, anal-

yses of ships’ motions and the trajectories

of projectiles, as well as improvements in

cartography and in nautical instruments.

Early in the sixteenth century, for ex-

ample, the balestilha or cross-staff, in-

vented by Levi ben Gershon around 1340

(also called the “‘Jacob’s staff’ or ‘‘as-

tronomer’s staff’) replaced the astrolabe

and the quadrant as the Portuguese nav-

igators’ most trusty instrument for meas-

uring solar altitudes and determining

ships’ latitudes. Spain and France soon

followed Portugal’s lead, adopting the

cross-staff as standard equipment for their

navies, also, just as they imitated Portu-

gal’s activities in science.

The scope of Portugal’s scientific re-

search programs in the sixteenth century

may be illustrated by brief references to

the accomplishments of several Portu-

guese scientists.

Francesco Faleiro (1480-1540) com-

bined an early career at sea with a later

career in his maturer years as a theoretical

scientist and a scientific administrator.

His elder brother Ruy, a trained astron-

omer, was Ferdinand Magellan’s boon

companion. When Magellan quitted the

Portuguese court and offered his services

to the Spanish crown, the brothers Faleiro

went with him. Francesco Faleiro ac-

companied Magellan in the Spanish

expedition that completed the first

circumnavigation of the globe (1519-

1522). Magellan died en route; Francesco

returned safely. Shortly afterwards, he

was appointed Director of the Royal

Nautical School at Seville. There he wrote

“the first true textbook on navigation”’

[Gomes Teixeira, 1925]. It relied heavily

54 DANIEL BANES

upon the methods of Zacuto, Vizinho and

their Portuguese successors. On the basis

of experimental work that the Faleiros

conducted jointly, Francesco “‘proposed

the first published method for determin-

ing the magnetic declination” [Gomes,

1925]. His suggested procedure for meas-

uring ships’ longitudes by calculations

based on observed magnetic declinations

proved untenable.

Francesco and Ruy Faleiro were Por-

tuguese Jews who probably had become

converts to Christianity before they trans-

ferred their allegiance from Portugal to

Spain. Their scientific careers, like the

nautical careers of Columbus and Magel-

lan, showed how richly Spain reaped

where Portugal had sown.

In the case of Dr. Garcia da Orta

(1498-1568), Portugal reaped rich bene-

fits by utilizing Spain’s cast-offs. Da Or-

ta’s parents were Jews who, like Abraham

Zacuto, had crossed the border from

Spain into Portugal during the expulsion

of 1492. Five years later, when King

Manoel initiated his conversion pro-

gram, the da Orta family accepted

Christianity. Garcia was born shortly

thereafter.

Having completed his medical training,

Dr. da Orta enlisted for overseas duty as

fleet physician to an expedition sailing for

Goa. He settled there permanently. In his

extensive medical practice he had ample

opportunity to study tropical diseases pre-

viously unknown to Western Europeans.

He also carefully examined medicinal and

edible plants of the Orient and experi-

mented with many of them for possible

cultivation in Europe. His book Colo-

quios dos simples e drogas he cousas me-

dicinals da India has been acclaimed as a

scientific and literary monument of Por-

tuguese culture in the sixteenth century.

It was translated into Latin in 1567, and

soon became a seminal text in the evolv-

ing modern sciences of pharmaceutical

botany, pharmacognosy, and epidemiol-

ogy.

Another Portuguese New Christian

who contributed significantly to the de-

velopment of the medical and pharma-

ceutical sciences was Amatus Lusitanus

(1511-1568). He practiced medicine and

engaged in medical research in the Low

Countries and in northern Italy contem-

poraneously with Vesalius. Amatus’ an-

atomical researches in collaboration with

Giovanni Canano disclosed the existence

of valves in the azygous veins, an impor-

tant clue in the chain of evidence that

permitted William Harvey to formulate

his theories on the circulation of the

blood. Amatus invented a method of

enema-feeding for patients with esopha-

geal obstructions and he devised instru-

ments for treating inflammations in mam-

mary tissues.

Among Amatus’ major contributions

to the medical sciences were his seven vol-

umes entitled Curiationum medicinalium

centuriae and his commentaries on Dios-

corides’ materia medica. Each of the Cen-

turiae described one hundred edifying

case histories of patients whom Amatus

had treated. They were obviously popu-

lar, for they were re-issued in many edi-

tions at many centers of learning in

Western Europe. The eminent historian

of science George Sarton [1955] con-

cluded that ““Amatus was at one and the

same time one of the leaders of clinical

medicine and one of the foremost expo-

nents of Dioscorides.”’

Another notable New Christian physi-

cian, Pedro Nunes (1502-1578) devoted

his attention to nautical affairs and related

pursuits in scientific research. He was

Portugal’s Chief Royal Cosmotographer

for several decades. In that post, he in-

doctrinated naval officers (including two

future kings of Portugal) on the carto-

graphic, mathematical and astronomical

aspects of instrument-aided navigation.

He was well-qualified to fulfill these du-

ties, for he was an accomplished cartog-

rapher, mathematician and astronomer,

as well as a prolific inventor of ingenious

nautical instruments. The catalogue of

Nunes’ successful researches for the en-

hancement of Portuguese naval suprem-

acy and the advancement of science

PORTUGUESE VOYAGES OF DISCOVERY 55

attested to his versatility and his brilli-

ance.

Nunes discovered the relationship be-

tween rhumb line sailing and great circle

sailing. He invented navigation charts

with curved rhumb lines some years be-

fore Mercator constructed loxodromic

terrestrial globes. He studied the math-

ematical properties of the loxodromic

curve and characterized it as a distinc-

tively generated spiral. He invented an

improved technique for determining lat-

itudes accurately that depended upon two

measurements of the solar altitude and

the azimuth. He studied the trigonometric

properties of spherical triangles and the

transformation of astronomical coordi-

nates. His work on the projection of a

sphere onto a plane led eventually to Mer-

cator’s famous cartographic projections.

He formulated interesting models for the

apparent motions of the sun, the moon

and other celestial bodies. He wrote a

commentary on the planetary theories of

George Peurbach, the associate of Re-

giomontanus who had been an immediate

forerunner of Copernicus. Nunes inves-

tigated the duration of day and night at

various latitudes, and he satisfactorily ex-

plained the phenomenon of “‘second twi-

light” or afterglow.

In the domain of mathematical physics,

Nunes applied algebraic and geometric

analyses to Aristotle’s problem regarding

the precise relationship between boat po-

sitions and oar movements in rowing. He

also studied the motion of bodies in air

as well as in water.

Nunes announced some of his findings

in Portuguese, but he published most usu-

ally in Latin for wider distribution of his

views among scholars in Western Europe.

In addition to his publications on original

scientific research, he wrote valuable his-

torical sketches and a textbook on arith-

metic, algebra, and geometry. He was a

poet whose sonnets in Portuguese have

been admired by knowledgeable literary

critics. He was an outstanding teacher. At

the University of Coimbra, where Nunes

served as Professor of Mathematics,

Christopher Clavius was his pupil. Clavius

later gained renown as “the Jesuit Eu-

clid’’; he instructed, befriended, and

sponsored Galileo in his younger days.

Nunes was also generous in transmitting

current scientific knowledge to his many

foreign admirers, such as Gemma Frisius

and Gerard Mercator of the Low Coun-

tries, and Dr. John Dee of England, with

whom he corresponded frequently.

Pedro Nunes, like Garcia da Orta and

Amatus Lusitanus, acted both as a role

model and as a conduit of new scientific

information to colleagues elsewhere in

Western Europe. The efforts of Portu-

guese scholars in the sixteenth century

signalled the emergence of early modern

science. Their influence catalyzed the

rapid evolution of modern science in the

seventeenth century. The course of these

events may be examined profitably by

considering the emergence of modern sci-

ence in Elizabethan England.

4. The Objectives of Science in

Elizabethan England

The fame of the Portuguese attain-

ments in commerce, in navigation, and in

science excited the admiration and emu-

lation of neighboring states in Western

Europe. Spain, France, the Netherlands,

England and other European nations av-

idly modelled their efforts in maritime

commerce and in scientific research after

the Portuguese pattern. The attitudes of

English scientists in the Elizabethan Age

were typical of the general European mil-

leu.

Francis Bacon (1562-1626) has been

recognized as one of the eminent philo-

sophical founding fathers of modern sci-

ence. His selections among the greatest

achievements of science up to his time are

enumerated in his utopian book The New

Atlantis. The inhabitants of this imaginary

principality prospered mightily because

they had adopted the methods of science

and scientific management that Bacon

56 DANIEL BANES

sketched in his Great Instauration, his Ad-

vancement of Learning and his Novum

Organum. On that island the Europeans

who were accorded the highest honors for

their benefactions were: first, ‘“Colum-

bus, that discovered the West Indies; also

the inventor of ships; your monk that was

the inventor of ordnance and of gunpow-

der; the inventor of music; the inventor

of letters; the inventor of printing; the

inventor of observations of astronomy;

the inventor of works in metal; the in-

ventor of glass; the inventor of silk of the

worm; the inventor of wine; the inventor

of corn and bread; the inventor of sug-

ars... .”’ [Bacon, 1858]. In his essay On

the True Greatness of Kingdoms and Es-

tates, Francis Bacon noted that ‘“The van-

tage of strength at sea (which is one of

the principal dowries of this Kingdom of

Great Britain) is great . . . because .

the wealth of both Indies seems in great

part but an accessory to the command of

the seas.”’ [Bacon, 1858]. His advocacy of

naval power was echoed by many bold

spirits, among whom Walter Raleigh was

prominent.

In 1585, Walter Raleigh had dispatched

Thomas Hariot (1560-1621), a promising

young cartographer, to explore the Vir-

ginia territories with a view to the future

settlement of English colonies. Armed

with various instruments, including the

cross-staff and ephemeris for determining

latitudes, Hariot and his companion John

White efficiently completed their survey.

Soon after, Hariot published a favorable

bulletin entitled A briefe and true report

of the new found land of Virginia. He as-

sured his readers that, in addition to an

abundance of edible plants and animals,

the new territories were blessed with

“grass silk and worm silk;” iron, copper,

and silver; pearls; sugar; dyestuffs; and

valuable drugs, including sassafras (con-

sidered better than guaiacum as a medi-

cine) and the incomparable ‘‘tobacco

smoke,” a sovereign remedy for many ail-

ments. [Hariot, 1588].

Hariot became an associate of Raleigh,

Robert Hues, and Henry Percy, the

“Wizard” Earl of Northumberland. His

subsequent career seemed a continua-

tion of Nunes’ activities. Hariot instructed

Raleigh’s mariners on the mathemati-

cal and astronomical aspects of naviga-

tion. He prepared accurate maps and

charts. He studied the paths of projectiles

and meteorological phenomena. He in-

vented a valuable modification of the

cross-staff.

In cartography, Hariot extended

Nunes’ and Mercator’s work on stereo-

graphic projections and the loxodromic

curve. He developed a formula for cal-

culating the area of spherical triangles. In

algebra, his simplified notation facilitated

the expression of relationships in equa-

tions; he developed a formula for de-

termining the roots of equations by

factoring; and he anticipated Newton’s

work on binomial coefficients. In physics,

he discovered that the path of a projectile

is a parabola with a tilted axis, and he

investigated free fall acceleration and the

motion of moving balls before and after

collision, independently of Galileo’s work

on mechanics. He also anticipated Gali-

leo’s work with the telescope around

1610, studying the satellites of Jupiter and

mapping craters on the moon. In optics,

he solved Alhazen’s mirror problem half

a century before Barrow announced his

solution; he discovered the sine law of

refraction now known as Snell’s Law; he

determined refractive indices of colors

separated by prisms, as well as the re-

fractive angles and specific weights of

various substances. He transmitted his

findings on refraction to Kepler, with

whom he corresponded on problems in

physics and astronomy. Aside from his

brief report on Virginia, only one volume

of his work issued under his name, Artis

analyticae praxis on algebraic equations,

published posthumously in 1631. So Har-

iot perished, virtually unpublished and al-

most unknown by name to posterity. But

his discoveries and his disciples enriched

many a field cultivated in early modern

science.

The scientific fortunes of Hariot’s older

PORTUGUESE VOYAGES OF DISCOVERY 57

compatriot William Gilbert (c. 1540-

1603) were entirely different. Dr. William

Gilbert was a successful medical practi-

tioner. He was appointed royal physician

by Queen Elizabeth and he held that po-

sition until her death. Although reap-

pointed to the post by her successor, he

did not enjoy the honors long, for he,

himself, died in the same year.

Gilbert’s obligations as a physician did

not preclude his attention to natural philos-

ophy and experimentation. His one major

scientific interest was magnetism and his

one significant publication was his treatise

on that subject, De Magnete. The force of

his experimental findings and the original-

ity of his work led to their immediate

approbation, and he gained fame through-

out Western Europe in his own lifetime.

Edgar Zilsel’s critique [1957] of De

Magnete showed how Gilbert’s outlook

and scientific activities were molded by

England’s driving interest in navigation.

Zilsel’s introductory remarks and further

analysis noted that:

“William Gilbert’s De Magnete appeared

in 1600, six years before Galileo’s first

publication, five years before Bacon’s Ad-

vancement of Learning; it is the first

printed book, written by an academically

trained scholar and dealing with a topic

of natural science, which is based almost

entirely on actual observation and exper-

iment. An analysis of the origins of its

scientific method, therefore, is not only

interesting in itself, but is likely to throw

some light on the origins of modern nat-

ural science in general... .

It is significant with respect to Gilbert’s

interest in scientific accuracy that all of

his physical instruments are actually nau-

tical instruments . . . He performs meas-

urements practically only when he deals

with quantities which are important in

navigation, such as magnetic declination

and inclination, altitudes of stars, and

geographical latitudes... .”

Zilsel emphasized Gilbert’s interest in

the world distribution of iron, his famil-

larity with the processes of forging, his

knowledge of operations in English gun

foundries, iron mines, and metallurgical

laboratories. The critique then reverted

to nautical affairs:

“Navigation and nautical instruments

play an even greater part in De Magnete

than mining and metallurgy. In his survey

Gilbert . . . mentions men who have ob-

served the magnetic declination on long

voyages: Thomas Hariot, Robert Hues,

Edward Wright, Abraham Kendall... .

Gilbert knows that the declination differs

at different places dispersed over all

Oceans and continents. The remarkably

wide range of his statements proves his

familiarity with the reports of the English,

Spanish, Portuguese and Dutch naviga-

tors and the books of learned cosmogra-

phers . . . He knows that the Portuguese

royal cosmographer Pedro Nunes disre-

gards declination entirely . . . Since de-

termination of geographical longitude

was a difficult and, consequently, an often

discussed problem at that period, he tries

to solve it by means of the declination of

the magnetic needle .. . In the end he

quotes the correct solution of Simon

Stevin, the eminent Dutch expert in mil-

itary engineering, navigation and book-

keeping.”’

Thus, it is clear that Gilbert’s cele-

brated treatise on the magnet, like the

more diversified efforts of Hariot and Ba-

con, reflected upon many of the main-

stream concerns that exercised scientists

in Western Europe during the formative

years of early modern science. It is also

clear that direct links connected the sci-

entific investigations of Western Euro-

pean scholars in the sixteenth century with

antecedent labors of the Portuguese sci-

entists. Further, the subsequent achieve-

ments of Kepler and Galileo, Descartes

and Pascal, Huygens and Newton in as-

tronomy, mathematics, and physics may

be viewed as a continuation of the grand

progression initiated by the Portuguese

scientists in the great age of exploration.

58 DANIEL BANES

Summary and Conclusions

Historical evidence supports a novel set

of conclusions regarding the influence of

the Portuguese voyages of discovery on

the emergence of modern science in West-

ern Europe:

1. Instrument-aided navigation and im-

proved cartography, developed

through the continual application of

scientific theory and technology to

nautical problems, were indispensable

to the success of the Portuguese voy-

ages of discovery.

2. To enhance its navigational proce-

dures, and to protect its newly ac-

quired territories and trade routes,

the sources of enormous wealth, the

Portuguese crown encouraged wide-

ranging researches in many scientific

domains, particularly astronomy,

mathematics, and physics.

3. The contributions of scientists of Jew-

ish origin— Yehuda ibn Verga, Abra-

ham Zacuto, Joseph Vizinho, Garcia

da Orta, Pedro Nunes, and others—

were crucial to the emergence of mod-

ern science in Portugal during the fif-

teenth and sixteenth centuries. Hence,

these Jewish scientists may be reck-

oned among the true progenitors of

modern science.

4. The maritime nations of Western Eu-

rope, eager to emulate Portugal in the

acquisition of overseas colonies and in

_ the accumulation of wealth, imitated

the Portuguese style in nautical inno-

vation, in commerce, and in scientific

research. The impact of the Portu-

guese inspiration may be traced readily

in the accelerated development of sci-

ence in Elizabethan times, and in sub-

sequent scientific activities. Thus, the

Portuguese example acted both as a

catalyst inducing the emergence of

modern science in Western Europe

and as a prototype for the early mod-

ern scientists of the sixteenth and sev-

enteenth centuries.

Bibliography

Albuquerque, Luis de. Introducdo a

Historia dos Descobrimentos Portugueses.

Coimbra: Atlantida, 1962.

Bacon, Francis. All writings cited may

be found in The Works of Francis Bacon,

J. Spedding, editor. London: Longman

and Co., 1858.

Barros, Joao de. Decada Primeira da

Asia, Livro Segundo, edited by Joao Bris-

tows. Lisbon: Reinerio Bocache, 1752.

Cortesao, Jaime. Os Descobrimentos

Portugueses. Lisbon: Livros Horizontes,

1980.

Gomes Teixeira, Francisco. Panegiri-

cos e Conferéncias. Coimbra: Imprensa

da Universidade, 1925.

Grosjean, Georges, Editor. Mapa-

mundi. The Catalan Atlas of the Year

1375. Dietikon-Zurich: Urs Graf Publish-

ing Company, 1978.

Hariot, Thomas. A briefe and true re-

port of the new found land of Virginia,

1585-1586. London: Privately Printed,

1588.

Madariaga, Salvador de. Christopher

Columbus. London: Hollis and Carter,

1949.

Sarton, George. An Appreciation of

Ancient and Medieval Science during the

Renaissance, 1450-1600. New York:

A. S. Barnes & Company, Inc., 1955.

Vernet, Juan. La Cultura hispanodrabe

en Oriente y Occidente. Barcelona: Edi-

torial Ariel, 1978.

Wright, John Kirtland. The Geograph-

ical Lore of the Time of the Crusades. New

York: Dover Publications, Inc., 1965.

Yehuda ibn Verga. All of the works

cited are in the Bibliothéque Nationale,

Paris, and are listed in the Catalogue

Manuscrits Orientaux Hébreu.

Zacuto, Abraham. Almanach Perpe-

tuum. Joseph Vizinho’s translation, Le1-

ria: Abraham D’Ortas, 1496.

Zilsel, Edgar. The Origins of Gilbert's

Scientific Method in P. Wiener and A. No-

land, Roots of Scientific Thought. New

York: Basic Books, 1957.

Journal of the Washington Academy of Sciences,

Volume 78, Number 1, Pages 59-68, March 1988

The Development of the State

Mental Hospital System in the

United States: 1840-1980

Atlee L. Stroup, Ph.D.

The College of Wooster

and

Ronald W. Manderscheid, Ph.D.

National Institute of Mental Health

ABSTRACT

Using data from the National Institute of Mental Health and the Census Bureau, the

authors examine summary trends in the utilization of State and county mental hospitals

by mentally ill populations for the period 1840-1980. Attention is given to trends in

admissions, inpatient residency, growth trends in numbers of hospitals, and annual ex-

penditures.

For more than twenty-five years, dein-

stitutionalization of mental hospital pa-

tients and provision of alternate service

for them have been popular topics in both

the general and mental health literature.

Negative aspects of institutionalization

have been publicized, and the implication

has often emerged that the mental hos-

pital as traditionally envisioned would

Work for this paper was done as the National

Institute of Mental Health’s Division of Biometry

and Epidemiology, 5600 Fishers Lane, Rockville,

Maryland 20857. Send reprint requests to Dr. Man-

derscheid at the above address.

59

soon be only a memory. But, as Goldman

et al., and others point out, some 100,000

seriously ill long term patients are still

being served by the State hospital system,

and about 400,000 additions occur an-

nually in the same system (1). Some writ-

ers suggest that problems of crisis pro-

portion face states and communities as

they consider an appropriate mixed type

delivery system adequate for the decades

ahead (2,3,4). Given this situation, it is

important to examine long term trends in

institutionalization of the mentally ill in

the State and county hospital system to

aid in future planning of resource use.

60 ATLEE L. STROUP AND RONALD W. MANDERSCHEID

While care of the seriously mentally ill

has been considered to be primarily a

State function, for almost one hundred-

fifty years, the Federal Government has

been concerned with the collection and

distribution of data on this category of

disabled citizens. The earliest attempt to

draw a full enumeration was made in the

1840 decennial census, although, at the

time, the mentally ill and retarded were

not distinguished in the census summary

reports (5). The agency originally as-

signed the enumeration task was the U.S.

Bureau of the Census, and it continued

this function with reasonable consistency

until the end of World War II. While in-

itial attempts at data collection were of a

modest nature, and the results the same,

they represented a beginning. They are

of historical interest, and they provide a

baseline for the study of trends in the fu-

ture which are related strongly to policy

issues.

As so-called ‘“‘defective classes,’ the

deaf, dumb, and blind, by “‘white” and

“colored” designations, were counted in

1830. To the total category was added

“insane and idiotic” in the 1840 census.

The latter two types were lumped to-

gether and reported in one column in the

Summary census reports.

Starting in 1850, the insane (mentally

ill) were delineated separately from the

idiotic (mentally retarded). This practice

was to continue throughout future gov-

ernmental enumerations. Regular census

counts of the mentally ill were undertaken

in each decennial year until 1880, at which

time a special census was drawn (6).

Household enumeration, as such was dis-

continued in 1900. Special studies were

undertaken in 1904 (7), 1910 (8), 1923 (9),

and 1926 for residents in institutions for

the mentally ill. In 1916, a limited ad-

ministrative study was completed (10).

From 1926 to 1946, annual censuses of

institutional residents were conducted by

the U.S. Bureau of the Census. The Na-

tional Mental Health Act of 1946 assigned

the responsibility for census enumeration

of the mentally ill institutionalized pop-

ulation to the Public Health Service,

which agency conducted the 1947 and

1948 surveys. The Biometry Branch of

NIMH emerged in 1949 as the specific

organizational unit responsible for this

task. NIMH has carried out this activity

between 1949 and 1984, with the Survey

and Systems Research Branch serving as

the organizational unit for data collection

and analysis.

While some of the early enumeration

approaches have been subject to criti-

cism, the results form part of an historical

record of service utilization (11). This

paper will focus on summary trends in

utilization of State and county mental

hospitals by mentally ill populations over

the past one hundred forty years, with

attention being given to long term trends.

A few States such as Wisconsin, have tra-

ditionally had county hospitals that carry

out functions similar to facilities which are

State sponsored in other States. We have

included these in the analysis. Henceforth

the term “State hospital” will be used to

include State mental hospitals and county

mental hospitals.

Data Source and Method

The Early Period: 1840-1900

As previously indicated, the “insane

and idiotic’? were counted by census enu-

merators starting in 1840, in one grouped

category. From 1850 onward, the two sub-

categories were distinguished and sepa-

rated. In the early years, community and

familial definitions of insanity were used

as the basis of classifications. In using

household schedules, field census repre-

sentatives would routinely ask heads of

households to designate which members

were insane or idiotic. No attempt at med-

ical or scientific definition was made. In

fact, in 1870, individual schedules sug-

gested that idiocy and insanity would “be

better determined by the common con-

sent of the neighborhood than by at-

DEVELOPMENT OF STATE MENTAL HOSPITAL SYSTEM IN USS. 61

tempting to supply any scientific measure

of the weakness of the mind or will” (5).

By 1880, enthusiasm for the use of local

and familial definitions had waned. It was

estimated that this informal approach had

produced a serious undercount. Based on

legislation passed in 1879, a new special

agent was chosen to head a specific sec-

tion of the census. He was to make a

special report on various sub-classes of

“defectives” including both the institu-

tionalized and non-institutionalized in-

sane. Census field enumerators were

given special schedules for the insane, and

physicians in various sections of the coun-

try were furnished forms upon which to

indicate insane (and idiotic) persons

known to them. By this time, Kraepelian

type diagnostic categories were emerging

in psychiatry, and this development was

reflected initially in the 1880 census.

Seven forms of insanity were delineated,

including mania, melancholia, mono-

mania, pareses, dementia, dipsomania,

and epilepsy. In practice, it was found

that a subcategory could be reported for

only about 80% of the cases (6).

The 1880 effort seemed to represent a

peak of interest in an effort to carefully

enumerate the insane. This effort repre-

sented a type of national prevalence

study, and none of that magnitude has

been attempted since 1880. The 1890 cen-

sus was more “routine.” In that year, reg-

ular field census enumeration procedures

were followed, with no attempt being

made to use physicians as special con-

sultants. The summary report of 1890 was

also not as inclusive as the preceding spe-

cial one; it lacked the descriptive detail

and attempt at causal analysis which dis-

tinguished the 1880 report.

The 1900 to 1946 Period

The turn of the century brought a

change in orientation and procedure as

far as the federal Government was con-

cerned. There was a developing reluct-

ance to use the local informal method of

designating the mentally ill. Congress leg-

islated against the method in 1902 and

proposed to substitute special studies of

“defective” populations. From this thrust

came federally sponsored surveys in 1904,

1910, 1916, and 1923, respectively. In

practice, this meant that enumeration was

not undertaken until the major censuses

of manufacturing, agriculture and the

general population had been completed.

Primarily because the regular enumera-

tors would no longer be employed, their

use as in previous periods was not pos-

sible. Instead, schedules were sent to

heads of mental institutions. No attempt

was made to enumerate those mentally ill

persons residing in almshouses, jails, or

private homes.

In 1904 and 1910, general demographic

descriptions were made of institutional-

ized patients, in some detail. In 1916, a

special study, limited in scope, was un-

dertaken with only summary totals on pa-

tient data being indicated. The focus was

on administrative detail, by State. The

1923 survey was extensive, and it included

first admissions, deaths and other patient

movement, plus expenditure and main-

tenance provisions per patient. Special

schedules were used to gather informa-

tion on finances, plant facilities, and per-

sonnel of State hospitals. From 1923

through 1946, annual enumerations of

resident populations of the mentally ill

were made, following the general patterns

of reporting started in 1923, although the

scope varied occasionally in given years.

The 1947 to 1980 Period

World War II brought new attention to

mental health issues, with Congress re-

sponding by passing the National Mental

Health act of 1946. This Act created the

National Institute of Mental Health

(NIMH). The newly created agency was

given the responsibility for census enu-

meration of the mentally ill. From 1946

to 1949, the Public Health Service per-

formed this task. Since 1949, the respon-

sibility has been carried out by NIMH.

Beginning in 1947, a major shift in data

62 ATLEE L. STROUP AND RONALD W. MANDERSCHEID

collection technique developed. In pre-

vious modern censuses of institutional-

ized patients, line schedule data was

available for all patients “in movement,”

ne, release transter etc, Phe 11947

change in procedure meant that reporting

institutions submitted only consolidated

reports reflecting aggregate counts by

age, sex, diagnosis, etc. This approach

was presumed to better maintain patient

confidentiality and to be simpler and eas-

ier to prepare by the responding institu-

tions. However, the new system did add

new elements of rigidity into the data

base. This meant that crosstabular type

analyses would be severely limited in the

future.

In this paper, no attempt will be made

to trace patient trends by diagnostic sub-

categories. In 1923, Director of the Cen-

sus Steuart warned against their use from

any previous census. During the 1920’s, a

diagnostic classification system which had

been jointly developed by the National

Committee for Mental Hygiene and the

American Psychiatric Association was

adopted by most public mental hospitals.

This system has been in use and modified

slowly through the years to conform to

Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM)

standards of reporting.

With DSM categories in mind, it is ap-

parent that the combination of schizo-

phrenic and affective types of patients

have been predominant groups in State

mental hospital populations. Organic syn-

dromes, including senile dementia, have

typically been referred to in hospital di-

agnostic categories. Until the last two

decades, paresis was a common category,

primarily of males. Alcoholic patients,

predominantly males, are consistently in-

cluded in the reports. Epileptic patients

were included until the modern period,

when alternate services were provided for

them. A small proportion of mentally re-

tarded persons have always been reported

for mental hospital populations. And al-

ways, reference is made to those without

psychoses or who cannot be classified, or

both. Over the years, then, there has been

some reasonable consistency in sub-types

of populations appearing in mental insti-

tutions, even though variations would at

times occur.

There has been considerable consist-

ency in terms of the operational definition

of patienthood to be used here. For most

of the years under study, the majority of

clients were involuntary patients who had

been declared legally insane. Behind this

was involved a community sorting process

based on lay conceptions of mental illness

and insanity. Local stereotyped concepts

and norms defined the boundaries of tol-

erated behavior. When an individual’s be-

havior went beyond the boundaries with

some consistency, action was finally

taken. Typically, this meant certification

by a local physician and legal decision by

a judge, after formal charge by a local lay

person. According to reports, neither the

local physician nor the magistrate typi-

cally had any graduate psychiatric diag-

nostic training. Regardless of this, they

officially engaged in processing of indi-

viduals. The main criterion for hospital-

ization over the years has been that of

presumed insanity. This legal concept has

not had precise DSM or other measure-

ment type referents. The issue has been

whether the individual in question was

disturbed enough by local definition to be

referred to the State hospital.

Inpatient hospital residency and ad-

mission patterns have always been af-

fected by many variables, including public

attitudes, availability of facilities, alter-

nate psychiatric services and the interre-

lationships among them, socioeconomic

and geographic factors, and administra-

tive practices. Added to the above, sex

and age factors are involved. In future

papers, attempts will be made to trace

patient loads over time by subcategories.

In this initial paper, only totals will be

reported.

Comparability issues regarding facility

type can be raised. The focus in this paper

is on State and county mental hospitals.

In a few states, county or city sponsored

hospitals have been used as functional

DEVELOPMENT OF STATE MENTAL HOSPITAL SYSTEM IN U.S. 63

equivalents to State hospitals. The num-

ber of county mental hospitals has de-

clined in the last two decades, and they

presently total less than 20. In gathering

statistics, we have separated State data

from private hospital, Veterans Admin-

istration and other facility data, to the

degree possible. Specific sources of data

by year are cited in the footnote to Table

1. Since 1855 data have been included

from St. Elizabeths Hospital of the Dis-

trict of Columbia. Also included since

1923 are a small number of State psycho-

pathic hospitals. In 1923, there were 4 in

existence, and, in recent decades, they

number 10 in total.

Data Analysis

Fortunately, summary data for the in-

stitutionalized mentally ill from 1830 to

1880 was included in the 1880 census re-

port (6). Table 1 indicates the growth

trends for the State mental hospital sys-

tem. While there were eight hospitals in

existence by 1830, only four were public.

Over the next five decades, the growth in

number of State hospitals was very no-

ticeable. This meant that by 1880 there

were 65 State hospitals with some 36,000

resident patients. This represents a steady

rate of growth in spite of the fact that the

country was experiencing major social

change and upheaval including civil war

during the period.

It should be noted that Rothman (12)

and Grob (13) have provided thorough

accounts of the circumstances which led

to the development of the first mental

hospitals in the period preceding the Civil

War. A later work by Grob (14) relates

mental health institutions and practices

to conditions existing between 1875 and

1940.

The post civil war period involved a

steady stream of new immigration and in-

creasing urbanization of the country. Be-

tween 1870 and 1890, the number of State

and county hospitals was to double. By

1900, yearly admissions numbered about

40,000 and the resident patient popula-

tion was slightly over 100,000.

The turn of the century ushered in an

era of further expansion. The number of

inpatient residents in the State hospital

system increased as well. From a popu-

lation just slightly in excess of 100,000,

the population increased by a factor of

five by 1950. Patient population counts

must be balanced by reference to the na-

tional total population base as well. The

crude rate per 100,000 civilians was 159

to 1900. It was to grow to 341 per 100,000

by 1950. This expansion pattern was a

steady, upward one through the half cen-

tury, seemingly not directly correlated

with serious social upheavals, such as

World War I or II (15).

The post 1950 period brought the ex-

pansionist phase for State mental hospi-

tals to a dramatic peak. The actual high

point occurred in 1955 with some 559,000

resident patients being enumerated for

that year. An equally dramatic 75% drop

in the total resident population occurred

between 1955 and 1980. The causal proc-

esses at work which brought about the

decline are as yet not completely under-

stood, but references are consistently

made to the use of psychoactive drugs,

the adoption of deinstitutionalization

practices, and the provision of various

community-based, alternate-service pro-

grams (16). Opinions differ sharply as to

whether the steep downward trend will

continue, or whether a “‘leveling-off”’

phase is immediately ahead regarding in-

patient residency patterns. A hard-core,

chronic, long-term population continues

to exist, according to many reports

(17,18). A substantial proportion of such

clients are relatively young.

Numbers of admissions for the same

150 year period indicate similar upward

trends. Data for the first fifty years reveal

an upward trend from about 400 annual

admissions to State mental hospitals in the

middle 1830’s to 15,000 by 1880. The av-

erage for each hospital ranged from about

50 per year in the middle 1830’s to almost

64 ATLEE L. STROUP AND RONALD W. MANDERSCHEID

Table 1.—Number of residents, admissions, hospitals, and annual expenditures, for State and County

mental hospitals, United States, 1831 to 1980.

Number of

hospitals

Rate per 100,000 SS Annual

Resident total resident City, or expenditures

Year patients population Admissions State county (in thousands)

1831 150 1.0 200 ~ 0 30°

1840 471 3.0 691 9 2 121

1850 EW Alla) 14.1 2,266 16 2 360

1860 7,696 24.4 4,462 32 5 1,259

1870 14,605 36.6 8,609 42 6 3,200

1881 36,780 71.4 16,617 66 9 6,520

1890 69,445 110.1 25,645 111 114 10,596

1903 144,653 179.4 44.912 138 88 ZA 329

1910 180,242 195.1 53,452 143 106 30,070

1923 255,245 228.0 71,803 165 148 63,673

1931 318,821 257.0 82,334 174 Si) 85,683

1940 423,445 320.9 110,119 178 80 127,020

1950 512,501 338.9 146,568 PUA 111 396,721

1960 535,540 297.6 220,616 239 47 919,619

1970 337,619 165.7 384,511 275 40 1,734,276

1980 132,164 58.3 336,414? 262 14 4,085,765

“1831 is provisional based on reference 6; 1910 expenditures are provisional based on references 7 and

Be

’Admissions include admissions and readmissions; 1980 is a provisional estimate based on additions,

which includes admissions, readmissions, and returns from long-term leave. Beginning in 1976, only in-

formation on number of additions is available.

Sources of data:

1830-1880: Reference 6

1881-1890: Reference 11

1900-1903: Reference 7

1910: Reference 8

1923: Reference 9

1970: NIMH, Statistical Note 106

CORSON es an a

125 annually by 1880. Admissions were

to reach the 50,000 level in the early twen-

tieth century, and the 150,000 level by the

end of the World War II period. Table 1

also shows the steady rise in admissions

during the post-war period. In the modern

period, the peak of admission lagged be-

hind the peak in residents by more than

a decade, occurring in 1971, with 402,472

admissions being reported for that year.

After 1971, the admission rates started

to drop, but at a modest pace. For ex-

ample, in 1972, the total was 390,000, and

by 1975 it was 376,000. The decline was

slow in the next five years, reaching about

340,000 by 1980. The modern rates are

1931, 1940, 1950, 1960: NIMH, Patients in Mental Institutions

1980: NIMH, Additions and Resident Patients at End of Year, State and County Mental Hospitals,

by Age and Diagnosis, by State, United States, 1980.

incongruent with projections made in the

1960’s (19). During that period, deinsti-

tutionalization was well underway and a

new community-oriented philosophy was

emerging. Alternate services and facilities

have expanded considerably since 1960.

Especially notable are expansions in psy-

chiatric units in general hospitals, free-

standing psychiatric outpatient clinics and

community mental health centers (20). In

spite of these developments and extension

of community oriented services, admis-

sion rates have remained relatively high

for the State hospitals.

In Table 1 the estimated expenditures

for the total State hospital system are

DEVELOPMENT OF STATE MENTAL HOSPITAL SYSTEM IN U.S. 65

listed by year, excluding capital improve-

ments. The figures from 1830 to 1880 are

based on estimates made by the 1880 cen-

sus director for the fifty year period. As

can be seen, the amounts were relatively

low for the first one hundred years, if one

considers population growth during the

period. In the last fifty years, they have

risen sharply in total dollar amounts, the

sharpest increase in the trend line of costs

coming in the last decade. The rise during

the 1970’s is due totally to inflation.

During the modern period, Federal

funding for inpatients increased greatly

because of changes in social security en-

titlement programs. Part of the expendi-

ture increase in the early 1970’s can be

related to the attempts to improve hos-

pital conditions which were mandated by

legal provisions in some States and threat-

ened in many others. Included would be

changes in staff ratios, adjustments in em-

ployee wages and benefits, and provision

of more definitive diagnostic and treat-

ment services (21).

It is doubtful that the tendency for ex-

penditures to remain relatively high can

be explained fully by legal requirements.

Included for consideration must be insti-

tutional inertia, staff and employee re-

sistance to cutbacks or change, and local

community interest in keeping hospital

operations intact. Proposals to transfer

funds and patients simultaneously from

State hospitals to local facilities will need

to take the above factors into account.

Growth of Facilities

The record of mental hospital devel-

opment, as such, may be of interest. As

has been well publicized, the first public

mental hospital, known as the Eastern

Lunatic Asylum, was established in 1773.

During the middle 1830's, it was treating

less than 100 patients annually. By 1880,

the number of inpatient residents had

risen to 323. A growth pattern similar to

this was typical for many early hospitals.

Morrissey et al. (22) provide an important

case history of one of the oldest and most

influential mental institutions, Worches-

ter State Hospital, and its organizational

characteristics as they relate to changing

conditions.

As indicated in Table 1, the number of

State hospitals grew from 4 in 1830 to over

100 by the end of the century. Although

county hospitals are included in this

study, the great majority have been State

sponsored and controlled. For example in

1923, 165 mental institutions were State

sponsored. This number climbed slowly

but steadily, so that by 1940 there were

178, and by 1950 there existed 211 State

sponsored inpatient facilities, out of a to-

tal of 321. A decline in numbers has been

evident since 1950, but it has been more

moderate than the corresponding decline

in resident inpatient population. In the

1970-1980 period, widespread publicity

was given to hospital closures in Califor-

nia, Illinois, Massachusetts, New York,

Ohio, Oklahoma, Washington and Wis-

consin. This publicity masked the fact that

in some States no hospitals were closed

and, in a few, new mental hospitals were

built. The latter included Delaware, Flor-

ida, Georgia, and Virginia (23). At any

rate, the majority of State mental hospi-

tals are still functioning, often with some

modifications in what had been their tra-

ditional role.

Discussion

Attention has been given to enumera-

tion of the institutionalized mentally ill

since 1830. The source of the motivation

for the original counting is not clear. The

so-called ‘‘defective classes’? evidently

emerged as problems demanding atten-

tion. Apparently, local community pres-

sures eventually were carried to the

Congressional level which resulted in at-

tempts at census taking to provide some

indication of the scope of the problem.

The 1830 to 1890 period brought the de-

velopment of the State hospital system,

with reformers such as Dorothea Dix fa-

66 ATLEE L. STROUP AND RONALD W. MANDERSCHEID

cilitating the process. It would follow that

minimal enumeration would be important

to provide a data base for analysis and

policy use. Irrespective of the reason, na-

tional record keeping attempts regarding

the mentally ill have been conducted for

about 150 years.

The data presented have demonstrated

a relatively steady increase in the size of

the mentally ill resident patient popula-

tion until the middle 1950 period. There

followed a period of decline in the num-

bers of mentally ill who were residing in

hospitals. Admission rates followed a sim-

ilar pattern of growth from the 1830's to

the post World War II period, with a drop

starting in 1971 and continuing in modest

fashion through 1980. Annual expendi-

tures climbed slowly over the years, with

a Sharp rise appearing for the 1970 to 1980

period in terms of actual dollars. Taking

inflation into account, financial support

actually decreased.

If figures for resident load, admissions,

and expenditures are followed, it appears

that all show parallel upward trends for

the years 1830 through 1950. Incongru-

ence between them appears in the post

1950 era. Numbers of inpatient residents

are sharply down from what would have

been projected in the pre-1950’s; admis-

sions are relatively high, as are expendi-

tures. In effect, this means that relatively

large amounts of money are being spent

for a smaller patient load.

Results of this new combination of cir-

cumstances should mean, theoretically, a

more positive total environment for pa-

tient care, and some reports indicate that

such in emerging. A number of States re-

port increases in staff-to-patients ratios.

Higher wage scales for staff and employ-

ees have developed in some areas. More

time and attention to admission, diag-

nosis, and screening is also reported (24).

Whether or not the hospital atmosphere

has significantly changed for patients is

still being debated (25). There are avail-

able no accepted instruments at this time

to measure total treatment milieu. Many

mental health writers who have strongly

supported deinstitutionalization have

done so because they believe the State

hospital system exhibits inherent inade-

quacies (26). Others believe the State sys-

tem can, with some upgrading, provide

the best long term care facilities that can

be realistically supported at this time (27).

It does appear that the deinstitution-

alization process has been modified for

the present. Additions (including admis-

sions and returns from leave) dropped

only from 423,000 to 377,000 in the period

1976 to 1980. During two of those years,

1978 and 1979, they remained essentially

constant. The older, long term population

will eventually be phased out. Contrary

to most expectations and predictions,

new eventually long-stay patient groups

are appearing. Many planners and theo-

rists have failed to take into account

demographic risk factors associated with

psychotic breakdown in the general

population. Kramer in 1977 made pro-

jections for 1985 based on age categories

(28). Taking into account the ‘‘baby

boom” cohort, Kramer projected a 26

percent increase in the sub-category schiz-

ophrenia for the age-groups 15-24, 25-

34, and 35—44, respectively for 1985 com-

pared to 1970. Projections for other di-

agnostic subcategories were made as well.

Reports from various States tend to con-

firm Kramer’s projections. They suggest

the emergence of a new, long-term, some-

what male dominant population exhibit-

ing serious disorder (29,30). Some

individuals of this type have had repeated

contacts with State hospital admissions

departments, and substantial proportions

are becoming part of the inpatient State

hospital residency load. Others are strain-

ing local facilities (31). The size of this

type of potential patient group needing

long term support and care is difficult to

estimate. The group will, if the trend con-

tinues, keep a minimum State hospital

population intact unless alternate com-

munity facilities are provided.

This appears to be a critical period for

the mental health service delivery system.

As we approach the end of the first

DEVELOPMENT OF STATE MENTAL HOSPITAL SYSTEM IN U.S. 67

quarter century of the modern community

orientation, many challenges to the as-

sumptions of the ideology of the sixties

are being raised. A pluralistic service sys-

tem now exists, with developments in the

private sector being especially noticeable.

Contrary to many assumptions and pro-

jections, the State hospital is still rela-

tively active.

Proposed changes in the role and func-

tion of the State hospital will ideally in-

volve consideration of important policy

and planning issues. Among variables to

be taken into account are lay and profes-

sional attitudes toward the mentally ill,

socioeconomic and political considera-

tions, and the level of scientific knowl-

edge about mental health.

One hundred fifty years is substantial

in terms of North American institutional

history. Major manifest and latent func-

tions have been carried out by State hos-

pitals. It would appear that we are

approaching a critical juncture in Amer-

ican mental health history. Plans now

being made will carry over to the twenty

first century. What is the essential role of

the State mental hospital system, if any?

That is an important question for the

mental health community in the imme-

diate future.

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Journal of the Washington Academy of Sciences,

Volume 78, Number 1, Pages 69-86, March 1988

Report on the Scientific

Symposium of the Consortium

Research Fellows at the U.S.

Army Research Institute

Edited by Robert S. Ruskin and Sherman Ross

PREFACE

We began this project in 1981 to develop a model relationship between the academic

and governmental sectors. Certainly most of the pieces were there: an organization with

proven leadership in the university community (the Consortium of Universities) and a

research institute of proven strength in the scientific and governmental communities (the _

Army Research Institute). It was our desire to build a dynamic working alliance between

the imagination, energy, and expertise of established scientists at ARI and the extraor-

dinary graduate students attending Consortium universities. What was missing was a

structure to bring together these two entities. Through the development of the Research

Fellows Program, this structure was put in place.

The program has been in operation for six years, and we now have a flourishing, truly

cooperative venture, as described by Drs. Johnson, Ruskin, and Ross in the next article.

Everyone has benefitted so far, but these benefits are maintained only through careful

and continued nurturance.

The following pages provide the reader with the unique perspectives of all parties

involved in the project, from technical and project directors to the student fellows them-

selves.

Lieutenant General John S. Crosby

Deputy Commanding General for Training

United States Army Training and Doctrine Command

Colonel Wm. Darryl Henderson

Commander

United States Army Research Institute for the Social and Behavioral Sciences

Reverend John P. Whalen

President

Consortium of Universities of the Washington Metropolitan Area

Correspondence should be directed to Dr. Robert

S. Ruskin, Director of Research and Program De-

velopment, Consortium of Universities of the Wash-

ington Metropolitan Area, 1717 Massachusetts

Avenue, N.W., Suite 101, Washington, D.C. 20036.

69

70 ROBERT S. RUSKIN AND SHERMAN. ROSS

Consortium Research Fellows at the

Army Research Institute: Background

and Update!

Edgar M. Johnson,* Robert S.

Ruskin,* Sherman Ross*>

The 1980 Defense Appropriations Act

allowed a closer relationship between de-

fense laboratories and universities. This

Opportunity was seized by Father John P.

Whalen, Executive Director of the Con-

sortium of Universities of the Washington

Metropolitan Area and Dr. Joseph Zeid-

ner, then Technical Director, United

States Army Research Institute for the

Behavioral and Social Sciences (ARI) and

Chief Psychologist, U.S. Army. Their in-

itiative resulted in a contract, signed in

1981, between the Consortium and ARI

which stipulated that the Consortium

would provide technical and analytical

support for the in-house research being

conducted at ARI. This support has been

provided by graduate students, known as

Consortium Research Fellows (CRFs),

from the institutions which are members

of the Consortium. A previous article by

Ross, Sasmor and Whalen® (1983) de-

scribed the basic agreement. This report

provides an update and status report on

the program.

Army Research Institute

ARI is the Army’s primary people-

oriented research laboratory. Its mission

encompasses the full spectrum of behav-

ioral and social sciences. The research

programs are carried out by four ele-

ments organized around the following

research product lines:

Manpower and Personnel Research

Laboratory. Manpower require-

ments and resources, recruiting and re-

tention, leadership, and personnel

measurements.

Systems Research Laboratory. Hu-

man factors, command control com-

munications and intelligence, manned

systems design, and system assess-

ment.

Training Research Laboratory.

Institutional and _ individual, unit

training, devices and simulators, and

advanced technologies.

Office of Basic Research. Design of

intelligent interfaces, leadership and

organizational effectiveness, problem

solving/decision making, and skill

building technologies.

ARI employs over 200 scientists, with

about 125 located at ARI headquarters in

Alexandria, Virginia, and the remaining

at field sites in the United States and Eu-

rope. These scientists are highly quali-

fied—over 65% hold Ph.D.s. For such

scientists to apply their energy and skills

most effectively, individuals with knowl-

edge and experience beyond the bache-

lors degree were needed to assist them by

undertaking tasks such as data collection,

data analysis, literature review, and re-

port writing. The main objective of the

contract between ARI and the Consor-

tium has been to provide qualified grad-

uate students to perform such technical

and analytical support services for re-

search programs at ARI.

Consortium of Universities

The Consortium of Universities is a

non-profit corporation chartered in 1964

to encourage and coordinate joint aca-

demic and resource planning and student

exchange among the member institutions.

The Consortium is uniquely qualified to

establish and manage broad support pro-

grams, since policies are in place for

cooperation among the member insti-

tutions. These institutions are: The

American University, The Catholic Uni-

versity of America, Gallaudet University,

George Mason University, The George

Washington University, Georgetown

University, Howard University, Mary-

mount University, University of the Dis-

trict of Columbia, University of

SCIENTIFIC SYMPOSIUM OF THE CONSORTIUM RESEARCH FELLOWS 71

Maryland, Mount Vernon College, and

Trinity College.

Research Fellows

At ARI, the Director of Basic Re-

search’ develops a list of scientists who

require assistance in conducting their re-

search programs. This list is provided to

the Consortium. In order to facilitate the

matching of interested graduate students

to these scientists, the Consortium of Uni-

versities appointed a Steering Commit-

tee. The task of the Steering Committee

was to solicit applications from graduate

students, screen them, and match them

to openings at ARI. The Steering Com-

mittee also set policies and procedures for

the Consortium Research Fellows and ap-

pointed Project Directors.®

Once selected, the CRF is assigned to

a scientist at ARI (the ‘‘Mentor’’). Fel-

lows may work up to 20 hours per week

during the school year and full-time dur-

ing the summer months, and the fellow-

ship appointments are for three years,

assuming that acceptable performance at

ARI is maintained. The students cannot

hold other fellowships while serving as

Consortium Research Fellows and must

maintain satisfactory progress toward

their degree. The pay for these graduate

students is based on the level of their most

recent degree and the amount of experi-

ence they have had. Each Fellow is ex-

pected to turn in a short Status Report at

the end of every month so that their prog-

ress may be monitored, and their Mentors

at ARI are asked to evaluate their per-

formance at the end of each year of serv-

ice. The Project Director and the Director

of Basic Research provide general over-

sight and work to resolve any problems.

Completion of thesis or dissertation re-

search at ARI is encouraged as is the ap-

pointment of ARI Mentors to doctoral

committees. Several graduate students

are working on their theses or disserta-

tions in ARI labs.

Results

Since the inception of this program in

1981, there have been 45 CRFs. While

full or part-time regular employment at

ARI is not a product of the fellowship, it

has become a by-product of the program.

Thirteen Fellows have received offers of

jobs at ARI and nine are employed there.

As of February 1987, eighteen CRFs

(16 women and two men) were employed

at ARI. Two worked in the Office of Basic

Research, seven in the Manpower and

Personnel Research Lab, two in the Sys-

tems Research Lab, and seven in the

Training Research Lab. There were three

CRFs from American University, two

from Catholic University, one from

George Mason University, two from

Georgetown University, six from George

Washington University, three from How-

ard University, and one from the Uni-~

versity of Maryland at College Park.

CRFs were involved in research efforts

ranging from “‘A cognitive model for sim-

ulator training,” to “The rater factor in

job performance ratings.’ They were col-

lecting and analyzing data and completing

literature reviews. Some advanced stu-

dents were also doing dissertation re-

search under the joint guidance of their

major professor and the ARI Mentor.

To date, most of the Fellows have been

from graduate departments of psychol-

ogy. However, graduate students from

any of the behavioral and social sciences

are accepted, and the intent is to get stu-

dents from other disciplines involved

(e.g., computer science and engineering).

Summary

The arrangement between the Consor-

tium and the Army Research Institute has

proven to be mutually beneficial. ARI re-

ceives a great deal of necessary technical

and analytical assistance and the graduate

students receive financial support while

they are acquiring excellent experience in

research theory and skills. In fact, this

program has been so successful that the

72 ROBERT S. RUSKIN AND SHERMAN: ROSS

Consortium is now exploring ways to de-

velop similar programs in other research

settings around the Washington metro-

politan area and to include other disci-

plines in such programs, and ARI has

established similar arrangements with

other universities in some of its field units.

Notes

1. The views, opinions, and findings contained in

this report are those of the author(s) and should

not be construed as an official Department of the

Army position, policy, or decision, unless so des-

ignated by other official documentation.

2. Technical Director, Army Research Institute and

Chief Psychologist, U.S. Army.

3. Director, Research and Program Development,

Consortium of Universities

4. Assistant Project Director, Consortium of Uni-

versities, and Howard University.

5. Correspondence should be directed to Dr. Rob-

ert S. Ruskin, Director of Research and Program

Development, Consortium of Universities of the

Washington Metropolitan Area, 1717 Massachu-

setts Avenue, N.W., Suite 101, Washington,

D.C. 20036.

6. Ross, §., Sasmor, R. M. and Whalen, J. P. 1983.

Research Fellows of the Washington Consortium

of Universities at the U.S. Army Research In-

stitute. J. Wash. Acad. Sci., 73, 151-152.

7. At the time of the Symposium, the Director of

Basic Research was Milton S. Katz, who replaced

Robert M. Sasmor in 1985. The current Director

is Michael Kaplan.

8. The current Project Director is Robert S. Rus-

kin. Former Project Directors have been: Sher-

man Ross, 1983-1984; C. E. Rice, 1982-1983;

and Elliott M. McGinnies, 1981-1982.

Proceedings of the Symposium of the

Consortium Research Fellows!

Robert S. Ruskin, Edgar M.

Johnson, Sherman Ross

The second scientific symposium of the

CRFs was held on April 13, 1987, in the

ARI Conference Room. The major pur-

poses were (1) to provide an overview of

the Consortium-ARI program, (2) to pro-

vide the CRFs an opportunity to describe

their activities, and (3) to effect the shar-

ing of this information among the CRFs,

the ARI scientists (Mentors), and the

Consortium representatives.

A brief welcome was given by Edgar

M. Johnson, Technical Director, Army

Research Institute and Chief Psycholo-

gist, U.S. Army, and Robert S. Ruskin,

Director of Research and Program De-

velopment, Consortium of Universities.

Statements were provided by COL Wm.

Darryl Henderson, USA, Commander,

ARI, the Reverend John P. Whalen,

then Executive Director, Consortium of

Universities, and MAJ GEN John

Crosby, USA, then Assistant Deputy

Chief of Staff for Personnel.

The primary organization of the sym-

posium was based on the unit of relevance

with a brief presentation of the respon-

sibilities and activities by the Director,

and appropriate reports by the CRF. The

section which follows is arranged to in-

dicate the unit, its program, and is fol-

lowed by an abstract of the report of the

CRF with identification of the university

and the ARI Mentor.

I. Office of Basic Research

Milton S. Katz, Director

The Office of Basic Research plans and

executes long-range research in_ the

behavioral and social sciences. Specific

research objectives are to advance

concepts, theory, techniques and data in

selected areas of the behavioral and social

sciences, to contribute to the store of sci-

entific and technical knowledge, and to

lead the next generation of applied re-

search in the behavioral sciences for the

Army. The Office seeks to fill gaps in

existing behavioral science methodology

and develop a cumulative data base on

which to build new technologies to im-

prove Army effectiveness. If not ad-

dressed, such gaps would hamper ARI’s

ability to conduct applied research pro-

grams several years in the future.

The organization and development of

the basic research program parallel the

SCIENTIFIC SYMPOSIUM OF THE CONSORTIUM RESEARCH FELLOWS 73

applied research missions of ARI’s three

laboratories: manpower and personnel,

education and training, and the human

element in Army systems. Proposed proj-

ects are evaluated primarily in terms of

their relevance in supporting future ap-

plied research, their scientific merit, po-

tential payoff and their synergistic impact

on other work being supported. Proposals

are invited in such areas as: 1) Planning,

Problem Solving, and Decision Making;

2) Manpower, Personnel, and Unit Per-

formance; 3) Skill Building Technologies;

and 4) Designing Systems for People.

The Office capitalizes on new research

and emerging technologies by involving

innovative civilian scientists in projects of

potential use to the Army. At the present

time the Office has contracts with over

sixty universities, nonprofit organiza-

tions, and businesses. Special programs,

such as the Consortium Research Fel-

lows, bring university and high school fac-

ulty and students to ARI headquarters for

research, and an in-house program sup-

ports ARI staff in the conduct of basic

research. Other activities include man-

agement of Congressional, Department

of Defense and Department of Army

mandated programs such as Small Busi-

ness Innovation Research, DoD Uni-

versity Roundtables, and University

Research Instrumentation Program.

A. Steven Kronheim,

American University

Judith Orasanu, Mentor

As a doctoral student in social psy-

chology at American University and with

broad research and teaching experience,

a logical preference for my CRF experi-

ence was the Office of Basic Research. I

perform duties necessary for meeting the

Office’s main mission of providing ARI

with the appropriate scientific knowledge

base designed to address key military

problems. For instance, to help the office

assess and complete the research projects

it supports at universities, private labo-

ratories, and other government agencies,

I helped implement an efficient and ra-

tional contractor report routing system

which guides staff in dealing with all Basic

Research reports that are received. These

must be coded, filed, and delivered to the

appropriate agencies for documentation

in the Department of Defense publication

system. This task required creating an

MIS database including brief summaries

of each sponsored research project and

earmarked for entry into the Defense

Technical Information Center (DTIC).

My work has also been directed toward

assembling the annual report of recently

completed, ongoing and newly awarded

contracts. This task involved the building

of a database of research synopses and

reviewing and editing them. At the pres-

ent time, the 1986 Basic Research Annual

Report is being drafted.

Expert staff psychologists monitor con-

tracts organized under four major cate-

gories: unit performance, systems design,

skill building and planning. I completed

a literature review on unit performance.

I drew some tentative conclusions which

point to the need for further research on

issues immediately relevant to the Army.

These included leadership and women,

stratified decision making, reward allo-

cation, performance appraisal, training

techniques and open systems theory. I ad-

dressed some of these concerns at a Basic

Research In-Process Review (IPR) con-

ference in March 1987 on Unit Perform-

ance and Organizational Effectiveness at

the Center for Creative Leadership.

In addition, I read reports, summarize

research destined for publication in the

Army Research Institute’s Research Bul-

letin, familiarize myself with some of the

computer software systems available at

ARI. The Office of Basic Research rep-

resents a scientific information and re-

search warehouse. I am requisitioned, at

times, to administer correspondence, or-

ganize conference information, or to

gather materials.

I also act as a coordinator and inter-

mediary among the Research Fellows,

ARI, and the Consortium.

74 ROBERT S. RUSKIN AND SHERMAN ROSS

Finally, I was part of a research team

headed by a Consortium Research

Fellow, Cassi Fields, which produced a

survey feedback intervention at ARI.

Sponsored by ARI and the Federal Wom-

en’s Program, we examined the needs and

perceptions affecting female civilian

workers here at ARI. Analysis of the data

revealed some positive trends toward

achieving equity between women and

men on the workforce though more effort

is needed in the area of recruitment and

promotions at the higher pay grade levels

of the organization.

B. Carmen Moten,

Howard University

Judith Orasanu, Mentor

As a newer Consortium Research Fel-

low, Iam presently engaged in a literature

search of intelligent tutoring systems. An

intelligent tutoring system is a computer

program that uses artificial intelligence

techniques for representing knowledge

and interacting with a student.

Computer systems for intelligent tutor-

ing are being developed to provide the

student with the same instructional ad-

vantage that a sophisticated human tutor

can provide. A good private tutor under-

stands the student and responds to the

students’ individual needs. Computers

have a similar potential. Of particular im-

portance is computer tutoring in the fields

of mathematics and science that are pre-

requisites for entrance into the scientific

community and the world of high tech-

nology.

There are now over 10,000 pieces of

educational software available. Almost

all of this software can be classified as

computer-assisted instruction (CAI) in

contrast to intelligent computer-assisted

instruction (ICAI). A CAI system indi-

vidualizes instruction, but can only cope

with student responses which have been

specified in advance by the author-pro-

grammer. Intelligent tutoring systems are

an improvement because they not only

have explicit knowledge of the subject do-

main and the student’s history, but also

have the capability to use a specific teach-

ing operation in immediate response to

the types of errors that the student makes.

ICAI incorporates several procedures

which include observing teachers as they

give remedial instruction to students, ana-

lyzing these protocols, formulating the es-

sence of these interactions as a series of

rules, and implementing the system which

integrates these procedures. There have

been attempts to bring artificial intelli-

gence techniques in the development of

ICAI. Until recently this was viewed as

impractical and largely remained a task

for the research laboratory. One reason

was the prohibitive cost of ICAI. It was

common to require a million-dollar ma-

chine to interact with one student, and

often the response time of the machine

was slow. Another reason was the length

of time associated with creating software.

It can take 200 hours to produce one

hour’s worth of conventional CAI. ICAI

requires even more time. Finally, there

was no established paradigm for enabling

students to acquire knowledge. Early

ICAI efforts were often ill-focused at-

tempts to interact intelligently with the

student without any clear understanding

of the impact of those interactions on

learning.

These obstacles are now being over-

come. Advances in artificial intelligence

and cognitive psychology have signifi-

cantly diminished the time it takes to cre-

ate instructional lessons. It is no longer

necessary to specify every interaction with

the student, but only the general problem-

solving principles from which these inter-

actions are generated. Advances in cog-

nitive science have also provided a the-

oretical basis for designing educational

software that is effective. There are now

models of how successful students per-

form various cognitive tasks. This enables

one to be precise about instructional ob-

jectives for a particular course of study.

Furthermore, current theories address

SCIENTIFIC SYMPOSIUM OF THE CONSORTIUM RESEARCH FELLOWS 75

the issues of how the student acquires new

cognitive skills. The learning principles

derived from these theories provide the

direction needed in the design of instruc-

tional software. Much work has been

based on Adaptive Control of Thought

(ACT) theory. Among the most well-

known systems based on ACT theory are

the Geometry Tutor for high school stu-

dents and the LISP programming tutor.

Most importantly, students working

with the tutoring systems learn the ma-

terial more quickly and achieve a higher

level of proficiency than students working

with the same textbook and problems in

the standard learning environment. Yet

some students do not seem to benefit

from the tutor’s instruction, due to im-

pediments of a fully effective intelligent

tutoring system to successfully model the

human teacher. The major goal of the

current research on intelligent tutoring

systems is to characterize the type of

knowledge these students are lacking and

the type of assistance these human tutors

are able to provide, thereby developing

complete and proficient tutoring systems.

II. Systems Research Laboratory

Robin Keesee, Director

The Systems Research Laboratory

(SRL) conducts research designed to as-

sist the Army in achieving the full poten-

tial of new weapon systems entering into

service. Applying concepts and empirical

findings from the areas of human factors,

cognitive and organizational psychology,

SRL addresses soldier-system issues

across a range of system levels and at each

step in the weapon system acquisition

process. Emerging products take the form

of materiel acquisition guidance, ad-

vanced methods for assessing manpower,

personnel and training requirements, pro-

totype soldier-system interfaces, infor-

mation processing and decision aids,

training systems and system evaluation

methods. SRL executes its research pro-

gram through subordinate units located in

Alexandria, Virginia; Ft. Leavenworth,

Kansas; Ft. Bliss, Texas; and Ft. Hood,

Texas. Research projects under SRL’s ju-

risdiction are also conducted within other

ARI field units located across the conti-

nental United States.

A portion of the research being con-

ducted with Alexandria, Virginia, focuses

on the general issues of information proc-

essing and decision-making for the tacti-

cal battlefield. As emerging technology

offers the potential for assembling, proc-

essing and distributing ever greater

amounts of information on the battlefield,

it is important that the design and intro-

duction of this technology be consistent

with the skills, capabilities and needs of

the human decision-maker. In order to

accomplish this, however, it is necessary

to better understand the underlying cog-

nitive skills and processess employed by-

the soldier on the Air/Land Battlefield.

Accordingly, SRL has devoted a major

portion of its resources to the study of

human decision-making and cognition,

with specific applications in the areas of

battle management and military intelli-

gence. Examples of the research being

conducted within this area include (1) the

investigation of cognitive style and its re-

lationship to decision-making perform-

ance, (2) the identification of cognitive

skills required for the operation of future

weapon systems, (3) the refinement of

methods for codifying operational exper-

tise, and (4) the development of objective

measurement systems for assessing deci-

sion-making performance within real-

world operational settings. It is within the

general context of this research focus that

Consortium Research Fellows have been

employed.

A. Frances L. Carter

George Mason University

Vanessa Irizzary, Mentor

The Battlefield Intelligence Systems

Technical Area is concerned with the

76 ROBERT S. RUSKIN AND SHERMAN ROSS

measurement and assessment of military

intelligence personnel. The project on

which I am working seeks to determine

the most efficient and thorough rating

scales to characterize the performance of

Morse Code intercept operators.

Because the attrition rate of Morse

Code intercept operators is quite high

(25-40%), the development of a compre-

hensive psychological battery and profile

_ may eventually be used to select individ-

uals who are likely to succeed during in-

itial training and in the field. My efforts

have been focused on a review of the per-

tinent literature and selection process un-

dertaken to develop the rating scales for

this project.

Three major categories of rating scales

are potentially appropriate for measuring

Morse Code intercept performance.

Research on the first two, behaviorally

anchored rating scales (BARS) and

behavioral observation scales (BOS),

generally provides ambiguous results.

Some studies find deficiencies with either

one of the scales, and some indicate no

differences between the two. Each has its

respective deficits. BARS involves more

complex and often unreliable judgments

about performance, while BOS is also

subject to biases about the frequency of

observed behavior. Compared to the

BOS and BARS, the graphic rating scale

(GRS) is inexpensive, quick and easy to

develop. It is also a standardized scale

which makes it comparable across indi-

viduals. However, it is prone to a number

of serious errors which add variability to

the overall scoring system. Behavior

scales remain superior.

Given the evidence in the literature and

the time constraints of administering the

various scales, a BOS was developed for

use by Morse Code intercept instructors,

and a BARS was developed for use by

Morse Code intercept supervisors. For

both scales, critical aspects of the job

were identified and presented in such a

way that the rater was to indicate the fre-

quency with which each behavior was ac-

tually observed.

These rating scales turn judgments

about operator performance into usable

data. To this extent, the scales can be seen

as examples of extensive job analyses be-

cause they clearly define the responsi-

bilities and behaviors which constitute

Morse Code intercept jobs. They can be

used as general tools of performance ap-

praisal and become essential elements of

a total performance evaluation system.

B. Virginia Rappold,

George Washington University

Vanessa Irizarry, Mentor

My project at ARI is concerned with

the measurement and evaluation of mil-

itary intelligence personnel to improve

training and systems design. Current at-

trition rates of 24% to 40% for Morse

Code Intercept Operators (O5H) training

suggest that some recruits may not be suit-

able for this type of advanced individual

training. The U.S. Army Intelligence

Center and School, Devens, Massachu-

setts, has proposed a two-part approach

to reduce the high attrition rates. One

involves a new computer-based training

system, while the other involves a re-

examination of current measures used to

select incoming OSH students. For the

latter, recent research shows that selec-

tion scores obtained from standard Army

test batteries (e.g., AFQT) are only

peripherally related to successful Morse

decoding and transcribing.

Efforts to develop psychologically-

based indicators which capture successful

OSH performance have included prelim-

inary interviews with key personnel at

Devens. Relevant skills for Morse Code

operators thus far identified include sense

of rhythm, musical aptitude, concentra-

tion, short-term memory, attention, and

a certain sense of optimism on the part of

the individual.

Based on this, a battery of psycholog-

ical tests has been utilized which includes:

SCIENTIFIC SYMPOSIUM OF THE CONSORTIUM RESEARCH FELLOWS Tl

(1) digit symbol and digit span short-term

memory measures from the Wechsler

Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS).

(2) pitch, loudness, rhythm, time, tonal

memory and timbre subscales from

Seashore Measures of Musical Tal-

ent.

(3) perceptual speed measure which dis-

tinguishes between same and differ-

ent pairs of numbers.

(4) personality dimensions of change-

ability/stability and intraversion/

extraversion and episodes’ of

concentration and attention from the

Eysenck Personality Inventory and

the Tellegen and Atkinson Person-

ality Scale.

The O5H test battery is expected to

provide a basis for development of a

standard selection tool for use by the

Army in obtaining a higher percentage of

successful O5H personnel. In addition,

the empirical data collected from this ef-

fort will provide a scientific basis for de-

lineating those factors crucial to Morse

Code Skills.

Ill. Training Research Laboratory

Jack Hiller, Director

The mission of the Training Research

Laboratory (TRL) is to perform research

and development that will yield advances

in techniques for the determination of

training requirements, design of training

and evaluation programs, and in training

management to achieve cost-effective use

of resources. These advances will ulti-

mately contribute to the goal of better-

trained and more capable soldiers and

_units. Research on training strategies and

technologies, and research on the learn-

ing process will contribute to the goal of

a better-trained Army. Research is cur-

rently underway on these topics in two

Technical Areas of TRL, ably support by

several Research Fellows.

The CRFs assigned to the Training and

Simulation Technical Area, which is

headed by Robert Seidel, provide re-

search support to the Automation De-

velopment Research Team. Carol Pollack

and Diane DeMarco collected, analyzed,

and contributed to the interpretation of

data in a study designed to investigate the

effects of varying levels of fidelity on

cognitive skill acquisition. Cheri Wiggs

conducted an extensive review of the

literature on various techniques used in

knowledge elicitation for building expert

systems.

Students who worked in the Instruc-

tional Technology Systems Technical

Area, which is headed by Zita Simutis,

focused their work on two processes: the

changing nature of knowledge as one ac-

quires expertise, and spatial skills train-

ing. Daria Sneed and Jocelyn Turner used

a variety of techniques to analyze complex

data on the knowledge states of individual

students at different stages during their.

learning of Lotus 1-2-3. Cassi Fields con-

ducted data analyses on research con-

cerned with map interpretation and

terrain association that resulted in the

definition of a measure that quantifies an

individual’s spatial memory span. Patti

Watson assisted in all phases of research

concerned with identifying individuals

who have skills that would be useful for

operating remotely controlled devices.

A. Cheri L. Wiggs,

Georgetown University

Ray S. Perez, Mentor

Expert systems are a class of artificial

intelligence computer programs intended

to serve as consultants for decision mak-

ing. They are called “experts”? because

they address problems in the same man-

ner and with the same results as a human

expert, i.e., someone with extensive

knowledge within a narrow class of prob-

lems. One interesting branch of research

within expert systems addresses how one

extracts knowledge from an expert. This

area is important not only to expert sys-

78 ROBERT S. RUSKIN AND SHERMAN ROSS

tem development but may also be applied

as a basis for instructional development.

My current research reviews knowl-

edge extraction methods and addresses

the fruitfulness of combining knowledge

acquisition techniques with traditional

task analysis to enhance maintenance

training. Maintenance training is partic-

ularly applicable in that the problem solv-

_ ing approaches required are well defined

and use specific facts.

Methods used for knowledge acquisi-

tion include: (1) structured interviews

with experts by knowledge engineers, (2)

verbal protocols, (3) naturalistic obser-

vation of experts in simulated environ-

ments, and (4) having experts directly

interact with knowledge-based systems.

Knowledge maps are then designed,

modeling the expert’s possession of facts,

explicit rules, and heuristic reasoning. A

comparison between expert and student

knowledge maps may show precisely what

gaps need to be filled during training.

Although expert systems have been

successfully built and run, researchers

agree that knowledge acquisition is a ma-

jor bottleneck to further progress. Two

consistent problems are time consump-

tion and the complete “‘expression”’ of ex-

pert knowledge. Furthermore, with no

structured method for analyzing the

knowledge elements, knowledge maps

may be incomplete. This is generally not

a problem for expert systems, as the cri-

teria for their success is that they simply

“‘run.’’ However, such “missing links” in

knowledge maps may hinder the effec-

tiveness of instruction and training.

Task analysis has been used in instruc-

tion to identify and arrange the series of

actions that a learner must take when

s/he successfully performs a task. Tradi-

tional task analysis approaches include

behavioral, cognitive, gestalt, and most

recently, information processing. My

work suggests that task analysis be used

to lend structure to analyzing knowledge

acquisition.

B. Carol A. Pollack Nelson,

George Washington University

Ray S. Perez, Mentor

My research focus has been the appli-

cation of computer-based simulators to

training. This summer, we conducted an

experiment at George Mason University

which looked at the use of simulators for

training a troubleshooting task. Troub-

leshooting involves the identification of a

faulty component in a piece of equipment.

Participants were asked to troubleshoot a

fault in an electronic relay panel. Two of

the dependent variables we were inter-

ested in were the amount of time it took

them to troubleshoot faults during a

transfer test and the number of erroneous

fault identifications made. The independ-

ent variable which was manipulated was

the level of simulator fidelity upon which

the subjects were trained.

The term “fidelity” refers to the extent

to which the simulator looks and functions

like the equipment it is replicating. The

concept of fidelity can be viewed as rang-

ing from very low to very high levels.

While some researchers feel that high fi-

delity simulation training is necessary to

ensure that trainees are comfortable with

both the task and the equipment that they

will eventually be expected to operate,

others have found success with low fidel-

ity simulators. Advocates of the low fi-

delity approach feel that there are two

important drawbacks to high fidelity de-

vices since they replicate so many of the

details found on the actual equipment.

First, they are likely to overwhelm the

trainee with details with which the novice

is not yet able to cope and, therefore,

negatively affect transfer. Second, they

cost significantly more to develop and

maintain than low fidelity devices.

The experimental design employed in

this study consisted of four groups of par-

ticipants. Each group received somewhat

different troubleshooting training based

on the fidelity of the simulator on which

they were trained. One group was trained

on a low fidelity device exclusively. A sec-

SCIENTIFIC SYMPOSIUM OF THE CONSORTIUM RESEARCH FELLOWS 79

ond group was trained on a high fidelity

device exclusively. Two additional groups

were trained on both low and high fidelity

devices (mixed-fidelity). Subjects in these

groups began their training on the low

fidelity simulator and at some later point,

switched over to high fidelity simulation

training. The difference between these

two groups is the point at which they

switched from the low to the high fidelity

device.

We hypothesized that groups receiving

mixed-fidelity simulation training would

perform the best on the transfer task in

terms of the number of erroneous fault

identifications made and the time to

troubleshoot the transfer problems. How-

ever, analyses showed no significant dif-

ferences between the four groups in terms

of the two dependent variables. For this

reason, it may be financially more prac-

tical to employ low fidelity training de-

vices which are easier to both develop and

maintain than training devices of higher

fidelity. .

These non-significant findings should

not, however, rule out the advantages of

a combined training program utilizing

both low and high fidelity devices. It is

possible that the lack of significant find-

ings in this particular study could have

resulted from a ‘‘wash out”’ effect,

brought on by allowing subjects too much

of an opportunity to practice the task

prior to transfer assessment. It is likely

that a combination of fewer training prob-

lems and more challenging transfer prob-

lems will lead to significant results.

A subsequent analysis of covariance,

which controlled for the subject’s level of

mechanical aptitude (measured by the

Bennett Mechanical Aptitude Test) re-

_ vealed highly significant differences be-

tween the four groups in terms of the

number of erroneous fault identifications

made. Subjects in the mixed fidelity con-

ditions made significantly fewer errors

during transfer than did the other two

groups.

This finding in terms of the number of

errors made also has implications for the

amount of time and money used by each

group. In an actual troubleshooting situ-

ation, the troubleshooter would be re-

quired not only to identify the faulty

component but to fix it also. In our study,

subjects did not have to repair the equip-

ment. Thus there was no time penalty as-

sociated with each erroneous fault

identification. If there had been, it is

likely that there would have been a sig-

nificant difference between the four

groups in terms of the time to trouble-

shoot during transfer. A paper discussing

this study and its results was presented at

the ADCIS convention in November

1986.

C. Jocelyn O. Turner,

Howard University

Sharon Mutter, Mentor F

As a CRF, I have been assigned to the

Smart Technology for Training team.

During the past year, I have been in-

volved in the data collection and analysis

of a project designed (1) to study how

novice knowledge representation of com-

puter command language changes with

increasing expertise, (2) to examine the

relationship between knowledge repre-

sentation pertaining to facts (declarative)

and knowledge representation pertaining

to skills (procedural), and (3) to enhance

Army training through the application of

cognitive science and artificial intelli-

gence in order to develop intelligent tu-

toring systems. Because the Army em-

ploys various computer technologies, the

study of computer command languages

and knowledge representation is essen-

tial.

Subjects are tutored on the Lotus 1-2-

3, a command language that allows one

to store and organize information on a

computer screen spreadsheet. Prior to

and at three month intervals after train-

ing, subjects performed numerous cued

and uncued trials of reconstructing and

modifying spreadsheets. Subjects also

80 ROBERT S. RUSKIN AND SHERMAN ROSS

completed a background questionnaire

designed in part to measure computer lit-

eracy and frequency of use of Lotus op-

erations.

Together with another CRF, Daria

Sneed, the procedural and declarative

knowledge data are being analyzed. My

task has been to analyze declarative

knowledge data by using an algorithm

that looks for consistencies of organiza-

tional orders. The assumption of this

analysis is that items are organized into

“chunks” which are further organized

into units by the subject. The “chunks”’

and organized units of knowledge repre-

sentation form a hierarchical tree-like

structure which represents consistencies

in the data. By comparing the structures

obtained at different times during testing,

it is possible to examine how knowledge

representation changes as learning pro-

gresses.

Preliminary results indicate that (1)

novice knowledge representation initially

shows a non-Lotus organization, (2) fre-

quent practice of Lotus changes this rep-

resentation to one that is more mean-

ingful in the Lotus context, (3) expert

knowledge representation of Lotus con-

cepts and commands is organized in a way

that is meaningful in the Lotus context,

and (4) novice knowledge after training

and practice of Lotus is not identical but

approximates expert knowledge repre-

sentation.

D. Daria C. Sneed,

Howard University

Sharon Mutter, Mentor

As a CRF with the Smart Technology

for Training section, I am primarily re-

sponsible for data analysis pertaining to

procedural knowledge, defined as skills.

Previous research suggests differences in

knowledge representation between nov-

ices and experts. The present research in-

vestigates the transitional change in

knowledge representation from novice to

expert. It is expected that as novices ac-

quire knowledge, their organization

structure will approximate that of an ex-

pert. In order to determine the transition

from novice to expert, soldiers were tu-

tored on a command computer program

(Lotus 1-2-3). After training, subjects re-

constructed a spreadsheet which required

them to type and enter values, labels, and

formulas (note: formulas are simple math

operations). At a later date, subjects

modified the reconstructed spreadsheet.

The data was analyzed using two tech-

niques. The first method was the Com-

mand Language Grammar (CLG), which

is a method for mapping out the correct

procedures that must be used to complete

a goal. A second method of data analysis

was Keystroke Analysis which determines

the amount of mental time needed to per-

form an operation. Use of these two

methods allowed for a study of the tran-

sition from novice to expert. In addition

to analyzing these data, I will be aiding

in writing the methodology section of the

technical report.

E. Cassi L. Fields,

George Washington University

Sharon Tkacz, Mentor

Research conducted with my Mentor

showed that high spatial individuals will

be more effective at locating their position

on a topographic map. High spatial in-

dividuals also perform more effectively in

a videogame called MAZE, which simu-

lates positioning in the real world. There-

fore, individual performance in MAZE

was analyzed to detect the important spa-

tial components of position-fixing in the

real world.

MAZE requires that subjects escape

from a 125 room cubic maze by typing

directions (e.g., east) in order to move

from one room to another. The goal of

the game is to escape the maze as quickly

as possible. Subjects played 16 games in

which position and goal information were

SCIENTIFIC SYMPOSIUM OF THE CONSORTIUM RESEARCH FELLOWS 81

available only upon request. Difficulty

level was also increased by forcing the

subject to change orientation every four

games, first facing north, then east, then

west, and finally south.

Five dependent measures were ana-

lyzed. These were:

(1) a spatial test battery consisting of ori-

entation, two and three dimensional

object rotation, embedded figures,

and a reasoning test.

(2) a real world test consisting of the

number of times subjects correctly lo-

cate their position within several

hundred meters in the field.

(3) the number of seconds required to es-

cape the maze.

(4) the average number of seconds

elapsed between position and goal

requests.

(5) the average distance (in rooms) trav-

elled between position and goal re-

quests.

High spatial individuals (i.e., those who

received higher scores on the spatial bat-

tery) escaped from the maze more quickly

and were better at locating their position

in the field. High spatial subjects also had

larger spatial spans, which is a measure

of the amount of distance travelled in the

maze before requests for position coor-

dinates. This suggests that individuals

with a larger spatial span were able to

maintain and update the representation

of their position (e.g., orientation infor-

mation) better than low spatial span sub-

jects. With practice, subjects in general

requested MAZE position coordinates

more frequently.

In a continuing study, we plan to de-

termine more precisely the capacity of this

short term spatial span for both low and

high spatial individuals. Further, we may

want to determine how to improve sub-

jects’ ability to ‘““chunk”’ and retain spatial

information in short-term memory. This

may permit the training of low and high

spatial ability individuals to do a better

job in recoding, maintaining, and updat-

ing spatial information when using it in

the field.

F. Patricia Watson,

Catholic University

Sharon Tkacz, Mentor

Most of my work as a CRF deals with

the Snakebyte, a project designed to iden-

tify the cognitive components that under-

lie remote operation skills. These

principally involve the procedural spatial

skills acquired through self-directed

movement in the environment. Spatial

skills are required for navigation, under-

standing graphic displays, and remote

control of autonomous vehicles. Since ac-

tual travel may not always be feasible or

practical in training remote operations

skills, we are exploring ways to capitalize

on the motivating aspects of videogames

to provide effective simulated travel.

A number of different measures of spa-

tial ability have been compared with skill

acquisition scores on Snakebyte. Early re-

sults indicate that physics majors are bet-

ter players initially, and acquire expertise

much more rapidly than lower-level col-

lege majors. The cognitive measures that

seem to mediate these group differences

in game performance target the ability to

process verbal descriptions of spatial re-

lationships.

Current research is examining chemis-

try and engineering students. Closer scru-

tiny of cognitive skills in remote op-

erations may become important for the

selection and training of teleoperators.

Initial analysis of these data shows sig-

nificantly higher scores for the upper level

engineering students on a number of cog-

nitive tests and Snakebyte.

IV. Manpower and Personnel Research

Laboratory

N. Kent Eaton, Director

The Army operates one of the largest

personnel systems in the United States,

82 ROBERT S. RUSKIN AND SHERMAN ROSS

including both military and civilians. The

mission of the Manpower and Personnel

Research Laboratory is to improve and

enhance the readiness and effectiveness

of this system through scientific research

on manpower requirements and policies,

econometric manpower models, recruit-

ment, selection, classification, retention,

personnel allocation, NCO and Officer

leadership, unit cohesion, family, and ci-

vilian personnel management. This mis-

sion encompasses the active Army, Army

Reserve, National Guard, and civilian

components.

The research programs address the se-

quence of tasks which must be accom-

plished to man the force and develop

effective leadership. These include: (1)

projections of personnel requirements for

the future Army, (2) personnel resources

for meeting those requirements have to

be identified and ensured through reten-

tion of highly qualified soldiers already in

the Army or through recruitment, (3) re-

cruited individuals must be selected and

assigned to jobs or training tracks in a

manner which will optimize the fit be-

tween job requirements, the criticality of

the jobs, and the capabilities of the in-

dividual applications, (4) effective sol-

diers within the Army must be identified

and retained in order to take maximum

advantage of the investment in training

and experience which these soldiers rep-

resent, (5) family factors affecting readi-

ness and retention have to be identified

and enhanced, and (6) leader and orga-

nizational development, from NCO and

junior officers through General Officer

level and Senior Executive Service on the

civilian side, must be based on sound prin-

ciples of optimizing individual leadership

capability, improving leader performance

assessment technology and civilian per-

sonnel management and performance as-

sessment, leader doctrine development,

development of organizational design

theory and technology, and unit cohesion

technology.

The ultimate goal of MPRL research is

to ensure that the Army will have capable

soldiers and leaders to accomplish the

missions entrusted to them.

A. Jeanne K. Mason,

George Washington University

Lawrence M. Hanser, Mentor

Because the Army is charged with the

responsibility of protecting and defending

the nation, it is essential that the per-

formance of its workforce be assessed fre-

quently so that proper steps can be taken

to minimize deficiencies and to act ap-

propriately when deficiencies do occur.

The most common strategy for evalu-

ating employees in nonproduction jobs is

for supervisors to rate subordinates on ap-

propriate work dimensions. This rating

process requires knowledge of the sub-

ordinate’s job requirements and perform-

ance. This method, however, frequently

falls short of providing reliable or valid

ratings unless the correlations between

rater traits and subordinates’ perform-

ance ratings is taken into account.

One aspect of performance appraisal

currently attracting attention is the role

of self-relevant dimensions in evaluating

others. Project A is, in part, an investi-

gation of this issue with the goal of im-

proving the selection, classification and

utilization of Army enlisted personnel.

Working with Jane Arabian, I examined

the relationship between soldiers’ scores

on the Army’s Skill Qualification Test

(SQT) and three new performance meas-

ures of job knowledge and proficiency.

Data analyses revealed strong correla-

tions and suggested that the SOT remains

a good measure of job performance and

a good choice for making personnel man-

agement decisions.

The results of this study were presented

at the Military Testing Association meet-

ing held in November 1986. A working

paper describes the project’s rationale,

data collection method, analyses and re-

sults. Present efforts involve examination

of additional rater variables, including

SCIENTIFIC SYMPOSIUM OF THE CONSORTIUM RESEARCH FELLOWS 83

temperament, that may influence per-

formance ratings.

B. Cyril E. Kearl,

University of Maryland

David K. Horne, Mentor

I have applied my understanding of

economic theory and application to the

problem of recruitment in the Army. Spe-

cifically, the effort expended by individ-

ual recruiters is fundamental to the re-

cruiting process. Difficult to observe or

measure, recruiter effort is usually ig-

nored. This is acceptable only if its effect

is random or the same for each recruiter.

Unfortunately, evidence suggests that re-

cruiter effort depends on the probability

of achieving the intended quota (mission)

and the reward payment structure.

An alternative approach to setting mis-

sions is to choose a mission that maxi-

mizes enlistment contracts. However,

setting a large mission has no greater ex-

plicit cost for the United States Army Re-

cruiting Command (USAREC) than a

small mission. It would follow, then, that

if the recruiting mission has a positive ef-

fect on enlistments, it should be set as

high as possible since there is no increased

cost. This has the effect of doing away

with any meaningful or attainable quotas

and effectively eliminates mission as a

policy tool. This contradictory policy im-

plication (i.e., set the mission so high that

there is no effective mission) highlights

the fundamental shortcomings of imply-

ing a One-to-one correspondence between

mission and effort.

The decision by the recruiter to work

harder requires a balance between the

costs of additional work and potential

benefits of group recognition, improved

working atmosphere, desirable future as-

signments and increased chances for pro-

motions. When the recruiting mission is

set at low levels, achieving it requires little

effort and increases in the mission are ob-

tainable with little additional cost. As the

recruiting mission increases, a recruiter

must work harder to have the same

chance of making the mission. As long as

the additional costs do not exceed the

marginal benefit of this effort, the re-

cruiter will respond to increased mission

with more effort and production. At one

point, however, the recruiter will decide

that the chances of making the increased

mission are so small that there is no point

in exerting any effort. Over this range,

increases in the mission may actually de-

crease recruiter effort.

A mathematical model is used to esti-

mate the nonlinear relationship between

the recruiting mission and recruiter effort.

The estimated parameters are then used

to spread the mission among the various

recruiting battalions to maximize recruit-

ing. Preliminary data analysis suggests

that this approach offers an alternative

method of distributing recruiting quotas

more soundly.

C. Christina M. Lynn,

George Washington University

Guy L. Siebold, Mentor

Values are important ideas that people

share about what is good or bad, right or

wrong. Vital to military performance,

‘““Values”” was chosen as the 1986 Army

Theme. ARI was directed to conduct a

survey examining the importance of val-

ues to Army personnel. A questionnaire

was administered to over 7,000 soldiers

and Army civilians in the United States

and Germany in Spring 1987. Participants

rated the personal importance of several

core American and core soldier values on

a 7-point scale. Core American values in-

clude those found in the U.S. Constitu-

tion and the Declaration of Inde-

pendence, such as freedom and equality.

Core soldier values include loyalty to the

Army, teamwork and discipline.

To determine the validity of the ques-

tionnaire and to obtain more in-depth

data, interviews were conducted with 73

84 ROBERT S. RUSKIN AND SHERMAN ROSS

soldiers, noncommissioned officers, and

officers stationed in Germany. Partici-

pants were asked to indicate what each of

the twelve soldier values listed on the

questionnaire meant to them personally.

Examples of these values included,

“being disciplined and courageous in bat-

tle,” “loyalty to the U.S. Army,” and

“commitment to working as a member of

a team.” A content analysis yielded three

categories of responses: 1) redefinition of

the value, 2) consequence of the value,

3) general comment on the value. For ex-

ample, in response to the item, “being

honest, open, and truthful,’ one soldier

redefined the value as, “being honest to

my leaders and other soldiers around

me.’’ A noncommissioned officer re-

sponded to the same value with the com-

ment, ‘“That’s how you set an example”’.

Overall, interviewees gave similar mean-

ings to the twelve values, which confirmed

the validity of the questionnaire.

Participants were also asked to state

which five of the twelve values were most

important to them, to explain why, and

to provide an illustrative example. First,

an analysis of responses revealed there

was a fairly even distribution of values

selected as important among the twelve.

Second, interviewees had no difficulty ap-

plying these soldier values to everyday sit-

uations. For instance, a noncommissioned

officer indicated that the value, ‘‘com-

mitment to working as a member of the

team”’ was important for accomplishing

specific tasks. He noted that when he or-

ders his subordinates to do a task, he also

participates. In general, values were

found to be important in facilitating the

mission of the Army.

This research indicates how values

function in the daily life of the soldier.

Army personnel recognize and apply im-

portant core values in their work. These

findings have important implications be-

cause soldiers with strong values tend to

be more cohesive, are better able to with-

stand stress, and perform at a higher level

within their units [as reported in: Siebold,

G.L. (April 1987). Bonding in army com-

bat units. Paper presented at the Southern

Sociological Society Annual Meeting, At-

lanta, GA.].

D. Sharon D. Ardison,

Catholic University

D. Bruce Bell, Mentor

Because of its unique missions, concept

of service, and lifestyle of its members,

the Army seeks to assure adequate sup-

port to families in order to promote well-

ness, a sense of community, and the

partnership that presently exists between

the Army and Army families. The Per-

sonnel Utilization Technical Area

(PUTA) has been involved in organizing

a major research program focusing on

these issues.

Historically, the relationship between

the Army and Army families has evolved

slowly. From 1860 until World War I en-

listment was denied to married men. De-

spite lifting some restrictions by World

War II and making minor improvements

during the 1950s and early 1960s, it wasn’t

until the Viet Nam era that the Army rec-

ognized the adverse impact of chronic

family problems at home on soldiers’ per-

formance overseas. In the early 1980s the

Army Officers’ Wives Clubs held Army-

wide symposia examining family concerns

which encouraged the decision to man-

date research addressing family difficul-

ties.

PUTA is examining five basic family

research issues. These include: assessing

the shifting demographic characteristics

of its families in order to improve the pro-

gramming of services, reordering the

agencies so that they promote a sense of

partnership and community, and deter-

mining which programs, policies, and

practices best promote family wellness,

soldier retention, and individual and unit

performance.

My involvement can be divided into

three phases. During the evaluation

phase, requests for family research pro-

SCIENTIFIC SYMPOSIUM OF THE CONSORTIUM RESEARCH FELLOWS 85

posals were announced. As responses

came in, they were reviewed and sum-

marized. My review of the relevant lit-

erature assisted research panel members’

decisions. I helped construct an appro-

priate evaluation tool for the evaluation

team.

In the contract management phase,

panel members submitted their numerical

ratings and computed averages for each

proposal. I helped prepare the results of

these evaluations for presentation to su-

periors. With the contract awarded, a one

year projection of task (family wellness,

soldier retention, readiness, and spousal

employment) and option (community

support, policy, and volunteer) activities

has been developed and will be monitored

on a monthly basis.

In the current research phase, efforts

are underway to study the single parent

soldier and the dual Army career couple.

In addition, the family strength and com-

munity team is conducting a review of the

literature and summary of research find-

ings related to family adjustment in Eu-

rope. Topic areas include demography,

incentives to extend enlistment, housing,

family coping and stressors.

E. Connie J. Schroyer,

George Washington University

Lawrence M. Hanser, Mentor

For my initial work with the Leadership

and Management Technical Area, I was

involved in designing and implementing a

survey dealing with job satisfaction and

performance appraisal practices in the ci-

vilian workforce. The survey data were

analyzed and presented to the Manage-

ment-Employee Relations branch of the

Civilian Personnel Office. The results

were used in dealing more effectively with

the civilians served.

I also had the opportunity to participate

in meetings with civilian personnel psy-

chologists as well as with military officers

and psychologists from the Navy Person-

nel Research Development Center.

My first project in the Selection and

Classification Technical Area dealt with

the issue of the effect of job experience

on the validity of ability tests. The validity

of cognitive ability tests has been well es-

tablished. We do not know, however, if

this validity remains constant or declines

as experience on the job increases. This

issue is important for several reasons. We

need to know if ability tests given to ap-

plicants when they apply for a job are able

to predict performance as well at five

years on the job as they do at six months.

In other words, can we predict long-term

performance using ability tests?

I investigated the validity of an Army

ability test (AFQT) in predicting job per-

formance at different experience levels.

The results show that as experience in-

creased, the AFQT became slightly less.

effective in predicting performance in the

Army. However, the validity of ability

tests still remained fairly high even after

eight years of experience.

I have also been involved in another

project examining the causes and trends

of attrition in the Army. My job here is

to investigate the various codes of attri-

tion contained in the data sets available,

determine the best way to categorize

these codes, and make this information

available to ARI. My future work will

involve research on the amount of faking

that applicants engage in when they com-

plete biographical inventories. I also plan

to investigate whether or not this faking

affects the validity of biographical inven-

tories.

F. Debby Deme,

American University

N. Kent Eaton, Mentor

Since my recent appointment as a CRF,

I have been working on the Preliminary

Predictor Battery, which is part of Project

A. The goal of my work is to determine

86 ROBERT S. RUSKIN AND SHERMAN ROSS

and report on the relationship between

certain personality constructs and rele-

vant indices of leadership, promotion

rate, likelihood of completion of first term

of enlistment, and re-enlistment.

The effort is divided into two stages. In

the first stage, I will use the Preliminary

Battery. The Preliminary Battery is a bat-

tery of off-the-shelf personality tests, such

as internal-external locus of control, and

scales from the California Psychological

Inventory. The tests were administered to

approximately 9,000 soldiers. I will eval-

uate ways in which the various instru-

ments have been combined to yield the

predictor scores.

The second stage will involve deter-

mining the relationships between these

predictor constructs and measures of em-

ployee turnover as well as job perform-

ance (promotion rate, supervisor ratings

of effectiveness, etc.). Turnover consists

of three categories: a) attrition during first

term, b) completion of term without re-

enlisting, and c) reenlistment. Reenlist-

ment, in turn, can be broken down into

three subcategories: a) eligible and re-

enlisted, b) eligible and not reenlisted,

and c) not eligible and not reenlisted.

In this project we hope to demonstrate

the relationships between characteristics

of soldiers’ personality and subsequent

behavior on the job.

Notes

1. The views, opinions, and findings contained in

this report are those of the author(s) and should

not be construed as an official Department of the

Army position, policy, or decision, unless so des-

ignated by other official documentation.

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PU PC A SOCICHY Ol WASHINGTON: 95). 2.io8s Nis ce cep oie iaisle a's sale eyes aPaie eee edie Manya B. Stoetzel

SEPA MIREX OIE TANTS AS OCICI Yi fos Gta a's. eras cow apc) stefan wits ie ie Rac a > ose eh eacvone ondapeey 3% 91s Gilbert Grosvenor

BTA AIESOCIELY Ole VV ASIN OTON 5 50.52/05 052.65 «RPh ey wie, dees tl awlela ) oda c/oigWers wi deere oe James V. O’Connor

eeeeesesuciety of the District of Columbia (2s... 25.2) en/e ods cake aw eds oes Charles E. Townsend

AE BE TISTOTI CALE SOCIO UY 28 oe ie cathe eGo Secor nate Naa ate % SH ofarh pie Gd eiees ches ay ctl) arabes Wa ete Paul H. Oehser

RPE SOCICEVIOUG VV ASHINO LOM .(-). is clei sisre ac sicseidivnl ts al iee eee Shereleiste's bre aie 4 w Rim eee Conrad B. Link

Pema umerican, Foresters, Washington Section .. .. 2... 5 cee eee eee eee et beees Mark Rey

PER MMUMEESOCIELY/ Ol EM OINEEDS §)..2 5000-45, ssya tis arose cue oe REAL wis baersinge hs See wieidos ease ereroe George Abraham

Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Washington Section................. George Abraham

Pimerican Society of Mechanical Engineers, Washington Section.........-.........-..-.-- Michael Chi

Sees rnOLocical Society Of Washington <3... 22 doc ce eee eee ce dee Cae eens Robert S. Isenstein

Semcnican socicty for Microbiology, Washington Branch. .................0.2 20-00 wesc vee e eee Vacant

Society of American Military Engineers, Washington Post....................0-: Charles A. Burroughs

penestean socicty of Civil Engineers, National Capital Section................5../:-..-0-0- Carl Gaum

maciery for Experimental Biology and Medicine, DC Section ......)................ Cyrus R. Creveling

mmemeansocicty for Metals, Washington Chapter... ... 00.5. eee eee be ee eee ee es James R. Ward

American Association of Dental Research, Washington Section.......................45- Eloise Ullman

American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, National Capital Section............... Paul Keller

Pees vViCrcCorological Society, DC Chapter... 2. 2s. tne ee ce ees cee A. James Wagner

PPM EE SOCIClY Ol WaSMINSIOM 1). 232 ecob e's ss ccc ceed ees Boe we i ow eelevies wee eine Albert B. DeMilo

Eeeestica socicty of America, Washington Chapter..............00: 002 c sence trees Richard K. Cook

Peeseanevucicar society, Washington Section... .... 2.2.2. 56. ce bee eee beens eet eee noes Paul Theiss

mastitute of Food Technologists, Washington Section .................--2.e0+0++-- Melvin R. Johnston

manetican Ceramic Society, Baltimore-Washington Section...................-.--. Joseph H. Simmons

MAMET BAIN AE OCIE LV ee cee teas eta epee nye. 1.8 or ere on itt oun ook So viaye nS) ve nie ees os Alayne A. Adams

EES CMBIAIST OLY Ol SCIENCE ClUD coe cvs eccisys) cic ciao re eens bo yo ok cuiels dw sins oe wa oe Albert Gluckman

American Association of Physics Teachers, Chesapeake Section ...................... Peggy A. Dixon

Sica society of America, National Capital Section..........2....- 0.0.20 ec eee eo William R. Graver

American Society of Plant Physiologists, Washington Area Section............... Walter Shropshire, Jr.

Washington Operations Research/Management Science Council ....................-- Doug Samuelson

aac nicSociety Of America, Washington Section... ..........0.02. eee esses be wees oe wees Carl Zeller

American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical

SEEEetrOleum Engmeers,, Washington Section... 0222.2... ceeded Ss Bec c eee ee Ronald Munson

os SV ECLEL CCayaV DATS OT Ve) 00S) 1 ee rene en eer Robert H. McCracken

Mathematics Association of America, MD-DC-VA Section...............0000000000- Alfred B. Willcox

ee STARTED EGS) COLEY CG TYETT TY er Pe a Miloslav Rechcigl, Jr.

MESH OEIC Al ASSOCIAUION: 3). oro hi cu ee os od We sh. Uicieie eis sbidia ie nla Sedleahe SUES hae ae eee Wee Bert T. King

ee See PSII IMEALTI Me CHICA GROUPE i. 5 6. 0 oo S815 oye el sid aie Gtle digvave atte Wake ees CO Robert F. Brady

emetican Phytopathological Society, Potomac Division................2.-22+-.e.000% Roger H. Lawson

Society for General Systems Research, Metropolitan Washington Chapter ..... Ronald W. Manderscheid

PemnMBL COTS: SOCICiy. OLOMIAC CNAPtEr 2 :.). fa/.6 22.68 vice Sova vide oie bie ew wee wie Bele Stanley Deutsch

feu MeANPISHCies Society, Potomac Chapter..: =. 0.2252 < ob c asie cn eltiny Pn eiete ser eienee Robert J. Sousa

Neciation for science, Lechnology and Innovation................ 05-0202 nese crt ees Ralph I. Cole

© PS BIPE Sib 1 (Ca IS/0,G (ea ee Ronald W. Manderscheid

Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Northern Virginia Section.............. Ralph I. Cole

Association for Computing Machinery, Washington Chapter..................0-005. James J. Pottmyer

PUMPER IES ANISETE TES OCIE TY EN oy 2 ec 2 ais SySiceoa's ck cased nb wists cords daw ae wae R. Clifton Bailey

Delegates continue in office until new selections are made by the representative societies.

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