Resource intensification and osteoarthritis patterns: changes in activity in the prehistoric Sacramento-San Joaquin...

Ethnohistoric accounts and archaeological research from Central California document a shift from the use of lower-cost, high-ranked resources (e.g., large game) toward the greater use of higher-cost, low-ranked resources (e.g., acorns and small seeds) during the Late Holocene (4500-200 BP). The subsistence transition from higher consumption of large game toward an increased reliance on acorns was likely associated with increases in levels of logistical mobility and physical activity. This study predicts that mobility and overall workload patterns changed during this transition to accommodate new food procurement strategies and incorporate new dietary resources during the Late Holocene in Central California.

Osteoarthritis prevalence was scored in the shoulder, elbow, hip, and knee of adult individuals (n = 256) from seven archaeological sites in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta region. Comparisons were made between osteoarthritis prevalence, sex, age-at-death, and time period using ANCOVAs.

The results of this study indicate significant increases in osteoarthritis prevalence in the hip of adult males and females during the Late Period (1200-200 BP), even after correcting for the cumulative effects of age. No differences were observed between the sexes or between time periods for the shoulder, elbow, and knee joints.

The temporal increase in hip osteoarthritis supports the hypothesis that there was an increasing need for greater logistical mobility over time to procure key resources away from the village sites. Additionally, the lack of sex differences in osteoarthritis prevalence may suggest that females and males likely performed similar levels of activity during these periods.