Skeletal growth of the protohistoric Arikara

Abstract

The longitudinal growth of the long bones and growth in breadth of the ilium are assessed for a population of protohistoric Arikara Indians from South Dakota through the correlation of skeletal measurements with estimates of chronological age at death. Comparison of the Arikara growth data with those from other Indian samples (Indian Knoll and Late Woodland, Illinois) reveals similar rates of bone growth, when compensation is made for methodological variation. As predicted from documented variation in adult statures, the Indian samples indicate slower growth rates than those of Whites but faster than those of Eskimos.