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Abstract ObjectivesWe estimate adult age frequencies from Unar 1 and Unar 2, two late Umm an‐Nar (2400–2100 BCE) tombs in the modern‐day Emirate of Ras al‐Khaimah, United Arab Emirates. These collective tombs each contained hundreds of skeletons in commingled, fragmented, and variably cremated states. Previous studies placed the vast majority of this mortuary community in a generalized “adult” category, as have most analyses of similar tombs from this period. We sought to test how adult age estimation methods compare in identifying young, middle, and old‐age individuals in commingled assemblages. Materials and MethodsWe employed Transition Analysis 3 (TA3) and traditional age estimation methods to generate adult age frequencies for each tomb. We compared these frequencies between tomb contexts as well as by method. ResultsUnar 1 and Unar 2 had similar adult age frequencies within each method, but TA3 age frequencies included significantly more middle and older adult individuals than those generated by traditional methods. DiscussionThese results support findings of earlier iterations of transition analysis in regard to sensitivity in old adult age estimation, compared with traditional methods. Our findings indicate a potential use of TA3 in reconstructing age frequencies and mortality profiles in commingled skeletal assemblages. Increasing our understanding of everyday life in the distant past necessitates better understandings of adult age, and here, we illustrate how age estimation method choice significantly changes bioarchaeological interpretations of aging in Bronze Age Arabia. Research HighlightsAdult age estimation using TA3 revealed significantly more middle and older adults than traditional methods in two commingled tombs.Similar mean maximum likelihood point estimates by side and across skeletal elements were found between tombs.
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This content will become publicly available on March 31, 2026
Lepromatous leprosy in Bronze Age Oman: micro-CT provides tools for paleopathology in fragmentary and commingled assemblages
Paleoradiology uses CT scanning, digital radiography, and 3D imaging to non-invasively characterize the lives and the experience of health and disease for past people. This paper presents an analysis of micro-CT scans of leprosy in three archaeological maxillae from Dahwa, Oman (2500-2000 BCE) to characterize the natural history of disease progression on an ultra-structural level and address environmental and social factors that shaped the experience of health in Arabia during the Bronze Age. The human skeletal remains from Bronze Age Oman present a challenge for paleopathological analysis because they are fragmentary and commingled. We demonstrate microstructural characteristics of lesions in the ventral maxilla and palate that are strongly consistent with a diagnosis of lepromatous leprosy (e.g., atrophy of the anterior nasal spine, resorption of the medial alveolar process, deterioration of the piriform aperture margin, and atrophy of the nasal septum) and the utility of micro-CT for non-invasively characterizing pathology in isolated maxilla from fragmentary, commingled archaeological contexts. The presence of disfigurement, probably resulting from leprosy, in this community provides new evidence about the early migrations of pathogens responsible for leprosy, which despite being an ancient disease is still relatively poorly understood.
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- Award ID(s):
- 2117299
- PAR ID:
- 10652565
- Publisher / Repository:
- Frontiers in Medicine
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Frontiers in Medicine
- Volume:
- 12
- ISSN:
- 2296-858X
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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