TRANSVERSE LINES IN LONG BONES OF PREHISTORIC CALIFORNIA INDIANS

Radiopaque transverse lines (lines of arrested growth, Harris's lines) were counted on X‐rays of the distal end of 102 adult femurs from prehistoric California Indian populations representing three archaeological Horizons. The sample from Early Horizon has the highest frequency of lines, the Middle Horizon the next, and the sample from Late Horizon has the lowest frequency of lines. These differences are statistically significant. Archaeological evidence indicates that the Indians improved and broadened their subsistence economy from Early to Late Horizon. It is concluded that the differences in the frequency of lines among the three California Indian populations probably are associated with differences in morbidity and/or nutritional status of the people. If this hypothesis is correct, then frequency distribution of transverse lines represents a valuable tool for the paleopathologist and the archaeologist. Copyright © 1968 Wiley‐Liss, Inc., A Wiley Company