Comparative Archaeology Database | Center for Comparative Archaeology | University of Pittsburgh
Andean Cranial Trauma Dataset
The data files below provide counts of evidence of cranial trauma in skeletal remains across the central Andes gathered from academic literature.
Please note, an earlier and shorter version of this table was published in Arkush and Tung (2013). This version was updated with more recently published sources up to 2021. There are a few small discrepancies between some rows in this table and Tung's (2021) supplementary table, which is also derived from the same original version. Most discrepancies are in values for N (total observed). Sometimes skeletal population in a sample is larger than the number of crania observable for trauma. This updated table tries to use only observable crania for N values for each demographic category, or to make educated guesses about N values if they are not reported directly in the source. Notes in the table identify where values for N are not certain and should be considered tentative. Regardless, these discrepancies are small enough that they should not affect the main patterns and conclusions discussed in the book.
[Comma delimited ASCII text format]
[Excel format]
Each line in the ASCII file represents one time period from a skeletal sample in which cranial trauma or the absence of trauma was reported. There are 144 lines, each with 27 variables separated by commas. The variables are listed in the following order:
| 1 | Record ID: A unique identifier number used to keep track of records. |
| 2 | Site and Location |
| 3 | Longitude |
| 4 | Latitude |
| 5 | Source (Access Full Bibliography) |
| 6 | Culture |
| 7 | State: does not (0) or does (1) belong to a state society. Populations peripheral to and influenced by states are coded as non-state. |
| 8 | Region: S, N, and C refer to South, North, and Central, respectively. |
| 9 | Time period |
| 10 | Period code, where:
|
| 11 | Start date |
| 12 | End date |
| 13 | Number of injured adults (includes antemortem and perimortem injuries) |
| 14 | Total number of adults with observable crania |
| 15 | Number of adults with perimortem cranial injuries |
| 16 | Number of adults observed for perimortem cranial injuries |
| 17 | Number of injured males (includes antemortem and perimortem injuries) |
| 18 | Total number of males with observable crania |
| 19 | Number of males with perimortem cranial injuries |
| 20 | Number of males observed for perimortem cranial injuries |
| 21 | Number of injured females (includes antemortem and perimortem injuries) |
| 22 | Total number of females with observable crania |
| 23 | Number of females with perimortem cranial injuries |
| 24 | Number of females observed for perimortem cranial injuries |
| 25 | Number of injured subadults |
| 26 | Total number of subadults |
| 27 | Healed wounds: Counts of healed cranial injuries on adults |
| 28 | Perimortem injuries: Counts of perimortem cranial injuries on adults |
| 29 | Notes |
The first line of the ASCII text file, for example, looks like this:
127,"Bandelier collections, Island of the Sun, Titicaca (excludes Kea Kollu Chico)",-69.173,-15.997,Torres Rouff 2013. EXCLUDES Kea Kollu Chico which is in separate record.,,,S highlands,unknown (MF - LIP),,,,4,19,0,19,3,12,0,12,1,6,0,6,,,6,0,This record EXCLUDES Kea Kollu Chico which is in separate record.
This means that evidence of craniofacial trauma comes from RecordID 127, with a stated site and location of Bandelier collections, Island of the Sun, Titicaca. The site has a longitude of -69.173 and latitude of -15.997. This record is sourced from Torres Rouff 2013 in Advances 2, with an unidentified state and culture and is located in the southern highlands region. The time period is stated as "unknown (MF-LIP)" with no period code, start date, or end date. The source reports 4 adults with craniofacial injuries (antemortem and perimortem), 19 total adults with observable crania, 0 adults with perimortem craniofacial injuries, and 19 adults observed for perimortem cranial injuries. Also reported were 3 injured male crania, 12 total male crania, 0 males with perimortem craniofacial injuries, and 12 males observed for perimortem cranial injuries. Additionally, 1 injured female cranium, 6 total female crania, 0 females with perimortem craniofacial injuries, and 6 females observed for cranial injuries were reported. No subadults were reported in this sample. The source reports a total of 6 healed wounds and 0 perimortem wounds from the adult population. The note states "This record EXCLUDES Kea Kollu Chico which is in a separate record".