VII. DESCRIPTION OF SKELETAL MATERIAL FOUND IN LOVELOCK CAVE (NV-Ch-18) IN 1969 Mary Ellen Morbeck The skeletal material from Lovelock Cave, NV-Ch-18, S40/W85, Feature 5, consists of a single mandible, a few complete long bones, and assorted scapulae, clavicles, ribs, vertebrae and other smaller bones.' There are no crania or innominates that could be used in determination of age and sex; consequently only limited analysis is possible.2 Age variation within the assemblage is indicated by several features. Size, epiphyseal union and dental eruption patterns suggest adult, juvenile and child stages of ossification and development present in this sample of the Lovelock population. More specific identification is impossible due to the unknown variability that probably existed within the population. Compu- tation of stature derived from long bone measurements has not been attempted. As the remains are presumably American Indian, it is difficult to apply formu- las for calculating individual height from statistical samples of other racial populations. Furthermore, population variability during the time period represented by this assemblage may not accurately reflect such contemporary ranges of variation. Sexual differences also may effect stature determination. Females are generally shorter and less robust than males. Thus, lacking a representative sample, the few complete bones are not suitable for accurate sex identification (see Brothwell 1965; Krogman 1962). Skull and Mandible No complete or even partial cranial material is available for study. A discolored, fragmentary parietal found with the post cranial material is not useful for description. The single mandible is that of a child, approximately five years old. The small, sturdy bone is almost complete, lacking only the left coronoid process, which was broken, post-mortum, at sometime in the past. The deciduous incisors and molars are visible. The medial and lateral milk incisors on each side of the jaw have fused. Each root of these combined teeth is wide, flat and slightly curved. Deep alveoli indicating a large, single rooted deciduous canine tooth, lie lateral to each set of fused incisors. Both left and right milk first and second molars have erupted. Permanent lower first and second molar sockets and developing tooth buds are visible. Unfor- tunately, the range of variation within the dental morphology is not known, and the single available specimen has deciduous dentition. Scapulae, Clavicles and Sternum Three adult scapulae are present, one nearly complete left scapula, and two incomplete right specimens. The single left scapula is relatively large 192 with a prominent spine and areas for attachment of the trapezius and deltoid muscles. Although the coracoid process and inferior angle are broken, the acromial process and axillary border are prominent, exhibiting bony muscular ridges. The transverse scapular ligament has ossified, and the vertebral border suggests some "tchipping't of the bone. A corresponding right fragment, perhaps from the same individual, shares features such as size and pronounced muscular attachment regions. The coracoid process is almost complete but the vertebral border has been lost. The third specimen is less robust, displaying less prominent muscle relationships. Both the coracoid process and acromion are broken. Of the five clavicles, three are from the right side of the body and the remaining two from the left side. Therefore, at least three adult individuals are present in the sample. All appear normal except a gracile left clavicle displaying a very much reduced acromial and, perhaps the result of some patho- logy in life--for example, a withered arm and restricted shoulder joint. Three sternal fragments yield little information. The largest indicates clavicular and rib facets but the others are incomplete. Some cartilaginous material adheres to the body of the sternum. Vertebrae, Sacrum and Ribs Cervical, thoracic, lumbar and sacral vertebrae are represented in the 20 available specimens. The eight cervicals include two atlases, two axis (one set articulating) and four other vertebrae. All the spinous processes are bifid except in one specimen which approaches this condition, otherwise they are normal. Only one anomaly is evident: an inferior articular facet is assymetrically enlarged in one of the vertebra. The nine vertebrae exhibit rib facets and long, nearly vertical spines. Several appear to be in articulation. Organic material in the form of bits of cartilage, hair and feathers, adheres to most of the bones. All three fragmentary lumbar vertebrae seem to be affected by osteopor- osis characterized by abnormally porous bone. The sacrum is complete with some organic material attached to its surface. Its size and shape suggest it is a male sacrum. Little information can be derived from the ribs although two dozen speci- mens are present. Only one first rib is included in the assemblage. Six right and seven left ribs are identifiable; the remaining are unknown. Long Bones, Calcaneum and Metacarpals The right forearm is represented by an articulating radius and ulna. The complete adult long bones are relatively robust, illustrating epiphyseal- 193 diaphyseal fusion and prominent areas of muscle attachment. A right fibula is also complete and relatively robust. At least one non-adult is present represented by a small femur lacking the distal articulation surface and the epiphyseal union of the femoral head and trochanters. Other juvenile specimens may include a humeral shaft and two additional fragments. Several broken unidentifiable long bones are also present in the assemblage. The single foot bone, the calcaneum, appears to be a left, adult speci- men. It is weathered but is apparently normal. Two adult metacarpals are also evident in the deposit. Other Material3 A large femur was sacrificed for radiocarbon determination. The date obtained from the femur is 1450 + 80 B.C. (UCLA-1459-C, Berger, personal com- munication, 1970). Non-human Material At least five fragments can be classified as non-human remains. Other very small pieces may also prove to be non-human in origin. Summary The osseous assemblage from Lovelock Cave, grid location N40/W85, Feature 5, includes the bones of at least three adults and one child, age approximately five years. Another adult may be represented by a single burned fragment of a parietal. Some of the specimens were in partial articulation in situ; however, the assemblage would appear to be a multiple secondary re- burial of bones that might have been disinterred from the deposit soon after initial interment. One specimen, a calcaneum, is weathered, which would seem to indicate that it had lain outside the cave for a period of time. Table Lovelock Cave (NV-Ch-18) S40/W85, Skull frag. Mandible Scapulae Clavicles 1 I 3 5 Sternum Vertebrae Cervical Thoracic Lumbar Sacrum Ribs Long bones Humerus Radius Ulna Femur Fibula Other juveniles Fragments Calcaneum Metacarpals Non-human Fragments 1 Feature 5, osseous Assemblage R L Comments black, burned? 5 yrs., milk I fused 2 1 two may be same individual 3 2 1 acromial end degenerate, two may be same individual, all fragmentary many with organic material, I pathology vertebral arch pathology osteoporosis, all frag. male 6 7 11 unknown, 1 1st rib nts? 1 articulates with ulna juvenile 1 3 20 8 9; 3 2 24 4 fragme I 1 I I 3 5 2 5 I Total Individuals - 4 (?) 194 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 10. 11. 12. Total Bones - 97 195 Notes 1. Unfortunately, lacking skulls and complete individuals, it would be difficult to make comparisons with other human skeletal assemblages from the Great Basin and California (see Gifford 1926; Loud and Harrington 1929; Kennedy 1957; Reed 1967). 2. I wish to thank Professors R. F. Heizer and S. L. Washburn, and L. K. Napton, for giving me the opportunity to examine the skeletal material found in Lovelock Cave in 1968-69 and the material collected by Loud in 1912. 3. Five ribs, one right humerus, and one non-human bone fragment were sent to Dr. J. H. Stopps, Haskell Laboratory, E. I. dePont de Nemours and Co., for trace element analysis. Explanation of Plates Plate 1. Lovelock Cave (NV-Ch-18), west end, grid location S40/W85, Feature 5; cache of human bones found at elevation 4205.0, 20.7 feet below the elevation of UCB datum A. Trowel points north. Edge of massive rock A is at left of photograph. Plate 2. Lovelock Cave (NV-Ch-18), mummy of infant said to have been found in Lovelock Cave circa 1911. Note that the fontanel is open. A string of Olivella shell beads is in place around the left wrist. The mummy was photographed by John T. Reid, probably in 1916, since the newspapers under the mummy carry that dateline. The mummy is now in the collections of the Nevada State Historical Society Museum, Reno. (Photograph courtesy of the Nevada State Historical Society.) 196 197 Bibliography Brothwell, D.R. 1965 Digging Up Bones. London, British Museum (Natural History). Gifford, E.W. 1926 "Californian Anthropometry," UC-PAAE 22:2:217-390. Kennedy, K.A.R. 1959 "The Aboriginal Population of the Great Basin," UC-AS 45. Krogman, W.M. 1962 The Human Skeleton in Forensic Medicine. Springfield, Illinois, Charles C. Thomas. Loud, L. L. and M. R. Harrington 1929 "Lovelock Cave," UC-PAAE 25:1:1-183. Reed, E. K. 1967 "An Unusual Human Skull from'Near Lovelock, Nevada," Miscellaneous Paper 18, Anthropological Papers, Department of Anthropology, U. of Utah.