Application of palaeodermatoglyphic analytical methods to assess age and biological sex of potter(s) from a pre-contact Late Woodland period vessel

Abstract

The objectives of this research is the application and critique of analytical methods that have been developed in the dactylographic and dermatoglyphic literature to determine the biological sex and age of the potter(s) involved in the production of a Late Woodland vessel from the boreal forest region in Northwestern Ontario. Age was determined from mean ridge breadth. The modified regression equation used in Fowler et al. (2019) was chosen for this analysis. The comparative data set for the aging model consisted of mean ridge breadth data from Laing (2021). Biological sex determination used mean ridge density. The Acree method, counting ridges in 25mm2 area was used, modified using Gungadin’s (2007) approach as needed; measuring in 6.25 mm2 areas and adjusting. A bespoke model based upon fingerprints from North American Indigenous groups was used to interpret ridge density measurements (Stinson 2004). Measurements were corrected to account for shrinkage of the clay material during the drying and firing process. A shrinkage test was conducted using regional clays. The corrections used were 6% and 12%. The results of this research show that most ridge skin impressions of the vessel were made by an adolescent or adult female. There were two anomalies impressed during the decoration stage of manufacture suggesting a late adolescent or adult male. Despite earlier assumptions that pre-contact Indigenous pottery was made by women (Syms 1977; Taylor-Hollings 2017, p.110; Bales 1997), this analysis show males could have been involved in production. Moreover, this study critiques these methods, identifying issues that can affect the results obtained using the models. Some issues such as shrinkage are already factored into the models. The issue of the effect of curvature on fingerprint impressions, however, is not considered in these analytical models. This research is valuable since it provides insight into past populations where there may be no other means of investigation. This research is further significant since it is the first analysis of pre-contact epidermal prints in this region. Currently, there is no data that can be used to infer the age and sex of potters in pre-contact boreal forest hunter-gatherer societies in Canada.