by: Glenys Ong
This morning I had the privilege of having breakfast while sitting on a terrace wall, looking out at the stunning amphitheatre that is the Batad rice terraces. We spent last night in traditional Ifugao houses, which are much roomier on the inside than they seem. I woke up to the sounds and smells of breakfast being made under the floor of the raised hut.
Our mission for the day was to split into four teams to make the most of our short time in Batad. One team stayed in the valley digging a test pit to determine the potential for future excavations, and another hiked the terraces to collect geographic information. I was in one of two groups that headed straight up the mountain, where we were to learn about human osteology. The other observed a pig slaughter and the cultural practices around it.
The remains being examined belonged to Marlon Martin’s ancestors, and the house we visited was his first cousin’s. Before Adam and Dr. Kiko could start their work, however, the tomb had to be opened by chipping away at the headstone. It was a little uncomfortable watching a process that seemed so intrusive, but IAP had received consent from the Martin family, the community and the village shaman before beginning our investigation. I also learnt that reopening a tomb was not an unfamiliar process in Batad, as families retrieve, care for and re-inter an ancestor’s bones every 10 to 20 years.
Marlon’s cousins brought a small, neat bundle out of the family tomb, wrapped in a woven cloth with a red and black pattern. The cloth was dusty and had begun to decay. A new clean cloth with the same colors and patterns was laid down, which Marlon explained was used only for highly respected individuals in the community. Once the bones were unwrapped, Adam and Dr, Kiko worked quickly, as they had promised the family. They laid the bones out on the new cloth, reassembling it in the standard anatomical position. Their priorities were to clean and inventory the bones of the skeleton, measure the long bones and take note of any irregularities or indications of disease. The focus was on studying the overall robustness of the individual to learn about nutrition and health as it related to political change over time.
Having studied osteology, being able to apply that knowledge in the field was really exciting for me. I took notes for Adam, who pointed out characteristics and pathology I had never seen in person. One of the things I like most about human osteology is how a person’s life story can be told through their bones, and that we can recreate their movements and how they might have felt, even with the smallest of markers. Both sets of remains we looked at suggested that Marlon’s ancestors had been strong and healthy men, very accustomed to climbing the steep terraces that we had barely been able to manage. Their femurs had three trochanters instead of the usual two, indicating robust muscles in the legs. Adam had found the same third trochanter in another set of Martin remains, so there could be a genetic basis for that trait as well. It also seemed that both men suffered very painful osteoarthritis later in life. Several joints were eburnated, meaning that cartilage had worn away leaving bone to rub together. To defend itself, the body had grown additional bone at the joints, leaving behind spurs and frothy-looking growth.
A really interesting discussion was spurred by the observation that in the second set of remains, the space between the mandibular condyles was wider than the tempromandibular joints, basically meaning that the jaw didn’t fit the rest of the skull. Initially, it was thought that the mandibles of the two skeletons had been mixed up, though that seemed very unlikely. However, by looking at the wear in that joint, as well as the contact between the remaining teeth and mandible, Adam and Dr. Kiko theorized that the person must have moved his jaw side-to-side in order to chew, possibly because he had so few teeth left in his old age.
The osteologists worked with the speed and efficiency of experienced professionals. It would have taken me at least twice the time to reassemble a skeleton. Once we were finished, Marlon’s family took over to carefully wrap the bones and return them to their resting place. I really valued the opportunity I had today, not just to observe the scientific process of measuring and examining bones, but also to learn the importance of ethics in human osteology and the respect that should be accorded to the people we study. It was good to interact directly with their descendants and understand the importance of ancestral bones and burial practices in the community.
This morning I had the privilege of having breakfast while sitting on a terrace wall, looking out at the stunning amphitheatre that is the Batad rice terraces. We spent last night in traditional Ifugao houses, which are much roomier on the inside than they seem. I woke up to the sounds and smells of breakfast being made under the floor of the raised hut.
Our mission for the day was to split into four teams to make the most of our short time in Batad. One team stayed in the valley digging a test pit to determine the potential for future excavations, and another hiked the terraces to collect geographic information. I was in one of two groups that headed straight up the mountain, where we were to learn about human osteology. The other observed a pig slaughter and the cultural practices around it.
The remains being examined belonged to Marlon Martin’s ancestors, and the house we visited was his first cousin’s. Before Adam and Dr. Kiko could start their work, however, the tomb had to be opened by chipping away at the headstone. It was a little uncomfortable watching a process that seemed so intrusive, but IAP had received consent from the Martin family, the community and the village shaman before beginning our investigation. I also learnt that reopening a tomb was not an unfamiliar process in Batad, as families retrieve, care for and re-inter an ancestor’s bones every 10 to 20 years.
Marlon’s cousins brought a small, neat bundle out of the family tomb, wrapped in a woven cloth with a red and black pattern. The cloth was dusty and had begun to decay. A new clean cloth with the same colors and patterns was laid down, which Marlon explained was used only for highly respected individuals in the community. Once the bones were unwrapped, Adam and Dr, Kiko worked quickly, as they had promised the family. They laid the bones out on the new cloth, reassembling it in the standard anatomical position. Their priorities were to clean and inventory the bones of the skeleton, measure the long bones and take note of any irregularities or indications of disease. The focus was on studying the overall robustness of the individual to learn about nutrition and health as it related to political change over time.
Having studied osteology, being able to apply that knowledge in the field was really exciting for me. I took notes for Adam, who pointed out characteristics and pathology I had never seen in person. One of the things I like most about human osteology is how a person’s life story can be told through their bones, and that we can recreate their movements and how they might have felt, even with the smallest of markers. Both sets of remains we looked at suggested that Marlon’s ancestors had been strong and healthy men, very accustomed to climbing the steep terraces that we had barely been able to manage. Their femurs had three trochanters instead of the usual two, indicating robust muscles in the legs. Adam had found the same third trochanter in another set of Martin remains, so there could be a genetic basis for that trait as well. It also seemed that both men suffered very painful osteoarthritis later in life. Several joints were eburnated, meaning that cartilage had worn away leaving bone to rub together. To defend itself, the body had grown additional bone at the joints, leaving behind spurs and frothy-looking growth.
A really interesting discussion was spurred by the observation that in the second set of remains, the space between the mandibular condyles was wider than the tempromandibular joints, basically meaning that the jaw didn’t fit the rest of the skull. Initially, it was thought that the mandibles of the two skeletons had been mixed up, though that seemed very unlikely. However, by looking at the wear in that joint, as well as the contact between the remaining teeth and mandible, Adam and Dr. Kiko theorized that the person must have moved his jaw side-to-side in order to chew, possibly because he had so few teeth left in his old age.
The osteologists worked with the speed and efficiency of experienced professionals. It would have taken me at least twice the time to reassemble a skeleton. Once we were finished, Marlon’s family took over to carefully wrap the bones and return them to their resting place. I really valued the opportunity I had today, not just to observe the scientific process of measuring and examining bones, but also to learn the importance of ethics in human osteology and the respect that should be accorded to the people we study. It was good to interact directly with their descendants and understand the importance of ancestral bones and burial practices in the community.