Analysis of skeletal remains from Roonka, South Australia • 157 



Figure 18. Peglike right upper tliiid iiK)lar. scLoiidary dentin on the 

 crowns of M 1 and M 2. Tomb No. 96, Roonka. Female, mature. 



Figure 17. Auditor) exostosis posterior. Both 

 sides of skull affected. Tomb No. 3, Roonka. 

 Male, senile. 



Figure 19. Considerable wear of tooth crowns with an 

 open pulp cavity in first left lower molar, leading to an 

 abscess. Tomb No. 23, Roonka. Male, mature. 



Aboriginals from the Port Lincoln Aboriginal Reserve in 

 South Australia taken in the last century were used for super- 

 projection over some of the Roonka skulls. In one instance an 

 oil painting of an Aboriginal chief was matched with a skull 

 from one of the status graves from trench A from the Roonka 

 Flat. 



Conclusions 



Anthropological analyses on a sample of human skeletal ma- 

 terial from an archeological site (Roonka) in South Australia 

 shed light on demographical structure, health status, genet- 

 ics, culture, and probable way of life of the people who 

 inhabited the site for at least 7000 years before the arrival of 

 the first European settlers. The buried people belonged to a 

 basically similar physical type throughout the time period. 

 Three different methods of face reconstruction from skulls 

 were used in an attempt to restore the probable appearance of 

 some of the buried persons. 



Zagreb Paleopathotogy Symp. t9Sft 



Their mean stature and mean age at death are much lower 

 in comparison to present-day standards. On the other hand, 

 child mortality was much higher but consistent with the so- 

 ciety of hunters and gatherers and their harsh way of life. 

 Women and babies were always at risk at childbirth while 

 males died frequently in fights. Diseases which leave marks 

 on bones were present as in other societies, not only in 

 nomads. Fine pitting in a skull of a child indicates the pres- 

 ence of anemia, and several instances of enamel hypoplasia 

 bear evidence of nutritional disorders in early life. Caries was 

 rare or absent , though deep abrasion of teeth and lack of oral 

 hygiene caused trouble and discomfort. Contrary to literary 

 sources the Roonka material showed that ritual evulsion of 

 upper central front teeth was performed in South Australia 

 for at least 7000 years. 



Survival of the Roonka population under conditions simi- 

 lar to those faced by paleolithic hunters and gatherers for 

 such a long time is the best proof of a functioning society 

 fully adapted to the given environment. 



