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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 22, 1982)
Skulking after ancient bones By Dave Fogerson Of the Emerald Poking around in human remains hardly sounds ap pealing to most people, but to University professor John Lu kacs, it's the key to discover ing the past Poring over the skeletons — the skulls and shards of jaw bones and teeth — with a hand lens, Lukacs searches for clues revealing the health and condition of people before their demise He isn’t a forensic path ologist, like television's Quincy, although he some times works in this capacity for state and local police and the county coroner He's not a detective either, although his sleuthing methods are similar to that line of work. Lukacs is a physical anth ropologist, and the bones he works with are as old as 3,000 years "I’m anatomically oriented," Lukacs says "I'm quite inter ested in how changes in cul ture — particularly the tech nology that goes into prepar ing food and the methods of getting food — affect the teeth and jaws " Lukacs' work took him to Poone, India, perhaps more famous as the founding place of the Rajneesh religious sect than for its ancient burial sites In Poone, he examined 133 skeletons, brought in boxes from a burial site named Inamgaon. His work involved measuring, photographing, occasionally x-raying the skeletons and compiling the results of his research The site has been excavated since 1968 by Indian archaeologists Lukacs bases his research on the hypothesis that as cul ture gets more complex, jaw bone and tooth size decrease and the anatomy of the tooth gets less complex According to the theory, the jawbone has been reduced in size over the ages in part because jaw muscles have become weaker through lack of use "The functions that teeth were performing in ancient man are being performed by tools," Lukacs says "Rather than grind grains between teeth, you're grinding them on a grinding stone You couldn't boil food till you had pottery, Photo by Bob Baker Physical anthropolgist John Lukacs examines skulls and shards of bone to reveal clues about ancient people so when you compare pre pottery to post-pottery cul tures you expect to find further reduction in the amount of stress on the jaws " Lukacs envisions a “hypothetical homo-futuris' a thousand years down the line might have no teeth and a small, degenerative jaw" if this evolution is continued But Lukacs isn’t satisfied with just knowing there were changes in the jaw and teeth — he wants to know how and why that evolved “The question is how that happens," he says. “What’s the correlation between the reduction of teeth and jaws with changes in culture?" Evidence shows that the transition from larger jaws and more complex teeth to smaller jaws and less complex teeth occur as agriculture replaces hunting and gathering as a way of life, Lukacs says This has been well documented for Europe and western Asia, he says, and his findings in southern Asia are similar It has also been demon strated that the time frame for when a culture becomes agricultural and when jaw and tooth size reduction occurs is about the same for cultures around the world, Lukacs says "We talk about an agricul tural revolution that happened 10.000 years ago, but it didn't happen simultaneously,” he says. “These people (in southern Asia) just started getting into agriculture around 700-1,000 B C , so it's an early farming community even though it's late in time com pared with other farming sites. However, Lukacs notes the change in time and technology is accompanied by about the same reduction in jaw and tooth size for the populations, suggesting a cause/effect relationship Lukacs plans on returning to India and studying fossil records in conjunction with dental records of modern people He values this kind of re search as not only a data bank for practicing orthodontists, but a historical perspective on why humans are the way they are today M ercha nts—-lrom pa9e 1 with local businesses," Jansen said The men complained that the school, which according.to board policy may house educa tional groups in unused dorm rooms, has "overstepped their legal authority" by housing non-educational groups and participating in a nationwide Elderhostel program. LSAT • MCAT * GRE GRE PSYCH - GRE BIO MAT • GMAT • DAT OCAT • PCAT • VAT SSAT • PSAT • ACHIEVEMENTS SAT • ACT - TOEFL • MSKP NATL MED BOS • ECFMG FLEX • VQE • NOB • RN BOS CPA • SPEED READING StonOeuM KAPLAN EDUCATIONAL CENTER Test Preparation Specialists Since 193S For information Ptease Calf — 485-5699 ■ %n rtallw CmAral/i The three men also told .the board that occupancy rates at Ashland motels had fallen from 80 percent to 65 percent. Board vice chairer Loren Wyss told the businessmen the board was sympathetic but the college can also be viewed as a boon to business A number of us are sym pathetic,” Wyss said. “We do IT have to look at the running of institutions as businesses, too. . sometimes institutional leaders make choices different ly than the board would liave made ” The board, which made no recommendation, told the bu sinessmen they'd look into the situation and possibly discuss it further at their next meeting. =n ^"German AUTO SERVICE VWs-MERCEDES-BMWs DATSUN-TOYOTA-AUDI Reliable service for your foreign car 342-2912 2025 Franklin Blvd Eugene, Oregon SALE! 10 Gallon Aquarium reg $21 99 $14.99 $5 Gift Certificate with complete aquarium set up LITTLE OCEAN 1920 Franklin Boulevard • 687-0682 (between Radio Shack and Baskin Robbins) Sale ends Dec 24, 1982 ☆ TUNE-UPS ☆ BRAKES ☆ FUEL INJECTION n.iase certified general mechanic PHONE 485-8226 1917 FRANKLIN CLOSE TO CAMPUS r 30th ANNIVERSARY SALE GORETEX* RAINGEAR Sierra West F A D Jackets reg. $110.00 NOW $74.50 North Face Stowaway Jacket reg. $125.00 NOW $89.95 Kelty Ladies Jacket reg $133.00 NOW $112.50 WARM JACKETS FILLED WITH .POLARGUARD OR THINSULATE Sierra Designs Thinsulate Mountain Parka reg $149.50 .NOW $104.50 North Face Polarguard Jacket" reg $80.00 .NOW $42.50 Trailwise "Griffon” reg. $72.00 .NOW $36.00 Patagonia Bunting Jackets reg. $55.50 NOW $41.50 WINTER NECESSITIES Patagonia Canvas Shirts reg $26.50 NOW $14.95 Holubar Medium Weight Chamois Shirts . NOW $17.95 Woolrich Shetland Sweaters reg. $35.00 NOW $26.95 Robbins Guernsey Isle Sweaters reg. $48.00 .NOW $31.95 Sales thru Wednesday Some are slight irregulars 57 WEST BROADWAY • 686-2332 EUGENE DOWNTOWN
