Preliminary investigations of the Chelechol ra Orrak Cemetery, Republic of Palau: I, skeletal biology and paleopathology

Abstract

The Pacific Islands were the last major geographic region settled by humans. The physical remains of these settlers, who probably arrived within the last 4500 years, are rare. At the Chelechol ra Orrak site in the Palau archipelago of Micronesia, the discovery of a cemetery dating to near 3000 BP presents an opportunity to examine what portends to be a large sample of the earliest peoples to inhabit the western Pacific. This report is intended as an introduction to the human skeletal remains recovered to date and a preliminary analysis of the skeletal biology and paleopathology. Although quite fragmentary, analysis reveals a mortuary sample that includes neonates through aged adults and a pathology profile with examples of degenerative joint disease, porotic hyperostosis, and spondylolysis. Though in the early stages of investigation, the cemetery at Chelechol ra Orrak has great potential to aid our understanding of the biological relationships and health of the early inhabitants of Palau.