In the U.S. Southwest, there is a considerable corpus of rock art that depicts individuals with six toes to a foot. For example. This is not a purely artistic convention, since we have considerable skeletal evidence of polydactyly (the condition of having extra toes) across the Southwest, with a total of seven individuals identified in the archaeological record.

It seems like individuals with polydactyly may have had special positions within society. This is certainly so at Chaco Canyon, which was the most regionally important center of the Ancestral Puebloan world in the 10th through 12th centuries. Within Pueblo Bonito, the largest and most central structure within the canyon, 3 of the 96 burials uncovered in the building exhibited polydactyly. This is both nearly 50% of all polydactyly cases in the Southwest and a very high proportion of the overall assemblage at Pueblo Bonito (~3%) compared with the rate of occurrence in Native populations in the present (around 0.2% of that population).

Not only are there so many skeletal remains exhibiting polydactyly at Pueblo Bonito (itself an important archaeological site), but these skeletons were all in rich burial contexts near important ritual rooms within the building. Between the frequent depiction in the rock art, the uncommonly high occurrence at a very important archaeological site, and the important context they were found in, it seems fairly clear that polydactyly may have been a marker of special status in the Ancestral Puebloan world.

Whether or not these three individuals are related biologically hasn't been establish at present, but it would certainly answer a lot of questions about whether this represent a genetic trait of a ruling lineage (keeping in mind just how much Chaco Canyon had "elites" in a traditional sense is an open debate still) or if instead these unrelated individuals were singled out partially because of their polydactyly and given special social status because of it.

Beyond the three at Pueblo Bonito, one individual was identified at Sand Canyon pueblo in Colorado, another in the Salinas region of south-central New Mexico at Gran Quivira, and two juveniles in Arizona, one each at the sites of Chavez Pass Ruin and Tapia del Cerrito. This is a considerable geographic spread, as well as a temporal spread ranging from the early colonial period (ca. 1600) down to A.D. 900-1000 at Pueblo Bonito and maybe even earlier at other sites.

Edit: Typos Sources:

• Barnes, Ethne. 1994. Polydactyly in the Southwest. Kiva, 59(4):419-431.

• Case, D. T., R. J. Hill, C. F. Merbs, and M. Fong. 2006. Polydactyly in the prehistoric American Southwest. International Journal of Osteoarchaeology, 16(3):221-235.

• Crown, Patricia L., Marden, Kerriann, Hannah V. Mattson. 2016. Foot Notes: The Social Implications of Polydactyly and Foot-Related Imagery at Pueblo Bonito, Chaco Canyon. American Antiquity, 81(3):426-448.

The infamous Jolly Roger, the Skull and Crossbones of pirate lore, didn't start off as the flag of Pirates. In fact it was a relatively late development in the history of Western piracy during it's golden age.

For the longest time, pirates never really used any specific flags to identify themselves. They would often have flags of many nations on standby so they could disguise themselves until they were close enough to jump their prey. However, by the early 18th Century, the use of a black flag sans skull and crossbones, would be raised to indicate that they were indeed pirates, and would actually spare the lives of those who surrendered immediately.

You see, there's no profit in a protracted fight. Your loot gets shot up, maybe a doctor or carpenter you could kidnap might get killed, etc. So, the pirates would hoist a black flag to say that they would offer you quarter if you surrendered without a fight. If they were coming to kill everyone, they would generally raise a red flag, though the veracity of this is doubtful, as some famous pirates flags were red instead of black and they were known to offer quarter.

By the 1720's, some pirates began using their own symbols. Skulls in profile, skeletons with spears and bleeding hearts, hourglasses with the sands run out, arms holding swords, and the classic skull and crossbones. Sort of a pirate logo for each crew and captain.

Where the practice really began, no one knows for sure, but it's become such an ingrained part of pirate lore, it's hard to image a pirate without them.

Human remains don't come up that much in Lovecraft studies, but there's one very famous anecdote from Lovecraft's letters, told near the end of his life, regarding a gift he received for Christmas 1936:

[...] the gift which came quite unexpectedly from young Willis Conover (one of the weird 'fan magazine' editors) of Cambridge, Maryland, down on the Eastern Shore. For lo! when I had removed numberless layers of corrugated paper & excelsior, what should I find before me but the yellowed & crumbling fragments of a long-interred human skull! It came from an Indian mound not far from the sender's home—a place distinguished by many archaeological exploits of Conover & his young friends. Its condition is such that its reassembling will form a very delicate task—so that I may reserve it for the ministrations of some expert mender [...] Reflective fancy strives to evoke the image of him to whom it once belonged. Was it some feathered chieftain who in his day oft ululated in triumph as he counted the tufted scalps sliced from coppery or colonist foes? Or some crafty medicine-man who with mask & drum called forth from the Great Abyss those shadowy Things which were better left uncalled? This we may never know—unless perchance some incantation droned out of the pages of the dark & dreaded Necronomicon will have power to draw strange emanations from the lifeless & centuried clay, & raise up amidst the cobwebs of my ancient study a shimmering mist not without power to speak!

• H. P. Lovecraft to Elizabeth Toldridge, 7 Jan 1937, Letters to Elizabeth Toldridge & Anne Tillery Renshaw 351-352

Much of this was just Lovecraft having fun, of course. The teenaged Willis Conover (later famous as the Voice of Jazz). The exact origin of the skull is unknown, although there were several Native American mounds and ossuary sites for such graverobbing in and around Cambridge, including Sandy Hill. The crumbling skull disappeared - probably disposed of - after Lovecraft's death a couple months later.

In July of 1329, Can Francesco della Scala, better known as Cangrande, or "The Great Hound;" Lord of Verona, Vicenza, Treviso, Padua, Belluno, and Brescia, sent shockwaves through northern Italy by suddenly dropping dead; presumably due to an extremely rapid onset of dysentery.

The death was certainly unexpected but revealed itself very convenient. Cangrande had just been granted the title "Imperial Vicar of Mantua," meaning that he had every reason to challenge Luigi Gonzaga's rule over the city; the inevitable conflict would certainly drag the Visconti of Milan into the fighting, and seeing as Cangrande had thus far been unstoppable in his ability to maneuver the small state centered around Verona he had inherited into a polity spanning the whole of northeast Italy, it would appear that the odds of uniting the long-defunct Kingdom of Italy weren't looking bad at all. The poet Niccolò de' Rossi had proclaimed, "He shall be King of Italy by the end of the year."

Cangrande's untimely death has fascinated Italian medievalists for generations; and his tomb was opened in 1924 to examine the body (and that may not have have even been the first time the tomb was opened!)

In 2004, Cangrande's body was again exhumed from the sumptuous tomb created for him by his nephew and successor, Alberto della Scala, to undergo modern testing, first at the University of Verona and subsequently at the more extensive facilities at the University of Pisa. From the body, which was surprisingly well preserved sealed in its tomb, researchers were able to deduct a number of things about the lifestyle of a 14th century Italian lord, in addition to raising some very interesting doubts about his manner of death.

Cangrande's skeleton is precisely 171 centimeters long; living, he would probably have stood at about 175 centimeters; one centimeter taller than the average height of a modern Italian male, unsurprising given the fact that he undoubtably had access to a very complete diet. MRI scans showed well-developed jaw and healthy teeth (more signs of a healthy diet) although a septum deformity reveals he might have fractured his nose at some point. His vertebrae is also straight, well-developed, and mineral-rich. Curiously, his lungs have a slight emphysema, not unlike that which an occasional tobacco smoker would suffer from, probably attributable to consistent exposure to charcoal fireplaces used to heat palace chambers in the damp Northeastern Italian winter. His knee ligaments show more wear than the rest of the body's joints, probably due to exertion while riding. His hips, shoulders and elbows show wear consistent with his age.

Providentially, his liver was surprisingly intact, allowing for a toxicological evaluation. There were no traces of arsenic in the body, excluding the medieval Italians' favorite poison. However, traces of the compound Digoxin, presumably extracted from the Foxglove plant, were found in his body. Foxglove is a traditional remedy for heart conditions, and it's active compound Digoxin is still prescribed today to manage irregular heartbeats. However, Digoxin is very difficult for the body to process and is only prescribed in small doses; in the quantities found in Cangrande's body they easily could have induced nausea and diarrhea consistent with accounts of his death.

So was Cangrande poisoned? Maybe. His body also contained traces of chamomile and passion fruit leaves as well as artemisinin, all used in traditional medicine for their sedative qualities. It is possible he was already suffering from something which prompted him to overdose on Digoxin. Maybe his doctor prescribed an exaggerated dose, or maybe his doctor was in on the conspiracy, we just don't know; even with extensive chemical and MRI testing, dead men tell no tales.

My background is in biological anthropology and archaeology. I study skeletons and have examined everything from fossils of Miocene apes to mummified human remains from the historic Southwest to recent skeletal donations to my university's osteology lab. Through human remains we can examine how each individual interacted with their world, an insight that isn't always possible through written accounts. Whether it is knowing their height, or looking at evidence of trauma, or musculoskeletal markers indicating habitual movements, or even signs of disease an individual's story can be written, quite literally, on their bones. There are many possible stories to tell but I think this one will suffice. Allow me to present, for your trivia pleasure, the evidence of cannibalism at Jamestown.

In 1607 English colonists arrived on the coast of Virginia and settled on an uninhabited spit of land with brackish water, soil unfit for agriculture, and a delightful mosquito problem. The defensible location made a wonderful base to plunder the Spanish treasure fleet to the south, as well as protect from the powerful neighboring Powhatan Paramount Chiefdom, but limited supplies and limited survival skills in the initial colonists paved the way for trouble. Powhatan/Wahunsenacawh served as the paramount chief for more than 30 nations allied in Tsenacommacah ("densely inhabited land") in what we now call the Virginia tidewater and Eastern Shore. Eager for allies against the encroaching Spanish, as well as inland enemies including the Susquenhannock, he adopted Jamestown as a tributary member of his confederacy and initiated John Smith as a werowance/representative of the English outpost to the greater chiefdom.

In a pattern that would be repeated time and again, initial cordial relations between English colonists and their Native American neighbors went downhill. Smith was able to negotiate the regular exchange of food to help support the struggling outpost, but when a gunpowder accident required his return to England the situation in the fort deteriorated rapidly.

In the history of Jamestown the winter of 1609-1610 is known as Starving Time. The population, which numbered ~500 before the winter, dwindled to 60 by the time the snows melted. Historians knew of written documents detailing the extreme conditions during Starving Time, including George Percy's 1625 letter that stated

Haveinge fedd upon our horses and other beastes as longe as they Lasted, we weare gladd to make shifte with vermin as doggs Catts, Ratts and myce…as to eate Bootes shoes or any other leather... And now famin beginneinge to Looke gastely and pale in every face, thatt notheinge was Spared to mainteyne Lyfe and to doe those things which seame incredible, as to digge upp deade corpes outt of graves and to eate them. And some have Licked upp the Bloode which hathe fallen from their weake fellowes.

However, until recently we lacked any concrete evidence of such practices. Several years ago skeletal analyses confirmed evidence of cannibalism in Jamestown during Starving Time. A fourteen-year-old female, now referred to as Jane, showed evidence of peri-mortem sharp force trauma to the mandible (jaw), skull, and tibia (shinbone) consistent with the removal of soft tissue seen when butchering animals. Given the high protein isotope signature in her bones (indicating access to expensive meat resources before arrival in Jamestown) physical anthropologists believe she was either the maidservant or daughter of a gentleman. Other isotopes indicated she arrived from England, and her stage of dental development indicated her age. Her remains were discovered in a refuse midden, mingled with butchered dog and horse bones.

While we have no evidence Jane was murdered, her remains do show ample evidence of being processed for food. Based on the analysis of the placement, pattern, and depth of the sharp force trauma physical anthropologist Doug Owsley concluded "the person that was doing this was not experienced and did not know how to butcher an animal. Instead, we see hesitancy, trial, tentativeness and a total lack of experience." He also concluded there seemed to be two individuals and at least three different sharp tools involved in the processing of the remains, with the more experienced/skilled individual processing the lower extremity bones, and the less experienced processing the upper body.

The skeletal analysis, combined with the later accounts of survivors, help us to better understand the conditions in Jamestown during Starving Time. Written in the bones of one individual we see evidence of people driven to the extreme and see their unease when violating social norms in the hope of survival.

For more info check out the Smithsonian Insider article, as well as the longer Smithsonian Magazine article, and the Historic Jamestowne site.

With the data they preserve about people's height, origins, diet and ailments, skeletons are an invaluable source of evidence for the ancient world. And I'm not just talking about humans; the presence of animal bones at religious sites can tell us about the type and scale of sacrifices, for example, and the bones of horses can tell us much about the size and capabilities of ancient mounts.

The best skeletons, though, are the type that tell their own story.

In 612 BC, the great city of Nineveh, capital of the Neo-Assyrian Empire, was taken by a coalition of Babylonians and Medes. This was the final defeat of the Assyrians. Our only contemporary source for this catastrophic event is a Babylonian chronicle:

For three [months] they subjected the city to heavy fighting. In August, [...] huge [defeat] on a great [people]. At that time, Sinsharishkun, king of Assyria [...] They carried off the vast booty of the city and the temple and [turned] the city into a ruin [heap]. [...] of Assyria grasped the feet of the king of Akkad to plead for his life.

After the sack, the city was never rebuilt at any significant scale. Its ruins lay largely dormant for thousands of years. In the 20th century, an Iraqi initiative prevented the expansion of the modern city of Mosul from overrunning the remains of Nineveh, and it was only at this time that excavation began in earnest. Some of the earliest and most intensive work (with the purpose of establishing the boundaries of the city) was done on the walls and gates.

In the so-called Halzi Gate on the southeastern edge of the city, the excavators found skeletons. More than a dozen skeletons, surrounded by weapons and arrowheads, with clear signs of wounds on their bodies. A few were children, who may have been trying to flee the city, but most were grown men - Assyrian soldiers, who fell where they stood, defending the gates, and remained there for 2600 years.

Bones and skeletons were potent political symbols in late Imperial China. The book I read was centered on the Taiping Civil War, but the symbolism of bones was not an innovation of the period.

Traditionally, Chinese culture puts quite a premium on the body, especially according to the Confucian codification, where it's one aspect of filial piety. Cutting ones hair or getting tattoos was considered disrespectful to the body one's parents gave them, which led to tension with the ruling Manchu, who mandated that their Han subjects adopt the Manchu custom of shaving one's forehead and braiding the remaining hair.

The physical state of a body, living or dead, reflected on the character of the person or the state, depending on context. A body miraculously preserved without damage or decay signified great loyalty on the part of the deceased. Conversely, a skeleton, stripped of human identity by decay and torn apart by scavenger, represented the failure of the state to rule benevolently and protect its subjects, as well as the cruelty of the rebels (or the state, depending on who's doing the writing.) Vernacular literature in the Taiping Civil War consistently refers to the richest and most cultured region of China, the Yangtze river delta, laid waste by a decade of brutal warfare, with a once prosperous countryside now littered with bones. Not only do bones not carry any way to identify loyalty with the state or a place in one's family or community, but after advanced decay, it's no longer possible for the layman to identify a person's remains as human.