On Wed, 2 Dec 1998 Staffan Lindeberg <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
> At 10.52 -0500 98-11-24, Sandy Rzetelny wrote:
> >...
> >Is there evidence indicating that the paleo hunter gatherer woman did undergo
> >menopause?
>
> Oh, yes. Available data suggest an average age at menopause of
> approximately 47 years.

How was this data obtained for *paleo* H-G women?  Ref 1 gives a method
for living H-G women to determine whether they are pregnant/ not pregnant/
menopausal using luteinising hormone (LH) in urine.  This will be very
difficult to detect in skeletal remains.  Any method based on population
statistics or examination of menopausal skeletal changes (if there are any
unequivocal ones) will fall down on our inability to precisely age the
skeletons of people aver 40 years of age.

> 1  Phillips JCM et al. New field techniques for detection of female
> reproductive status. Am J Phys Anthropol 1991; 85: 143.
Actually   AJPA 1991; Supplement 12: 143

> 2  Wood J. Fertility and reproductive biology. In Attenborough R and Alpers
> M (eds). The Small Cosmos. Oxford University Press 1991.

Andrew

 =========================================================================
 Dr. Andrew Millard                              [log in to unmask]
 Department of Archaeology, University of Durham,   Tel: +44 191 374 4757
 South Road, Durham. DH1 3LE. United Kingdom.       Fax: +44 191 374 3619
                      http://www.dur.ac.uk/~drk0arm/
 =========================================================================