Activity Indicator Facets

This chapter covers activity indicator facets, which are extra facets, facet extensions, or fossae near joints that have been associated with habitual activities. Many activity indicator facets are used to determine postural behaviors, such as kneeling and squatting. Load-carrying behaviors have also been assumed to result in accessory facets, especially at the sacro-iliac joint. Activity indicator facets, such as the Poirier’s facets, Allen’s facets, and Baastrup’s kissing spines, have become less frequently used by bioarchaeologists in recent years. Now, activity indicator facets are mainly found in archaeological site descriptions in which the activities are reconstructed using the site’s artifacts too. The waning interest in activity indicator facets may be due to the lack of clinical, sports, and animal research to support the link between the facets and activities.