The bearded vulture (Gypaetus barbatus) is a scavenger and bone-eating vulture that also transports bones to the nest to feed the nestlings. Bones found at nests are characterized by the accumulation of small- to medium-sized ungulates, a high number of third and second phalanges and digestive corrosion marks on regurgitated bones. This actualistic study explores the taphonomic signatures of modern free-ranging bearded vultures left on mandibles and scapulae bones transported and abandoned at nests. The assemblage was recovered on the island of Corsica (France), and its findings are crucial for identifying bearded vulture signatures on bones found in eyries. While mandibles and scapulae are less nutritious as food and exhibit lower handling efficiency, they can be transported to the nests. Nevertheless, a distinct diagnostic pattern of consumption is observed on both skeletal elements, as described in this study. This pattern is essential for discerning the activities of other biological agents, such as hyenas and humans in Pleistocene sites.
This study examines the Early Medieval local population of Corte Romana (Cividale del Friuli, NE Italy) during the period of Langobard rule of the territory (6th–7th centuries ad). We conducted anthropological and palaeopathological analyses of 54 individuals from Corte Romana, including 38 subadults and 16 adults. Stable isotope analyses (δ13C, δ15N, and δ34S) were performed on 52 of these individuals to investigate their dietary patterns and mobility. Palaeopathological data revealed the presence of various health stressors, particularly among subadults, reflecting challenging living conditions and nutritional deficiencies. Stable isotope analysis indicated a consistent consumption of C4 plants, aligning with historical sources, and highlighted a remarkable disparity in the consumption of protein-rich foods between the adult and subadult individuals (especially those between 5 and 9 years of age). When compared to previously published data for Langobard individuals from northern Italy, this dietary disparity becomes more evident, especially for the subadults—a clear indication of sociocultural inequality in terms of access to resources between the existing local subadult population and the new Langobard invaders. This study is particularly significant as previous research in northern Italy during this period has predominantly focused on the Langobards, with little attention paid to the local populations coexisting with them. Our findings therefore contribute to a broader understanding of the dietary habits and social dynamics of the local Roman population in Italy in the Early Middle Ages.
Pellagra is a disease caused by a nutritional deficiency, with fatal outcome due to multiple-organ failure, that affected European rural areas until the early decades of the 20th century, especially Veneto region (Italy). At the skeletal level, previous studies pointed out that pathological signs left by the disease are generic and typical of many forms of avitaminosis, not useful to recognize the deaths by pellagra in archaeological contests. Here, a detailed paleopathological study was conducted on skulls of individuals dating to the late 19th-early 20th century, for which the health state and causes of death have been well-documented at the time. Individuals severely affected by pellagra and non-pellagrous individuals were investigated; differential analysis was conducted considering pathologies that leaves on skeletal tissue similar anomalies, such as tuberculosis meningitis, scurvy, and meningioma. By integrating the skeletal alterations reported in literature and the intracranial alterations found in this study, we provide recommendations on a framework that could be used to demonstrate diagnostic validity in cases of severe vitamin B3 deficiency. Peculiar lesions that have been found contrasted with lesions linked to other pathologies and those indicated in the literature, and they could prove fundamental to ensure the identification of pellagra. Finally, pathological evidence observed in pellagrous skulls was compared with diet reconstruction, carried out on stable C and N isotope analysis, highlighting a poor-to-moderate protein consumption and possible fasting or nutritional stress, together with a large input from C4 plants, as maize. We think that this work can contribute to the understanding of adaptations and variability among past communities by more confidently identifying severe niacin deficiency. The framework allows for greater consistency in diagnostic certainty, facilitating greater comparability in research.
Foot coalitions and bipartitions are developmental anatomical variants of the bones of the foot that can be of clinical relevance. The aim of the present study is to document the frequency of tarsal and metatarsal coalitions and bipartitions according to biological sex, age at death, co-occurrence, and laterality in the Identified Skeletal Collection of Coimbra (CEIC). The study sample consisted of 486 individuals (226 females and 260 males), with ages at death ranging from 12 to 96 years. Twelve tarsal coalitions and three bipartitions were investigated. Tarsal coalitions were observed in 4.7% (23/486) of the individuals in the sample. Ten were bilateral (43.5%) and 13 unilateral (56.5%), with eight in the left foot (8/13, 61.5%) and five in the right foot (5/13, 38.5%). Females were significantly more affected than males (females: 7.1%, 16/226; males: 2.7%, 7/260; chi-square: 5.162, p = 0.006). The age at death of individuals with (mean = 43.6 years; SD = 23.0) and without (mean = 46.2 years; SD = 19.2) coalitions was similar (Student's t-test: 0.640, p = 0.522). No coexistence of coalitions was observed. The calcaneonavicular coalition was the most commonly observed in this study, found in nine individuals (1.9%, 9/486). Only one case of calcaneocuboid coalition was recorded: a fusion in the left foot of a 78-year-old woman. Knowledge of the prevalence and anatomical distribution of foot coalitions and bipartitions can be clinically significant, especially to avoid confusion with fractures, and its diachronic bioanthropological study may reveal secular trends and population differences.
The period preceding early state formation in Iran (i.e., Early Iron Age) is frequently associated with the prevalence of mobile pastoralists. The analysis of stable carbon and nitrogen isotope ratios of human and animal collagen from Qareh Tepe (c. 1200–750 cal. bc) in Qazvin Plain was performed to understand local subsistence strategy and especially to distinguish between mobile herding and stationary farming, which is crucial in understanding pathways leading to the centralization of power in that time. In total, 53 human dentin samples and 30 animal bone and dentin samples were analyzed. The comparative data come from four other Iranian sites of variable chronology: Sagzabad, Zagheh, Tepe Pardis, and Tepe Hissar. Standard methods of collagen extraction and isotope ratio mass spectrometry were applied. People from Qareh Tepe were characterized by very high δ15N values, clearly higher than at all other sites. There was a significant difference between the sexes, with males having more negative δ13C values. In combined faunal data from the Qazvin Plain, suids composed a separate group, whereas all the herbivores showed a clear correlation between δ15N and δ13C values. Elevated nitrogen isotopic values in humans from Qareh Tepe may be explained by a high level of manuring with animal dung, forced by an increased population size in the limited space of the alluvial fan. The research reveals that, at the dawn of the Median state, the Central Plateau of Iran was most likely not inhabited by nomadic pastoralists but rather by agropastoral communities that knew how to make the best use of limited environmental resources.
Occipital modification, the predominant form of cranial artificial modification in Prehistoric China, is characterized by its extensive and dense distribution, a rarity globally. This study aims to reconstruct the methods, processes, and motivations underlying occipital modification, investigating its inception, evolution, and eventual cessation in Prehistoric China. Morphological observations were conducted on over 800 individuals from representative sites like Baligang and Chuwan of the Yangshao culture, with 265 well-preserved skulls subjected to three-dimensional scanning, modeling, and measurement, segmented into BLG-E, BLG-M, and CW groups for detailed analysis. Observations and measurements revealed significant differences in occipital modification among the groups: the BLG-E group displayed a high modification rate, featuring severe modification with a near-perpendicular tilt angle and random lateral asymmetry; the BLG-M group exhibited reduced modification rate and severity, with lateral asymmetry akin to BLG-E but more variable tilt angles; and the CW group showed moderate occipital modification with variable tilt angles, though with greater central symmetry. Two distinct practices were identified: “primary utilitarian modification,” likely an expedient measure for infant care during early agricultural development, and “standardized symmetrical modification,” reflecting aesthetic preferences during a more mature agricultural stage. Following the transition from utilitarian to aesthetic purposes, the occipital modification disappeared in the Final Neolithic period, during the Longshan culture stage, possibly because of the emergence of new, complex hairstyle trends.
Utilizing imaging techniques opens new avenues for diagnosing paleopathological findings in archaeological human skeletal remains. This study presents a case of severe perforating trauma on the left ischial bone of an adult male Celtic elite burial from the late Hallstatt period, discovered within the central chamber of a burial mound near the Heuneburg hilltop settlement in southwest Germany. Despite the gravity of the injury, evidence of complete healing suggests meticulous medical intervention and intensive healthcare, indicative of the elevated social status accorded to elites during this period. Employing computer tomographic scanning, we created a three-dimensional virtual negative imprint of the lesion and identified it as likely resulting from an arrowhead. Comparative analysis of the imprint with archaeological arrowheads typical for the era and region suggests a probable association with warfare rather than hunting purposes. This case study contributes to our understanding of protohistoric medical treatment practices and warfare techniques prevalent during the Hallstatt period.
In the 2nd century bce, with the Iron Age Oppida Civilisation, Central Europe experienced an unprecedented degree of urbanization, economic centralization, and supra-regional exchange. However, from 80 bce onwards, in the Northern Alpine Foreland (present-day southern Germany), these structures declined, leading to the abandonment of both urban and rural settlements. Various factors, such as landscape overexploitation and military conflicts, have been proposed to explain this decline. Concurrently, cultural transfer and possible migration movements from the Central German Upland Zone gave rise to the Southeast Bavarian Group (SEBG), an Iron Age community that emerged north of the Alps, differing from Oppida societies in terms of material culture and settlement structure. This paper aims to explore the effects of these socio-economic upheavals on livestock farming by comparing faunal assemblages from the Oppida Civilisation and the SEBG, focusing on two categories of archaeozoological data: species distribution and body size development in cattle. Generally, species distribution patterns in SEBG farmsteads show continuity with the preceding Oppida Civilisation, with the exception of the Langenpreising site near Munich, where a high proportion of sheep could suggests economic influences from the Central German Upland Zone. Osteometric results on cattle breeding prompt the hypothesis that a large-sized cattle type of non-local origin appeared in SEBG contexts. We discuss several potential regions as the origin of this allochthonous phenotype, with the most plausible explanation being that these cattle were possibly transferred from Roman Upper Italy through Eastern Alpine Iron Age communities to the SEBG. However, because of the limited osteometric data set, this is to be seen as a working hypothesis that requires further testing. From an archaeozoological perspective, the end of the Iron Age was characterized by the decline of proto-urban structures on the one hand and the emergence of new economic networks on the other.
This study presents a wide literature review of nonunion fractures in paleopathological contexts, including the description of a new case from Idanha-a-Velha (Castelo Branco, Portugal). Nonunion factures, characterized by the failure of broken bone fragments to reunite properly, are rare in the paleopathological record. This review aims to gather and analyze existing cases of this condition, using academic databases and specific research terms related to this type of fracture. This survey included a total of 75 publications describing 155 nonunion fractures in 137 adult individuals: 44 males, 28 females, and 65 of unknown sex. The publication record includes more Prehistoric and Modern cases than those dated from Medieval or Ancient periods. The ulna exhibited the highest overall frequency of nonunion fractures, with 53/155 (34.2%) distributed across six different anatomical regions, primarily at the distal end (Parry fracture). However, when assessing the frequency of nonunions by specific anatomic region, the femoral neck shows a higher rate (23/30; 76.7%) compared to the ulnar distal end (6/53; 11.32%). Male individuals display a higher prevalence of nonunion fractures throughout the skeleton, except for the clavicle, metatarsals, os coxae, and ulna, which affected more often females. Moreover, femoral neck nonunion fractures are more frequent in mid-20th century male paleopathological cases, while ulnar fractures are more common in prehistoric females. The comparison between these patterns and clinical data highlights that past and current populations have different patterns of nonunion fractures. In the modern clinical literature, a greater prevalence of tibial, fibular, femoral, and humeral nonunions is recorded due to traffic accidents; while in past populations, ulnar nonunion fractures are substantially more frequent. Further studies comparing fracture patterns across different time periods may allow to clarify whether these trends reflect changes in medical treatment, lifestyle, or bone health over time.
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