International Journal of Osteoarchaeology最新文献

Skeletal fluorosis is a systemic chronic disease caused by long-term intake of excessive fluoride, which accumulates in bone tissue and causes changes to the bone and periosteal tissue. Skeletal fluorosis is rarely considered in paleopathological analyses, but in areas with relatively high fluoride in the environment, it may be an important cause of bone hyperplasia. In this study, we observed pathological lesions consistent with fluorosis on two human skeletons from the Ming Dynasty (1368–1644 CE) excavated from a cemetery in western Henan Province. By using an electron microprobe to measure the fluoride content in the teeth, and by considering the living conditions in the area during the Ming Dynasty, we conclude that the remains show evidence of skeletal fluorosis. We also consider the content of fluoride in the local groundwater, the local way of life, and other factors, to identify potential causes of skeletal fluorosis in this population and demonstrate that environmental factors were the main cause. This offers insight into the relationship between humans and their environments in China, especially western Henan Province, in the historical past. It also demonstrates the unique contributions bioarchaeology can make to environmental health studies and studies of the history of health.

An unusual concentration of tens of thousands small fish remains discovered during rescue excavations in the town of Antwerp, Belgium, is described. The material was found in a small depression with no associated archeological material but could be dated to the first half of the 16th century based on its stratigraphic position. About 3500 freshwater fish were found in articulating position and it is shown that they died naturally during a single depositional event after an exceptional flood. The species spectrum and the reconstructed fish lengths make it possible to document the season when the catastrophic mortality occurred. This assemblage differs from the few assemblages of natural mortality reported in the literature, which are all of the attritional type.

Prior studies have indicated that entheseal changes throughout the skeleton are largely reflective of age and body mass with mixed results concerning activity patterns. To add to this debate, this study tests the effectiveness of employing the New Coimbra method to record entheseal changes of the calcaneus (Calcaneal tendon enthesis), hallucal metatarsal (Peroneus longus m. tendon, and Tibialis anterior m. tendon entheses), and fifth metatarsal (Peroneus brevis m. tendon enthesis) to understand past activity patterns. Presence and severity of entheseal changes were scored for 71 white adults from the William M. Bass Donated Skeletal Collection, and these scores were contrasted according to age, sex, stature, body mass (BMI), and occupation. Spearman's rank correlations show that age has the greatest impact on changes for the Calcaneal tendon enthesis, the Peroneus brevis m. tendon enthesis, and the Tibialis anterior m. tendon enthesis. For all of these entheses, entheseal scores increase as age increases. Stature is the largest contributing factor to changes in the Peroneus longus m. tendon enthesis, and this relationship is negative: entheseal scores decrease as stature increases. BMI has a limited effect on entheseal changes in the foot skeleton, and this relationship may instead be mediated by gait differences related to stature. No statistically significant relationships between entheseal changes and occupational standing ranks were found, although this may be related to the ways in which occupations were recorded and ranked. It is possible that statistically significant effects of physical activity patterns on the expression of entheseal changes could be documented using other measurements of activity patterns beyond occupational standing. These findings support prior studies that established age as a major contributor to entheseal changes but show that stature also contributes to enthesis formation in the foot.

Hyperostosis frontalis interna (HFI) is an osseous overgrowth characterized by symmetrical, irregular bone apposition on the internal table of the frontal bone, which preferentially occurs in females. In 1719, Morgagni described the condition as one sign of a triad comprising HFI, hirsutism, and obesity (Morgagni's syndrome). The etiopathogenesis of HFI is largely unresolved, but the condition is frequently associated with metabolic, endocrine, and neuropsychiatric disorders. In archaeological cases, which rely solely on dry bone diagnosis, the cause of HFI generally remains unknown, as is also the case regarding accompanying signs and symptoms. Here, we report a case of pronounced HFI in the skeleton of an old-adult woman from medieval Hildesheim dating to the 8th to 11th century CE. In addition to HFI, the cranium exhibits resorptive lesions of the sella turcica with dehiscence of the roof of the sphenoid sinus. The co-occurrence of these lesions suggests an underlying common cause for them. On the basis of differential diagnosis, we consider a functioning pituitary neuroendocrine tumor (PitNET) as the most likely common cause for the two conditions.

The study of nonmetric traits is useful for establishing biological differences or affinities between populations. This study considered 12 nonmetric cranial characters. The objective is to compare five series of two different cultural horizons: three populations of the Teotihuacán Classic period and two of the Mexica Postclassic period. For the selection of nonmetric traits, those not altered by intentional cephalic modification were considered. From the sample of materials, it was assessed whether the populations of the Classic period could have biological and cultural affinity between them, making a migratory interpretation which indicates differences in nonmetric characters between them. The mean measure of divergence (MMD) was considered as bio-distance. The distance matrix was analyzed using the unweighted pair group method with arithmetic mean and nonmetric multidimensional scaling. Frequencies were studied using the principal component analysis. Mantel test and partial Mantel test were used to compare the distance matrix obtained with the MMD with sites geographical distance matrix, type of settlements matrix, and period of the site's matrix. In none of those cases were found a correlation at the $�\alpha �=�0.05$ level. Making more plausible that the results of the nonmetric traits MMD matrix agree with a migration process. All methods agree on separating Classical populations into one group and Postclassic populations into another. The archeological contexts, and the study of the material culture found, agree with the analysis of nonmetric characters.

Metastatic bone disease significantly impacts cancer-related morbidity and mortality nowadays. Herein, we present an adult individual, probably a female, with multiple osteolytic lesions, of variable sizes, distributed predominantly in the axial skeleton but also affecting elements of the appendicular region. This individual also exhibits atypical manifestations of metastatic bone disease, in the form of acrometastases—metastases in the extremities, which are uncommon events in current clinical settings. The individual's skeletonized remains were exhumed from a crypt in the Chapel of the Holy Spirit (Espírito Santo), Loures, Portugal, and have been dated from the 16th to 19th centuries. The multiple osteolytic lesions, noted both by direct and radiological observations, are discussed to expand the knowledge regarding disease manifestations in the past but also to reflect on disability and suffering in past individuals affected by oncologic ailments.

We explore health and stress in the urban metropolis Nea Paphos (Cyprus) and its surrounding territory during the Hellenistic (312–58 BC) and Roman (58 BC to 395 AD) periods, through a bioarchaeological study. Data were acquired from macroscopic analyses of human remains from two necropoleis in Paphos district: the Eastern Necropolis of Nea Paphos (minimum number of individuals = 165) and the necropolis of Ktima-Upper City (minimum number of individuals = 207). Data have been acquired from adult/nonadult and male/female individuals through analysis of specific health indicators. These are porotic hyperostosis (PH), cribra orbitalia (CO), and linear enamel hypoplasia. Overall, health indicators were recorded in low to moderate frequencies in both sites. Ktima-Upper City showed higher frequency of linear enamel hypoplasia (31.8%) compared with Nea Paphos (9.4%), while PH and CO were more prevalent within Eastern Necropolis (CO: 31.3% vs 8% and PH: 29.2% vs 13.9%) suggesting that people living in the capital were more exposed to factors causing CO and PH, during childhood. Intrasite analysis showed differences between the two sexes and the occurrence of health stressors. These factors are likely linked with social, cultural, and dietary differences, subsequently reflecting a larger and more heterogeneous population within and between the two sites. The findings suggest that there are differences between urban Nea Paphos and Ktima-Upper City. These differences are not major yet indicating some division between the two groups. This study is one of the first to investigate urbanism and health in ancient Cyprus, with focus on the Hellenistic–Roman periods. The comparison of the two sites provides new insights into the health of Hellenistic–Roman Cypriot populations, enabling future investigation and comparison between urban–rural regional and neighboring sites.

In many world regions, conflict resulting from power struggles can lead to interpersonal violence. In the recent colonial past, tribes in Papua and Papua New Guinea engaged in war and raiding that resulted in interpersonal violence, abduction, slavery, and casualties. This case study focuses on the analysis of a colonial period individual from Biak Island, Papua, Indonesia, using a biocultural approach. Only the cranium was available for analysis. Standard osteological methods were used to determine that the individual was likely a young to mid-aged (26- to 42-year-old) adult female. Skeletal lesion type and patterning were observed macroscopically with digital photography and a newly developed ultraviolet light photography technique. Multiple sharp force trauma injuries were identified on the frontal, temporal, and occipital bones of the cranium. Interpreting the pattern of trauma within the context of the colonial period in Papua, it is suggested that this female individual may have been murdered, possibly as a slave taken during tribal warfare. This report is a significant resource for future bioarchaeological studies in Papua as it provides one of the only accounts of skeletal trauma during the colonial period in the region.

Equids have shaped past Eurasian societies in many ways. This applies in particular to domestic horses, donkeys, and their hybrids. Key to documenting modes of exploitation and cultural trajectories in past societies is the correct taxonomic classification of tooth and bone specimens found in archaeological sites. However, close osteomorphological resemblance of wild and domestic equids and their economically valuable hybrids, that is, mules and hinnies, complicates the identification of intentionally fragmented or naturally damaged archaeological specimens. Here, we apply geometric morphometrics (GM) to mandibular teeth and metapodials, two skeletal elements commonly found in archaeological collections and known for their diagnostic properties using traditional morphometric methods. We registered a statistically representative set of 2D and 3D coordinates on mandibular teeth (P3, P4, M1, and M2) and metapodials of 92 domestic horses (Equus caballus Linnaeus, 1758), 70 domestic donkeys (Equus asinus Linnaeus, 1758), 30 hybrids, and 63 Asiatic wild asses (Equus hemionus Pallas, 1775). Taxonomic classification of these 255 specimens considered both shape and form, applying linear discriminant analysis, k-nearest neighbors algorithm, and artificial neural networks to seven combinations of taxa. We obtained correct classifications in over 87% and 80%, respectively, of the premolars and molars and in over 93% and 89%, respectively, of the metacarpals and metatarsals. This modern dataset was then used to classify equid specimens from three archaeological sites in the Middle East already analyzed morphologically. Taking into account the past zoogeography of wild equids and the historical distribution of their domesticated descendants and hybrids, the GM approach presented in this study offers the possibility to morphologically classify archaeological equids with far greater certainty than has been the case so far.

The identification of a calcified hydatid cyst in the bioarcheological record is key to the diagnosis of cystic echinococcosis (i.e., hydatid disease), a parasitic infection caused by the tapeworm Echinococcus granulosus. This zoonosis can be linked to human–canid interactions, given the reproductive cycle of the parasite (from canids to herbivores/humans as intermediate hosts), and it is commonly associated with agropastoral communities in both the past and present. However, it is not easy to identify a calcified hydatid cyst in the archeological record because of preservation problems and its similarity with other calcifications of biological and geological origin. We report the presence of two fragmented ovoidal calcified formations associated with human remains in different medieval Islamic cemeteries from the Kingdom of Granada in al-Andalus (Southern Iberia, 13th–15th centuries AD). These formations were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. The localization, morphology, and composition of the calcifications indicate that they are hydatid cysts caused by E. granulosus, representing the first evidence of cystic echinococcosis in Islamic Medieval Europe. Our results are in line with archeological and historical records of human–animal interactions and agropastoral practices in al-Andalus, and they highlight the importance of analyzing calcified masses in the osteoarcheological record.