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PATTERNS OF ACTIVITY-INDUCED PATHOLOGYIN A CANA- Osteoarthritic changes to the diarthroidialjoints (i.e., those struc- DIAN POPULATION. By CHARLES F. MERBS. Ottawa: tured to permit substantial movement) were scored“type” by (lipping National Museum of Man MercurySeries, Archaeological Surveyof and/or porosity and/or eburnation) and degree (scored + , + + , or CanadaPaper No. 119,1983. 199p., 80figs., 15 tables. Softbound. + + +) forthe temporomandibular, shoulder, elbow, wrist, (selected) Distributed gratisby Scientific Records Sectionof the Archaeologi- hand, vertebral column (articularfacets), rib (costovertebraljoints on cal Survey of . vertebral bodies), hip, knee,ankle, and (selected)footjoints. Tabulated data are clearly presented according to sex and side groupings, and This monograph is a substantially revised, enhanced, and updated illustrations (both reproduced plates and schematic charts and draw- version of the author’s 1969 doctoral dissertation. Merbs’s study is ings) are generally well choseddesigned. My only serious complaint based upon a seriesof 91 adult Sadlermiut skeletons(41 males and 50 here is that a comprehensive of set visual and descriptive “standards” females) from , , N.W.T. The series for is scoring degree of severity werenot illustrated.Photographic diachronic,ranging temporally from the group’s tragic extinction reproductionsofwhatconstitutes + , + + ,and + + + scorings would (1902-03) to no more than five centuriesback in time. obviouslyassist coworkers toward systematically comparing other The Sadlermiut (Sallirmiut) of the recent past were restricted to skeletal groups with the Sadlermiut. Southampton and Coats islands and were largely isolated both cultur- Osteophytosis, or degenerative (inter-vertebral) disk disease, was ally and genetically. Apparently owing to this isolation, the Sadlermiutscored identically to the lipping componentof osteoarthritis (again, no were culturally quite distinctive from other Central Inuit regionalscoring standard was provided).This was the only pathologic state on groups. Aspects of this distinctiveness have led some workers,most the vertebral bodies that was thoroughly analyzed in the monograph; notably Therkel Mathiassen and Henry Collins, to suggest a partial however, Merbs also produced and briefly summarized data on abnor- Dorset (i.e., dual Thule-Dorset) ancestory for the Sadlermiut.This is in mal porosity (osteochondrosis), herniationof disks into the vertebral contrast to the consensus viewother that Inuit are the lineal descendents bodies (Schmorl’s nodes), and the presenceof plaques of smooth bone of exclusively Thule forebears. The dual origin theory, incidently, hason the superior and inferiorbody surfaces. Marginal osteophytes were been recently contraindicatedby Charles Utermohle. In his1984 Ph.D. scored on the anterior (includingleft and right lateral) surfacesof each thesis (supervised by Merbs), Utermohle reports that he found no vertebra, and the data weretabulated according to vertebral unit, comparative craniometric support for a partial Dorset origin of the superior or inferior surface, and sex. Horizontal bar charts effectively Sadlermiut. summarizethe osteophytic patterning according to sexand joint The significant accomplishmentof Merbs’s study is his systematic margin. exploration of the covariation between a selectionof known or inferred Vertebral compression (compression fracturing) is a term that indi- Sadlermiut activity patterns and a selectionof degenerative and trau- cates a diminution in the height of a vertebral body, usually in its matic pathological changes to their skeletons. Towardthis end, Merbs anterior portion. Merbs used subjective(“simple interpolation”) and formulated a listing of 20 human activity patterns with known or objective (contrasting observed anterior to posterior vertebral height seeming potential for inducing “imprints” on the skeleton. Some of ratios to normative“expected” ratios) techniquesin evaluating degree theseactivities are common to allhuman populations (e.g., erect of compression. Data are presented that summarize the distributionof posture, bipedal locomotion, side dominance), some are primarily or vertebral compression according to vertebraland unit sex. Merbs notes exclusively commonto all Inuit males(e.g., throwing a harpoon dart, or that, in contrast to the Sadlermiut’s relatively high frequency of this using a bowdrill, and lifting, carrying, or dragging heavy objects), and typeof compression fracturing, there is “infrequent” mentioningof this some are primarily or exclusively common to all Inuit females(e.g., traumatic consequence otherin osteological reports. While this may, as scraping skins, carrying heavy objects on the back, and riding on a Merbssled indicates, tell us something about inter-societal differentials in or toboggan). exposure to activities that produce chronic compressive forces on the Merbs argues convincingly that the Sadlermiut sample is appropriatespine (Merbs implicates the jarring of theSadlermiut’s sled and forthis type ofbehavioural osteology inquiry, for thefollowing toboggan travel), it may also indicate underreporting. reasons: (1) the skeletal remains are numerically adequate and gener- Merbs employs a broad operational definitionof spondylolysis, viz., ally inagood state ofpreservation;(2) specializedindividual behaviours a conditionin which the continuityof the vertebral arch (surrounding/ were minimal, with significant motor behavioural differences-linked protecting the spinal cord) is broken. Similar in general etiology to that to economic role differentiation- existing only between adult males of vertebral compression, the currentview is that these discontinuities and females; and (3) while no primary ethnography exists for the usuallyresult from sustained stress, which leads to fractures that Sadlenniut, historical and “second-hand” ethnographic accounts, frequently do nor heal, owing to the often consequent anterior displace- together with their archaeological record and interpolation from the ment of the vertebral body. There appearsto be a genetic component ethnographies of proximal Inuit groups, permit the reconstruction of involved, as well, in that certain individuals appear to be structurally many aspects of their motor behaviour. predisposed to such“fatigue” fracturing. Merbs, once again, is fastidi- The specific activity-induced pathological changes to the skeleton ous inhis descriptive work and presentationof results. For the individu- focused upon were osteoarthritis, osteophytosis, vertebral compres- als affected (22.6% of adults: Eskimos appear to have the highest sion, spondylolysis, and anterior toothloss. Merbs’s literature review frequencies of this condition worldwide), he notes the unit affected section (Chapter3) on these conditionsis essentially current up through (mostly lower lumbar), side, whetherthe separation is partial or the 1981 literature and is well executed. The coverageof each patho- complete, and whether the break occurs at interarticularis (the most logic condition is clear and reasonably comprehensive, and it includescommon site: between the upper and lower articular processes)or at the discussionsonetiologyandpathogenesis, clinicalconsequences, known lamina(more posteriorly than the above). Merbs correctly treats occupational and anthropometric correlations, and comparative studiesdiscontinuities in the midline (spina biflda)as a different entity,with a done on other archaeologically derived samples. Some omissions, distinctively different developmental pathogenesis, unrelatedto activity- which would have benefitted his review of other monographic studiesinduced of stress. archaeologically derived samples, are Swedborg’s (1974) study on Anterior toothloss was scored and tabulated by jaw,sex, and sidefor degenerative changesof the spine among a medieval skeletal sample the canines and incisors.In addition to presenting the Sadlermiut data, frompolandand two unpublishedPh.D. theses (Jackes,1977; Hartney, Merbs extracted a vast amountof comparative data from 1940 a study 1978), whichprovidecomparativedataondegenerativeskeletalchanges by Hrdlicka on eight Eskaleut and Asiatic groups. Merbs reports among southern Ontario aboriginal populations. What is apparent fromstrikingly higher tooth loss frequencies for the Sadlermiut than any Merbs’s review section is that his study stands alone in terms of its other group; a “Paleo-” sample most closely approaches the broad anatomical coverageof such pathologicchanges, coupled with a Sadlermiut for these values. While Hrdlicka concluded that the overall biocultural interpretive emphasis! relative high frequency and locational patterningof anterior tooth loss 228 REVIEWS among “Northern Mongoloids” indicated ritualized ablation (non- lent (one exception is Figure 79, a line drawing that does not clearly curative extraction)of these teeth, Merbs’s reanalysisof the samedata, show how a bow drill was used, in spite of its stated intention), and complemented by his literature review finding that there is no ethno- tabularized data are effectively presented. book This deserves a promi- graphic evidencefor ritualized tooth ablation among the Eskimo, leads nent place on the bookshelves of many Eskimologists andall students him to conclude that toothloss in these populations is “accidental” and of the anthropological and functional aspectsof the human skeleton. is related to the multiple“third hand” usages of their teeth and jaws as Staff atthe Archaeological Survey of Canada deserve thanks for tools. encouraging Merbs to bring to lightthis previously buried gem. Merbs’s examination of the patterning of these selected traumatic and degenerative skeletal changes reveals some significantsex differ- REFERENCES entials. In general, males manifest greater prevalence and severityof osteoarthritis, vertebral osteophytosisand spondylolysis,while females HARTNEY, P.C. 1978. Paleopathology of Archaeological Aboriginal Popula- more frequently exhibit anterior toothloss and vertebral compression. tions from Southern Ontario and Adjacent Region. 2 vols. Ph.D. thesis, Withinthese broad categories, Merbs reveals many finer-grained University of Toronto. differentials (e.g., male vs. female tendencies for greater osteoarthritic HRDLICKA, A. 1940. Ritual Ablation of Front Teeth in and America. change at the elbow occurring on the capitulum and trochlea respec- Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections99(3). tively), some of which are interpretable in motor behavioural terms, JACKES, M.K. 1977. The Human Spine: A Study Based on the Kleinberg while other patterns elude ready interpretation. Ossuary Vertebrae. Ph.D. thesis, University of Toronto. SAUL,F.P. 1976.Osteobiography:LifeHistoryRecordedinBone.~:Giles.E., Among the males,two habitual activities that appearto have left their and Friedlaender, J.S., eds. The Measures of Man. Cambridge: Peabody “imprints” most clearly on the skeleton are harpoon throwing and Museum Press. 372-382. kayak paddling. For example, the arthritic patterning of greater (and SWEDBORG, I. 1974. Degenerative Changesof the Human Spine- A Study right side) involvement at the shoulder and elbow, with especially on Dried Macerated Skeletons. Stockholm: Department of Physical Medi- elevated involvement at the acromioclavicular jointand at the olecra- cine, Karolinska Hospital, and the Osteological Research Laboratory, Uni- non fossa, correlates with sites of mechanical stress when thearm is at versity of Stockholm. full extension at the endof a harpoon throw. While such a demonstra- UTERMOHLE, C.J. 1984. From Barrow Eastward: Cranial Variation of the tion of thecorrelation between empirically known motor behaviour and Eastern Eskimo. Ph.D. thesis, Arizona State University. observed degenerative change is innovative (Le., for analysis of a Gary M. Heathcote skeletal population), another set of findings seems to truly reveal Department of Anthropology something about their specific technique in kayak paddling heretofore Scarborough Campus unknown: in males, the high frequency and site and ofside Patterning University of Toronto differentials of osteoarthritic changeat the wristjoint -together with Scarborough, Ontario, Canada the side patterningof “battered” and fractured ulnar styloid processes M1 C IA4 -strongly suggests that the Sadlermiutused theleft hand and wrist aas pivot in kayak paddling. Among thefemales, the activities withthe most unambiguous osseous change responses appear tobe the making of clothing (e.g., SCULPTURE OF ”HE ESKUvfO.By GEORGE SWNTON. Toronto: heavy right-side arthritic changeon the trochlear surfaceof the elbow McClellandandStewartLtd., 1972. Paperbackedition1987.255p., joint correlate well with known flexion-extension movements used in 825 photos, index, bib. Softbound. Cdn$24.95. scraping skins), the softening(“biting”) of skins (females have a 2:l edge over males in arthritic change at the temporomandibularjoint), the The quiet authority of George Swinton’s text in Sculpture of the carrying of heavy objects on the back (females have a distinctive Eskimo is perfectly complementedby 825 extraordinary photographs, patterning of lower thoracic osteoarthritis, osteophytosis,and compres- 37 of whichare colourplates. As an art historian andan artist, Swinton sion fracturing), and the carryingof unborn children (their distinctive understands the complexitiesof the revelation of art. Here, he allows Patterning of costovertebral arthritis appears relatedto their rib eleva- the photographs to give the reader the non-verbal, sensory experience tion response tofetal growth). intrinsic to this revelation - it is only our sense of touch that is not Merbs’s study is an important contribution to the fields of arctic satisfied - and he also uses the photographs to illustrate and support anthropology and human osteology. It demonstrates that bones have his discussion of Eskimo sculpture. more to “say” about past livesthan what is usually coaxed from them. Initially, Swinton’s concern is to dispel the notion that art is a Whether such rare “osteobiographical” approaches (Saul, 1976) to collective activity of Eskimos. The idea that all Eskimos carve or, behavioural reconstruction become commonplace depends on whetherworse, that all those who carve are artists is, he assures us, “simply other workers will seefit to conduct parallel studies on skeletal series absurd.” What began as a small cottage industry in 1948/49 and was from other geographic realms. Synchronic studies using other ethno- designed to provide economic solutions for the Canadian Eskimo has graphically “known” groups should be conductedfist. Only after such allowed the development of individual artists who create their own a baselineof knownbehavioural-osteological change patterning is laid personal styles, who give their carvings contentand, from the point of down can we confidently proceed with attempts at such behavioural view of Western aesthetics, form. Unlike the Eskimo sculpture of reconstruction for groups from the more distant past. Alaska and Greenland, which has become sterile and commercialized, This monograph could be used to good advantage in a graduate partly because traditions there have been perpetuated, Canadian Eskimo, seminar course on human osteology.Sadly, it will reveal to advanced or Inuit, sculpture, which is not partof a continuing tradition, is new. students an avenueof approach to human osteological analysis that is And, according to Swinton, of one the most important characteristicsof just as “new” today as it was nearly twenty years ago, when Merbs this contemporary Inuit art “is the compelling individuality of the penned the initial version! I will qualify thatby mentioning that were artists.” Merbs to now redo the data-producing phaseof the study, he would Swinton’s knowledgeable and sensitive comparisonsof Eskimo and likely design it differently to take advantageof current techniques and Western conceptsof art are fascinating. For example,he explains how methods. For example, if microscopic intra-cortical remodeling and the Eskimo artist’s responsesto his materials are much more sophisti- bone mineral content determinations were made on the Sadlermiut cated and complex than thoseof Western artists. Firstof all, overcom- skeletons, control could be exercised over the important influencing ing the limitations of their materials has required from the Eskimo factors of adult age cohort membership and both inter-sex and inter- extraordinary ingenuity. Swinton believes that: individual bone mineral variation. . . . the inuit, like all peoples close to nature and her mysteries, have Typographicalerrors are minimal, the illustrations are mostly excel- deeper insightsinto and more highly developed intuitions about materi-