Supplement to the Paleopathology Newsletter
PALEOPATHOLOGY ASSOCIATION
SCIENTIFIC PROGRAM & ABSTRACTS
17th EUROPEAN MEETING COPENHAGEN, DENMARK AUGUST 25-27 2008 XVII European Meeting of the Paleopathology Association 2008
XVII PPA EUROPEAN MEETING OF THE PALEOPATHOLOGY ASSOCIATION SCIENTIFIC PROGRAM
Monday, 25th August 2008 8.00 – 9.00 REGISTRATION 9.00 - 9.30 WELCOME AND ANNOUNCEMENTS 9.30 - 10.15 CONSTITUENT COMPANIONS: CLIMATE, DIET AND METABOLIC BONE DISEASE Megan Brickley 10.15 - 10.30 BREAKING THE SILENCE OF THE ARCHIVE: PALEOPATHOLOGY AS A WAY TO HEAR THE VOICES OF THE ENSLAVED Niklas Thode Jensen 11.00 - 11.30 NEUROOSTEOLOGY - A NEW DISCIPLINE FOCUSING ON THE INTERRELATION BETWEEN BONE AND NERVE TISSUE DEMONSTRATED ON BJÖRK’S CRANIAL COLLECTION Inger Kjær 11.30 - 12.30 DEMONSTRATION OF “BJÖRK’S CRANIAL COLLECTION” Inger Kjær
INFECTIOUS DISEASES I Chair: Mary Lucas Powell & Piers Mitchell 12.30 INFECTIOUS DISEASES PAST AND PRESENT Ib Bygbjerg 13.00 TUBERCULOSIS IN THE NON-ADULTS FROM ROMANO-BRITISH POUNDBURY CAMP ME Lewis 13.15 EXPLORING TUBERCULOSIS AND ADULT MORTALITY IN THE PAST USING TOOTH CEMENTUM ANNULATION (TCA) APPROACH Joël Blondiaux, Thomas Colart, Nuria Villena-Mota, Leslie Eisenberg, Jean-Pierre Bocquet-Appel, Christian Fontaine 13.30 TUBERCULOSIS IN A 18TH CENTURY POPULATION OF VÁC, HUNGARY I Pap, M Spigelman, I Szikossy, HA Fletcher, HD Donoghue 13.45 THE PALEOPATHOLOGY OF SPECIFIC INFECTIOUS DISEASES IN HUNGARY: RESULTS AND LIMITS. Gy Pálfi, B Ősz, A Marcsik, E Molnár 14.00 POSSIBLE CASES OF BRUCELLOSIS FROM HUNGARIAN SKELETAL SAMPLES - HOW BIASED ARE OUR DIAGNOSES OF SPINAL INFECTIONS? Zs Bereczki, A Marcsik, E Molnár, Gy Pálfi 14.15 MENINGEAL DISEASES IN AN EARLY MEDIEVAL POPULATION FROM HARTING, GERMANY Julia Gresky, Michael Schultz 14.30 NOVEL DETECTION OF LEPROSY IN ARCHAEOLOGICAL POPULATIONS BY ANALYSIS OF MYCOLIC ACID LIPID BIOMARKERS Oona Lee, David Minnikin, Gurdyal Besra, Helen Donoghue, Mike Taylor, Charlotte Roberts 14.45 A PHILOGENETIC EXPERIMENT WITH ANCIENT TREPONEMAL BONES Fernando L Melo, Marcia Pincerati, Kelly Nunes, Joana Carvalho, Ana M Fraga, Daniel Rincon, Marcio Almeida, Pablo Candiani, Sabine Eggers 15.00 OSSIFIED HAEMATOMAS AND INFECTIOUS BONE CHANGES ON THE ANTERIOR TIBIA: HISTOMORPHOLOGICAL FEATURES AS AN AID FOR ACCURATE DIAGNOSIS AE Van der Merwe, GJR Maat, M Steyn
INFECTIOUS DISEASES II Chair: Maria Teschler-Nicola & Rimantas Jankauskas 15.45 DYSENTERY IN THE CRUSADER KINGDOM OF JERUSALEM: AN ELISA ANALYSIS OF TWO MEDIEVAL LATRINES IN THE CITY OF ACRE (ISRAEL) Piers D Mitchell, Eliezer Stern, Yotam Tepper 16.00 MOLECULAR PALEOPATHOLOGY Laszlo Mark, Gergely Montsko, Antonia Marcsik 16.15 OSTEOMYLITIS IN DRY BONES Vaclav Smrcka, Vitezslav Kuzelka, Ctibor Povysil
OCCUPATIONAL STRESS MARKERS, FRACTURES 16.45 VERTEBRAL PATHOLOGIES AND ACTIVITY PATTERNS IN TWO MEDIAEVAL SPANISH POPULATIONS SA Jiménez Brobeil, MG Roca Rodríguez, I Al Oumaoui, A Cañellas Trobat 17.00 ENTHESOPATHY FORMATION: DATA ON KNOWN AGE AT DEATH AND OCCUPATION CY Henderson, FA Cardoso
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XVII European Meeting of the Paleopathology Association 2008
17.15 OCCUPATIONAL BIOARCHAEOLOGY: BEYOND MACROSCOPIC OBSERVATION AND STATISTICAL APPROACHES Francisca Alves Cardoso 17.30 ATYPICAL MORPHOLOGY OF PROXIMAL FEMUR FROM PORTUGUESE LATE NEOLITHIC/CHALCOLITHIC POPULATIONS Ana Maria Silva 17.45 A MEDIEVAL CASE OF HEALED FOOT AMPUTATION IN LATVIA G Gerhards 18.00 SEVERE SUBLUXATION FRACTURE OF THE EPISTROPHEUS AS A CASE OF IMMEDIATE DEATH Andreas G Nerlich, Roman Sokiranski, Sandra Lösch, Wolfgang Pirsig
19.00 - 21.00 Reception: Town Hall of Copenhagen
Tuesday, 26th August 2008 TRAUMA I Chair: Anne Grauer & Sherry Fox 9.00 DATING OF FRACTURES IN HUMAN DRY BONE TISSUE George J.R. Maat 9.15 VIOLENCE IN NEOLITHIC EUROPE: CRANIAL TRAUMA RECONSIDERED Linda Fibiger 9.30 MASS GRAVES FROM MEDIEVAL RUSSIAN TOWN: BIO-CULTURAL CONTEXT OF REMAINS Alexandra Buzhilova, Natalia Goncharova, Asya Engovatova 9.45 PALEOPATHOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF REMAINS OF GERMAN SOLDIERS FROM 1915-1918 Rimantas Jankauskas, Arūnas Barkus, Žydrūnė Miliauskiene, Agnius Urbanavicius 10.00 THE PALAEOPATHOLOGY OF A MASS GRAVE AND CEMETERY FROM ROMAN GLOUCESTER, ENGLAND Louise Loe 10.15 THE EULAU EULOGY: BIOARCHEOLOGICAL INTERPRETATION OF LETHAL VIOLENCE AND FAMILIAL RELATIONSHIPS IN CORDED WARE MULTIPLE BURIALS FROM SAXONY-ANHALT, GERMANY Christian Meyer, Guido Brandt, Wolfgang Haak, Robert A Ganslmeier, Harald Meller, Kurt W Alt
TRAUMA II 11.00 PATTERNS OF TRAUMA IN EARLY CHRISTIAN CYPRUS Sherry C Fox, Ioanna Moutafi, Eleni Anna Prevedorou, Despo Pilides 11.15 TRAUMA IN THE URBAN ENVIRONMENT OF THE KANTO REGION DURING THE EDO PERIOD: A CASE FROM TOKYO, JAPAN N Giannakopoulou 11.30 TRAUMA IN TÀRREGA’S POGROM Jordi Ruiz, Vàngelis Villar, Anna Colet, Oriol Saula, M Eulàlia Subirà 11.45 CASE REPORT: CRANIAL FRACTURES IN CHILD ABUSE M Steyn 12.00 CELTIC TREPANATION TECHNIQUES –SUCCESSFUL TREATMENT OR FATAL MALPRACTICE? Karin Wiltschke-Schrotta 12.15 HERRERÍN’S PROJECT: AN INFORMATIC TOOL FOR PALEOPATHOLOGICAL, ANTHROPOLOGICAL AND POPULATION STUDIES Herrerin Jesus, Belén Martin-Vázquez
STUDIES ON POPULATION HEALTH Chair: Megan Brickley & George Maat 14.00 MIGRATION AND HEALTH AT THE BOWL-HOLE CEMETERY, BAMBURGH, NORTHUMBERLAND, ENGLAND: A PRELIMINARY STUDY OF BURIAL CONTEXT AND HEALTH OF LOCALS AND NON-LOCALS Charlotte Roberts, Sarah Groves, Graham Pearson, Geoff Nowell 14.15 THE COMPLEMENTARY NATURE OF EARLY MEDIEVAL CEMETERIES: IMPLICATIONS FOR THE PALAEOPATHOLOGICAL ANALYSIS RGAM Panhuysen, E Smits, FCWJ Theuws 14.30 PALAEOPATHOLOGY OF A NEOLITHIC POPULATION FROM SOUTHERN HUNGARY M Masson, E Molnár, Gy Pálfi, L Bartosiewicz 14.45 “COPPER MEN” OF THE BRONZE AGE: CONCERNING THEIR HEALTH AND SOCIAL STATUS MB Mednikova, MV Dobrovolskaya 15.00 PALEOPATHOLOGY AND NATIVE SOUTH AMERICAN HEALTH: AN OVERVIEW Guido P. Lombardi 15.15 HUMAN HEALTH STATUS OF THE PREDYNASTIC NORTHERN MESOPOTAMIAN POPULATION ACCORDING TO THE RECENT SKELETAL MATERIAL FROM THE TELL-KHAZNA BURIALS M Dobrovolskaya, M Mednikova 15.30 REMARKABLE BONY STRUCTURES AT THE CEMETERY OF THE SAINT CATHERINE’S CHURCH, EINDHOVEN, THE NETHERLANDS Steffen Baetsen, W van Erp, L Korthorst, M Lambregtse
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XVII European Meeting of the Paleopathology Association 2008
MUMMIES, MISC. Chair: Joël Blondiaux & Niels Lynnerup 16.15 THE PRESUMED BOG BODY –IDENTIFICATION AND PALEOPATHOLOGICAL INVESTIGATION OF AN UNUSUAL SOUTH-AMERICAN FEMALE MUMMY Sandra Lösch, Ulrick Struck, Brigitte Haas-Gebhardt, Stephanie Panzer, Oliver Peschel, Andreas G Nerlich 16.30 THE SALAFIA METHOD OF EMBALMING Dario Piombino-Mascali, Albert R Zink 16.45 HISTOLOGICAL AND NANOTECHNOLOGICAL INVESTIGATIONS OF SKIN WOUNDS OF THE TYROLEAN ICEMAN Albert R Zink, Marek Janko, Eduard Egarter-Vigl, Andreas G Nerlich 17.00 SECTIO CAESAREA POST MORTEM MATRIS –A CASE FROM THE 18TH CENTURY, VÁC, HUNGARY I Szikossy, P Varjassy, I Horányi, L Kristóf, E Riedl, I Pap 17..30 DIFFERENTIAL DIAGNOSIS OF HYPOCELLULARITY IN MASTOIDS ACCORDING TO WITTMAACK IN HUMAN SKELETAL REMAINS Stefan Flohr, Michael Schultz 17.45 PALEOPATHOLOGY OF CAVE BEAR (Ursus spelaeus) FROM JASKINIA NIEDZWIEDZIA (Bear Cave), POLAND Dariusz Nowakowski
Wednesday, 27th August 2008 STUDIES ON DIET Chair: M Anne Katzenberg & Anastasia Papathanasiou 9.00 BONE QUALITY AND DIET IN PREHISTORIC SIBERIAN HUNTER-GATHERER-FISHERS Kathleen J Faccia, M Anne Katzenberg, David ML Cooper 9.15 ISOTOPIC VARIABILITY AND HEALTH STATUS IN A FRENCH HISTORICAL POPULATION Estelle Herrscher, M Anne Katzenberg 9.30 THE GREENLAND NORSE: LARGE SCALE CHANGES TO SMALL SCALE SOCIETY Niels Lynnerup 9.45 FAT MONKS, FEASTS, AND FASTS: AN ANALYSIS OF DISH AND DIET IN LATE MEDIEVAL ENGLAND Rosa Spencer 10.00 BIOARCHAEOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF HEALTH AND DIET OF EARLY NEOLITHIC SETTLEMENTS IN NORTHERN GREECE Anastasia Papathanasiou 10.15 THE ANATOMICAL RECORD OF PELLEGRA: MACRO- AND MICRO-SKELETAL INDICATORS OF MAIZE INTENSIFICATION Dannielle L Tompkins, Barrett P Brenton, Robert R Paine
STUDIES ON DIET AND DENTAL DISEASES 11.00 PRELIMINARY STUDY OF ORBITAL LESIONS IN BRITISH ANGLO-SAXON SKELETAL REMAINS Jenna Morgan 11.15 PERIODONTAL DISEASE IN A PORTUGUESE IDENTIFIED SKELETAL SAMPLE FROM THE LATE NINETEENTH AND EARLY TWENTIETH CENTURIES Sofia Neto Wasterlain 11.30 DENTAL PALAEOPATHOLOGICAL PROFILES IN EARLIER AND LATER AGRICULTURALISTS OF THE PERUVIAN COAST Luis Pezo, Sabine Eggers 11.45 ARE OSTEOLOGISTS AND DENTISTS SIMILAR IN THEIR ACCURACY OF DIAGNOSING CARIES? Carola Liebe-Harkort, Sofia Tranaeus
TUMOURS Chair: Eugen Strouhal & Frank Rühli 13.00 BIG LYTIC DEFECT IN CRANIAL VAULTS. Eugen Strouhal, Alena Nemeckova 13.15 CANCER IN ANCIENT TIMES: BRIEF REVIEW OF 13 CASES FROM HUNGARY E Molnár, A Marcsik, Gy Pálfi, TH Schmidt-Schultz, M Schultz 13.30 TUMORAL PATHOLOGY FINDINGS IN THE HUMAN REMAINS FROM THE MONTHEMHAT TOMB (TT-34), DEIR EL BAHARI, LUXOR, EGYPT Baxarias Joaquim, Gomaa Farouk
HISTORICAL ASPECTS OF PALEOPATHOLOGY Organizers and Chair: Charlotte Roberts and Jane Buikstra 14.00 THE PALEOPATHOLOGY ASSOCIATION Mary Lucas Powell 14.15 THE CONTRIBUTIONS OF ARTHUR C. AUFDERHEIDE TO THE FIELD OF PALEOPATHOLOGY Kenneth C Nystrom, Larry Cartmell 14.30 ROY L. MOODIE: COMPARATIVE PERSPECTIVES ON ANCIENT DISEASE Della Collins Cook 14.45 WALTER G. J. PUTSCHAR: PATHOLOGIST, PALEOPATHOLOGIST, TEACHER Donald J Ortner
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15.00 CONTRIBUTIONS OF T. DALE STEWART (1901-1997) TO PALEOPATHOLOGY Douglas H Ubelaker 15.15 PALEOPATHOLOGY IN AUSTRALIA (HISTORY) H Cekalovic, J Littleton, K Domett 15.30 DISEASES IN ANCIENT ISRAEL AS REFLECTED IN EARLIER PALEOPATHOLOGY STUDIES Israel Hershkovitz 15.45 HISTORY OF PALEOPATHOLOGY IN JAPAN Takao Suzuki 16.00 SWEDISH PALEOPATHOLOGY AND ITS PIONEERS Caroline Arcini, Torbjörn Ahlström 16.15 EMERGING TRENDS IN NON-INVASIVE DIAGNOSTIC IMAGING IN PALEOPATHOLOGY Frank Rühli
16.30 FINAL WORDS. CLOSE OF MEETING A short presentation of the next European Paleopathological Meeting 2010 in Vienna, Austria.. Announcement of the Institute of Bioarchaeological poster prize.
18.30 Departure with boat at Gammel Strand (50 minutes). 19.30-23.30 Social Dinner, Restaurant Langelinie Pavillion.
POSTER SESSION I INFECTIOUS DISEASES and OCCUPATIONAL STRESS MARKERS 1 NEW PALAEOPATHOLOGICAL EVIDENCE OF PRE-COLOMBIAN TREPONEMATOSES FROM NORTHERN FRANCE. Armelle Alduc-Le Bagousse, Joël Blondiaux, Thomas Colart, Pierre-Marie Danzé, Anne-Sophie Drucbert, Xavier Demondion, René-Marc Flipo, Cécile Niel. 2 PLAGUE IMMUNODETECTION IN THE REMAINS OF TWO NUNS EXHUMED AT SAINTE-CROIX ABBEY (POITIERS, FRANCE) R Bianucci, L Rahalison, E Rabino Massa, A Peluso, E Ferrroglio, M Signoli, V Gallien 3 DETECTION, CHARACTERISATION AND QUANTIFICATION OF MYCOBACTERIUM LEPRAE DNA FROM ARCHAEOLOGICAL MATERIAL Helen D Donoghue, Petr Velemínky, Jakub Likovsky, Virginie Garcin, G Michael Taylor 4 PALEOPATHOLOGICAL PROTEOMICS OF ANCIENT HUMAN DISEASES Eva Jambor, Viktoria Nemeth, Zoltan Patonai, Antonia Marcsik, Laszlo Mark 5 LEPROSY IN ANCIENT ELEPHANTINE, OLD-KINGDOM EGYPT AD Kozak, N Roumelis, J Gresky, M Schultz 6 DATA ON SKELETAL TUBERCULOSIS IN THE CARPATHIAN BASIN Antónia Marcsik, Sándor Évinger, Zsolt Bernert, Erzsébet Fóthi, Tamás Hajdu, Ivett Kővári, Katalin Wolff 7 A CASE OF TUBERCULOSIS IN A SLAVONIC-AVAR POPULATION FROM CÍFER-PÁC (SLOVAKIA) Soňa Masnicová, Radoslav Beňuš 8 SEVERE VERTEBRAL COLLAPSE WITH GIBBUS IN A CHILD FROM THE GRAVEYARD OF SÃO MIGUEL CHURCH (CASTELO BRANCO, XIV-XIX CENTURIES): THE FIRST ARCHEOLOGICAL EVIDENCE OF POTT’S DISEASE FROM PORTUGAL? Vítor Matos, Carina Marques, Célia Lopes 9 TWO CASES OF PRE-COLUMBIAN TREPONEMATOSIS FROM LOMA SALVATIERRA (BOLIVIA) Zuzana Obertová, Martin Menninger, Heiko Prümers Heiko 10 A POSSIBLE DIFFERENTIAL DIAGNOSES OF SKELETON FROM SETTLEMENT BURIAL DATED BACK TO MIDDLE HILLFORT PERIOD: ACUTE HAEMATOGENOUS OSTEOMYELITIS OR CONGENITAL ANOMALIES? Anna Pankowská, Václav Smrčka 11 AN ATYPICAL VERTEBRAL LESION IN A MEDIEVAL SKELETON FROM THE NORTH-EAST OF ITALY: A FINDING IN SEARCH OF A DIAGNOSIS Luciana Travan, Gastone Sabbadini, Paola Saccheri, Gino Fornaciari 12 SPINAL PATHOLOGICAL SIGNALS IN A FEMALE INDIVIDUAL FROM THE MEDIEVAL NECROPOLIS OF ALCÁÇOVA DO CASTELO, MÉRTOLA, PORTUGAL C Umbelino, C Silvério, C Marques, V Matos, SG Martínez, C Rodrigues, C Torres 13 MULTIPLE ENTHESOPATHIES IN THE HUMAN SKELETON: WHAT DO THEY TELL US ABOUT SPINAL DISEASES? Gali Dar, Smadar Peleg,Youssef Masharawi, Nili Steinberg, Hila May, Israel Hershkovitz 14 TRABECULAR ENDOSTEAL HYPEROSTOSIS: A BIOMECHANICAL RESPONSE? Rose Drew, Michael J Fagan. 15 GOLFER AND TENNIS ELBOW IN BYZANTINE TURKEY: EPICONDYLITIS AS AN IMPORTANT NEW OCCUPATION/ACTIVITY MARKER Mark Spigelman, Ron Pinhasi, Helen D Donoghue, Yilmaz S Erdal 16 PALEOPATHOLOGICAL DIAGNOSIS ON FEMUR OF MIDDLE AGED SKELETONS FROM NORTERN ITALY – VARESE Anna Sassi, Terenzio Congiu, Petra Basso
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17 A RARE CASE OF OSTEOLYTIC CRANIAL LESIONS IN PRE-ANGKORIAN CAMBODIA: A DIFFERENTIAL DIAGNOSIS Kate Domett, Hallie Buckley 17B IDENTIFICATION OF LEPROSY IN INDIVIDUALS FROM HIBERNO-NORSE DUBLIN Laureen Buckley 17C WARRIORS VERSUS WORKING MEN – AN ENTHESES AND JOINT STUDY D Pany, M Teschler-Nicola
POSTER SESSION II TRAUMA 18 HYOID BONE TRAUMA FROM BRONZE AGE I Al Oumaoui, SA Jiménez-Brobeil, MG Roca Rodríguez, J Fernández de la Gala 19 MICROFOCUS X-RAY USED IN THE ANALYSIS OF SKELETAL LESIONS Alexandra Buzhilova, Maria Mednikova, Maria Dobrovolskaya, Alexander Vasiliev, Inna Bulanova 20 TRAUMA PATTERNS IN FOUR MEDIAEVAL POPULATIONS C Castillo González, I Al Oumaoui, MG Roca Rodríguez, JM Tristán Fernández 21 MULTIPLE FRACTURES OF THE DISTAL RIGHT LOWER LIMB IN A MALE FROM A CAROLINGIAN SETTLEMENT IN SOUTHERN GERMANY Stefan Flohr, Julia Gresky,Uwe Kierdorf, Michael Schultz 22 A TRAUMA STORY FROM ANCIENT KELENDERIS CITY Işın Günay, Asuman Çırak, Hacer Y Teke, Semra Duran, Erksin Güleç 23 TWO POSSIBLE CASES OF AMPUTATION IN EARLY MEDIEVAL EASTERN EUROPE Hedy M Justus, Amanda M Agnew 24 A CASE OF HOMICIDE IN THE COPTIC MONASTERY OF DEIR EL-BACHIT IN THEBES-WEST, EGYPT Sandra Lösch, Andreas G Nerlich, Estelle Hower-Tilmann, Albert Zink 25 INJURED BUT HEALTHY? A STUDY OF HOW TRAUMA AFFECTED HEALTH AT MAIDEN CASTLE HILLFORT Rebecca Redfern 26 HIP LESION IN A FEMALE INDIVIDUAL FROM BRONZE AGE MG Roca Rodríguez, I Al Oumaoui, SA Jiménez-Brobeil, C Castillo González 27 A CASE OF TRAUMATIC LESION ON MALE SKELETON OF TIME OF THE GREAT MIGRATION OF PEOPLES T Yu Shvedchikova 28 CRANIAL TRAUMA ON A CHILD FROM A DOUBLE ROMAN BURIAL AT AUGUSTA EMERITA, SPAIN Filipa Cortesão Silva, Juana Márquez Pérez, João Rosa, Ana Luísa Santos 29 PATHOLOGY OF THE ARGUABLY UPPER PALAEOLITHIC CALVARIUM FROM SKHODNYA, RUSSIA Ekaterina Stansfield
POSTER SESSION III STUDIES OF POPULATION HEALTH 30 PALAEOPATHOLOGY OF A LATE MEDIEVAL SERIES FROM SERBIA Lovász G, Molnár E, Marcsik A, Pálfi Gy 31 A HUMAN SKELETAL STUDY THROUGH TIME USING THE WELLCOME OSTEOLOGICAL RESEARCH (WORD) Jelena Bekvalac 32 BIZYGOMATIC BREADTH DETERMINATION IN SKULLS WITH DAMAGED ZYGOMATIC ARCHES George J Dias, Charlotte Oskam 33 ANTHROPOLOGICAL INVESTIGATION OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL SKELETONS FROM THE ORPHANAGE CEMETERY IN ERFURT; GERMANY Lutz Finke, Nina Seidel 34 CONGENITAL AND AQUIRED PATHOLOGIES: A SPECIAL CASE FROM MORTON MOUND 14 Allison Foley 35 PALEOPATHOLOGICAL STUDY OF LATE-HOLOCENE HUNTER-GATHERERS FROM PATAGONIA, ARGENTINA: THE SALITROSO BASIN CASE Solana García Guraieb 36 NEW OSTEOLOGICAL EVIDENCES OF PAZYRYK BURIALS FROM MONGOLIAN ALTAI: VERIFYING HERODOTUS’ HISTORIES Xavier Jordana, Ignasi Galtés, Ts Turbat, D Batsukh, Albert Isidro, Pierre-Henri Giscard, Assumpció Malgosa 37 A HISTORY IN BONE – WILLIAM HEWSON AND THE CRAVEN STREET ANATOMY SCHOOL Tania Kausmally 38 THE DISEASED ROMANS: THREE REMARKABLE PATHOLOGIES OF THE ROMAN IMPERIAL AGE NECROPOLIS “ALBERTINA” IN VIENNA (AUSTRIA) M Marschler, M Teschler-Nicola 39 “THE HEART OF DON LOTTERI: AN OLD HUMAN SPECIMEN BETWEEN LEGEND AND REALITY” Salvatore Micalizio, Luisa Ferrari
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XVII European Meeting of the Paleopathology Association 2008
40 GIANT MAXILLARY CEMENTOMA FROM THE HUN PERIOD, NAIMAA-TOLGOI (MONGOLIA) –A RADIOLOGICAL, CT, HISTOLOGICAL AND SCANNING ELECTRON MICROSCOPIC STUDY L Józsa, I Pap 41 THE HISTORY AND DEVELOPMENT OF ITALIAN PALAEOPATHOLOGY (1854 TO PRESENT) Dario Piombino-Mascali, Albert R Zink 42 MICROSCOPIC COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF HUMAN AND NON-HUMAN TRABECULAR BONE STRUCTURE FOR THE PURPOSES OF FORENSIC, BIOARCHAEOLOGICAL, AND PALEOPATHOLOGICAL IDENTIFICATION Maria A Rosado, Adam Capel, Lynn Goodfellow, Samuel Twardowski 43 PALEOPATHOLOGY OF PORVOO (BORGÅ) – THE SECOND OLDEST TOWN IN FINLAND Kati Salo 44 ARTICULATION DESPITE DAMAGED Articulationes: SYNGNATHIS IN HISTORICAL SKULLS D Schamall D, M Teschler-Nicola, M Stloukal, P Veleminsky, S Tangl 45 HYPEROSTOSIS FRONTALIS INTERNA: A SOCIAL MARKER Hila May, Natan Peled, Gali Dar, Ori Hay, Janan Abbas, Israel Hershkovitz 46 HEALTH, DISEASE AND ACTIVITY PATTERNS IN TWO SWEDISH POPULATIONS Petra Molnar and Anna Kjellström 46B RECENT DISCOVERIES OF BOG BODIES IN IRELAND Laureen Buckley, Eamon P Kelly, Isabella Mulhall 46C SYNCHROTRON MID-INFRARED ANALYSIS OF THE KWÄDĀY DÄN TS’ÍNCHI ANCIENT REMAINS FOUND IN A GLACIER IN CANADA Maria Victoria Monsalve, Colleen Christensen, Mike Jackson, Wayne Vogl
POSTER SESSION IV STUDIES OF DIET, DENTITION and TUMOURS 47 STABLE ISOTOPE ANALYSIS OF A MEDIEVAL SKELETAL SAMPLE WITH SIGNS OF LEPROSY FROM SIGTUNA, SWEDEN Anna Kjellström 48 PREVALENCES OF NON-SPECIFIC STRESS INDICATORS IN THE EARLY BRONZE AGE POPULATION FROM BRANČ (SLOVAKIA) Radoslav Beňuš, Soňa Masnicová, Michaela Dörnhöferová 49 CASES OF MÖLLER-BARLOW DISEASE IN MEDIEVAL RUSSIAN CITY Natalia Berezina 50 EVIDENCE OF TEXTILE PROCESSING THROUGH DENTAL ABRASION AT THE SCHILD MISSISSIPPIAN SITE Larissa Collier 51 A CASE OF DENTAL ENAMEL DEFECT IN A MEDIEVAL AGE CEMETERY FROM HUNGARY Erzsébet Fóthi, Krisztina Buczkó, Tamás Hajdu, Antónia Marcsik 52 DENTAL CALCULI AS LIFE INDICATORS IN ANCIENT POPULATION. A SCANNING ELECTRON MICROSCOPY. STUDY Anna Sassi, Terenzio Congiu 53 NUMEROUS CASES OF HYPEROSTOSIS FRONTALIS INTERNA IN A POPULATION OF NUNS IN THE 16TH - 18TH CENTURIES AT THE SAINTE-CROIX ABBEY IN POITIERS, FRANCE Véronique Gallien, Yves Darton 54 VICTIMS OF WINTER? TWO POSSIBLE CASES OF SCURVY AND RICKETS FROM QUEDLINBURG Frauke Jacobi, D Gronenborn, V Dresely, KW Alt 55 DEFINING CONFLICT-ZONE HEALTH: THE SKELETAL IMPACT OF STRESS ON MEDIEVAL BORDER POPULATIONS IN BRITAIN Jaime D Jennings 56 DRINKING WITH THE RICH AND DINING WITH THE POOR IN ROMAN IRON AGE DENMARK. Marie Louise S. Jørkov 57 EARLY BRONZE AGE AUSTRIA (1) – THE POTTENBRUNN SITE. HIGHER RISK OF STRESS DUE TO PROSPERITY AND ACTIVE TRADING WITHIN THE DANUBE REGION? F Novotny, M Spannagl, M Teschler-Nicola 58 DIFFERENT DESPITE CLOSE PROXIMITY: NUTRITIONAL DEFICIENCY DISEASES IN LOWER AUSTRIAN EARLY MEDIEVAL POPULATIONS M Spannagl, F Novotny, M Teschler-Nicola, K Harkins 59 CASE STUDY: A PECULIAR NEW BONE GROWTH AWAY FROM THE UPPER EXTREMITY OF THE FEMUR SHAFT. RADIOLOGICAL AND PALEOPATHOLOGICAL STUDY R Boano, D Minaldi, G Mangiapane, E Fulcheri, E Rabino Massa 60 DIAGNOSING THE MOCHE GIANTS OF PERU: AN EVALUATION OF MULTIPLE ENDOCRINE NEOPLASIA (MEN) Alana Cordy-Collins, James P Kemp 61 BARRED FROM THE COMMON? A CASE OF LANGERHANS CELL HISTIOCYTOSIS AMONG EARLY BRONZE AGE STORAGE PIT BURIALS IN ZIERSDORF, LOWER AUSTRIA T Einwögerer, M Teschler-Nicola
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XVII European Meeting of the Paleopathology Association 2008
62 HAEMANGIOMA OSSIS IN VERTEBRAL BODIES FROM 17-18th CENTURY IN GDANSKA (POLAND) J J Gładykowska-Rzeczycka, D Nowakowski, A Sokół, A Pudło 63 PALEOPATHOLOGICAL IDENTIFICATION OF MALIGNANT TUMORS IN AN ANCIENT EGYPTIAN POPULATION Andreas G Nerlich, Beatrice E Bachmeier, Sandra Lösch 64 A CASE OF OSTEOCHONDRITIS DISSECANS OF THE KNEE IN A CHINCHORRO MUMMY FROM ARICA, NORTHERN CHILE Paola Ponce, Bernardo Arriaza , Vivien Standen, Laurence O’Connor- Read 65 A POSSIBLE CASE OF AN OSSIFYING FIBROMA IN A LATE NEOLITHIC POPULATION FROM PORTUGAL AM Silva, SN Wasterlain 66 A CASE OF LANGERHANS' CELL HISTIOCYTOSIS AND TUBERCULOSIS OF AN INFANT FROM THE 18th CENTURY HUNGARY Mark Spigelman, I Pap, I Szikossy, HD Donoghue 67 ENDOCRANIAL LESIONS IN A GROUP OF SKELETONS FROM KADIKALESI/ANAIA (KUŞADASI, TURKEY) Handan Üstündağ 68 MORPHOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF CONFIRMED CASES OF PAGET’S DISEASE (OSTEITIS DEFORMANS) WITHIN THE SWISS PATHOLOGICAL REFERENCE SERIES “GALLER COLLECTION” A Graefen, R Schiess, G Kuhn, MI Hofmann, FJ Rühli 69 THE CAUSES OF POROTIC HYPEROSTOSIS AND CRIBRA ORBITALIA: A REAPPRAISAL OF THE IRON DEFICIENCY ANEMIA HYPOTHESIS Thor Gjerdrum, Phillip L Walker, Rhonda R Bathurst, Rebecca Richman, Valerie A Andrushko
Poster Prize: The Institute of Bioarchaeology has kindly supported a poster prize for the best poster of $ 1000. The winning poster was The Causes of Porotic Hyperostosis and Cribra Orbitalia: A Reappraisal of the Iron Deficiency Anemia Hypothesis by Thor Gjerdrum, Phillip Walker, Rhonda Bathurst, Rebecca Richman and Valerie Andrushko
ABSTRACTS
Poster HYOID BONE TRAUMA FROM BRONZE AGE Al Oumaoui I, Jiménez-Brobeil SA, Roca Rodríguez MG, Fernández de la Gala J. Universidad de Granada, Spain We present a mature-age male from the Bronze Age discovered at the site of Motilla del Azuer (Daimiel, Ciudad Real) in the Spanish region of La Mancha. Hyoid bone from this individual exhibits changes thought to be due to a healed fracture, an exceptional finding in an archaeological population. This injury is very rare, and it is even more uncommon for individuals to survive this lesion. It was probably produced by a direct impact to the neck, either accidental, e.g., by fall, or resulting from intentional aggression. We discuss the latter possibility in the context of trauma patterns found at this and other sites from the Bronze Age.
Poster NEW PALAEOPATHOLOGICAL EVIDENCE OF PRE-COLOMBIAN TREPONEMATOSES FROM NORTHERN FRANCE Armelle Alduc-Le Bagousse1, Joël Blondiaux2, Thomas Colart2, Pierre-Marie Danzé3, Anne-Sophie Drucbert3, Xavier Demondion3, René-Marc Flipo3, Cécile Niel1. 1Université de Caen, 2 CEPN Walincourt-Selvign, 3Université Lille 2, Lille, France Two skeletons from Normandy, one of a priest from the 14th century, discovered in the church of Thaon near Caen, and another from the 13thcentury from the cloister of the carthusan monastery of Ardenne, were exhumed by F. Delahaye in 2004 and by M. Vico in 1983. The skeletons exhibit numerous cranial and postcranial destructive and appositional lesions pathognomonic of treponemal disease, a differential diagnosis supported by radiographs and CT-scan. While syphilitic aDNA was amplified from the remains of the 14th century priest, sequencing was not successful. The results obtained here are presented within the context of recent literature discussing the appearance of venereal syphilis in Europe after Columbus’ return.
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Paper SWEDISH PALEOPATHOLOGY AND ITS PIONEERS Caroline Arcini, Torbjörn Ahlström Riksantikvarieämbetet, UV-Syd Lund, University of Lund, Sweden. In this presentation, we will focus on the development of paleopathological research in Sweden in general, and its two pioneers in particular. Skeletal remains from historical or archaeological contexts have always interested medical students, especially anatomists. Singular historical events, such as the death of King Charles XII, have always attracted interest, and his grave has been reopened several times. This tradition was continued by the Professor of Anatomy at Lund University, Carl Magnus Fürst (1854-1935). Apart from working on historical persons, he was often consulted by archaeologists to analyse human skeletal remains excavated from prehistoric sites. He was an essentialist working mainly on cranial morphology, but he made passing notes on pathological specimens found. He popularised ‘historical osteology’ in Sweden and worked to establish a permanent position at the Museum of National Antiquities in Stockholm. This happened after the Second World War when Nils-Gustaf Gejvall (1911-1991) took up a position at the museum. Gejvall worked with both animal and human bones, and defended his thesis on medieval human skeletal remains from Westerhus in 1960. In 1969, the Osteological Research Laboratory was inaugurated. Since then, human osteology and paleopathology has been established as a discipline in Sweden.
Paper REMARKABLE BONY STRUCTURES AT THE CEMETERY OF THE SAINT CATHERINE’S CHURCH, EINDHOVEN, THE NETHERLANDS Steffen Baetsen, W van Erp, L Korthorst1, M Lambregtse1 Archaeological Centre, Free University of Amsterdam, Máxima Medical Centre Eindhoven, 1Archaeological Centre Eindhoven, The Netherlands. During an archaeological excavation in 2005 and 2006, a part of the cemetery of Saint Catherine’s Church Eindhoven was excavated containing burials of about 750 individuals dating from the 13th century until first decades of the nineteenth century. In three of the burials some remarkable bony structures were noticed. All structures are thin, stratified, brittle, spherical shaped pieces of bone including apertures and appear to be calcified tissue fragments of an Echinococcus cyst. The minimal longitudinal length of all three pieces is four centimetres. Two of them could be observed in situ and were found near the twelfth ribs. What could have caused the infection and the formation of these cysts and what could have been the consequences for the persons on whom they were found? Microscopic analysis pointed out that the remains probably belonged to Echinococcus granulosus (tapeworm from a dog) or Echinococcus multilocularis (tapeworm of a fox). Contamination with this tapeworm is probable by direct contact with an infected animal, water or other containing the eggs of this parasite. The cysts form slowly and affect guts, liver and sometimes even lungs or heart. Today, examples from the Turkana in southern Soedan show that after ten to fifteen years cysts can extend up to 10 litres and in exceptional cases to 30 litres. This of course will cause problems to all intestines and eventually respiration will become difficult.
Giessen JWB van de. 2003. Echinococcus Multilocularis. Rijksinstituut voor Volksgezondheid en Milieu, Infectiebulletin 14, nr. 10. Mehlhorn H, Düwel D, Raether W. 1993. Echinococcus-Zysten, Diagnose und Therapie der Parasitosen von Haus-, Nutz- und Heimtieren, Stuttgart. Ortner DJ. 2003. Identification of pathological conditions in human skeletal remains. 2nd edition. Washington, DC: Academic Press
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Paper TUMORAL PATHOLOGY FINDINGS IN THE HUMAN REMAINS FROM THE MONTHEMHAT TOMB (TT-34), DEIR EL BAHARI, LUXOR, EGYPT Baxarias Joaquim, Gomaa Farouk Museu d’Aqueologia de Catalunya, Spain, Tubingen University Study of tumoral lesions and anthropological data coming from the skeletons found in the Monthemhat tomb (TT34), in Deir el-Bahari (Luxor), during the excavations of 2007-2008. In this tomb, built during the final years of the XXV dynasty (VIIc. BC), were exhumed about 203 skeletons. Only the best preserved skeletons were used in the statistical study (n=98). We found an unexpected high prevalence of tumoral lesions. Malignancies were present in 3% of the cases (confirmed in parametric and non-parametrical statistical test), a prevalence never found before in Egypt. Oncogenetic and environmental causes are analysed as etiologic factors in this important ancient family of Amon prophets, rulers of upper Egypt. We conclude that a longer life span, related to a high social level, could facilitate the presence of neoplasic diseases.
Poster A HUMAN SKELETAL STUDY THROUGH TIME USING THE WELLCOME OSTEOLOGICAL RESEARCH (WORD) Jelena Bekvalac Centre for Human Bioarchaeology, Museum of London, UK. In March 2007 the Wellcome Osteological Research Database (WORD) was launched online; www.museumoflondon.org.uk/chb The skeletons recorded and analysed were derived from commercial excavations within the City of London and Greater London Area, forming a unique stratified collection of human remains (c.17, 000) curated at the Museum of London, covering over two thousand years of the history and development of London. Human skeletal remains are an exceptional source of information and provide a comprehensive range of data pertaining not only to the individual but also at a population and social level. WORD as a research tool provides a means of accessing and utilising such invaluable information. The aim of the Poster is to demonstrate the scope and range of WORD as a research tool with illustrated tables and charts highlighting some of the results that may be gained from WORD. Data from WORD can be easily downloaded and queries relating to the data are manifold, being either simple or complex in their nature. They may be associated to individuals within the same site or across sites from the same or different time periods and thus enable patterns or trends to be better observed. WORD essentially allows for readily accessible comparative research to take place at many levels and is a dynamic resource. The benefits of such an on line research tool are numerous and of relevance to many academic fields allowing for innovative and comprehensive interdisciplinary studies.
Poster PREVALENCES OF NON-SPECIFIC STRESS INDICATORS IN THE EARLY BRONZE AGE POPULATION FROM BRANČ (SLOVAKIA) 1Radoslav Beňuš, Soňa Masnicová, 1Michaela Dörnhöferová 1Department of Anthropology, Comenius University, Department of Criminalistics and Forensic Sciences, Academy of Police Forces, Slovenia. Pathological changes (cribra orbitalia, signs of chronic inflammatory disease of paranasal sinuses, enamel hypoplasia) were recorded and analyzed in a sample of 215 skeletons from Branč dated to 2400 – 2000 BP. Paranasal sinuses were inspected macroscopically and, if necessary, with an endoscope. Sinusitis is associated with poor air quality, upper respiratory tract infections, dental disease and allergies. Osseous changes, including pitting, plaque and abnormal spicula-type bone formation were presented in 6,5 %. Cribra orbitalia are considered good indicators of the health and nutritional status of historical populations. Their presence is often associated with anaemia. The prevalence of these orbital lesions was 19,5 %. Enamel hypoplasia was macroscopically observed in
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XVII European Meeting of the Paleopathology Association 2008 all types of deciduous and permanent teeth. It is associated with a physiological stress such as malnutrition, infectious diseases and physiological traumas. Enamel hypoplasia was presented in 39,1 %.
Paper POSSIBLE CASES OF BRUCELLOSIS FROM HUNGARIAN SKELETAL SAMPLES - HOW BIASED ARE OUR DIAGNOSES OF SPINAL INFECTIONS? Bereczki Zs, Marcsik A, Molnár E, Pálfi Gy Department of Anthropology, University of Szeged, Hungary Evidence of brucellosis, being a typical occupational health risk for people engaged in animal husbandry, has been present in osteological series for the last 10,000 years and it is still quite a frequent disease in several countries of the world (Etxeberria, 1994, Capasso, 1999, Mays, 2008). The disease has not been reported in Hungarian samples yet. The authors examined 9 possible cases of brucellosis deriving from 7-14th century skeletal populations (remains of 835 individuals) from Hungary. In the current paper these new cases are described with great emphasis on biases of the diagnosis, especially when degenerative spinal diseases and skeletal TB are considered for differentiation (Sharif et al., 1989, Bosilkowski etal., 2004), as the mentioned diseases were most difficult to exclude in contradictory diagnoses. The authors also draw attention to the need for co- operation between medical practitioners (especially in developing countries where the disease still causes public health problems) and paleopathologists in order to bring fresh light to this part of medical history and provide new aspects to the understanding of modern brucellosis.
Sharif HS, Aideyan OA, Clark DC, Madkour MM, Aabed MY, Mattson TA, Al-Deeb SM, Moutaery KR. 1989. Brucellar and tuberculous spondylitis: Comparative imaging features. Radiology 171: 419- 425. Etxeberria F. 1994. Vertebral epiphysitis: early signs of brucellar disease. Journal of Paleopathology 9: 41-49. Capasso L. 1999. Brucellosis at Herculaneum (79 AD). Int Journal of Osteoarchaeology 9: 277-288. Bosilkowski M, Krteva L, Caparoska S, Dimzova M. 2004. Osteoarticular involvement in brucellosis: study of 196 cases in the Republic of Macedonia. Croatian Medical Journal 45: 727-733. Mays SA. 2007. Lysis at the anterior vertebral body margin: evidence for brucellar spondylitis? Int Journal of Osteoarchaeology 17:107-118.
Poster CASES OF MÖLLER-BARLOW DISEASE IN MEDIEVAL RUSSIAN CITY Natalia Berezina Institute of Archaeology, Moscow, Russia During archaeological excavation by the Institute of Archaeology of Russian Academy of Sciences in 1990-1991 in Mozhaisk (about 100 km west of Moscow), a burial site of the second part of 15th century AD was discovered. The persons from 50 graves were investigated. There were one or several skeletons in each grave, and remains of about 30 incomplete individuals were present from destroyed burials. Total number of investigated persons was about 126. There are 58 children from the site, and five of them (all under the age of 18 months) show similar pathological symptoms. Every exposed case has porous lesions of the skull: abnormal porosity on the frontal bone in the region of glabella and orbital plates, on the parietal bones and greater wing of the sphenoid, petrous and squamous part of temporal bones, alveolar area of maxilla and the region of mandibular ramus. The subperiosteal hemorrhages were noted in metaphyseal areas and in places of muscle insertions of long bones, on the pelvis. In one case, porosity was fixed on the supraspinous fossa and the infraspinous fossa of scapula. The bony manifestations, considered in complex with the age of children, give possibility to discuss the cases as infantile scurvy or Möller-Barlow Disease (Ortner, Ericksen, 1984). Scurvy is a rather typical disease for the medieval period. It points to deficiency of vitamin C in people’s diet, and can mark some unfavorable periods in the life of the population.
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Ortner DJ, Ericksen M. 1984. Bone changes in the human skull probably resulting from scurvy in infancy and childhood. International Journal of Osteoarchaeology 7:212-220.
Poster PLAGUE IMMUNODETECTION IN THE REMAINS OF TWO NUNS EXHUMED AT SAINTE-CROIX ABBEY (POITIERS, FRANCE) 1Bianucci R, 2Rahalison L, 3Rabino Massa E, 3Peluso A, 4Ferrroglio E, 5Signoli M, 6Gallien V 1University of Turin, Italy/Université de la Méditerranée de Marseille, France, 2Institut Pasteur of Madagascar, WHO Collaborating Center, 3,4University of Turin, Italy, 5 Université de la Méditerranée de Marseille and Université de Nice-Sophia-Antipolis, France, 6INRAP and UMR 6130 CNRS, Université de Nice-Sophia-Antipolis, France The skeletons of four Benedictine nuns were exhumed from the topsoil of Sainte-Croix Abbey. The corpses rested on layers of lime and were dated to the end of 16th -beginning of 17th centuries (archaeological data). During the Second Plague Pandemic (14th -17th centuries) lime was exclusively used for plague burials. We hypothesize that Y. pestis infection might have been the cause of death of these nuns. A rapid diagnostic test for plague (RDT), that detects Y. pestis F1 antigen, was applied to all four victims (Chanteau et al., 2003). Y. pestis F1 antigen was detected in two (50 %) of the remains. All negative control samples yielded negative results (100%). The F1 antigen concentrations ranged from 2.5 ng/ml to 0.625 ng/ml. In earlier reports we provided evidence that RDT is diagnostic for the detection of Y. pestis in ancient human remains (Bianucci et al., 2007; Bianucci et al., 2008); its effectiveness was confirmed by results obtained by PCR sequence based-analyses (Drancourt et al., 2007). We find that the detection threshold of the RDT for plague (0.5 ng/ml) is sufficient for a retrospective diagnosis of plague in ancient skeletal remains. This method supplements the historical record with biologic evidence (Coudanne, 1987). Thus, our hypothesis that the two nuns were infected by Y. pestis during the last plague outbreak in Poitiers in 1629-1630 has independent biologic support.
Bianucci R, Rahalison L, Ferroglio E, Rabino Massa E, and Signoli M. 2007. Détection de l’antigène F1 de Yersinia pestis dans les restes humains anciens à l’aide d’un Test de Diagnostic Rapide. C. R. Biologies Vol. 330, Issue 10: 747-754. Bianucci R, Rahalison L, Rabino Massa E, Peluso A, Ferroglio E, Signoli M. 2008. A Rapid Diagnostic Test Detects Plague in Ancient Human Remains: An Example of the Interaction Between Archaeological and Biological Approaches (Southeastern France, 16th- 18th Centuries). American Journal of Physical Anthropology, doi 10.1002/ajpa.20818. Chanteau S, Rahalison L, Ralafiarisoa L, Foulon J, Ratsitorahina M, Ratsifasomanana L, Carniel E, Nato F. 2003. Development and testing of a rapid diagnostic test for bubonic and pneumonic plague. Lancet 361, (9353): 211- 6. Coudanne L. in Labande E.-R. (coord.). 1986. Histoire de l’abbaye Sainte-Croix de Poitiers. Quatorze siècles de vie monastique. Mémoires de la Société des Antiquaires de l’Ouest, XIX (4e série), page 557. Drancourt M, Signoli M, Dang LV, Bizot B, Roux V, Tzortzis S, Raoult D. 2007. Yersinia pestis Orientalis in remains of ancient plague patients. Emerging Infectious Diseases 13:332-333.
Paper EXPLORING TUBERCULOSIS AND ADULT MORTALITY IN THE PAST USING TOOTH CEMENTUM ANNULATION (TCA) APPROACH. 1Joël Blondiaux, 1Thomas Colart, 2Nuria Villena-Mota, 3Leslie Eisenberg, 4Jean-Pierre Bocquet- Appel, and 5Christian Fontaine 1Centre d’Etudes paléopathologiques du Nord, Walincourt-Selvigny, 2Service Archéologique de la Communauté d’Agglomération du Douaisis, Douai, 3Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, USA, 4CNRS UPR 2147, Paris, 5Service de Traumatologie , Centre Hospitalier et Universitaire90, Lille, France
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The prevalence of tuberculosis during the 19th and 20th centuries is well documented from the historical and clinical literature as well as in recent research (ICEPID Conference in Szeged 1999, Roberts and Buikstra 2003). The elevated mortality and morbidity rates accompanying the disease in adults contribute to its high profile among generalized causes of adult mortality. In order to maximize our understanding of the impact of this disease on historic and prehistoric populations, we have applied TCA as a tool for determining and discriminating actual from estimated age-at-death in a non-randomly selected sample of 750 skeletons from 13 discrete archaeological series that range in time from the Neolithic period to modern times. Beginning at age 20 (the cut-off point that we used for determining adult age), the median age of the 28 adults diagnosed with tuberculosis is 22 years (the lowest). We discuss the variations in the median ages of death obtained, the direct impact of tuberculosis on adult mortality in the sample, and the diagnostic value of the disease as a marker of elevated mortality in the affected populations.
Roberts CA, Buikstra JE. 2003. The Bioarchaeology of Tuberculosis, A Global View on a Reemerging Disease. University Press of Florida.
Poster CASE STUDY: A PECULIAR NEW BONE GROWTH AWAY FROM THE UPPER EXTREMITY OF THE FEMUR SHAFT. RADIOLOGICAL AND PALEOPATHOLOGICAL STUDY Boano R, Minaldi D, Mangiapane G, 1Fulcheri E, Rabino Massa E. University of Turin, Dept. of Animal and Human Biology, Laboratory of Anthropology, 1University of Genoa, Di.C.M.I Section of Pathological Anatomy, Italy. The aim of this study was to document a case of a new bone growth at the upper extremity of the right femur of medieval date, from a radiological and histological perspective. The specimen comes from a secondary burial context and so there is no information available from the original burials. However, it was decided to analyse all the bone from the site and incorporate any bones with unusual morphological or pathological features in the collection of paleopathology at the Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography of Turin (Italy). The object of the study is a complete adult right femur. A visible irregular bone mass (about 90 mm) was present in the sub-trocanther area. This mass has a mammillary smooth surface. The macroscopic characteristics of the lesion are strongly suggestive of a bone tumour, and histological and radiological investigations have been planned to assess the structure of the new bone. Well documented bone tumours are extremely rare in paleopathology and so this case merits detailed investigation. The analysis, which is still being carried out, will contribute to defining the nature of the disease. This case underlines the relevance of systematic recovery of anthropological material, which allows valuable information on the history and development of disease to be obtained.
Paper CONSTITUENT COMPANIONS: CLIMATE, DIET AND METABOLIC BONE DISEASE Megan Brickley Institute of Archaeology & Antiquity, The University of Birmingham, UK Recently there has been a growing appreciation of the potential contribution of the metabolic bone diseases to many important questions regarding life in past populations. This paper aims to explore the ways in which these conditions can contribute to discussions relating to past climates and diets of individuals from a wide range of spatial and temporal contexts. As Calvin Wells stated, the “pathology of a group of people is never randomly produced. It reflects, sometimes very closely, the environment in which they live, the geographical and climatic influences which bear on them…their behaviour in the environment, their patterns of dress, houses, tools, weapons and much else.” (Wells, 1980:262). Although ideas have changed since Wells was working, this statement is still accepted by those investigating paleopathology (e.g. Roberts and Manchester, 2005). Developments in diagnostic
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XVII European Meeting of the Paleopathology Association 2008 criteria have significantly strengthened the potential of metabolic bone diseases in answering questions linked to climate and nutrition in past groups. Climate has a significant impact on many varied aspects of the lives of individuals and is fundamentally inter-linked to settlement type or housing style, as well as clothing. Ultraviolet rays in sunshine are the predominant source of vitamin D, but dietary factors can also play a role in the development of a deficiency. As a result, levels of vitamin D deficiency are not simplistically correlated with latitude or available hours of sunshine. Today some of the highest levels of vitamin D deficiency occur in places with plentiful sunshine. As in modern populations, the cultural practices within past societies require detailed consideration in interpretations of vitamin D deficiency. A bioarchaeological approach has significant potential for interpreting gender differences throughout the life course. Interest in age-related osteoporosis, a condition that can assist in the development of ideas on the life course, has increased considerably in recent years. Studies of 19th century London showed an increase in fractures during the winter months, due to falls on ice and slippery surfaces, affecting osteopenic individuals. Climate also has a significant impact on crops grown and animals available – thereby having a fundamental impact on the diet of individuals, another factor linked to osteopenia. Prior to the availability of energy sources that can be used in crop production and animal husbandry, climate and food supplies would have been integrally linked. Modern technologies greatly extend the availability of a wide range of food sources. Research on scurvy has begun to reach the stage where it can provide significant information on the dietary practices in different sections of societies from a wide range of past contexts. More recently, investigation of Pellagra suggests that this dietary deficiency condition might also provide insights into health and life in past societies. Examples used in this paper come from a wide range of social and cultural contexts from around the world, supported by research undertaken for the recently published, The Bioarchaeology of Metabolic Bone Disease (Brickley and Ives, 2008).
Brickley M, Ives R. 2008. The Bioarchaeology of Metabolic Bone Disease. Amsterdam: Academic Press. Roberts C. Manchester K. 2005. The Archaeology of Disease. Third edition. Stroud: Sutton Publishing. Wells C. 1980. The human bones. In Wade-Martins, P. Excavations in North Elmham Park 1967- 1972. East Anglian Archaeology, Report No. 9. Norfolk. Norfolk Archaeological Unit, Gressenhall. pp.247-314.
Paper VERTEBRAL PATHOLOGIES AND ACTIVITY PATTERNS IN TWO MEDIAEVAL SPANISH POPULATIONS Jiménez Brobeil SA, Roca Rodríguez MG, Al Oumaoui I, Cañellas Trobat A. Universidad de Granada /Laboratorio de Antropología, Spain Historical and osteological data show different activity patterns in Spanish mediaeval populations according to cultural and religious differences. The first aim of this study was to explore these possible differences by analyzing vertebral spine lesions. A total of 2165 vertebrae belonging to 124 individuals were studied. They come from two mediaeval cemeteries: Villanueva de Soportilla (Burgos, north of Spain), a rural nucleus of Christian peasants, and La Torrecilla (Granada, south of Spain), also a small village, but of the Muslim religion. Osteoarthritis, compression fractures and Schmorl’s nodes were analyzed in individuals and in vertebral pieces. Osteoarthritis and compression fractures are related to age and are more frequent in mature individuals. All three problems studied are more frequent in men, who had the hardest conditions of work. More affected individuals and vertebrae were detected in the Villanueva population, possibly because they were a border population. Differences among populations are more evident in the women, which could be due to different activity patterns, because Muslim women usually worked only in the domestic setting.
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Poster IDENTIFICATION OF LEPROSY IN INDIVIDUALS FROM HIBERNO-NORSE DUBLIN Laureen Buckley Office of the State Pathologist, Dublin, Ireland To date no complete skeletons afflicted with leprosy have been found in Ireland although there is historical and skeletal evidence that the disease was present in that country. Recent excavations of a Hiberno-Norse period (circa 1000 A.D) cemetery have revealed the presence of burials of Vikings (buried with grave goods) as well as burials of the native Irish. A palaeopathological study of the excavated remains from this interesting time in Dublin’s past has revealed the presence of three skeletons with evidence of leprosy. This poster will give a short overview of the site and a detailed case study of one of the skeletons with bone changes due to lepromatous leprosy. This adult male was complete and in good condition and had facies leprosa with resorption of bone around the area of the incisors in the maxilla and resorption of the nasal bones as well as chronic periostitis of the tibiae and fibulae and concentric atrophy of the metatarsals and phalanges. A second skeleton with a rare destructive lesion on the frontal bone, possibly caused by a lepromatous lesion will be presented and differential diagnoses provided.
Poster RECENT DISCOVERIES OF BOG BODIES IN IRELAND. Laureen Buckley(1), Eamon P. Kelly(2), Isabella Mulhall(2) Office of the State Pathologist(1), The National Museum of Ireland(2), Dublin, Ireland. In recent years a number of bog bodies have been discovered in Ireland. Two of these, dating to the Iron Age, were the subject of an intense scientific research program carried out by The National Museum of Ireland with the help of specialists from Ireland, England and Denmark. The aim was to carry out, with minimum destruction of tissues, as much scientific analysis as possible before the preservation process was initiated. This poster will describe the injuries inflicted on the two individuals. ‘Old Croghan Man’ seems to have been ritually killed and placed in a pool in the bog. He had been stabbed in the chest, decapitated and cut through the middle of his abdomen. The nipples had been cut. His arms had been bound by a plaited rope of hazel that had been forced through cuts made in the muscles of the upper arms. ‘Clooncavan Man’ had received a sharp cut to the back of the head and had also been cut through the abdomen. Further analysis of the hair of this body revealed that resin had been used to support the hair, which was tied in a knot at the top of the head. There was also evidence of head-lice infestation. Results of isotope analysis and radiocarbon dates from both bodies will also be given.
Paper MASS GRAVES FROM MEDIEVAL RUSSIAN TOWN: BIO-CULTURAL CONTEXT OF REMAINS 1,2Alexandra Buzhilova, 1Natalia Goncharova and 2Asya Engovatova 1Institute and Museum of Anthropology, Moscow University, 2Institute of Archaeology of RAS, Russia Archaeological fieldwork undertaken by the Institute of Archaeology of Russian Academy of Sciences (Moscow) in the centre of the modern town of Yaroslavl’ (European Russia), 2004 – 2007 produced remains of habitation and economic sites of Medieval date. Five mass graves were also found in different parts of the ancient town. The first collective burial was beneath a building that had been destroyed by fire. The grave included about 100 individuals, mainly women and children. Near the Central Gate of the town a well that had been used as a mass grave was discovered. The well contained 97 individuals, most of whom were male. Anthropological work undertaken focused on possible reasons for these mass burials. In total, the graves produced around 250 individuals, mainly women and children. Trauma recorded included; blunt-force skull fractures, sword wounds, trauma linked to decapitation and arrow wounds from across the body. Military aggression seemed a likely explanation for the pattern seen. Within the mass graves, some remnants of clothing were preserved and these all indicated cold–season clothing, suggesting the attack took place in the winter. Artefacts discovered dated the event to the beginning of the 13th century. Historical analysis revealed that in
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XVII European Meeting of the Paleopathology Association 2008 winter 1238 the Golden Horde used the ice covered river Volga as a winter road and stormed the town. It was the beginning of longstanding occupation of Medieval Russian territory by the Mongol- Tatarian Unit.
Poster MICROFOCUS X-RAY USED IN THE ANALYSIS OF SKELETAL LESIONS 1,2Alexandra Buzhilova, 2Maria Mednikova, 2Maria Dobrovolskaya, 3Alexander Vasiliev and 3Inna Bulanova 1Institute and Museum of Anthropology of Moscow University, 2Institute of Archaeology of RAS, 3Moscow State Medicine and Stomatology University, Russia. Microfocus roentgenography is a new method of investigation that has been used in clinical dental practice over the last 5-7 years. The advantages of x-ray study using equipment with a microfocal tube are especially clear for detection of thin and low-contrasting details in images. This development was possible because there are no practical limits on the distance between the focal spot and the x-ray detector plane. The images produced using this technique have no area of reduced image sharpness as found in traditional radiological study results (due to the geometry of x-rays generated from different areas of the focal spot). With microfocus roentgenography, images can be viewed on a monitor and this is becoming an increasingly common method for visualization of the pictures. We present the first results of application of the microfocus x-ray method in palaeopathology. Cases studied include examples of inflammatory processes of different etiology, such as infectious diseases and complicated traumas. To describe and evaluate pathological conditions of the cases investigated various techniques have been applied. Microfocus X-ray images have been compared with computed tomography representation, which minimizes the effect of superimposition in the best way. Comparisons are also made with plane-film radiography. As a nondestructive radiographic method, microfocus images are an important tool for analyzing palaeopathological samples and should be a regular component of evaluation of pathological cases.
Paper OCCUPATIONAL BIOARCHAEOLOGY: BEYOND MACROSCOPIC OBSERVATION AND STATISTICAL APPROACHES Francisca Alves Cardoso Durham University, Department of Archeology, UK Centre for Research in Anthropology, Lisbon, Portugal Occupational bioarchaeology may be regarded as a subfield of bioarchaeology. During the past decade the interest and number of publications on this subject has been extensive. The assumption is that behaviour can be reconstructed based on the analysis of activity-related osseous changes, subsumed under the umbrella of Markers of Occupational Stress (MOS). The aim of this study was to assess if degenerative bony changes (DBC) could be specifically related with occupations. The objective was purposely to test if skeletons of known occupations exhibited particular types of lesions, or patterns of joint lesions that could be used to assess their occupation. A sample of 299 male individuals from two Portuguese identified skeletal collections from the 19th and early to mid 20th centuries were used. The results showed that the age at death of the individuals was a major confounding variable throughout the analysis of the degenerative bone changes observed, and only in very rare occasions was occupation a significant predictor in the development of DBC. Interestingly, in these occasions the occupation associated with a statistical significance, was not necessarily the one which historically would be synonymous with strenuous activity. Additionally, the review of the methodologies, which include the recording methods, proved that the DBC were not fully adequate for the assessment of activity/occupational-related bony changes. Furthermore, the skeletal data only provided partial information about the individuals’ life, making it impossible to evaluate the impact of the sum of years of activities, or its lack, on the bones.
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Poster TRAUMA PATTERNS IN FOUR MEDIAEVAL POPULATIONS Castillo González C, Al Oumaoui I, Roca Rodríguez MG, Tristán Fernández JM Universidad de Granada, Laboratorio de Antropología. Facultad de Medicina, Spain Traditionally, traumatisms have been related to activity patterns. Here we study the trauma frequencies in four mediaeval populations from Castilla (north of Spain); these are Villanueva de Soportilla (a small rural nucleus of peasants), Palacios de la Sierra (an urban village of craftsmen), San Baudelio de Berlanga (a livestock farm) and San Millán de la Cogolla (a cemetery of monks). There are a total of 354 individuals. Fractures are more frequent in ribs and upper members, and in males than females. The more affected population is Villanueva, perhaps due to its hard lifestyle and the least is Palacios. San Millán presents a high number of traumatisms, more than could be expected at a monks’ community.
Paper PALEOPATHOLOGY IN AUSTRALIA H.Cekalovic, 1J.Littleton, and K. Domett James Cook University, Townsville, Australia, 1University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand The study of paleopathology in skeletal remains in Australia appears sporadic and unsystematic. There are a number of limiting factors, including a disjointed relationship between physical anthropologists and archaeologists, and indigenous Australian attitudes towards skeletal analysis. Despite these limitations, some important palaeopathological research has been carried out over the last 100 years within Australia. This paper will focus on three key researchers as a way of highlighting key results and limitations in palaeopathology. Cecil Hackett was medically trained in Adelaide, and he wrote many anthropological and palaeopathological papers on treponemal diseases in Australia. Hackett was certainly considered an expert in this field from a global perspective. In more recent times, Stephen Webb completed a highly significant synthesis on the palaeopathology of Australian Aborigines. One impetus for this work was the growing repatriation and reburial of Aboriginal remains. Webb’s work took a more palaeoepidemiological perspective of the health of hunter-gatherer peoples to answer such questions as ‘were they as healthy as other hunter-gatherer groups across the world?’ Currently, paleopathology in Australia is often undertaken from the result of fortuitous discovery of human remains during modern development works, erosion of sites, or very occasionally as part of broader archaeological research projects of both indigenous and European settlements. In some cases, with the developing interest of some Aboriginal communities, there may be the opportunity to provide an osteobiography. Recent work by Denise Donlon is an example. The future goal is to find a way to use these fragmented osteobiographies to provide a wider picture of paleopathology of Australia.
Poster EVIDENCE OF TEXTILE PROCESSING THROUGH DENTAL ABRASION AT THE SCHILD MISSISSIPPIAN SITE Larissa Collier Indiana University Bloomington, USA The processing and production of textiles in the Mississippian cultures (AD 800 – 1650) in North America has been clearly recognized in the archaeological record. The use of teeth as tools for processing weaving fibers, hides, netting, and bast has also been recorded in several ethnographies. 126 adult crania with accompanying dentition from the Mississippian component of the Schild site, located in the lower Illinois River valley, were evaluated for dental wear. A visual analysis was the first stage of determination for textile use. Two skulls from Mound A demonstrate marked abnormal wear patterns that were potentially created by textile processing. A third skull from Mound B provides an opportunity for differential diagnosis of dental wear through a comparison of tool use versus malocclusion due to temporomandibular joint damage. There are potential sources of error in the interpretation of textile processing due to pathological features of the jaw and dentition. The second stage of analysis through scanning electron microscopy is used to provide a closer
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XVII European Meeting of the Paleopathology Association 2008 examination of the dentition and test the hypothesis that the dental wear was caused by textile processing.
Paper ROY L. MOODIE: COMPARATIVE PERSPECTIVES ON ANCIENT DISEASE Della Collins Cook Indiana University, Bloomington, USA R. L. Moodie was a prolific early 20th century contributor to paleopathology. His work is synthetic, original and wide-ranging. A student of the palaeontologist S. W. Williston, his earliest and most extensive publications concerned fossil assemblages and taxonomy. As a young man he was an avid fossil prospector. His focus on taphonomy and macroevolution of parasite/host relationships reflect this aspect of his career. His work on the paleopathology of ancient animals is still influential. Moodie is best-known for three mid-career publication projects: two 1923 books reviewing paleopathology and a 1921 memorial volume of Armand Ruffer’s papers. These projects reflect his connections to a lively community of anatomists, paleontologists and anthropologists in Chicago. His 1931 radiographic atlas of mummies at the Field Museum is a lasting contribution made possible by the intellectual and commercial vigor of this community. His career as an anatomist at University of Illinois Medical School was cut short by Parkinson’s disease. Retiring to California for his health, Moodie spent the last decade of his life on highly original research with the Hrdlicka collections at the San Diego Museum of Man. This work has received less attention than it deserves, in part because of the institutional and professional politics of the day.
Poster DIAGNOSING THE MOCHE GIANTS OF PERU: AN EVALUATION OF MULTIPLE ENDOCRINE NEOPLASIA (MEN) Alana Cordy-Collins, James P. Kemp University of San Diego, University of California San Diego School of Medicine, USA Excavation of four Moche burials (ca. 450 CE) on the north coast of Peru between 1997 and 2000 revealed five young males with extraordinary skeletal pathologies. These are grossly characterized as above-normal size and extreme bone demineralization. Our continuing research into the possible cause(s) of the condition(s) suggests an endocrine disorder of some magnitude. Multiple Endocrine Neoplasia or MEN, first described a century ago (1), is an uncommon condition exhibiting an autosomal dominant pattern of inheritance which explains its clustering in related individuals. These neoplasias develop as a consequence of genetic mutation, are usually benign, but are composed of cells capable of hypersecreting hormones that result in extreme pathological effects. To date, three major MEN phenotypes have been described (2), each of which applies to our cases in some particulars, but without referenced organs available for analysis, definitive phenotyping is difficult. Here we evaluate the three, Types 1, 2A, and 2B in reference to the Moche males. At this point in the study, Type 1 seems to be the best fit.
Erdheim J. 1903. Zur normalen and pathologischen Histologie der Glands Thyroidea, Parathyroidea and Hypophysis.Beitr Pathol Anat 33. Gagel RF, Marx SJ. 2003. Multiple Endocrine Neoplasia. in Williams Textbook of Endocrinology, tenth edition. 36:1717-1762.
Poster MULTIPLE ENTHESOPATHIES IN THE HUMAN SKELETON: WHAT DO THEY TELL US ABOUT SPINAL DISEASES? Gali Dar(1,2), Smadar Peleg(2), Youssef Masharawi(2,3), Nili Steinberg(2,4), Hila May(2), Israel Hershkovitz(2) Department of Physical Therapy, Faculty of Social Welfare & Health studies, Haifa University(1), Department of Anatomy and Anthropology, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University(2), Spinal Research Laboratory, Department of Physical Therapy , School of Health, Tel-Aviv
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University(3), Zinman College of Physical Education and Sports Sciences, Wingate Institute, Netanya(4), Israel This is a descriptive study of the association between spinal diseases, sacroiliac joint bridging (SIB) and enthesopathies. The aim is to obtain data on the distribution of entheseal reaction in the human skeletons, with and without SIB, and reveal their association with spinal diseases. Various enthesopathies and SIB are considered hallmarks of spinal diseases (e.g., ankylosing spondylitis). Nevertheless, the relationship between enthesopathies and SIB has never been presented and their association with specific spinal diseases never been confirmed. 289 human male skeletons with SIB and 127 without (of similar demographic structure) were evaluated for the presence of entheseal ossification, cartilaginous calcification and other axial skeleton joint fusion (a total of 18 anatomical sites). The presence of Diffuse Idiopathic Skeletal Hyperostosis (DISH) and Spondyloarthropathy (SpA) were also recorded. SIB was strongly associated with entheseal reactions in other parts of the body. 24.91% of the SIB group had DISH and 8.05% had SpA. Unlike the common belief, presence of multiple enthesopathies can not be used as a diagnostic criterion for DISH or SpA. There is an urgent need to redefine our criteria for these diseases when studying archaeological populations.
Poster BIZYGOMATIC BREADTH DETERMINATION IN SKULLS WITH DAMAGED ZYGOMATIC ARCHES George J Dias, Charlotte Oskam Department of Anatomy & Structural Biology, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand Metric and discriminate function analyses of the skull have been used successfully in the determination of ancestry and sex from human skeletal remains of both forensic and archaeological contexts. However, skulls are often recovered damaged. One of the structures that are commonly fragmented, even when the rest of the skull is preserved, is the zygomatic arch. Considering that the bizygomatic breadth is an important facial measurement in craniometry, we propose a simple linear regression model to predict the bizygomatic breadth of skulls with damaged zygomatic arches. Although this regression model was developed using skulls from the Indian sub-continent, we demonstrate that it is applicable to other racial groups. This regression model can be applied in craniometric analysis and in the reconstruction of skulls with damaged zygomatic arches prior to facial approximation procedures.
Paper HUMAN HEALTH STATUS OF THE PREDYNASTIC NORTHERN MESOPOTAMIAN POPULATION ACCORDING TO THE RECENT SKELETAL MATERIAL FROM THE TELL-KHAZNA BURIALS Dobrovolskaya M, Mednikova M Institute of Archaeology. Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia The anthropological materials from archaeological sites of Mesopotamia can be considered as one of the most important sources to reconstruct the health status and the life style of the Predynastic and Early Dynastic population. The Tell-Khazna is located at the Middle Habur river region of the Northern Syria. It was built as the local administrative and religious center at the end of the IV – beginning of the III millennia. Tell-Khazna was excavated by the Syrian Expedition of the Russian Academy of Sciences for 20 field seasons. 48 burials have been opened at the site territory. The programs of the paleodemography, paleopathology, stress marker fixing, morphometry, diet reconstruction were realized in our research. It was shown that the preadult individuals’ burials are rather more numerous than burial places of the adults (75% contrary 25%). The linear enamel hypoplasia (18%) and cribra orbitalia (14%) have been tending to be the most frequent stress markers. It is remarkable that there are no traces of porotic hyperostosis or periostitis on these materials. The frequent cases of the skeletal degenerative-dystrophic damages have been described for the adult individuals. First of all the osteochondrosis, osteophythosis, articular cartilage wear can be mentioned. Also, obviously the hard teeth wear which is caused by jaws using some physical
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XVII European Meeting of the Paleopathology Association 2008 actions. All these patterns of the skeletal damages are typical for the hard working individuals. Thus we can assume that Tell-Khazna cemetery has been intended for ordinary rural inhabitants of the Northern Mesopotamia.
Poster DETECTION, CHARACTERISATION AND QUANTIFICATION OF MYCOBACTERIUM LEPRAE DNA FROM ARCHAEOLOGICAL MATERIAL 1Helen D. Donoghue, 2Petr Velemínky, 3Jakub Likovsky, 4Virginie Garcin, 1G. Michael Taylor 1University College London, UK, 2National Museum, Prague, 3Institute of Archaeology of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, 4Université Bordeaux 1, France The demonstration of pathogen DNA in human remains is valuable in confirming paleopathological diagnosis and expanding our understanding of the host/pathogen relationship. This study examined how additional molecular techniques, such as Real-Time(RT)-PCR increase the information that is recoverable from the rare specimens with evidence of infectious disease. The skeleton of a 12-14 year-old individual from the medieval (9th-10th century) Prusánky burial ground showed signs of periostitis consistent with leprosy or treponemal disease. DNA was extracted from nasal scrapings, radial epiphysis, fibula and rib. PCR was performed using primers for the Mycobacterium leprae repetitive element RLEP (37 copies/cell) and the single-copy 18 k-Da antigen locus1. RT-PCR2 and a specific probe for the 18 k-Da antigen locus were used to quantify the amount of M. leprae DNA, and genotyping was also performed3. The probe and RT-PCR demonstrated M. leprae DNA in all specimens, with a significantly greater quantity in the fibula and nasal scrapings. In the DNA extraction, pre-incubation with N- phenacylthiazolium bromide (PTB) facilitated DNA strand separation and increased M. leprae DNA recovery. RT-PCR is a convenient rapid technique and also enables PCR inhibition to be assessed. We confirmed the diagnosis of leprosy in the skeletal remains examined; demonstrated that the individual had disseminated, therefore lepromatous leprosy; and showed differential localisation of M. leprae DNA within the body.
1 Donoghue HD, Holton, J, Spigelman M. 2001. PCR primers that can detect low levels of Mycobacterium leprae DNA. Journal of Medical Microbiology 50: 177-182. 2 Taylor GM, Watson CL, Bouwman AS, Lockwood DNJ, Mays SA. 2006. Variable number tandem repeat (VNTR) typing of two palaeopathological cases of lepromatous leprosy from Mediaeval England. Journal of Archaeological Science 33:1569-1579. 3 Monot M, Honoré N, Garnier T, Araoz R, Coppée JY, Lacroix C, Sow S, Spencer JS, Truman RW, Williams DL, Gelber R, Virmond M, Flageul B, Cho SN, Ji B, Paniz-Mondolfi A, Convit J, Young S, Fine PE, Rasolofo V, Brennan PJ, Cole ST. 2005. On the origin of leprosy. Science 308:1040-1042.
Poster A RARE CASE OF OSTEOLYTIC CRANIAL LESIONS IN PRE-ANGKORIAN CAMBODIA: A DIFFERENTIAL DIAGNOSIS Kate Domett, Hallie Buckley James Cook University, Australia, University of Otago, New Zealand Excavations in northwestern Cambodia have uncovered a rich burial ground at the village of Phum Snay, dated to the late pre-Angkorian period, c. AD 75-300 AD. In addition, extensive modern-day looting of the prehistoric site of Phum Snay has exposed a large sample of unprovenanced human skeletal material. Both sample sets were available for study but the latter is comprised of only isolated bone elements. The differential diagnosis of one isolated cranial vault from this sample will be presented. Widespread, primarily lytic, lesions are concentrated on the frontal and anterior parietal bones, with an additional large lesion on the occipital bone. Lesions vary in size ranging from approximately 5mm to 30mm in diameter. Details of these lesions will be discussed and a differential diagnosis presented that will include infectious disease, including osteomyelitis, tuberculosis, and treponemal disease, and also several forms of cancer including metastic carcinoma, meningioma, and multiple myeloma. The presence of such large and diffuse lesions is unusual in prehistoric Southeast Asia so the significance of this will also be discussed.
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Poster TRABECULAR ENDOSTEAL HYPEROSTOSIS: A BIOMECHANICAL RESPONSE? Rose Drew, Michael J Fagan. Department of Archaeology University of York, Centre for Medical Engineering and Technology, University of Hull UK. This poster details an exploratory investigation into unexpected trabecular bone. In a typical human long bone, trabeculae are located in the epiphyses and proximal and distal diaphyses, where they diffuse mechanical stress from joint loads. Midshaft accumulations of trabecular bone are considered to be indicators of disease, such as one of the treponematoses. In at least four British medieval assemblages, midshaft trabecular bone has been observed in gross inspection and confirmed with micro-CT imaging. This has been termed Endosteal Trabecular Hyperostosis, in recognition that occasional endosteal presence of trabeculae is not unusual. In these individuals, the atypical bone appears to form in one of two major architectural arrangements. In each case, the affected bones do not appear to be diseased or abnormal; rather, they are robust and large specimens. This poster explores some of the potential reasons for this accumulation, and notes the apparent correlation of this material with other skeletal indicators of a highly strenuous activity, namely, Long Bow Archery.
Poster BARRED FROM THE COMMON? A CASE OF LANGERHANS CELL HISTIOCYTOSIS AMONG EARLY BRONZE AGE STORAGE PIT BURIALS IN ZIERSDORF, LOWER AUSTRIA T. Einwögerer and M. Teschler-Nicola Department for Anthropology, Natural History Museum Vienna, Austria In 2000, human burials were recovered from five abandoned storage pits during the archaeological investigation of a late Early Bronze Age settlement (1600-1500 BC) in Ziersdorf, Lower Austria. Their analysis aimed to look for archaeological and pathological peculiarities that might elucidate why these individuals were excluded from a regular funeral. Among the remains was the practically complete skeleton of a 6-year-old child. Macroscopic, radiological and CT-scanning examination of the individual revealed multiple lytic foci in the cranial and postcranial remains. The neurocranium was found to be the most severely affected area followed by the craniofacial skeleton. Postcranial dissemination included the ribs and the pelvic bones. The foci observed were characterised by a round shape, some contained a central sequestrum and showed remodelling and/or woven bone formation. Differential diagnoses to consider included most disorders of white blood cells (e.g., lymphoma, leukemia) and metastatic carcinoma. The morphological characteristics of the lesions and their predilection of sites sustained LCH as the most reliable diagnosis for this pathological condition. LCH has rarely been described in the paleopathological literature so far and only a few reports could demonstrate postcranial affection. A definite explanation for this common burial phenomenon in the Austrian EBA has not yet been found. The Ziersdorf individuals who in addition to the LCH case also show a high prevalence of peri-mortem trauma will provide interesting input for the ongoing discussion.
Paper BONE QUALITY AND DIET IN PREHISTORIC SIBERIAN HUNTER-GATHERER- FISHERS Faccia, Kathleen J (1), Katzenberg, M Anne(1), David ML Cooper(2) Department of Archaeology, University of Calgary(1), University of Saskatchewan,(2) Canada Bone quality in humans is affected by several factors including dietary choices and mobility. One theory posits that accelerated bone loss in northern indigenous populations is the result of a buffering mechanism caused by high protein/low calcium diets. This presentation explores dietary intake and bone quality (bone mineral density (BMD), cortical thickness, porosity) in a subsample of Lake Baikal (Siberia) hunter-gatherer-fishers. Stable carbon and nitrogen isotope analysis and archaeological evidence are used to determine the diet which is very high in animal protein and lipid. Bone quality is analyzed using pQCT and micro-CT technology, allowing for density and structural parameters to be assessed while taking into consideration the geometry and 3D structure of bone. The
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XVII European Meeting of the Paleopathology Association 2008 bone quality of these prehistoric peoples is then compared with results from a previously studied modern Australian autopsy sample (Cooper 2006) which is used here as a base-line. In agreement with other researchers, porosity increases in the hunter-gatherer-fishers with age and, overall, cortical thickness is significantly reduced in females versus males. BMD in only one of the Siberian samples differs significantly from the modern sample; however, there is no significant correlation between cortical thickness and bone mineral density, suggesting that, although bone density values vary within the range of modern humans, diagenetic change may be a confounding factor. Based on the results of this study, it does not appear that the hunter-gatherer-fisher diet compromised bone quality when compared to a modern human sample.
Cooper David ML. 2006. Three dimensional micro-CT imaging of human cortical bone porosity: A novel method for estimating age at death. Ph.D Dissertation, University of Calgary.
Paper VIOLENCE IN NEOLITHIC EUROPE: CRANIAL TRAUMA RECONSIDERED Linda Fibiger Research Laboratory for Archaeology & the History of Art, University of Oxford, UK The large number of case studies and anthropological results from larger burial sites published in recent years have provided evidence for localised episodes of violent interaction in Neolithic Europe. Considered in isolation, though, these studies cannot answer more fundamental questions on the scale and impact of conflict and violence on the daily life of prehistoric population groups. Larger, population-based inter-regional studies are necessary to evaluate the potential effect of violent interactions on prehistoric communities, including a detailed examination of both, healed and unhealed injuries and a careful assessment of the probability of their accidental or non-accidental origins and archaeological context. This paper presents results of the (re-)analysis of Early to Late Neolithic cranial remains of over 700 individuals from Denmark, Sweden and northern and central Germany, including collective burials and cemeteries. It will consider important issues such as preservation, differential diagnosis of accidental versus non-accidental injuries and taphonomic damage, and compare the findings with existing prevalence rates for northwest Europe. The majority of injuries recorded for the Middle and Late Neolithic are healed, suggesting the presence of conflicts that stressed injury over death; this stands in contrast to the well-known mass-fatality sites of the Early Neolithic such as Talheim and Asparn/Schletz and has important implications for our understanding of interaction and conflict in later Neolithic society.
Poster ANTHROPOLOGICAL INVESTIGATION OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL SKELETONS FROM THE ORPHANAGE CEMETERY IN ERFURT; GERMANY Lutz Finke and Nina Seidel Friedrich-Schiller-University, Institute of Human Genetics and Anthropology, Historical Anthropology, Jena, Germany This Poster presents the results of the anthropological investigation undertaken on skeletons from the cemetery of an orphanage in Erfurt, Germany. The cemetery was used for 134 years but only 82 individuals were recovered from the excavations undertaken. Age determination was undertaken using an assessment of dental development and long bone length and fusion. Analysis undertaken demonstrated that 75 of the excavated individuals were subadult. The subadult individuals ranged in age from five to 15 years old at the time of death, with the most frequently recorded age being seven to eight years. Of the seven adult individuals identified, three were classified as adultus, three as matures, and one as juvenis/adultus. Sex was not determined in the case of the subadults, but in the adults was undertaken using an assessment of morphological and metrical traits. Three of the individuals were found to be female, three male and one was indeterminate. In addition to recording stature in the adult individuals, a full assessment was made of pathological changes present in the skeletons recorded. In the subadult individuals dental defects (enamel hypoplasia) were frequently recorded and bending deformities suggestive of vitamin D
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XVII European Meeting of the Paleopathology Association 2008 deficiency (rickets), were present in many of the long bones. The presence of both enamel defects and evidence of rickets, indicate that children at the orphanage lived under adverse conditions. The possible identities of the adults excavated from this site are also discussed.
Paper DIFFERENTIAL DIAGNOSIS OF HYPOCELLULARITY IN MASTOIDS ACCORDING TO WITTMAACK IN HUMAN SKELETAL REMAINS Stefan Flohr, Michael Schultz University of Hildesheim, University of Göttingen, Germany Hypocellularity of the mastoid process has been used as an indicator for chronic otitis media in archaeological bones. However, hypocellularity can be caused either by a secondary filling of pneumatized cells due to mastoiditis or by a primary inhibition of pneumatization due to a biologically inferior mucous membrane caused by otitis media in early childhood. According to Wittmaack (1918) both “hyperplastic” and “fibrous” mucous membranes result in an inhibition of the pneumatization process and lead to characteristic morphologies. In archaeological bones, it is possible to differentiate between these two forms and thus to distinguish between different causes of disease in early childhood. We investigated 254 mastoids of individuals from the early medieval cemeteries Dirmstein (n=172) and Rhens (n=82), Germany. The temporal bones were X-rayed and thereafter sectioned with a bandsaw almost in the frontal plane. Osseous structures definitively diagnosed to be of the “hyperplastic” type were found in 8.3%. No sex differences occured in the population Dirmstein, whereas, in Rhens, males were more frequently affected than females. Osseous structures of the “fibrous” type were found in 17.3%. Frequency for males is almost double that of females. No differences were found between the two populations. According to Wittmaack (1918), the “hyperplastic” form of otitis media is, from the beginning, a chronic disease whereas the “fibrous” form results from an acute otitis media. The latter differed between the two populations and might reflect different living conditions.
Wittmaack K. 1918. Über die normale und die pathologische Pneumatisation des Schläfenbeins. Jena: Gustav Fischer. Wittmaack K. 1926. Die entzündlichen Erkrankungen des Gehörorganes. In: Henke F. and Lubarsch O. (Eds.). Handbuch der speziellen pathologischen Anatomie und Histologie. 12. Band: Gehörorgan. Berlin: Julius Springer. pp 102-379.
Poster MULTIPLE FRACTURES OF THE DISTAL RIGHT LOWER LIMB IN A MALE FROM A CAROLINGIAN SETTLEMENT IN SOUTHERN GERMANY Stefan Flohr, 2Julia Gresky, 1Uwe Kierdorf, 1,2Michael Schultz 1 University of Hildesheim, 2 University of Göttingen Carolingian settlements in central Germany are commonly characterized by small size and small burial areas. The completely excavated Carolingian cemetery from Hatzenport, district of Mayen-Koblenz, Germany, dating from about 800-900 AD, is a case in point with only 15 buried individuals being recovered. One of the skeletons, a young adult male, shows multiple healed fractures of the right lower limb and foot bones. The fibula was fractured and healed with only minor dislocation. Signs of healed fractures are also present in the talus and the calcaneus. The joint facet for articulation with the cuboid is completely destroyed. An unfused, almost semicircular bone fragment is supposed to be a remnant of the anteromedial portion of the calcaneus. The right cuboid is missing and was most probably lost during excavation. Side differences in the size of the 4th and 5th metacarpal bones suggest that the trauma occurred at juvenile age. It may be assumed that the trauma occurred during work and resulted in impaired locomotion. Plate-like bone formations on both tibiae are attributed to a hemorrhagic process that was probably not directly associated with the trauma. Further pathological conditions in the skeleton are a bilateral spondylolysis of the 5th lumbar vertebra and endocranial bone formations due to inflammatory and hemorrhagic processes in the sagittal sinus.
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Poster CONGENITAL AND AQUIRED PATHOLOGIES: A SPECIAL CASE FROM MORTON MOUND 14 Allison Foley Indiana University, Department of Anthropology, Bloomington, USA This Poster will present a case study of an individual from the Morton Site in central Illinois in North America. This site contains 19 mortuary mounds and several habitation sites which were in use from the Red Ochre period (1200-400 B.C.) to the terminus of the Mississippian period (1300 A.D.). Of the nineteen mounds, Mound 14 is by far the largest and was used throughout the site’s habitation span (Stezewski, 2003). Individual F14-62 is a young adult male from the Mississippian component of Mound 14. This individual has a number of pathologies, the most notable being a congenital hemimelia of the right upper limb (Denninger, 1931). In addition to this congenital pathology, this individual also has two facial fractures. These injuries may very well be related to this man’s disability, either through accidental or violent means. In order to address this relationship, this Poster will also examine this individual’s social identity in the context of his mortuary treatment and overall health.
Denninger HS. 1931. The Pathology of the Prehistoric American Indians of the Illinois River Valley. Transactions of the Illinois Academy of Sciences 24(2): 371-375. Strezewski M. 2003. Mississippian Period Mortuary Practices in the Central Illinois River Valley: A Region-Wide Survey and Analysis. Unpublished PhD dissertation. Department of Anthropology, Indiana University, Bloomington.
Poster A CASE OF DENTAL ENAMEL DEFECT IN A MEDIEVAL AGE CEMETERY FROM HUNGARY Erzsébet Fóthi, Krisztina Buczkó, Tamás Hajdu, Antónia Marcsik Dental enamel, the hard tissue that covers the crown of the tooth, is the most highly mineralised tissue in the body. Amelogenin proteins constitute 90% of the extracellular matrix secreted by ameloblasts, and these proteins are cleaved in a regulated process during enamel maturation. As the proteins are digested and removed, the mineral crystals grow in well organised ”prism” patterns, becoming much larger when compared with crystals of bone, dentin and cementum (Gibson et al. 2001). Severe alteration could be observed on the morphology of deciduous and permanent teeth of a child of 6-8 years of age from Zsámbék cemetery (dated to the 18th Century, Hungary). All teeth were affected in different degrees. Thickness of enamel varied from the cervical part to the occlusal part of the teeth. The thinnest layer of enamel was found on the occlusal surface. Horizontal grooves on the facial aspect of all teeth were seen. Molars showed irregular wrinkled occlusal surface. Crowns of incisors and canines ended in very thin lace-like layer of enamel with small pits. As compared by scanning electron microscopy of enamel structure of the teeth of affected specimen to that of a wild one, no significant difference was found. Periostitis on tibiae and early synostosis on both first metatarsi were observed (Hajdu 2006). Differential diagnosis of this case is an especially delicate matter due to fragmented and incomplete remains of bones. From a dental standpoint, amelogenesis imperfecta (Gibson et al. 2001), rickets (Zambrano et al. 2003) and congenital syphilis (Aufderheide and Rodriguez-Martín 1998, Ortner 2003) should be involved. Considering all facts the last one might be presumed.
Aufderheide AC, Rodriguez-Martín CR. 1998. The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Human Paleopathology. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Gibson CW, Yuan ZA, Hall B, Longenecker G, Chen E, Thyagarajan T, Sreenath T, Wright JT, Decker S, Piddington R, Harrison G, Kulkarni AB. 2001. Amelogenin-deficient Mice Display an Amelogenesis Imperfecta Phenotype. J Bio. Chem. 276: 31871-31875.
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Hajdu T. 2006. A zsámbéki premontrei templomból és temetőjéből előkerült embertani anyag vizsgálata. Master's thesis. Department of Biological Anthropology, Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest. Ortner DJ. 2003. Identification of Pathological Conditions in Human Skeletal Remains. San Diego: Academic Press. Zambrano M, Nikitakis NG, Sanchez-Quevedo MC, Sauk JJ, Sedano H, Rivera H. 2003. Oral and dental manifestations of vitamin D-dependent rickets type I: Report of a pediatric case. Oral Surg Oral Med Oral Pathol Oral Radiol Endod 95: 705-709.
Paper PATTERNS OF TRAUMA IN EARLY CHRISTIAN CYPRUS Sherry C Fox1, Ioanna Moutafi2, Eleni Anna Prevedorou3, Despo Pilides4 1Wiener Laboratory, American School of Classical Studies at Athens, 2University of Sheffield, UK, 3Arizona State University, USA,4 Department of Antiquities, Cyprus Human skeletal remains from four Early Christian ecclesiastical sites in Cyprus have been analyzed in an effort to discern the burial customs of the time period, the demographic profiles (sex and age data) of individuals from the sites, along with pathological data such as the common diseases, and in particular, evidence for trauma from individuals dating to this time period on the island. There are few skeletal studies on Cypriot material from the Early Christian period. The largest site under study, St. George’s Hill, is an inland site, located on a rise adjacent to the Pedios River outside the Venetian walled city of the capital, Nicosia. Four churches/basilicas and their associated cemeteries dating from around the 4th century A.D. to the post-Medieval period have been excavated at St. George’s Hill where today a chapel dedicated to St. George the Healer is situated. Approximately 40 of the total 200 individuals from the site are recovered from Early Christian contexts. The other, smaller church/basilica sites of Kalavasos-Kopetra (n=21), Alassa-Ayia Mavri (n=26), and Maroni-Petrera (n=6), are located near the south coast. Patterns have emerged between the smaller, coastal sites when compared to the larger, inland site of St. George’s Hill. The pattern is particularly evident when examining evidence for trauma such as fracture types and locations of individuals from these sites. Reasons for the different patterns will be discussed.
Poster NUMEROUS CASES OF HYPEROSTOSIS FRONTALIS INTERNA IN A POPULATION OF NUNS IN THE 16TH - 18TH CENTURIES AT THE SAINTE-CROIX ABBEY IN POITIERS, FRANCE Véronique Gallien, Yves Darton In the chapter house of the Sainte-Croix abbey in Poitiers, 42 graves attributed to the 16th - 18th centuries were excavated in 2005. At least 67 adults, including 49 females and 1 male identified by the shape of the hip bone (Bruzek 2002), were counted. The females were identified as the nuns of the Benedictine abbey. Out of the set of 67 crania, 51 had a preserved frontal part. Thirteen of the female skulls showed marks of endocranial hyperostosis. The shape of the disorder, marked by bone islands, lamellar exostoses or nodules developing up to the irregular thickening of the endocranium, resulted in the identification of hyperostosis frontalis interna (HFI) of type A to D based on the classification put forth by Hershkovitz et al. (1999). To this collection, another set of seven female crania exhibited the onset of an impairment that could be an early form of HFI. Using an anthropomorphological examination of the group of nuns, as well as studying the state of health and the archives of the abbey, the dietary, genetic, environmental and social causes suggested by different authors were studied (Henschen 1937, Mulhern et al 2006). Findings lead to the consideration simultaneously of a genetic predisposition in the women, dietary influence and a response to communal life. This exceptional (though not unique) series of hyperostosis frontalis interna provides for the study of disease development within a specific, closed environment.
Bruzek J. 2002. A method for visual determination of sex, using the human hip bone. American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 117:157–168.
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Henschen F. 1937. Morgagnis Syndrom: Hyperostosis frontalis interna, Virilismus, Obesitas, Gustav Fischer, Jena. Hershkovitz I, Green wald C, Rothschild BM, Latimer B, Dutour O, Jellema LM, Wish- Baratz S. 1999. Hyperostose frontalis interna: an anthropological perspective. American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 109:303-325. Mulhern DM, Wilczak CA, Dudar C. 2006. Brief communication: Unusual Finding at Pueblo Bonito: Multiple Cases of Hyperosotose Frontalis Interna. American Journal of Physical Anthropology 130:480-484.
Paper A MEDIEVAL CASE OF HEALED FOOT AMPUTATION IN LATVIA Gerhards G. Bioarchaeological Department, Riga, Latvia Finds of skeletons from archaeological sites with healed limb amputations are quite rare. In the course of archaeological excavation in the Dom Churchyard in Riga, Latvia, a complete adult male skeleton was found (Grave 105). This burial was situated in the oldest part of the cemetery, dating from the 13th–16th century. This skeleton shows amputations of the distal parts of the tibiae and fibulae of both sides. All foot bones are absent. The morphology of the left side bones suggests a quiescent stump, in which healing had been completed some time before death. The bones of the right leg were damaged and poorly preserved, but there is a photograph and a drawing made at the time of excavation, which leave no doubt that this foot had been amputated too. A strong acute periosteal reaction can be seen over the surface of tibiae and fibulae indicating an infection process. There are no other signs of trauma evident in the bones of Burial 105. This individual had a very severe degree of degenerative joint disease of the acromioclavicular, sternoclavicular and shoulder joint of both sides and all vertebral bodies. There are considerable difficulties in determining the cause of an amputation. There are several possible reasons, which will be discussed: surgical intervention, amputation as a judicial punishment and amputation as a result of injury with a sharp weapon. In the Riga case, the most possible scenario is surgical amputation following disease (e.g. necrosis as a complication of diabetes?). Considering that amputation was bilateral, it might have been caused by a severe frostbite. The degenerative changes to the joints may indicate that the individual used crutches after the amputation. The possibility of accidental injury or punishment also cannot be ruled out.
Paper TRAUMA IN THE URBAN ENVIRONMENT OF THE KANTO REGION DURING THE EDO PERIOD: A CASE FROM TOKYO, JAPAN Giannakopoulou N. Department of Evolutionary Studies of Biosystems, The Graduate University for Advanced Studies (Sokendai), Japan Trauma, in other words, the bodily injury or wound, is frequently encountered in the study of human skeletal collections. In addition, its presence or absence provides vital information concerning various factors affecting the daily life of the past populations, such as living conditions, interpersonal violence, type of economy and many more. In Japan, where hierarchy and status within the society was a crucial factor for the quality of life of its past populations, trauma is considered to have had an increased incidence. In the current study, a random sample (n=150) of the adult population of the Edo period (17th- first half of 19th centuries) urban site of Ikenohata Shichikenchou from the city of Edo, otherwise known by its modern name as Tokyo, has been, for the first time, studied for the prevalence and frequency of trauma. Other pathological conditions have also been examined; however, they are beyond the scope of the current paper and will be presented in the future. The collection, which is composed of ordinary townspeople and low ranked samurai, extends from the Early to the Late Edo period and has been examined for cranial and postcranial trauma, as well as for weapon injuries. The results indicated that both males and females were equally affected, while sex is considered as one of the factors affecting the type and pattern of injuries present on the skeleton.
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Poster Winner of the Institute of Bioarchaeology Poster Prize THE CAUSES OF POROTIC HYPEROSTOSIS AND CRIBRA ORBITALIA: A REAPPRAISAL OF THE IRON DEFICIENCY ANEMIA HYPOTHESIS Thor Gjerdrum, Phillip L. Walker, Rhonda R. Bathurst, Rebecca Richman, and Valerie A. Andrushko Department of Anthropology, University of California, Santa Barbara Porosities in the outer table of the cranial vault (porotic hyperostosis) and obital roof (cribra orbitalia) are among the most frequent pathological lesions seen in ancient human skeletal collections. Since the 1960s, chronic iron-deficiency anemia has been widely accepted as the problable cause of both conditions. This iron-deficiency-anemia hypothesis is inconsistent with recent hematological research that shows iron deficiency per se cannot sustain the massive red blood cell production that causes the marrow expansion responsible for these lesions. Although cranial vault and orbital roof porosities are sometimes conflated under the term portic hyperostosis, paleopathological and clinical evidence suggests they often have different etiologies.
Poster HAEMANGIOMA OSSIS IN VERTEBRAL BODIES FROM 17-18th CENTURY IN GDANSKA (POLAND) J J Gładykowska-Rzeczycka(1), D Nowakowski (2), A Sokół (3), A Pudło(4) Archeological Museum in Gdańsk(1), Department Zoology & Ecology Wrocław University of Environmental & Life Sciences(2), Department of Radiology Medical Academy in Gdańsk(3), Historical Museum of Gdańsk(4), Poland The dead were buried in a multi-layered burial ground located in the area of Gdańsk for about 800 years. A skeleton of a male of adult age was found in a grave of phase IV dated at the 17th century and the first decade of the 18th century. Pathologies within the back bone were found on the basis of macroscopic, radiologic, CT as well as histological analysis. Destructive lesions of varying intensities were observed in vertebral bodies of most of thoracic vertebrae and in the first lumbar vertebra. An altered structure of vertebral bodies was found radiologically. Destructive lesions - merging into cavities - were formed in several vertebrae in the place of trabeculae, and in one vertebra the density reduction reaches as far as the vertebral arch base. This picture is confirmed by CT scan: sinusoidal hypodensic areas are visible on transverse scans, among others. The neoplastic lesion is visible in the histological picture. The macroscopic, radiological, CT and histological picture indicates angioma as the cause of the lesions described, while the extensiveness of the process suggests an aggressive form of angioma.
Poster MORPHOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF CONFIRMED CASES OF PAGET’S DISEASE (OSTEITIS DEFORMANS) WITHIN THE SWISS PATHOLOGICAL REFERENCE SERIES “GALLER COLLECTION” A. Graefen (1), R. Schiess (2), G. Kuhn (2), M. I. Hofmann (2), F. J. Rühli (2,3) (1) Institute of Anthropology, University of Mainz, Germany, (2) Institute of Anatomy, University of Zürich, Switzerland, (3) Institute for the History of Medicine, University of Zürich The Galler Collection (Rühli et al 2003) is a bone collection of the Institute of Pathology University Hospital Zurich (ca. 1940-1970) of which a newly discovered part 2 (containing approximately 1800 patients) is currently housed at the Institute of Anatomy, University of Zürich, of which part is presently being digitalized for use as an online reference database. This collection is particularly valuable for evidence-based paleopathology research, as all objects are documented by clinical data and autopsy reports. One noticeable aspect of this collection is the relatively high representation of confirmed M. Paget cases (26 incidences in the first 450 patients registered until April 2008), a disorder becoming increasingly rare in modern times (Doyle et al 2002). These autopsy protocols often give further information concerning the progress of the disease and the age at which the first clinical symptoms appeared. The aim of this paper is to present several cases of Paget’s disease from the part 2 of the Galler collection to evaluate the various morphological characteristics (including aspects detected by CT) with regard to their frequency, demographic factors and possible differential diagnoses.
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Doyle T, Gunn J, Anderson G, Gill M, Cundy T. 2002. Paget's disease in New Zealand: Evidence for declining prevalence. Bone 31(5): 616-619. Rühli FJ, Hotz G, Böni T. 2003. Brief communication: the Galler Collection: a little-known historic Swiss bone pathology reference series. Am J Phys Anthropol 121(1):15-18.
Paper MENINGEAL DISEASES IN AN EARLY MEDIEVAL POPULATION FROM HARTING, GERMANY Julia Gresky, Michael Schultz Department of Anatomy, University of Göttingen, Germany There are several possible origins of the vestiges of meningeal reactions on the internal lamina of the skull. Inflammatory processes (e.g., non-specific and specific infections) and hemorrhagic processes (e.g., bleeding due to trauma and/or scurvy) as well as tumorous lesions can lead to morphologically striking changes on the internal lamina of the vault and the base of the skull. Unfortunately, these products of pathological processes cannot always be differentiated reliably using macroscopic techniques. Thus, in many cases the application of microscopic techniques is inevitable. We investigated the skulls of 88 individuals (66 adults, 22 subadults) from the early medieval population from Harting (southern Germany). Macroscopic, endoscopic, radiological, scanning- electron and light-microscopic techniques were used. The pathological changes in the internal lamina of the skull were differentiated into inflammatory and haemorrhagic changes as well as a combination of both and into changes due to meningeal tuberculosis. In several cases, vestiges of increased intracranial pressure were observed. Inflammatory diseases were more common in adults than in subadults whereas haemorrhagic processes occurred more frequently in subadults. Vestiges of increased brain pressure were more often seen in subadults. Changes which might be due to meningeal tuberculosis mostly occurred in adults. The frequency of meningeal diseases was very high in Harting which can be related to the poor climatic conditions as well as to the insufficient living conditions which provoked infectious diseases that can promote meningeal reactions.
Poster PALEOPATHOLOGICAL STUDY OF LATE-HOLOCENE HUNTER-GATHERERS FROM PATAGONIA, ARGENTINA: THE SALITROSO BASIN CASE. Solana García Guraieb Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas/Instituto Nacional de Antropología y Pensamiento Latinoamericano (CONICET/INAPL), Argentina Archaeological investigations in Lake Salitroso Basin (Patagonia, Argentina) have led to the excavation of ca. 30 funerary rock structures (locally called chenques) and the recovery of a sample of more than 70 individuals of both sexes and different ages. Chenques appear in clusters of variable number of structures in the low mounts and hills that surround the lowlands of Lake Salitroso. They show radiocarbon dates ranging from ca. 1100 to 350 y BP. The aim of this Poster is to present the results of the paleopathological studies carried out on 50 individuals from this chenques sample. Dental health markers (i.e caries, abscesses, antemortem tooth loss and attrition), metabolic stress markers (e.g. porotic hyperostosis, cribra orbitalia, linear enamel hypoplasias), chronic infectious diseases, congenital malformations, traumatic lesions and arthropathies were analyzed mainly by gross morphology. Radiological analyses were also included as an aid to diagnosis in some specific cases. An important variability of pathological conditions was recorded in the sample. However, most of them appeared in low frequencies. Relatively high prevalences of dental hypoplasias and low prevalences of porotic hyperostosis, trauma and infections were recorded. Among the infectious diseases the most conspicuous case was an adult female who showed bone lesions compatible with a case of pre-Hispanic TB. These results are discussed in the context of the regional mobility and land use model suggested for these groups of late Holecene hunter-gatherers by the regional archaeological research project (Goñi et al. 2007)
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Goñi RA, Cassiodoro G, Rindel D, Bourlot TJ, García Guraieb S, Re A, Tessone A, Aragone A, Nuevo Delaunay A, Flores Coni YJ. Distribución del registro arqueológico en cuencas lacustres del noroeste de la provincia de Santa Cruz. Actas de las XVI Congreso Nacional de Arqueología Argentina, (Jujuy, Octubre 2007). Tomo III: 377-383.
Poster A TRAUMA STORY FROM ANCIENT KELENDERIS CITY Işın Günay(1), Asuman Çırak(1), Hacer Y. Teke(2), Semra Duran (3), Erksin Güleç (1) (1)Department of Anthropology, Ankara University, (2)The Council of Forensic Medicine, Department of Ordu, (3)Department of Radiology, Numune Hospital, Ankara , Turkey This Poster presents a trauma story from the Ancient City Kelenderis (19th century), Mersin- Turkey. The analysis of the case was based on macroscopic and radiological examination. An elderly adult female shows a healed femoral neck fracture. The area of fracture presents typical “post- traumatic osteomyelitis”. She also has a healed depressed fracture on the left parietal with sinking of the external table. Lesions on the inner table of the sagittal suture show a possible case of meningitis. Meningitis is an inflammation of the membranes, about which very little is known in the paleopathological record. Although there are several types of meningitis, meningitis after head injury is uncommon. We believe that this case will be a good example for post-traumatic meningitis.
Paper ENTHESOPATHY FORMATION: DATA ON KNOWN AGE AT DEATH AND OCCUPATION Henderson CY, Cardoso FA Durham University, Department of Archeology, UK, CRIA - Centre for Research in Anthropology, Lisbon, Portugal Musculoskeletal stress markers (MSM), referred to as enthesopathies in this study because of their multifactorial origin, have been widely used to reconstruct activity-levels in skeletal populations. They have been most commonly recorded visually on a scale of severity with the same scale being applied to all attachment sites regardless of enthesis specific morphology: some being fibrocartilaginous and others fibrous. Consequently, the recording method does not take into account the differences in normal morphology (and hence visual appearance) of these sites. This may affect the interpretation of enthesopathies. Furthermore, age is also an important factor in enthesopathy development which is systematically neglected. This study assessed the importance of age compared to occupation on enthesopathy formation. Entheses were recorded on 111 males of known age at death and occupations from the identified skeletal collection from the Anthropological Museum of the University of Coimbra, and from the Luis Lopes Skeletal Collection from the Museu Bocage. Both collections are Portuguese. Fibrocartilaginous and fibrous entheses were recorded separately on the basis of presence and absence of enthesopathies. The results indicated that age is a major confounding variable for the occurrence of enthesopathies at the enthesis recorded. Occupation appears to have negligible impact, with no statistically significant association with enthesopathy presence. This demonstrates that the interpretation of enthesopathies as indicators of activity-related stress in this sample would be erroneous.
Paper HERRERÍN’S PROJECT: AN INFORMATIC TOOL FOR PALEOPATHOLOGICAL, ANTHROPOLOGICAL AND POPULATION STUDIES Herrerín, Jesús & Martín-Vázquez, Belén The authors of this project have designed a computer tool for the systematic study of bone remains of the past populations. By the use of this program which has the measurements of metric and discreet characters of the cranial and postcranial skeleton and different cards pathological are completed, several types of reports are generated. On the one hand, personal reports of the adult individuals with the anthropologic characteristics of hardiness, stature, cranial capacity, lateral asymmetry and the description of the main anthropologic
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Paper ISOTOPIC VARIABILITY AND HEALTH STATUS IN A FRENCH HISTORICAL POPULATION Estelle Herrscher, M Anne Katzenberg CNRS – Univ. Méditerranée, Marseille, France, Department of Archaeology, University of Calgary, Canada When stable isotope analysis (δ13C and δ15N) is carried out on all individuals in skeletal samples, it is possible to assess variability for such factors as sex, age at death and health status along with more commonly studied variables such as historical period and environment. This paper focuses on the effect of biological and pathological criteria on isotopic variability (δ15N, δ13C) measured on 94 skeletons excavated from a French archaeological site (Saint-Laurent, Grenoble). The site, located in the Alps, dates from the Late Middle Ages to the Modern Period (1220-1793 AD). Analyses were carried out on collagen extracted from cortical bone of phalanges. The objective of this study is to identify any changes in δ15N and δ13C related to biological criteria (sex, age at death, stature) as well as to pathological criteria (dental wear, stress indicators, carious and alveolar lesions, degenerative joint disease, infectious disease, metabolic disease). δ15N values range from 6,3 to 12,7 ‰ (m = 8,6 ± 1,0 ‰, N = 94) and δ13C values range from -20,2 to -18,7 ‰, (m = 19,6 ± 0,3 ‰, N = 94). No association was found between isotopic values and each of the variables: stature, dental wear, dental and alveolar lesions and stress indicators. The only association is between isotopic changes (increase δ15N and decrease in δ13C) and age groups. These results indicate that isotopic variation is due to historical and sociocultural contexts (dietary shifts) rather than pathological conditions/health status of the individuals.
Paper DISEASES IN ANCIENT ISRAEL AS REFLECTED IN EARLIER PALEOPATHOLOGY STUDIES Israel Hershkovitz Department of Anatomy and Anthropology, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Israel "Thus says the Lord GOD to these bones: I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live. I will lay sinews on you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live; and you shall know that I am the LORD. So I prophesied as I had been commanded; and as I prophesied, suddenly there was a noise, a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to its bone. I looked, and there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them; but there was no breath in them." (Ezekiel, 37:5-8). In the current paper an attempt will be made to demonstrate how earlier anthropologists in Israel have tried to extract the life histories of the ancient people of the Land of Israel from their skeletal remains, and the ways they have correlated their findings with biblical and historical sources. In the early 1950s and 1960s it was Hass and Nathan: Prof. N. Hass described the remains of the only crucified man ever found and whose reconstruction almost started a political crisis between the state of Israel and the Vatican; Prof. H. Nathan described the destiny of the last Bar Kochba warriors (the second Jewish-Roman war, 132-136 A.D) who found refuge from the Roman army in the caves of the
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Judean desert. In the 1970s it was Arensburg, Goldstein and Smith: Prof. B. Arensburg together with Prof. M. Goldstein studied diseases among the Jewish population in the Roman-Byzantine period. Prof. P. Smith published mainly on dental pathologies among hunter-gatherers-early farmers (Natufian-Neolithic transition). In the 1980s, it was mainly J. Zias who studied issues related to the leprous in monasteries in the Jordan valley, and also trephination and crucifixion. Today, there is a large group of young anthropologists who carry the burden of studying health and diseases in our region. The challenge of reconstructing the ancient people of Israel from their skeletal remains faced by these anthropologists will be discussed.
Poster VICTIMS OF WINTER? TWO POSSIBLE CASES OF SCURVY AND RICKETS FROM QUEDLINBURG Frauke Jacobi, D Gronenborn, V Dresely, KW Alt Institut f. Vor- u. Fruehgeschichte/Institut f. Anthropologie, Universitaet Mainz, Roemisch- Germanisches Zentralmuseum, Mainz, Landesamt f. Denkmalpflege u. Archaeologie Sachsen-Anhalt, Institut f. Anthropologie, Universitaet Mainz, Germany In a small neolithic cemetery (Baalberge group of the Funnel Beaker Culture, 3700–3350 BC) two double inhumations of children were found. The first, with subadults aged 7–9 and 14–16 years, was rather badly preserved and disturbed. The children of the second burial, ages 7–9 and 8–12 years, both show signs of nutrition deficiency diseases. The older one has modifications of the left orbit as well as hemorrhagic processes and an increased vascularisation of the left temporal (the parts of the other side are not preserved), which point to scurvy (Stuart-Macadam 1989). The increased torsion of both thigh bones of the same individual could be due to rickets, which is known to often appear with scurvy (Ortner u. a. 1999). The lesions on the skull of the younger individual, especially the pronounced vascularisation of the sphenoid bone, might be due to scurvy as well. Caution has to be exercised though, as the bones are damaged and not entirely preserved. A differential diagnosis might include cribra orbitalia, periostitis and infectious diseases. As both children were buried simultaneously, it can be assumed that they died about the same time. A long winter with unusual shortage of sunlight and vitamins might have weakened the children and made them easy victims for another, lethal, disease. The children in the neighbouring double grave might have shared their fate.
Jacobi F. 2008. Zwei Graeberfelder der Baalberger Gruppe aus dem Landkreis Quedlinburg – Ein interdisziplinaerer Vergleich. Hausarbeit zur Erlangung des Grades einer Magistra Artium. Stuart-Macadam P. 1989. Nutritional Deficiency Diseases: A Survey of Scurvy, Rickets, and Iron- Deficiency Anemia. In: M. Iscan/K. Kennedy (Hrsg.), Reconstruction of Life from the Skeleton. New York . 201–222. Ortner DJ, Kimmerle EH, Diez M. 199. Probable Evidence of Scurvy in Subadults From Archeological Sites in Peru. Am. Journal Physical Anthr. 108:321–331.
Poster PALEOPATHOLOGICAL PROTEOMICS OF ANCIENT HUMAN DISEASES Eva Jambor, Viktoria Nemeth1, Zoltan Patonai1,2, Antonia Marcsik3, Laszlo Mark1 1University of Pecs, Institute of Biochemistry and Medical Chemistry, 2University of Pecs, Institute of Forensic Medicine, 3Department of Anthropology, University of Szeged, Hungary. The Mycobacterium genus comprises several human pathogens such as Mycobacterium leprae and Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Organisms of the Mycobacterium Tuberculosis Complex (MTC) are responsible for significant morbidity and mortality in human population. Tuberculosis (TB) has been present in humans for thousands of years. This lethal infectious disease is caused mainly by Mycobacterium tuberculosis which most commonly attacks the lungs, but can also effect the central nervous system, the lymphatic and circulatory system or the bones. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have reported that each year, eight million people around the world become infected with TB and there are over two million TB-related deaths worldwide. Moreover, one-third of the world's population is infected with TB.
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We successfully detected pathological biomarkers, like ancient mycolic acids and mycobacterial proteins which are eligible for determination of diseases. We detected two fatty acid synthetic systems of mycolic acids, the multifunctional polypeptide fatty acid synthase I (FAS-I), which performs de novo fatty acid synthesis, and the dissociated FAS-II system, which consists of monofunctional enzymes, and acryl carrier protein (ACP) and elongates FAS-I products to long chain mycolic acid precursors. Analysis of archaeological human bone samples from different locations showing Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection, using matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization tandem time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI TOF/TOF MS) for the first time. The determination of sequences and chemical differentiations of ancient mycobacterial proteins can help in the understanding of ancient epidemiology and development of paleopathology.
Paper PALEOPATHOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF REMAINS OF GERMAN SOLDIERS FROM 1915-1918 Rimantas Jankauskas, Arūnas Barkus, Žydrūnė Miliauskiene, Agnius Urbanavicius Department of Anatomy, Histology and Anthropology, Vilnius University, Lithuania Paleopathology provides valuable information about traumas, diseases and treatment also in historical samples, especially when written sources are incomplete or missing. In this paper, we present data on pathologies found in skeletons of 830 German soldiers that died in military hospital in 1915-1918. Routine anthropological analysis was performed on the site, as remains had to be ready for scheduled reburial. Most of the remains belonged to males up to 30 years of age. There were, however, remains of five females. The highest number of pathologies observed was leg traumas (122 cases, among them 45 amputations), followed by head traumas (48 cases, among them 16 cases of surgical treatment, and 9 cases of maxillofacial lesions), traumas of upper extremity (33 cases, including 9 amputations); incidence of other kinds of traumas was much lower (trunk area – 7; pelvic area – 6; possible abdominal traumas, indicated by metal plates with wire, probably used to support a drain inserted into the abdominal cavity – 13, lesions of vertebral column – 2). A significant number of skeletons (115) were covered with lime, suggesting death from other (infection?) causes; presence of chronic diseases treatment is suggested by a certain number (32) of osteoperiosteal lesions. Presence of dissected bodies (24 cases) indicates systemic analysis of mortality causes. Numerous other pathologies and traces of medical interventions are also informative. All this indicates the functioning of a large hospital with qualified staff and at least several specialised departments.
Poster DEFINING CONFLICT-ZONE HEALTH: THE SKELETAL IMPACT OF STRESS ON MEDIEVAL BORDER POPULATIONS IN BRITAIN Jaime D. Jennings Durham University, Archaeology Department, UK Modern socio-political unrest in border regions, such as Bosnia, Croatia, Ethiopia, and South Africa, has been shown to instigate a decline in the general health of populations living within the region. Recent medical and anthropological studies have described these conflict-zone populations as expressing signs of nutritional deficiencies and increased mortality rates. Historical documents from the Late-Medieval period in Britain (ca. 900 – 1600 AD) describe political unrest in the border region between England and Scotland, such as the ‘Harrying of the North’ and border reiving. This era is characterized as a period of nutritional depravation and psychological stress for the region’s local populations. If these records are accurate, the same modern trends of nutritional deficiencies and increased mortality rates should be observed in Britain’s medieval border populations. The primary objective of this study was to create an osteological description of conflict-zone health by macroscopically analysing archaeologically recovered skeletal remains from a politically unstable border region. This study hypothesised that the trends observed in similarly stressed modern populations are demonstrable in skeletal populations from the border region of medieval England and Scotland.
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The demographic and metabolic disease profiles of 103 skeletons from two urban skeletal collections (Blackgate, Newcastle and Parliament House, Edinburgh) were compared to test the hypothesis. The preliminary statistical results suggest future potential for this ongoing research in the Anglo-Scottish border.
Paper BREAKING THE SILENCE OF THE ARCHIVE: PALEOPATHOLOGY AS A WAY TO HEAR THE VOICES OF THE ENSLAVED Niklas Thode Jensen The Saxo Institute, Department of History, University of Copenhagen, Denmark. All historians know that “History is written by the victor”. Consequently, not even the densest archival record will yield equal amounts of information from all groups in a given society and time. The voices of the poor, the disenfranchised, those who have no power, are usually very difficult to hear. In other words, the textual historical records contain barriers of silence that are virtually impossible to break through for historians on their own. To do this, historians need the help of other disciplines like archaeology and paleopathology, which bring us closer to the lives of those who are silent in the records – and thus can possibly break the silence of the archive. One good example of a silent historic population is the enslaved workers in the Caribbean colonies in the seventeenth, eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Denmark was one of the nations who had colonies in the Caribbean but even though the historical records of the enslaved population in the Danish West Indies is unrivalled in density and detail they still leave many questions unanswered. Based on my PhD thesis about the health and diseases of the enslaved in the Danish West Indies, I will discuss what we can and cannot learn from the historical records and how archaeology and paleopathology can bring history to a new level.
Poster NEW OSTEOLOGICAL EVIDENCES OF PAZYRYK BURIALS FROM MONGOLIAN ALTAI: VERIFYING HERODOTUS’ HISTORIES Xavier Jordana(1,2), Ignasi Galtés(2), Ts Turbat(3), D Batsukh(3), Albert Isidro(2), Pierre-Henri Giscard(4), Assumpció Malgosa(2) (1) Centro de Investigação de Recursos Naturais (CIRN), Departamento de Biologia, Universidade dos Açores, Ponta Delgada, Açores, Portugal, (2) Grup de Recerca en Osteobiografia (GROB), Unitat d’Antropologia Biològica, Departament de Biologia Animal, Biologia Vegetal i Ecologia, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Spain, (3) Institute of Archaeology of the Mongolian Academy of Sciences, Ulan Bator, Mongolia, (4) International Center Eurasiat for Scientific and Cultural Research, Paris, France A recent archaeological mission conducted by a Spanish-French-Mongolian expedition discovered and excavated for the first time Pazyryk burials in Mongolia. This culture inhabited (6th- 2nd centuries BC) the high steppes of the Altai Mountains and is considered one of the eastern nomadic tribes associated with Scythian people. Seven burials characterized by circular stone tumuli containing the skeletal remains of horses and Pazyryk warriors buried in wooden funerary chambers with weapons and grave goods were excavated. The skeletal remains of 10 individuals, including males, females and children were recovered. Paleopathological analysis shows skeletal disorders that are direct evidence of the horse-mounted nomadic subsistence strategy, as osteoarthritis, Schmorl’s nodes, spondylolysis and healed fractures. Nevertheless, the most outstanding pathological findings were the observation of violence-related traumas in five skeletons, which were analyzed using methodologies developed in forensic anthropology. The analysis of the injuries reveals that they were produced by weapons, as daggers, pickaxes and arrowheads, and were directly related to the cause of death. Furthermore, evidences of ritual practices as scalping have also been observed. These osteological evidences of violence indicate the important role that warfare played in Scythian peoples. In The Histories written by the Greek historian Herodotus, Scythians are described as warrior nomads that practiced cruel and violent rituals. This new bioarchaeological evidence helps to verify some of these historical records written in the 5th century BC.
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Poster GIANT MAXILLARY CEMENTOMA FROM THE HUN PERIOD, NAIMAA-TOLGOI (MONGOLIA) –A RADIOLOGICAL, CT, HISTOLOGICAL AND SCANNING ELECTRON MICROSCOPIC STUDY L Józsa, I Pap Department of Morphology, National Institute of Traumatology, Hungarian Natural History Museum, Department of Anthropology, Budapest, Hungary A case of a giant, expansive lesion in a left maxilla recovered in the skeletal remains of the cemetery Hiung-nu from the Hun Period at Naimaa-Tolgoi (Mongolia) is discussed. Gross morphology, radiological, CT, histological and scanning electron microscopic studies were accomplished on the specimen and the findings were compared with recent odontogenic tumour. Radiologically the tumour occupied the whole left maxilla with displacement of the bony orbital floor. Histologically and scanning electron microscopically characteristic osteocemental structures (woven bone trabeculae, lamellar bone trabeculae, ovoid-curvoid structures, anastomosing trabeculae) were detectable in the tumour. Poster TWO POSSIBLE CASES OF AMPUTATION IN EARLY MEDIEVAL EASTERN EUROPE Hedy M. Justus and Amanda M. Agnew Department of Anthropology, Ohio State University, USA Few cases of amputation have been reported in the archaeological record (Roberts and Manchester, 2005). Three traumatized bone elements were discovered in the early medieval (XI-XIIth century) cemetery site Gz. 4 in Giecz, Poland. Elements from two individuals include one tibia and one set of radius and ulna, all with well healed trauma of the distal portions. The corresponding foot and hand were not recovered from excavation. The tibia, unfortunately, was found in a secondary burial where few other skeletal elements were recovered. Therefore, absence of elements does not necessarily equate to absence at the time of death. However, the morphology and extent of healing suggest amputation. Amputation via surgery, traumatic accident, or conflict cannot be diagnosed. Evidence of surgical tool or weapon cannot be observed due to the extent of healing. The aim of this Poster presentation is to describe and present two cases of possible amputation as a contribution to the osteoarchaeological record.
Roberts C, Manchester K. 2005. The Archaeology of Disease, 3rd edition. Cornell University Press: Ithaca.
Poster DRINKING WITH THE RICH AND DINING WITH THE POOR IN ROMAN IRON AGE DENMARK Marie Louise S. Jørkov Bournemouth University, UK This paper investigates human diet in east Denmark during the Roman Iron Age using stable isotope analysis of carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen (δ15N) in the collagen of archaeological human and animal bone as a direct indicator of dietary patterns. The human sample comprises seventy-seven individuals from ten burial sites covering Zealand, Lolland and Bornholm. In addition, thirty-two samples of mammals and fish obtained from seven sites were analysed. The investigation characterises the human diet among different social groupings and analyzes dietary differences present between sex, age and site phase groups. Diachronically, the study investigates both the Early and Late period with the Roman influences that had an effect on the social structure and subsistence economy. Geographically the locations are both inland and coastal. The isotopic data indicate that the diet within the Early and Late Roman period both between and within population groups was extremely uniform and the data is consistent throughout the Roman Iron Age. A high level of terrestrial animal protein was dominating in the diet regardless of social status, age, sex or time period and terrestrial plant protein seems to have been of less significance to any of the individuals analysed. The consumption of marine or aquatic resources does not seem to have been important, even among the individuals living next to the coast.
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Poster A HISTORY IN BONE – WILLIAM HEWSON AND THE CRAVEN STREET ANATOMY SCHOOL Tania Kausmally Institute of Archaeology, University College London, England In 1997 during the renovation of Benjamin Franklin house at 36 Craven Street near Charing Cross in London, over 2000 comingled human and animal remains were uncovered from a small pit in the basement. It transpired that an anatomy school was established on the premises from 1772-1778 by a young but very influential anatomist, William Hewson, famous for his research on the lymphatic system and haematology. The dates of the school firmly place the skeletal remains in a period prior to the anatomy act of 1832, a time where subjects for anatomical dissection were scarce and body snatching rife. The bones reveal an extraordinary story about the anatomy school and body procurement. A minimum number of 21 individuals were uncovered from the pit; many were neonates and probably acquired, through illegal means, from the nearby midwifery. The remains showed extensive dissection and reveal evidence of not only anatomical study but also surgical training. Through the application of forensic techniques, study of the bones and cut marks has helped generate better understanding of 18th century dissection techniques and type of research carried out on the remains. Some skeletal elements had evidence of red dye injected into the bodies to chase the arteries. The bones combined with extensive historical research reveal a more facetted and full account of how anatomy schools were run and what it was like to study anatomy in 18th century London.
Poster STABLE ISOTOPE ANALYSIS OF A MEDIEVAL SKELETAL SAMPLE WITH SIGNS OF LEPROSY FROM SIGTUNA, SWEDEN Anna Kjellström & Anna Linderholm Osteoarchaeological & Archaeological Research Laboratory, Department of Archaeology and Classical Studies, Stockholm University, Sweden. Sigtuna was founded in AD 980. Several cemeteries have been excavated and more than 775 skeletons that have been analysed. Archaeological finds and osteological analyses have exposed social differences between the cemeteries. Stable isotope analyses show that the inhabitants of Sigtuna had a mixed diet. Differences in dietary patterns between the cemeteries may be related to social stratification. In 2006, an excavation unearthed 227 skeletons from the outskirts of one of the medieval churchyards. In comparison to other cemeteries, significantly higher frequencies of trauma and non- specific periosteal reaction were registered. Additionally, lesions characteristic of leprosy were observed on six individuals. Five of the affected exhibit severe remodelling of the phalanges of the feet and pencil shaped metatarsals, due to atrophy and infectious destruction. The facial bones could be examined in three of the individuals and two displayed signs of rhinomaxillary remodelling (facies leprosa) with accompanying porosity, reduction of the nasal spine and rounding of the margins of the piriform aperture. The affected were all buried in the periphery of the churchyard, an area traditionally assigned to the poor or socially undesirable in the society. Except for the six individuals with leprosy, bone samples were taken from 19 individuals for analysis of stable isotopes of carbon (C), nitrogen (N) and sulphur (S). The results from the present study will highlight the hierarchical arrangements of social classes in the early medieval society.
Paper NEUROOSTEOLOGY – A NEW DISCIPLINE FOCUSING ON THE INTERRELATION BETWEEN BONE AND NERVE TISSUE DEMONSTRATED ON BJÖRK’S CRANIAL COLLECTION Inger Kjær Institute of Odontology, Faculty of Health, University of Copenhagen, Denmark
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Neuroosteology is a discipline on the relationship between nerve tissue and bone tissue studied on microscopic as well as macroscopic levels. In the lecture, focus will be given to the macroscopic interrelationship between the central nervous system (CNS) and the surrounding bone (cranium and cervical spine). Furthermore, the relationship between the peripheral nervous system (PNS) and the jaws will be demonstrated by examples. All examples are from Björk’s cranial collection. Arne Björk was Professor at the Department of Orthodontics, School of Dentistry, University of Copenhagen, from 1951 to 1981. Arne Björk was a pioneer of modern craniofacial cephalometrics. Through clinical studies he described the normal and pathological growth of the cranium from childhood to adulthood. He supplemented these studies with anthropological observations based on a unique cranial material.
Poster LEPROSY IN ANCIENT ELEPHANTINE, OLD-KINGDOM EGYPT Kozak AD, Roumelis N, Gresky J, Schultz M IA NAS Archaeological Institut of National Academy of Science of Ukraine, Bioarchaeology Department, Russia, Stockholm University, Sweden, Zentrum Anatomy, University of Goettingen, Germany The palaeopathological investigation of the skeletal remains from the Old-Kingdom mastabas of Elephantine, South Egypt (ca. 2300 BC), revealed an adult male individual with specific lesions on the tibia, fibula and foot–bones, that were characteristic of leprosy. The distal part of the metatarsals demonstrated advanced level of intra vitam lytic lesions. The lesions are remodelled and present porotic structures as well as sclerotic surfaces. The phalanges of the feet were completely destroyed by the mutilation process. Only the left fifth right proximal phalanx had a new formed additional articular surface to the fourth metatarsal bone and resembled so called “pencilling”. Longitudinal striation and scars, characteristic for periostitic skeletal changes were observed on the tibia and fibula. The microscopic investigation revealed an inflammatory origin of the lesions. Indication of leprotic periostitis was confirmed. These lesions are obviously the effects of leprosy infection. By differential diagnosis, complication of diabetes mellitus has to be considered. To date this case is the most ancient skeletal evidence of Leprosy.
Paper NOVEL DETECTION OF LEPROSY IN ARCHAEOLOGICAL POPULATIONS BY ANALYSIS OF MYCOLIC ACID LIPID BIOMARKERS Oona Lee, David Minnikin, Gurdyal Besra, Helen Donoghue(1), Mike Taylor(1), Charlotte Roberts(2) School of Biosciences, University of Birmingham, (1) Centre for Infectious Diseases and International Health, University College London, (2)Department of Archaeology, Durham University, UK. Evidence for tuberculosis (TB) infection can be found in the archaeological skeletal record, using analysis of DNA and lipid biomarkers, such as mycolic acids (Gernaey et al. 2001). Analysis of DNA has also been used to confirm the presence of leprosy in ancient skeletons. This communication will demonstrate that characteristic mycolic acid biomarkers can be detected in bones from lepers. Standard cells of Mycobacterium leprae and nine ribs from UK leprosy and non-leprosy cemeteries were degraded by alkaline hydrolysis to release long-chain fatty acids, which were converted to pentafluorobenzyl (PFB) esters. The long-chain esters were fractionated on silica gel cartridges to give fractions rich in mycolic acid PFBs. After conversion of the mycolate PFB esters to pyrenebutyric acid (PBA) derivatives, profiles were obtained by normal and reverse phase high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). As expected from previous studies, standard M. leprae had a mycolic acid profile distinct from that of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Mycolate profiles from the nine bone samples all produced HPLC profiles corresponding to mycolic acids. Three of the samples gave clear profiles, indicating leprosy, and two were clearly tuberculosis. Intriguingly, one sample indicated a possible co-infection
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XVII European Meeting of the Paleopathology Association 2008 and the other three samples gave unusual profiles. Examples with DNA evidence for co-infection with tuberculosis and leprosy (Donoghue et al. 2005) are also being analysed.
Donoghue HD, Marcsik A, Matheson C, Vernon K, Nuorala E, Molto JE, Greenblatt CL, Spigelman M. 2005. Co-infection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Mycobacterium leprae in human archaeological samples: a possible explanation for the historical decline of leprosy. Proceedings of the Royal Society B 272: 389-94. Gernaey AM, Minnikin DE, Copley MS, Dixon RA, Middleton JC, Roberts CA. 2001. Mycolic acids and ancient DNA confirm an osteological diagnosis of tuberculosis. Tuberculosis 81: 259-65.
Paper TUBERCULOSIS IN THE NON-ADULTS FROM ROMANO-BRITISH POUNDBURY CAMP Lewis, ME School of Human and Environmental Sciences, University of Reading, UK Tuberculosis (TB) can affect the lungs, lymph nodes and gastrointestinal tract, and in c.5% of cases can manifest on the skeleton. TB usually has its onset in childhood, and infected children represent the pool from which a large proportion of infected adults will arise. Children are more likely to develop TB after exposure than adults, with 24% of 1-5 year olds, and 43% of infants being infected after exposure, and they often develop the skeletal signs of the condition as the bacteria spreads through the bloodstream. As children tend to contract the disease from infected adults, child cases of TB can indicate the true extent of the disease within the wider community. Although it is now established that tuberculosis was present in Britain during the Iron Age, the prevalence of TB began to increase during the Roman period, perhaps as the result of increased trade with Continental Europe, with 13 adult cases presented in the literature. Three of these adult cases come from Romano-British Poundbury Camp in Dorset. This paper describes the diagnosis of skeletal tuberculosis in seven (1.9%) of the child skeletons from Poundbury Camp. This is the first time that child cases of the disease have been described for this period, and may help us shed light on the true nature and prevalence of tuberculosis in Roman Britain.
Paper ARE OSTEOLOGISTS AND DENTISTS SIMILAR IN THEIR ACCURACY OF DIAGNOSING CARIES? Liebe-Harkort, Carola; Tranaeus, Sofia Osteoarchaeological Research Laboratory, University of Stockholm, Institute of Odontology, Karolinska Institutet, Sweden. The study of caries is an important part of any analysis dealing with oral pathology in past populations. Carial lesions have often been associated with dietary patterns but also with other factors. It is important to make a correct diagnosis of as many types of carious lesions as possible. The recording procedures and identification criterias follow standard procedures but are seldom described in sufficient detail in order to evaluate the reliability of the analyses. Several modern clinical studies report on the difficulty in estimating caries lesions in early stages (McComb & Tam, 2001; Ngaotheppitak et al, 2005; Tranæus et al, 2005; Ismail et al, 2007). This has proven difficult in archaeological material. The degree of experience of the analyst as well as preservation of the sample are two major causes for either under- or over-estimation of lesion frequencies. Here we report the first results of a collaborative study between osteologists and dentists. The main aim with the present study was to compare the identification of carial lesions, both initial and cavitated, by osteologists and dentists. The study included both archaeological and modern teeth (with and without caries lesions) and were inspected both by visual and radiographic examination. The study has revealed differences between osteologists and dentists in the identification and interpretation of carial lesions regarding both archaeological and modern teeth as well as in the degree of sensitivity and specificity in the different types of material.
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Ismail AI, Sohn W, Tellez M, Amaya A, Sen A, Hasson H, Pitts NB. 2007. The International Caries Detection and Assesment System (ICDAS); an integrated system for measuring dental caries. Community Dent Oral epidemiology. 35: 170-178. McComb D, Tam LE. 2001. Diagnosis of Occlusal Caries: Part I. Conventional Methods. J Can Dent Assoc. 67 (8): 454-7. Ngaheppitak P, Darling CL, Fried D. 2005. Measurements of the Severity of Natural Smooth Surface (Interproximal) Caries Lesions With Polarization Sensitive Optical Coherence Tomography. Lasers in Surgery and Medicine 37: 78-88. Tranaeus S, Shi X-O, Angmar-Månsson B. 2005. Caries risk assessment: methods available to clinicians for caries detection. Community Dent Oral epidemiology 33: 265-73.
Paper THE PALAEOPATHOLOGY OF A MASS GRAVE AND CEMETERY FROM ROMAN GLOUCESTER, ENGLAND Louise Loe Oxford Archaeology, UK A programme of analysis has recently been completed on a 2nd to 4th century Roman population from Gloucester. The assemblage comprises at least 91 individuals who had been thrown haphazardly into a mass grave and 64 individuals who had been buried in discrete graves. Both assemblages included males, females, adults and juveniles. Archaeological evidence suggests that both groups were part of the same population. This paper employs palaeopathological indicators to explore why the individuals were afforded these very different types of burial treatment. Higher levels of pathology were observed among the cemetery population, in particular childhood conditions (enamel hypoplasia and cribra orbitalia) and non-specific infection. However, systemic disease and marked enamel defects were present among both groups. Both assemblages had a low frequency of trauma and no peri-mortem trauma was observed. Mass graves are known from Rome and were reserved for the poor. These findings confirm that both assemblages were from the same population, but they provide no evidence that the mass grave individuals represent a distinct section of the community that was necessarily poorer or of lower status than the cemetery population. The general lack of pathology and trauma among the mass grave skeletons, combined with demography, suggests that they were victims of an epidemic, possibly the Antonine plague, an outbreak of smallpox that swept the Roman Empire between AD165 and 189. These findings are discussed with reference to comparative populations and the archaeological context.
Paper PALEOPATHOLOGY AND NATIVE SOUTH AMERICAN HEALTH: AN OVERVIEW Guido P. Lombardi Laboratorio de Paleopatología, Cátedra Pedro Weiss, Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia Lima, Perú How does current Native South Americans’ health compare to their ancestors’? What can paleopathology tell us about the fate of our indigenous peoples? In order to address these questions, published data from different fields (e.g., paleopathology, history, and epidemiology) were chronologically reviewed and synthesized. Since the main goal of this paper is to observe large-scale tendencies, an effort was made to focus on representative population-size information. South America, the last continent to be peopled in the world (c. 12.000 BP), provides almost laboratory conditions to assess the evolution of an isolated population through a compressed human cultural timeline ranging from the Paleolithic to Civilization and beyond. This review chronologically divided this span into four periods: Paleolithic, Civilization, European Conquest, and Present. In spite of their diversity, the indigenous peoples were addressed as a unity. Variables considered include population size, life expectancy, child mortality, bone stress markers, some infectious and non- infectious diseases’ prevalence, whenever available. Main results include the following: 1. Native South Americans have suffered major population size changes along pre-history and history, which correlates with parallel health indexes’ inflections.
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2. Current native South Americans’ health status resembles their worst moment in history, namely the post-European contact wars of the 16th century. 3. The consistent lack of information about contemporary South American natives’ health suggests the latter is not over. The results from this paper, besides helping future paleopathology studies to focus on more specific periods of cultures, should raise the subject of improving the health and general living conditions of the original owners of the land.
Poster A CASE OF HOMICIDE IN THE COPTIC MONASTERY OF DEIR EL-BACHIT IN THEBES-WEST, EGYPT Sandra Lösch, Andreas G. Nerlich, Estelle Hower-Tilmann, (1)Albert Zink Institute of Pathology, Academic-Teaching Hospital München-Bogenhausen, Münich, Germany, (1)EURAC-Institute for Mummies and the Iceman, Bolzano, Italy In the necropolis of Thebes-West a coptic monastery, dating between the 5th and 8th century A.D., is currently being excavated by the German Archaeological Institute in collaboration with the Ludwig-Maximilians University of Munich. Deir el-Bachit was inhabited by monks, who were buried in the adjacent cemetery. During the last campaign, a skeleton was found in an arch, which was originally used as a storage room. According to the fabric found attached to the skeleton the individual could be dated from the 16th to 18th century. The anthropological and paleopathological investigation revealed that the skeleton was a female, who died at the age of 19 to 23 years. Additionally, several bones of an unborn fetus, c. 6th lunar month, were recovered close to the female skeleton. The skull of the young woman showed a severe trauma at the right parietal bone close to the sagittal suture. The injury was most probably caused by blunt force and showed no evidence of healing. The dating of the fabric pattern and the sex of the skeleton clearly shows that the individual did not belong to the monastic community. Moreover, the lethal skull trauma and the unusual burial place strongly suggest that the pregnant woman was the victim of a homicide.
Paper THE PRESUMED BOG BODY –IDENTIFICATION AND PALEOPATHOLOGICAL INVESTIGATION OF AN UNUSUAL SOUTH-AMERICAN FEMALE MUMMY Sandra Lösch (1), Ulrick Struck(2), Brigitte Haas-Gebhardt(3), Stephanie Panzer(4), Oliver Peschel(5), Andreas G. Nerlich(1) Division of Paleopathology, Institute of Pathology, Academic-Teaching Hospital München- Bogenhausen(1), Humboldt University of Berlin, Museum für Naturkunde, Berlin(2), Bavarian State Archaeological Collection and Museum, Munich(3), Dept. of Radiology, Trauma Center, Murnau(4), Institute of Legal Medicine, University of Munich(5), Germany For several decades a female body has been exhibited in the Bavarian State Archaeological Collection in Munich. Due to its dark brown external appearance it was assumed to represent a bog body coming from a moor region of the Munich area. In order to unravel her provenience and to find out more about her history, we performed a detailed paleopathological reevaluation of the individual. A major skin lesion of the female´s skull proved on CT scans to represent an extensive osseous lesion of the complete forehead and the middle of the face. The further whole body CT analysis revealed small calcifications of bowel soft tissue, most presumably being calcified abdominal lymph nodes. The analysis of stable carbon-, nitrogen- and oxygen- isotopes of a strand of her hair and of one tooth provided circumstantial evidence that the mummy must have come from South America, most presumably form the South Pacific coastal area. The extensive interdisciplinary analysis of the female body thus provides clear evidence that the South American mummy must have suffered from severe skull trauma, along with evidence for abdominal tuberculosis. The mummy is assumed to have been brought to Germany at the end of the 19th century although all written evidence seems to have been lost during World War II – leading to the misinterpretation as a bog body.
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Poster PALAEOPATHOLOGY OF A LATE MEDIEVAL SERIES FROM SERBIA Lovász G (1,2), Molnár E (1), Marcsik A(1), Pálfi Gy(1) 1 University of Szeged, Department of Anthropology ,2 Municipal Museum, Subotica, Serbia The graveyard of Zombor-Repülőtér was excavated during World War II near the Northern- Serbian town of Sombor. The series containing196 skeletons are curated in the Municipal Museum of Sombor. On the basis of the archaeological findings it is known that this population immigrated from the southern part of Serbia or Montenegro during the Turkish occupation. Therefore, the series is included in a study dealing with the immigrated populations of this period in the Carpathian Basin. Following determination of age and sex, palaeopathological examinations were carried out using macroscopic observations. During the palaeodemographic analysis 130 adults (60 males, 66 females, 4 non determinable) and 66 subadults were found. Many of the skeletons showed different palaeopathological lesions, the most common disorders being joint diseases and minor developmental anomalies. According to the type and prevalence of traumas, the analysed population could be related to a group with a more violent lifestyle. Lesions of infectious origins were also frequent in the series, many of these cases possibly due to TB-infection. The large number of pathological alterations might indicate a poor state of health in the examined population.
Paper THE GREENLAND NORSE: LARGE SCALE CHANGES TO SMALL SCALE SOCIETY Niels Lynnerup Laboratory of Biological Anthropology, University of Copenhagen, Denmark The remains of the Greenland Norse provide a unique biological anthropological material for the investigation of human and environmental interaction. As a population, they were generally secluded from much of the contemporary European medieval society, and land suitable for their way of life was limited in Greenland. The archaeological and historical record is excellent, clearly establishing the 500-year period of colonisation. In other words: the Greenland Norse represent a relatively isolated population, constrained in both space and time. Living in an environment with very little buffering capacities, climate and ecological changes immediately had repercussions. It seems that the Norse in Greenland responded to these changes, although inside “cultural” limits. Demographic modelling indicates that emigration may account for the final abandonment of the settlements. A changing climate thus seems to have “pushed” the Greenland Norse out of Greenland. The presentation will focus an integrative approach to the study of past populations, focusing on inter alia stable isotope data, climate data, burial patterns, paleodemographics and paleopathology.
Paper DATING OF FRACTURES IN HUMAN DRY BONE TISSUE George J.R. Maat Leiden University Medical Centre/ Netherlands Forensic Institute/University of Pretoria, South Africa In principle, it should be possible to estimate the amount of time passed between the fracturing of a bone and the death of the individual by systematically recording key features indicating distinct timing steps in the healing process. This process has been well described in both (patho-) histological and radiological literature, but a compilation of all published matter on the timing of this healing process, without surgical intervention, is not yet available. A timetable mentioning all changes relevant to dry bone tissue would be very useful in palaeopathology and forensic anthropology. Examples of a range of key features indicating distinct timing steps will be presented together with related visible gross anatomical and radiological changes. Fracture samples were obtained from dry bone specimens and vacuum embedded in Epon to strengthen the bone tissue. From these samples, unstained and non-decalcified dry bone sections were prepared for histological investigation according to a method by Maat et al. (2001). Sections were studied with both bright- and polarized-light microscopy. Although in life all natural healing changes happen within a certain time interval (with a start, peak activity and end phase), in forensic practice, it is mostly only of interest to determine the minimum amount of time that must have passed since the injury was inflicted, to explain the changes in a
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Poster DATA ON SKELETAL TUBERCULOSIS IN THE CARPATHIAN BASIN Antónia Marcsik(1), Sándor Évinger(2), Zsolt Bernert(2), Erzsébet Fóthi(2), Tamás Hajdu(3), Ivett Kővári(4), Katalin Wolff(5) University of Szeged, Department of Anthropology(1),Hungarian Natural History Museum, Department of Anthropology(2), Eötvös Loránd University, Department of Biological Anthropology(3), Herman Ottó Múzeum(4), Eötvös Loránd University, Department of Biological Anthropology(5), Budapest, Hungary Tuberculosis and other infectious diseases have been a major natural selective factor in human evolution and have deeply influenced population history and civilization. From the paleopathological point of view, the distribution, antiquity and epidemiology of tuberculosis have previously been studied in skeletal material on the Great Hungarian Plain (Marcsik et al.2002, 2006). The purpose of this study is to present the newer cases in the Carpathian Basin from the regions of Hungary (Transdanubia and northern part) and Transylvania (Romania). A large skeletal sample (n=4241) served as a source of material for the investigations (7-8th centuries: 1465; 8-10th centuries: 1668; 11-12th centuries: 248; 16-17th centuries: 463; 12-18th centuries: 397). They are housed at the Department of Anthropology, Hungarian Natural History Museum, Budapest (Hungary), Herman Ottó Museum, Miskolc (Hungary) and Székely National Museum, Sf. Gheorge (Romania). The paleopathological analysis has been carried out using gross observation supported by radiographic and metric methods. Among the skeletal TB, spinal TB was observed in 8 cases (in two specimens with Pott’s gibbus and of them in one with cold absecess) (Zalavár-Vársziget, Zalavár- Kápolna, Peteni, Zsámbék-Premonstratensian Church--Hajdu 2006, Ároktő-Csik gát), and there is one case of the hip TB (Szekszárd-Tószegi dűlő). There is no sign of TB in the geographically close regions of them (Kaposvár--Évinger-Bernert 2005, Kereki-Sand-pit--Bernert 2003, Esztergályhorváti- Alsóbárándpuszta--Marcsik et al. 2004, Vörs-Papkert B, Vörs-Majori dűlő, Fonyód-Bézsenypuszta). It is supposed that in the same centuries other populations lived there and/or in other circumstances of life.
Bernert Zs. 2003. Anthropological analysis of the Avar Period cemetery of Kereki-Homokbánya (Kereki Sand-pit). Annales Historico-Naturales Musei Nationalis Hungarici. 95. 225-309. Évinger S, Bernert Zs. 2005. Anthropological investigation of the Avar Period cemetery of Kaposvár Road 61, Site No. 26. (Hungary). Annales Historico-Naturales Musei Nationalis Hungarici. 97. 261- 319. Hajdu T. 2006. A zsámbéki premontrei templomból és temetőjéből előkerült embertani anyag vizsgálata. Master’s thesis. Department of Anthropology, Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest. Marcsik A, Fóthi E, Hegyi A. 2002. Paleopathological changes in the Carpathian Basin in the 10th and 11th centuries. Acta Biol. Szeged. 46. 95-99. Marcsik A, Molnár E, Szathmáry L. 2006. The antiquity of tuberculosis in Hungary: the skeletal evidence. Mem Inst Oswaldo Cruz, Rio de Janeiro. 101 (Suppl. II). 67-71. Marcsik A, Éry K, Tóth G, Suskovics Cs, Targubáné Rendes K. 2004. Paleopatológiás elváltozások. In Tóth, G. edit.: Karoling-kori emlékek. Régészet és Antropológia. Savaria Univ. Press. Szombathely. 85-106.
Paper MOLECULAR PALEOPATHOLOGY Laszlo Mark(1), Gergely Montsko(1), Antonia Marcsik(2) 1University of Pécs, Institute of Biochemistry and Medical Chemistry, 2University of Szeged, Department of Anthropology, Hungary The survival of pathological biomarkers and proteins in ancient skeletal remains is a major prerequisite for any molecular analysis and is thus essential for the pathological examination of archaeological bones. Recent advances in bioanalytical techniques, especially in mass spectrometry
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(MS), have made it possible to obtain sequence information from subpicomolar quantities of fragmented ancient proteins and peptides. In our paper we report a novel technique for extraction and identification of ancient pathological biomarkers and proteins from archaeological human remains. The difference between sequences and various chemical modifications of the proteins are the most informative data for non- morphological detection of diseases in early stage. The suggested technique is a sensitive, selective, high-throughput method for pathological analysis of archaeological bone samples. The identification and direct sequencing of ancient proteins has the potential to expand our understanding of ancient epidemiology and evolution of human pathogens.
Poster THE DISEASED ROMANS: THREE REMARKABLE PATHOLOGIES OF THE ROMAN IMPERIAL AGE NECROPOLIS “ALBERTINA” IN VIENNA (AUSTRIA) Marschler M, Teschler-Nicola M Natural History Museum Vienna, Austria In 2000 and 2001, during construction works at the museum “Albertina“ in Vienna (Austria), a Roman Imperial Age necropolis (1st – 4th century AD) was excavated by the Wiener Stadtarchäologie. It consists of 150 burial and cremation type graves. Due to the very rich and precious grave goods, we can expect a social high-ranking population. This is the first systematic screening of an urban Roman population from the East of Austria. In addition to sex and age estimation and demography, we focused on the systematic examination of pathologies. Traumata, malnutrition, infectious and congenital diseases, degenerative changes, as well as teeth pathologies were analysed. The paleopathological investigations are based on macro- and microscopic analyses provided by non-invasive radiological examinations and computed tomography (CT). Among the 120 body burials we found several remarkable pathologies, which have rarely been presented in the literature: one individual, an adult female, shows a newly built bone formation within the frontal sinus, which most probably is of tumorous origin. Two skeletons, a young adult male and a late mature female, are characterised by a synostosis of the 2nd and 3rd cervical vertebrae. This alteration is the most frequent symptom in Type II congenital Klippel-Feil-Syndrome. Moreover, in portions of the lower extremity (trochlea tali and collum femoris) of three adult individuals, two males and an individual of indeterminate sex, we observed circular lesions of unknown genesis. The findings will be explained, discussed and compared to contemporary populations.
Poster A CASE OF TUBERCULOSIS IN A SLAVONIC-AVAR POPULATION FROM CÍFER-PÁC (SLOVAKIA) Soňa Masnicová, Radoslav Beňuš Academy of Police Forces, Department of Criminalistics and Forensic Sciences, Comenius University, Department of Anthropology, Bratislava, Slovak Republic The case of tuberculosis (TB) found in a skeleton of adult male (Grave No. 62/72) unearthed in the Cífer-Pác cemetery dated to Slavonic-Avar period (8th – 9th c. AD) represents the oldest finding of TB in Slovakia. TB Pott’s disease, TB osteomyelitis of the left wrist, osteoporosis of the left arm bones, trochanteritis of the right femur were the major lesions found in the affected individual.
Paper PALAEOPATHOLOGY OF A NEOLITHIC POPULATION FROM SOUTHERN HUNGARY Masson M(1), Molnár E(2), Pálfi Gy(2), Bartosiewicz L(1) University of Edinburgh, Scotland(1), University of Szeged, Hungary(2). This research is based on the analyses of a Neolithic population from the Great Plain of Southern Hungary, totaling over 100 individuals, mainly from the Late Neolithic tell settlement of Hódmezővásárhely-Gorzsa, dated 4970 to 4594 B.C. (Tisza Culture), and 10% from Early Neolithic neighbouring sites (Körös Culture).
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During the palaeodemographic analyses, a quarter of juveniles were found and there was a nearly equal split between males and females in the sexed population (overall 1/3 of females and ¼ of males). Stature estimations based on 33 individuals indicated an average height of 167 cm for males and 154 cm for females. Pathological studies revealed cases of joint diseases, fractures, metabolic diseases and infections, including a case of Hypertrophic Ostearthropathy (HOA) possibly due to Tuberculosis, and a range of dental problems (from calculus to carious lesions and antemortem tooth loss). Even though their remains are mostly damaged and fragmentary, the Hódmezővásárhely community gives us a great insight into the Neolithic, with around 100 individuals from all age ranges and a tremendous source of information for palaeodemography and palaeopathology.
Poster SEVERE VERTEBRAL COLLAPSE WITH GIBBUS IN A CHILD FROM THE GRAVEYARD OF SÃO MIGUEL CHURCH (CASTELO BRANCO, XIV-XIX CENTURIES): THE FIRST ARCHEOLOGICAL EVIDENCE OF POTT’S DISEASE FROM PORTUGAL? Vítor Matos, Carina Marques, Célia Lopes Department of Anthropology, University of Coimbra, Portugal The church of São Miguel, nowadays known as “Sé Catedral de Castelo Branco”, is one of the most prominent religious spaces in the city of Castelo Branco, in central Portugal. This monument was devoted to Christianity, and its adjacent terrain has a necropolis dating from the 14th to the 19th centuries AD. In 2004 this monument was subjected to an archaeological intervention due to rehabilitation works and in the East Churchyard a necropolis, composed of 20 anthropomorphic granite rock-cut tombs, was excavated. A total of ten individuals (7 adults and 3 subadults) from nine graves were exhumed. From the unearthed bone assemblage, a conspicuous paleopathological case was detected among the remains of skeleton number 8 (grave number 4), a subadult that presented accentuated alterations of the ribcage morphology and extensive vertebral destruction that culminated in gibbus deformity, with a total absence of five vertebral bodies. The description of the lesion morphology and discussion of the pathological entities responsible for such a severe and broad extension on the axial segment of this individual are the main purposes of this work. Since spinal tuberculosis, or Pott’s disease, is one of the most probable conditions responsible for the pathological alterations observed, the importance of this specimen to the history of tuberculosis in Portugal will be considered. Sponsors: Centro de Investigação em Antropologia e Saúde, Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia. (Grants:SFRH/BD/16155/2004;SFRH/BD/30038/2006;SFRH/BD/36954/2007)
Poster HYPEROSTOSIS FRONTALIS INTERNA: A SOCIAL MARKER May Hila(1), Peled Natan(2), Dar Gali(1,3), Hay Ori, Abbas Janan(1), Hershkovitz Israel(1) Department of Anatomy and Anthropology, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel-Aviv University (1), Department of Radiology, Carmel Medical Center(2), Department of Physical Therapy, Faculty of Social Welfare & Health studies, Haifa University(3), Israel. Hyperostosis frontalis interna (HFI) is an overgrowth of bony tissue on the inner plate of the frontal bone of the calvaria. The phenomenon was usually described as part of the Stewart-Morel- Moore syndrome albeit its etiology has never been confirmed. The objective is to follow the trends in HFI prevalence over time and to examine its social background. Macroscopic study was carried out on two populations: 2890 skulls (2382 males and 508 females) aged 1 to 105 from the Hamann-Todd osteological (HTH) collection, Cleveland Museum of Natural History, USA, which lived during the 19th and early 20th centuries. The second population included 660 living individuals (326 males and 334 females) aged 1 to 103 from Haifa district, Israel, that had undergone head computerized tomography (CT) scan (Brilliance 64, Philips Medical Systems, Clevelend, Ohio) at Carmel Medical Center. This population dated to the 20th and 21st centuries. The results showed that females and males living 100 years ago show significantly lower prevalence of HFI compared with individuals living today in the matched age groups (p<0.05). HFI
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XVII European Meeting of the Paleopathology Association 2008 starts to appear in younger ages in the present female population. Finally, today females and males manifest significantly higher prevalence of severe cases of HFI compared to people living a century ago (p<0.05). In the last 100 years HFI prevalence has sharply increased. It is appearing in much younger individuals, and in a more severe form in the elderly. These trends may indicate biological changes in the modern population following changes in social behavior.
Paper “COPPER MEN” OF THE BRONZE AGE: CONCERNING THEIR HEALTH AND SOCIAL STATUS M.B.Mednikova, M.V.Dobrovolskaya Institute of archaeology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia The use of metal as a source for making implements had opened a new lifestyle for mankind. The change of environment and creation of this high-quality new material was impossible without people who had special knowledge in mining and metal treatment. So the entity of the Bronze Age “experts” had arisen: miners, smiths and casters. The data of cultural anthropology indicate that smiths and other “men of metal” often have separated position in traditional society. The bioarchaeological approach to human bone remains gives evidence for investigation of social status and the health condition of some ancient smiths. For identification of smith remains, independent tests have been used. The first criterion was accomplished whereby funerary goods that have been identified could reflect occupational activity. The second criterion was skeletal copper value concentration. The next stage included both individual description of identified “copper men” and comparisons for common patterns. The indicators of physiological stress, traumas, and enthesopathies have been observed. Three groups of the Bronze Age population have been investigated from this point. The first one, that inhabited the Volga river region in 17th century BC, demonstrates a clearer morphological difference between the smith and other members of the tribe. The specific biomechanical stress induced structural changes of affected parts of the skeleton that could be well identified visibly, histologically and on CT-scan slices. But the presence of physiological stress markers in smith remains are comparable with others, that were typical for this population.
Paper A PHILOGENETIC EXPERIMENT WITH ANCIENT TREPONEMAL BONES Fernando L.Melo, Marcia Pincerati, Kelly Nunes, Joana Carvalho, Ana M.Fraga, Daniel Rincon, Marcio Almeida, Pablo Candiani, Sabine Eggers The Pathoecological Evolution Group, Depto Genética e Biologia Evolutiva, Inst Biociências, Universidade de São Paulo, Brasil Borne out of a post-grad course in Human Variation, molecular biologists, an education specialist and a palaeopathologist challenged themselves to investigate a common interest in a truly transdisciplinary way. A pathoecological vision was soon established and the instrumentarium of phylogenetic analyses too. To evaluate current and conflicting hypotheses on the origin of venereal syphilis we aim to combine osseous evidence of treponematoses and molecular phylogenetic analyses of treponema. Relying on the construction of a worldwide map containing all accessible reports on palaeopathological evidence of treponematoses before Columbus´ return to Europe, we used the oldest dates of treponemal infection found in different regions of the globe to calibrate the time of the most recent common ancestor of Treponema pallidum pallidum, T.p. endemicum and T.p.pertenue, regarding different molecular data available in GenBank. Analyses based on this calibration permits choosing the most parsimonious scenario on the where and when of the origin of treponematoses, and especially veneral syphilis. We also compare these results to those obtained with a substitution rate previously estimated for bacteria. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to integrate palaeopathologic and molecular phylogenetic tools while discussing the evolutionary history of treponemes, and to emphasize that multidisciplinary efforts to infer the evolutionary history of treponemes should be acknowledged as a fruitful new approach to achieve promising clues in the enduring mystery of the origin of diseases.
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Paper OSSIFIED HAEMATOMAS AND INFECTIOUS BONE CHANGES ON THE ANTERIOR TIBIA: HISTOMORPHOLOGICAL FEATURES AS AN AID FOR ACCURATE DIAGNOSIS A.E. Van der Merwe, G.J.R. Maat, M. Steyn(2) Leiden University Medical Centre, Department of Anatomy and Embryology, Leiden, Netherlands, University of Pretoria, Department of Anatomy, South Africa(2) Examination of the histological structure of bone does not only help investigators to estimate age at death, but can also aid in the diagnoses of palaeopathological lesions. The purpose of this paper was to assess whether histological features, as described in literature, could confirm macroscopic diagnoses of ossified subperiosteal haematomas and infectious bone changes on the anterior tibiae of individuals from a 19th century mining community from Kimberley, South Africa. A sample was taken from lesions on the tibiae of 14 individuals and prepared for microscopy using a manual ground section technique. Ossified haematomas were confirmed in seven individuals and were characterized by normal cortical bone, an intact original periosteal surface and newly formed radiating trabecular bone apposing it. Three phases of ossified subperiosteal haematoma formation and remodelling could be distinguished. Infectious bone changes in one individual were characterized by numerous resorption holes and no clear distinction could be made between the internal spongy, cortical and appositional bone. Three individuals presented with microscopic features indicative of both the aforementioned bone affections and three did not show any pathological changes. It was concluded that although specific pathological conditions can most likely not be diagnosed purely based on histomorphological observations, broad distinctions between lesions caused by the ossified subperiosteal haematomas and bone changes due to infectious diseases, could be made.
Paper THE EULAU EULOGY: BIOARCHEOLOGICAL INTERPRETATION OF LETHAL VIOLENCE AND FAMILIAL RELATIONSHIPS IN CORDED WARE MULTIPLE BURIALS FROM SAXONY-ANHALT, GERMANY Christian Meyer(1), Guido Brandt(1), Wolfgang Haak(1), Robert A. Ganslmeier(2), Harald Meller(2), Kurt W. Alt(1) Institute of Anthropology, University of Mainz, (1), State Office for Heritage Management and Archaeology Saxony-Anhalt/State Museum of Prehistory, Halle (Saale), Germany We report on several healed and unhealed injuries observed in skeletons buried in several Corded Ware multiple graves near Eulau, Saxony-Anhalt. The archaeological evidence indicates that the graves are true multiple burials, therefore the deceased were interred simultaneously. Detailed osteological, palaeopathological and genetical investigations were carried out on the skeletons. Healed forearm fractures were observed in male individuals, and lethal wounds are evident in at least three women and children. An arrow injury in a lumbar vertebra of a female represents the most clear example of lethal violence. Other perimortem fractures occurred in several bones (mainly of the hands). Again, only the men are affected by these injuries, which might be interpreted as defense wounds. The violent lethal and non-lethal injuries, along with the genetic results, allow a bioarchaeological interpretation and a tentative reconstruction of the most probable scenario resulting in the simultaneous death of these people. A violent raid on a small group of Corded Ware people, some of them closely related, seems to be the best explanation for both the archaeological and anthropological evidence. The great care expended upon construction of the graves indicates that at least some members of the community with detailed knowledge about the kinship of the deceased survived. This sets the Eulau graves apart from other archaeologically known raid sites.
Poster “THE HEART OF DON LOTTERI: AN OLD HUMAN SPECIMEN BETWEEN LEGEND AND REALITY” Salvatore Micalizio, Luisa Ferrari Rocca D’Arazzo (AT) Italy In September 2002 during the redecoration of the “Opera Pia Lotteri” Hospital in Turin (Italy), a human dried heart has been discovered kept hidden in a wall. Oral tradition told that an old-aged
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XVII European Meeting of the Paleopathology Association 2008 sister of the hospital used to say that Don Lotteri left “his heart in the hospital”. This human heart is not naturally mummified but it is made with laboratory methods employed at anatomical museums. It seems to be comparable to the coeval museum specimens of hearts stored in Pathology Museum of Turin. This specimen appeared in quite good preservation and we restored it using the Professor Gabrielli’s method, originally created for the saint’s mummies. Macroscopically there aren’t signs of illness. Microscopically the histological preservation of the muscle fibre is almost perfect even with special stain. Now the restored but still mysterious heart is stored in Turin at the Opera Pia Lotteri.
Paper DYSENTERY IN THE CRUSADER KINGDOM OF JERUSALEM: AN ELISA ANALYSIS OF TWO MEDIEVAL LATRINES IN THE CITY OF ACRE (ISRAEL) Piers D Mitchell (1), Eliezer Stern(2), Yotam Tepper(2) Imperial College London, UK (1), Israel Antiquities Authority, Israel(2) Dysentery was a significant cause of ill health during medieval times according to written sources of the period. However, it has been very difficult to detect the organisms that cause dysentery in archaeological samples from latrines and cesspools. This is because the cysts of the enteric parasites that cause dysentery are very small and usually fragment in the soil, in contrast to the robust ova of parasitic intestinal worms. This study uses a monoclonal enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) technique to identify the fragments of those enteric parasites that cause diarrhoea. Samples were taken from two excavated medieval latrines in the city of Acre. Coins and radiocarbon dating suggest that the latrines were in use during the thirteenth century CE. Positive results were noted for Entamoeba histolytica and Giardia duodenalis, while Cryptosporidium parvum was negative. While this technique has been used with samples from Europe and the Americas, this is the first time that either of these parasites has been identified in the Middle East using these methods. It seems likely that Entamoeba sp. and Giardia sp. may have been responsible for the widespread dysentery recorded in some crusader armies in the Middle East during the 12th and 13th centuries.
Paper CANCER IN ANCIENT TIMES: BRIEF REVIEW OF 13 CASES FROM HUNGARY Molnár E(1), Marcsik A(1), Pálfi Gy(1), Schmidt-Schultz TH(2), Schultz M(3) 1Department of Anthropology, University of Szeged, Hungary, 2Department of Biochemistry, 3Department of Anatomy, University of Göttingen, Germany Mankind has been suffering from cancer since antiquity. However, the occurrence and frequency of neoplastic lesions in ancient populations is still a subject of debate for both paleopathologists and medical historians. The scarcity of data concerned with cancer in antiquity demands new investigations in this field. Future paleopathological discoveries and the application of improved diagnostic techniques may enable „paleo-oncology” to make further contributions to our understanding of cancer. In this study, we present data on the occurrence of malignant bone tumors in 11 sites (3967 individuals) in Hungary dated to the 3rd -16th centuries AD. All skeletons were subjected to a careful macroscopic investigation, which was extended in special cases by radiological, scanning microscopical and histological examinations. We identified 13 cases of malignant bone tumors. In most instances, multiple osteolytic lesions with slight osteoblastic reactions, in characteristic skeletal distributions, were strongly suggestive of metastatic carcinoma. However, in some cases multiple myeloma cannot be excluded. A mature male with pronounced osteoblastic reactions, particularly on his hip bones, seemed to be most compatible with the diagnosis of metastatic prostate cancer. These observations indicate that carcinomas were present in the territory of present-day Hungary over the last two millenia. It is worth mentioning that 7 cases came from the 7th -8th century AD, which could be related to the drastic worsening of living conditions in this historical period in the Carpathian Basin.
Marcsik A, Szathmáry L, Finnegan M. 2002. Multiple myeloma and metastatic skeletal lesions in osteoarchaeology samples. Journal of Paleopathology 14 (2): 77-86
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Molnár E, Pálfi Gy, Marcsik A. 2006. Malignus csonttumor megjelenése egy avar kori szériában. Folia Anthropologica 4: 37-42 Pálfi Gy. 1989. The occurance of bone tumors in the anthropological remains belonging to the Székkutas-Kápolnadűlő cemetery (Hungary) of the late Avar Period. Acta Biol. Szeged. 35: 207-220
Poster HEALTH, DISEASE AND ACTIVITY PATTERNS IN TWO SWEDISH POPULATIONS Petra Molnar and Anna Kjellström Osteoarchaeological Research Laboratory, Department of Archaeology and Classical Studies Stockholm University, Sweden It has been suggested that the health of prehistoric hunter-gatherers was generally better than in populations that later adopted agriculture. In particular, the health of medieval people is believed to have been at risk due to crowding in towns, poor diet, migration and the spread of infectious diseases. The present study aims to investigate the relationship between health and life ways through the skeletal evidence of pathological conditions and muscular strain. The samples examined are Stone Age hunter-gatherers from the island of Gotland (n=126) and medieval townspeople/farmers from Sigtuna (n=343). A health index was calculated for both assemblages of health variables such as stature, enamel hypoplasia, anaemia, dental lesions, infections, degenerative joint disease and trauma. In addition, Musculoskeletal Stress Markers (MSM) were scored in the two samples in order to compare patterns of muscular strain. The health index indicated a generally better health status in the farming population, though exhibiting higher frequencies of anaemia, infections and a generally poorer dental health. In the hunter-gatherer population, higher incidences were recorded of enamel hypoplasias, degenerative joint disease, and periapical lesions, indicating exposure to infectious agents and other health hazards. Higher MSM mean scores were noted in the left upper body compared to the right in the hunter- gatherer sample, while the Sigtuna sample exhibited higher scores on the right side. The females on Gotland furthermore exhibited significantly higher scores for the upper body than the lower, compared to Sigtuna. Whereas the overall health status appears to have been better in Sigtuna, the separate health parameters exhibited a more complex image with considerable deviations between the two samples. The different lifestyles of the two populations are thus reflected in these differences and visible in patterns of both health and physical activity. However, no evident links between different health parameters and muscular load were found in either population.
Paper SYNCHROTRON MID-INFRARED ANALYSIS OF THE KWÄDĀY DÄN TS’ÍNCHI ANCIENT REMAINS FOUND IN A GLACIER IN CANADA Maria Victoria Monsalve, Colleen Christensen, Mike Jackson, Wayne Vogl Department of Pathology and Laboratory medicine University of British Columbia, College of Agriculture, University of Saskatchewan, Jackson Scientific Consulting, Saskatchewan, Cellular and Fisiological Sciences, University of British Columbia, Canada In this study we analyze the biochemical signature of soft tissue remains from Kwädāy Dän Ts’ínchi, a man found frozen in a glacier in Canada in 1999 and recently radiocarbon dated 1670 AD to 1850 AD. Biochemical quantitative analysis (nitrogen and carbon content) previously has indicated good preservation of proteinaceous material in the tissue samples. Our current analysis of arm muscle tissue using mid-infrared spectroscopy with the Canadian Light Source Inc. synchrotron indicate a spectral signal similar to modern muscle, although there are no lipids present. High protein and collagen content are evenly distributed in the tissue. The ratio of protein to collagen is not constant throughout the tissue, indicating the presence of protein other than collagen. One unusual signal obtained suggests that decomposition has probably taken place during the time that the remains were at the glacial site or later during thawing for laboratory analyses. Further analysis will likely determine the source of the signal. Adipocere has previously been identified in Kwädāy Dän Ts’ínchi
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XVII European Meeting of the Paleopathology Association 2008 as a result of the tissue decomposition process. Mid-infrared analysis may help to gain insights on how decomposition takes place in frozen bodies.
Paper PRELIMINARY STUDY OF ORBITAL LESIONS IN BRITISH ANGLO-SAXON SKELETAL REMAINS Jenna Morgan The University of Birmingham, UK Porotic lesions of the orbital bones of archaeological human remains termed cribra orbitalia are often attributed to metabolic conditions, particularly iron deficiency anaemia. Lesions in the orbits are also occasionally attributed to vitamin C deficiency (scurvy). However, there are many conditions that can result in expansion of the bone marrow space, including various acquired and genetic anaemias, haemorrhage and/or inflammation of the ocular structures. For example, infection or trauma may produce very similar skeletal manifestations. This paper presents a number of ocular conditions providing differential diagnoses for porous hypertrophic lesions of the superior orbital bone, the most commonly reported site of orbital porosity. Research undertaken in this project clearly suggests the distribution of any other pathological lesions across the skeleton is an important consideration in suggesting a diagnosis. Modern prevalence rates of conditions causing orbital pathology can also contribute considerably to eliminating or supporting diagnoses of different types of conditions. Archaeological examples of orbital lesions, from several early and late British Anglo Saxon collections, including Collingbourne Ducis, Pewsey Cemetery and Blackgate Cemetery, are discussed, as well as observations of any other pathological lesions present on the remains. The results demonstrate that the diagnoses of metabolic conditions in some of these examples of orbital lesions are unsound.
Paper SEVERE SUBLUXATION FRACTURE OF THE EPISTROPHEUS AS A CASE OF IMMEDIATE DEATH Andreas G. Nerlich(1), Roman Sokiranski(2), Sandra Lösch(1), Wolfgang Pirsig(3) Division of Paleopathology, Institute of Pathology, Academic-Teaching Hospital München- Bogenhausen (1), Institute of Radiology, Munich(2), Dept. of Oto-Rhino-Laryngology, University- Hospital Ulm(3), Germany A pre-Columbian South American skull and its first two vertebrae of a mature man were investigated by an interdisciplinary team in order to identify the underlying pathology of the pathologic position of these vertebrae. The skull had been excavated at the Peruvian south coast from the cemetery of Cahuachi and was dated to around A.D. 115 ± 80 to 756 ± 90. The use of a surgical (stereo-)microscope and helical CT scans showed a remarkable dislocation of the epistropheus with partial ruptures of its ligaments. Adjacent, the remnants of a haematoma were found which compressed the spinal canal and probably caused an acute compression of the spinal cord with a subsequent respiratory arrest. The histological analysis of a small specimen of the haematoma area following careful rehydration and paraffin embedding showed the residues of tightly packed erythrocytes (along with partial fungal growth) without evidence for haemosiderin transformation. Accordingly, we provide evidence for a lethal traumatic lesion of the upper cervical spine which is highly suggestive for the acute death of the affected individual.
Poster PALEOPATHOLOGICAL IDENTIFICATION OF MALIGNANT TUMORS IN AN ANCIENT EGYPTIAN POPULATION Andreas G. Nerlich(1), Beatrice E. Bachmeier(2), Sandra Lösch(1) Division of Paleopathology, Institute of Pathology, Academic-Teaching Hospital München- Bogenhausen(1), Department of Clinical Chemistry and Clinical Biochemistry, Ludwig-Maximilians University Munich(2), Germany During a recent anthropological-paleopathological analysis of the human remains we analyzed the disturbed skeletons of an ancient Egyptian burial dating to the 6th dynasty (c. 2600 – 2700 BC) at
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XVII European Meeting of the Paleopathology Association 2008 the site of Dahschur-South, Upper Egypt. There, the tomb complex of a high royal official named “IPI” contained 43 adult and further 4 subadult individuals. Although the skeletal elements could not be attributed to individuals, the statistical reconstruction of this small population revealed most individuals to have died in young adulthood, however with some individuals reaching senile age. The detailed paleopathological investigation showed two individuals with signs of malignant skeletal tumours. One presented as an irregular swelling of the right pubic bone of c. 39 x 24 x 16 mm size. This asymmetric extension of the bone is highly suggestive of a cartilaginous tumor which – at that site – is most frequently due to a (well-differentiated) chondrosarcoma. The second case presented with three lumbar vertebral bodies with irregular osteolyses of the bone with slight osseous reaction highly suggestive for bone metastases of unknown primary site. Unfortunately, no further skeletal elements could be attributed to these findings so that we cannot speculate on the underlying primary tumor. In summary, the careful paleopathological analysis of this small population adds two further cases to our previous series of malignant osseous tumors in well defined ancient Egyptian populations (Nerlich et al., Oncol Rep. 2006 and Nerlich & Bachmeier, Nature Rev. Canc. 2007).
Poster EARLY BRONZE AGE AUSTRIA (1) – THE POTTENBRUNN SITE. HIGHER RISK OF STRESS DUE TO PROSPERITY AND ACTIVE TRADING WITHIN THE DANUBE REGION? Novotny F, Spannagl M, Teschler-Nicola M Department of Anthropology, Natural History Museum, Vienna, Austria Early Bronze Age societies in the Austrian Danube region have recently been characterised by prosperity, cosmopolitanism and active trading. Within this study, we aimed to search systematically for stress markers among the Pottenbrunn population localised in the southern Traisen Valley. The site is archaeologically attributed to the Unterwölbling cultural group and dated between 2200-1500 BC (Gemeinlebarn I-III). The skeletal remains of 73 individuals were investigated by macroscopic, radiological, light microscopic and scanning electron microscopic techniques. We observed demographic parameters, features of nutritional deficiency, inflammatory diseases, joint alterations and alveolar bone and teeth diseases as well as traumata. Demographically, this population is characterised by a conspicuous high mortality of juvenile/young adult males which exceed the mortality of young females. Moreover, several traumata could be observed, but they can not explain the high mortality of the young males. Nutritional deficiencies are very frequent and include porotic hyperostosis, porosities along the alveolar margin and new bone formations on the long bones due to Moeller-Barlow disease. Generally, the results point to inadequate living conditions, which include insufficient nutrition and a probable high level of stress. Therewith, the Pottenbrunn differ from other Austrian Bronze Age populations. The results will be discussed in relation to the political and economical framework, which divide the Austrian early Bronze Age society into three discrete groups.
Novotny F. 2005. Die krankhaften und traumatischen Veränderungen an den frühbronzezeitlichen Skelettresten des Gräberfeldes Pottenbrunn (Niederösterreich), In: Blesl, Ch. (edt.), Das frühbronzezeitliche Gräberfeld von Pottenbrunn, Fundberichte aus Österreich, Materialheft 15, p 147 – 198. Teschler-Nicola M. 1992. Untersuchungen zur Bevölkerungsbiologie der Bronzezeit in Ostösterreich. Phänetische Analyse kontinuierlicher und nicht kontinuierlicher Skelettmerkmale. Habilitationsschrift Universität Wien Teschler-Nicola M, Gerold F. 2001. Results of intra- and inter-site paleodemographical and paleoepidemiological analysis. The potential and limitations for characterising features of Early Bronze Age habitats using data sets from the Traisen valley. In: Lippert A, Schultz M, Shennan S, Teschler-Nicola M. (edts.). People and their Environment during the Neolithic and Early Bronze Age in Central Europe. Internationale Archäologie Band 2. Verlag Marie Leidorf GmbH Rahden/Westf., p 245 – 256.
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Paper PALEOPATHOLOGY OF CAVE BEAR (Ursus spelaeus) FROM JASKINIA NIEDZWIEDZIA (Bear Cave), POLAND Dariusz Nowakowski Department Zoology & Ecology Wrocław University of Environmental & Life Sciences There are very few descriptions of pathologies visible in fossil animal material. One of them is a monograph concerning Jaskinia Niedźwiedzia (Bear Cave) in Kletno presenting, among others, examples of post-traumatic lesions visible on selected bear bones. The bones of many species of mammals characteristic of European Pleistocene were found in the deposits filling Bear Cave. The bones of the cave bear (Ursus spelaeus R.) constitute 90% of bone material (40 000 bones and their fragments) and they present in silt in all the known parts of the cave. The bone material, dated at 11500÷15000 years (late Pleistocene), was found in a non-anatomical position. Considering the importance of the site, it was agreed that it was worth describing the bone tissue structure changes in the bear coming from the Quaternary deposits of Bear Cave in Kletno and determining their possible reasons and results using classical and non-standard radiological techniques as well as selected methods. After the initial analysis of the bone collection kept at the Paleozoology Department of Wrocław University, 1516 bones were selected for further examination. Several mutually supplementary examination methods were applied which allowed complex analysis of the bone tissue structure of the osseous remains. The applied methods of: morphological, radiological and histological analysis served, apart from macroscopic and microscopic description, for the determination of pathological lesions as well as individual age. The examination performed allowed determining the irregularities in bone tissue structure, and constitute the first study of pathology of Pleistocene animals from Poland. A certain proportion of osseous remains of the bear population from Kletno was found with the presence of pathological processes of various degree of intensity, such as: osteoporosis, various inflammatory states, osseous infarction as well as a possibility of other pathologies. It was found that osseous remains with pathological lesions constitute 17.8% of all the bones analyzed, while in the case of vertebrae they amount to 21.1% of all the vertebrae analyzed. Disorders concerning regular bone structure in the form of Harris lines were distinguished, and possible reasons for their formation in a bear were determined. The studies allowed determining the possible limitations on normal animal functions as well as a possible cause of death of the individual. The analysis results of the occurrence frequency of diseases in the investigated population allow concluding that these diseases were not the reason for the species extinction during Pleistocene in this region of Poland.
Paper THE CONTRIBUTIONS OF ARTHUR C. AUFDERHEIDE TO THE FIELD OF PALEOPATHOLOGY Kenneth C. Nystrom, Larry Cartmell Department of Anthropology, State University of New York at New Paltz, Department of Pathology, Valley View Regional Hospital, OK, USA The examination of mummified soft tissue is a cornerstone of the modern field of paleopathology. The early scientific investigations of Ruffer, Smith, and the Manchester Museum team forged new territory by incorporating methodologies from chemistry, anatomy, and radiology and thus readily demonstrating the analytical power of such an interdisciplinary perspective. These efforts, however, plateaued during the first half of the 20th century. Paleopathology was reinvigorated during the 1960’s and 1970’s due to the synergistic activity of medical professionals and anthropologists; the formative events of which were the interdisciplinary examinations of several mummies. During the intervening 30 years, however, the major synthetic reference books on paleopathology dealt almost exclusively with osseous tissue. Soft tissue paleopathology remained a relatively small and specialized field practiced predominantly by medical professionals. Advances in molecular biology, mediconuclear imaging technology, and biochemical analyses opened up new frontiers and presented new investigative challenges. It was in this context that one of the driving forces behind the scientific examination of mummified remains, Dr. Arthur C. Aufderheide, began his
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XVII European Meeting of the Paleopathology Association 2008 initial forays into skeletal biology and paleopathology. In this presentation we sketch the development of soft tissue paleopathology up until the mid-19th century and from this foundation we consider how Dr. Aufderheide has helped shape the field of mummy studies and soft tissue paleopathology.
Poster TWO CASES OF PRE-COLUMBIAN TREPONEMATOSIS FROM LOMA SALVATIERRA (BOLIVIA) Obertová Zuzana, Menninger Martin, Prümers Heiko(2) University of Tübingen, Institute for Pre- and Protohistory, Palaeoanthropology, Commission for Archaeology of Non-European Cultures (KAAK) (2), Bonn, Germany Loma Salvatierra represents one of several earthworks in the moxos (moist lowlands) of northern Bolivia. Until now, little is known about the peoples who lived in this region during the Pre- Columbian period, in contrast to the contemporary Andean cultures. During the archaeological excavations at Loma Salvatierra the skeletal remains of 123 individuals were uncovered. The radiocarbon dating of human bones revealed dates from 7th to 12th century AD, confirming clearly their Pre-Columbian origin. The secured Pre-Columbian date of these human skeletal remains is particularly important in connection with the occurrence of skeletal lesions, which are characteristic of a treponemal infection. In the present study, two cases – one of an aged woman and one of a 4-5- year-old child, possibly a boy – are presented. However, macroscopical examination of the remains revealed that almost 20 % of all individuals showed signs of skeletal lesions, which might be associated with a treponemal infection. The origin and spread of treponematoses is still a frequently discussed topic in medicine and bioarchaeology. The presence of pathological changes in the individuals from Loma Salvatierra is discussed in connection with the different clinical manifestations of the infections caused by Treponema species, and with respect to the local environmental conditions.
Paper WALTER G. J. PUTSCHAR: PATHOLOGIST, PALEOPATHOLOGIST, TEACHER Donald J. Ortner Department of Anthropology, Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC, USA Walter Putschar was born in Graz, Austria on January 9, 1904. He received his medical training at the University of Graz and the University of Vienna, Austria. He began his career in pathology at the University of Goettingen where he worked between 1928 and 1935 and while there began a lifelong interest in orthopaedic pathology. Between 1935 and 1937 he was Assistant Professor of Pathology at the University of Buffalo in New York. He was pathologist and Director of Laboratories at Charleston General Hospital in West Virginia from 1937 until his retirement in 1958. During and subsequent to his career in Charleston, he had numerous consulting positions at other institutions. Following his retirement he became Consultant Pathologist at Massachusetts General Hospital which became his base of operations for the rest of his life. He had vast experience in working in several third world countries where he encountered cases of pathology that were rare or unheard of in the Western World. He was an invited participant in a Symposium on Human Palaeopathology held in Washington DC in January 1965 and contributed one of the chapters to the proceedings (Putschar 1966). In 1971 he was appointed a Research Associate of the Smithsonian Institution and was the principal lecturer in skeletal paleopathology seminars held for four years beginning in 1971 and a final seminar in 1985. Many of the leading figures in skeletal paleopathology today participated in these seminars. Putschar is the coauthor of a major reference work on human skeletal paleopathology first published in 1981 and reprinted in 1985 (Ortner and Putschar 1981).
Putschar, Walter GJ. 1966. Problems in the pathology and palaeopathology of bone. In Human Palaeopathology, ed. Saul Jarcho, 57-65. New Haven: Yale University Press. Ortner DJ, Putschar WGJ. 1981. Identification of Pathological Conditions in Human Skeletal Remains. Smithsonian Contributions to Anthropology No. 28. Washington, D. C.: Smithsonian Institution Press.
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Paper THE PALEOPATHOLOGY OF SPECIFIC INFECTIOUS DISEASES IN HUNGARY: RESULTS AND LIMITS Pálfi Gy, Ősz B, Marcsik A, Molnár E 1Department of Anthropology, University of Szeged, Hungary The purpose of this study is to review the evidence for the presence of specific infectious diseases in past Hungarian populations. As for treponemal diseases, few paleopathological cases were published until relatively recently. New discoveries from medieval Szeged furnished evidence for the Pre-Columbian occurrence of the disease in this area. Among mycobacterial infections, paleopathological analyses of several thousands of skeletons provided a relatively high number of observations of ’classical’ skeletal TB cases, and some cases of leprosy until the end of the 1990’s (Pálfi and Marcsik, 1999; Pálfi et al., 2002; Marcsik et al., 2007). The use of DNA assays and the study of early-stage traces of mycobacterial skeletal infections highly increased the number of observations during the last ten years (Fletcher et al., 2003; Zink et al., 2007). Unfortunately, these results present several biases of the classical osteoarcheological studies, such as differentiation between the taphonomic and paleodemographic conditions of the series. The evolution of the paleopathological diagnostical methods necessitates complete re-evalution of the previously studied materials, in order to obtain a more realistic paleoepidemiological picture of these diseases.
Paper THE COMPLEMENTARY NATURE OF EARLY MEDIEVAL CEMETERIES: IMPLICATIONS FOR THE PALAEOPATHOLOGICAL ANALYSIS RGAM Panhuysen, E Smits, FCWJ Theuws Amsterdam Archaeological Centre, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands In recent years the number of archaeological excavations in The Netherlands has increased considerably as a consequence of European legislation. Often the instructions for commercial archaeological companies include restrictions concerning the number of skeletons that are to be recovered from cemetery sites. Sometimes the number of human remains that are to be recovered are limited to 50 or 100 skeletons. Currently, small samples of skeletons are considered to provide a representative view of the living conditions in the past. Panhuysen (2005) has provided arguments for the complimentary nature of cemeteries in Maastricht in the early medieval period. The same study also presents evidence for the existence of selective mechanisms determining the spatial distribution of the deceased within the cemetery. The various burial assemblages that coexist during the Merovingian period support the model described by Theuws (1998). The existence of a constellation of complementary cemeteries and the effect of selective criteria determining the spatial distribution within cemeteries argues against the current practice in Dutch archaeology to limit the physical anthropological examination of cemeteries to small samples. Physical anthropological and palaeopathological data collected from circa 1000 burials excavated around the Saint Servatius church in Maastricht will provide an overview of the clustering of young children, females and males and individuals with trauma (with-)in cemeteries. The consequences of the spatial distribution within the cemeteries for the excavation strategy and sample selection will be discussed.
Panhuysen RGAM. 2005. Demography and Health in Early Medieval Europe: Prosopographical observations on two cemeteries. Amersfoort, The Netherlands: Anthro.nl. Theuws FCWJ. 1998. Changing settlement patterns, burial grounds and the symbolic construction of ancestors and communities in the late Merovingian southern Netherlands. Settlement and Landscape, pp. 337-349.
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Poster A POSSIBLE DIFFERENTIAL DIAGNOSES OF SKELETON FROM SETTLEMENT BURIAL DATED BACK TO MIDDLE HILLFORT PERIOD: ACUTE HAEMATOGENOUS OSTEOMYELITIS OR CONGENITAL ANOMALIES? Anna Pankowská, Václav Smrčka Centrum of Archeology Olomouc, Institute of History of Medicine and Foreign Languages, Charles Universisty Prague, Czech Republic The understanding of the background to paleopathological processes is sometimes difficult and results in the re-examination of previous diagnoses. We use macroscopic and radiological examinations to diagnose pathological lesions in the skeleton of an adult woman from settlement burial, dated back to Middle Hillfort Period (AD 800-950). The skeleton is probably affected by acute haematogenous osteomyelitis. The lesions are located on the right upper limb and on the left lower limb. The head of the right shoulder joint is formed by changed cavitas glenoidalis. In the lower left limb, the contact surface between the femur and os coxae is absent. Instead of a joint there is smoothed surface imitating articulation. On the femur, the collum et caput femoris and trochanter minor is absent. From the point of differential diagnoses, we consider unique congenital deficiency with paradoxical form of right shoulder and left hip joint. Besides these two main defects, there are many additional smaller defects on the skeleton. This article discusses two possible diagnoses of the pathological traces on the skeleton.
Paper WARRIORS VERSUS WORKING MEN – AN ENTHESES AND JOINT STUDY Pany D, Teschler-Nicola M. Department of Anthopology, Natural History Museum, Vienna, Austria The combination of entheses and joint features may yield a broader insight into the activity and social organization of historic populations. Two early medieval (9th/10th century A.D.) skeletal populations from the graveyard and settlement of Thunau/Gars am Kamp, Austria were evaluated for differences in habitual activity patterns. One archaeological site is located on a hill plateau and interpreted as fortified manor house. Moreover, a second site situated downhill has been included in this study. It is suggested to be the site where craftsman, farmers etc. have been buried. The assumption of probable social differences between the individuals of both sites has been deduced from the different amount and value of grave goods and special burial places for some individuals within the area. 50 males and 44 females from the plateau graveyard and settlement, close to the manor house, and 11 males and 13 females from the downhill site were chosen for visual inspection of selected upper- and lower extremity muscle marks and joints. Preliminary results show a distinct, mostly significant (p = 0.05) difference in robusticity between males and females in both series. Further, the males from the downhill site display slightly higher scores concerning robusticity of the entheses. Especially osteophyte growth at the joint margins and porosities at the joint area indicate the males from below as more heavily burdened.
Paper TUBERCULOSIS IN AN 18TH CENTURY POPULATION OF VÁC, HUNGARY I. Pap(1), M. Spigelman(2), I. Szikossy(1), H.A. Fletcher(3) H.D. Donoghue(2) Hungarian Natural History Museum, Department of Anthropology, Budapest, Hungary (1), Centre for Infectious Diseases and International Health, University College London, UK(2), University of Oxford, Centre for Clinical Vaccinology and Tropical Medicine, Churchill Hospital, Oxford, UK(3) The infection caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis has been called by several names: lung disease, phthisis, tuberculosis, morbus hungaricus, etc. It was an endemic disease in Europe and it seemed almost eliminated 50 years ago, but is an increasing and major problem today. The purpose of the study was to analyse tuberculosis patterns in a unique population living in the 18th century, before the development of antimicrobial therapy and antibiotic resistance. Naturally-mummified individuals from the 18th century were discovered in the Dominican Church of Vác, Hungary. 265 individuals from coffins and another 46 remains from the ossuary were removed. Natural mummification was made possible by the special microclimate of the crypt. The anthropological
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XVII European Meeting of the Paleopathology Association 2008 material is stored in the Department of Anthropology, Hungarian Natural History Museum, Budapest, Hungary. Morphological and radiological studies revealed several cases of vertebral tuberculosis (e.g. advanced-stage childhood Pott’s disease, early-stage vertebral destructions due to tuberculosis, TB- calcifications)1,2. On-going molecular biological studies of the whole sample reveal a very high prevalence of tuberculosis in this series3,4. During our studies we took samples from different regions of the bodies of 253 mummies in order to demonstrate and characterise the DNA of Mycobacterium tuberculosis by molecular examinations. Results show that the DNA of M. tuberculosis was detectable in 69.8 % of the specimens. The support of the Hungarian Scientific Research Fund (OTKA) No. 61155 is greatly acknowledged.
1Pap I, Kustár Á, Bernert Zs, Szikossy I, Donoghue HD, Spigelman M, Hershkovitz I, Kristóf LA, Barta MI & Pálfi Gy. 2002. Paléopathologie rachidienne de deux momies du XVIIIe s. In: BERATO J. (éd.), Centre Archéologique du Var,2001. Centre Archéologique du Var, Toulon, France. pp. 40-42. 2Pálfi Gy, Pap I, Kristóf LA, Szikossy I, Donoghue H, Spigelman M, & Barta HM. 2004. TB in the mummies of Vác (18-19th centuries, Vác, Hungary). Abstracts, V World Congress on Mummy Studies, Università di Torino Dipartmento di Biologia Animale e Dell’uomo, Turin, Italy. p. 86 3Fletcher HA, Donoghue HD, Taylor GM, Van Der Zanden AGM, Spigelman M. 2003. Molecular analysis of Mycobacterium tuberculosis from a family of 18th century Hungarians. Microbiology 149, 143-151. 4Fletcher HA, Donoghue HD, Holton J, Pap I, Spigelman M. 2003. Widespread occurrence of Mycobacterium tuberculosis DNA from 18th-19th Century Hungarians. American Journal of Physical Anthropology 120, 144-152.
Paper BIOARCHAEOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF HEALTH AND DIET OF EARLY NEOLITHIC SETTLEMENTS IN NORTHERN GREECE Anastasia Papathanasiou Ephorate of Paleoanthropology and Speleology of Southern Greece, Greek Ministry of Culture, Athens, Greece This work investigates the impact of the Neolithic transition in an Early Neolithic group of settlements in Northern Greece, which constitute some of the earliest agricultural communities at the origins of the Neolithic in Greece and Europe. Mavropigi (6600BC), Xirolimni (6200BC), and Pontokomi (ca. 6500BC) are flat sites, located in Western Macedonia, on the Plolemais plain, where a dense habitation complex has been identified, with 31 sites to date, covering all periods of the Neolithic. These sites have yielded a well-preserved, undisturbed assemblage of human osteological material in an area and a time period where human osteological remains are rare. The three populations consist of a minimum number of 37 individuals of equal proportions of males, females, adults, and subadults, with a mean adult age of 28.3, 33.3, and 30.0 years, life expectancy at birth of 15.3, 26.7, and 20.8 years, and a mean stature of 160.3cm, 164.5cm, and 169.8cm respectively. The populations present low frequency of enamel defects, cranial fractures, and skeletal infection, contrary to other prehistoric agriculturalist populations, but exhibit high incidence and severity of arthritic conditions and musculoskeletal stress markers indicative of elevated levels of mobility and physical activity, as well as high frequency of dental caries, calculus, and antemortem tooth loss. Paleodietary reconstruction by carbon and nitrogen stable isotope analysis of human and animal bone collagen and carbonate apatite is currently being performed.
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Paper DENTAL PALAEOPATHOLOGYCAL PROFILES IN EARLIER AND LATER AGRICULTURALISTS OF THE PERUVIAN COAST Luis Pezo, Sabine Eggers Laboratório de Antropologia Biológica, Depto de Genética e Biologia Evolutiva, Inst Biociências, Universidade de São Paulo, Brasil The shift to agriculture has long been recognized as one of the major impacts on human life- way. Osteological and dental markers are since being used to unravel particularities of paleodiet, subsistence shifts and their influence on social structure and health1,2. This paper aims to compare oral pathology among four pre-Columbian groups of different degrees of agricultural and socio- cultural development, but comparable ecological conditions living on the coastal desert of Peru. Three of these groups belong to distinct phases of the Formative Period (1800-1BC), a time critical for the comprehension of the development of agriculture and social complexity, whereas the fourth group belongs to the Period of the Late Regional Development (1000-1470AD), when agriculture had its apogee and society was highly stratified. Changes and continuities in the proportion of dental caries, periodontal disease, antemortem dental loss, and dental wear patterns were examined considering life-way, social organization and agricultural stage typical of each of the groups3,4,5. The results show clear differences in the palaeopathological profiles, suggesting a reliance on marine resources and insipient agriculture in the earlier groups and a predominance of plant foods prevailing during the more recent period. These differences are attributed to changes in food choice and mode of preparation (including chewing of coca leaves and drinking of corn beer), and are discussed in a biological and socio-cultural frame work, based on archaeological, ethno-historic and ethnographic evidences.
References Larsen CS. 1997. Bioarchaeology: Interpretating behavior from the human skeleton. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Cucina A. and Tiesler V. 2003. Dental Caries and Antemortem Tooth Loss in the Northern Peten Area, Mexico: A Biocultural Perspective on Social Status Differences Among the Classic Maya. Am J Phys Anthropol 122:1–10. Molnar S. 1971. Human tooth wear, tooth function, and cultural variability. Am J Phys Anthropol 34:175–190. Smith BH. 1984. Patterns of molar wear in hunter-gatherer and agriculturalists. Am J Phys Anthropol 63:39–56. Lukacs J. 1989. Dental paleopathology: methods for reconstructing dietary patterns. In: Iscan MY, Kennedy KAR, editors. Reconstruction of life from the skeleton. New York: Wiley-Liss. p 261–268.
Paper THE SALAFIA METHOD OF EMBALMING Dario Piombino-Mascali, Albert R. Zink Institute for Mummies and the Iceman, Bolzano, Italy Mummies are of utmost importance for the study of ancient disease, as they retain soft tissue, which has the potential to provide the most thorough and complete source of information. Furthermore, preserved mummified bodies can also tell us about post-depositional changes and the taphonomy of human tissue, factors which are vital in the understanding of both forensic and medico- legal cases. This paper covers the history of Professor Alfredo Salafia of Palermo (1869-1933), an embalmer who devised an original process for the permanent preservation of soft tissue, and produced what is considered to be “the most beautiful mummy in the world”, little Rosalia Lombardo (1918- 1920). This procedure, thought to have been entirely lost, is discussed here, together with the implications for the conservation of the remaining examples of Salafia’s work.
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Poster THE HISTORY AND DEVELOPMENT OF ITALIAN PALAEOPATHOLOGY (1854 TO PRESENT) Dario Piombino-Mascali, Albert R. Zink Institute for Mummies and the Iceman, Bolzano, Italy Contrary to common opinion, the study of ancient disease has a long and colourful history in Italy. As early as the mid-nineteen century, Stefano Delle Chiaie (1794-1860), an anatomist and naturalist at the University of Naples, produced a report on the lesions present in a group of skeletons from Pompeii. Since then, much progress has been made and several scholars - notably from the Universities of Chieti, Pisa, and Turin - have been interested in the recording and interpretation of anomalies in ancient human remains. This paper provides a review of the literature available on this topic, discusses the research activities presently performed in Italy and evaluates the contribution of Italians to the development of palaeopathology.
Poster A CASE OF OSTEOCHONDRITIS DISSECANS OF THE KNEE IN A CHINCHORRO MUMMY FROM ARICA, NORTHERN CHILE Paola Ponce(1), Bernardo Arriaza(2) , Vivien Standen(3), Laurence O’Connor-Read(4) Department of Archaeology, University of Durham, UK(1), Instituto de Alta Investigación, Departamento de Antropología y Centro de Investigaciones del Hombre en el Desierto, Universidad de Tarapacá, Arica, Chile(2), Departamento de Antropología y Centro de Investigaciones del Hombre en el Desierto, Universidad de Tarapacá, Arica, Chile(3), Department of Trauma and Orthopaedic Surgery, The Royal Berkshire Hospital, Reading, England(4) Osteochondritis dissecans (OD) is a rare condition in which a small fragment of articular cartilage and subchondral bone detaches from its normal position at the joint. Its aetiology appears to be multifactorial, but trauma could be involved. New World findings however, are not well documented and in the Andean region the condition is unknown. The aim of this paper is to report the first possible case of OD of the knee in a 2000 B.C Chinchorro mummy from northern Chile. This was a middle-aged adult female (35-49 years old) who had both medial femoral condyles affected bilaterally and associated with three loose bodies of fairly similar dimensions and shapes. This pattern of location is consistent with modern clinical data and other bioarchaeological samples where the medial condyle is affected in 85% of cases when compared with the lateral condyle. It is concluded that OD of the knee is a rare condition in Amerindians from South America. Future studies on this field would help to answer if this was because the condition did not affect the native populations as much as observed in the Old World, or because it has gone unrecognised by bioarchaeologists.
Paper THE PALEOPATHOLOGY ASSOCIATION Mary Lucas Powell, Lexington, USA The Paleopathology Association (PPA) was founded as “an informal group of scientists from many disciplines, whose common link is that they are interested in disease in ancient times.” (Cockburn 1994:135). The idea of creating a scholarly scientific society devoted to paleopathology arose during a symposium in Detroit, Michigan, in 1973, co-sponsored by Wayne State University Medical School, the Smithsonian Institution, and the Detroit Institute of Arts, for the multidisciplinary autopsy of an Egyptian mummy (PUM II). PPA’s ‘Founding Fathers and Mother’ were Aidan and Eve Cockburn, Theodore A. Reyman, Robin A. Barraco, and William H. Peck, and membership was open to anyone (student, professional, or amateur) interested in the history of diseases. In 1999, the Association drew up a formal Constitution and ByLaws and was formally registered in the USA as an incorporated not-for-profit scientific society, and in 2000 elected its first Board of Directors. In 2008, PPA includes more than 600 anthropologists, historians of medicine, physicians and others (including museums, libraries, and research institutions) representing 40 countries on 6 continents. The membership during the first two decades was heavily weighted towards senior professionals, but at
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XVII European Meeting of the Paleopathology Association 2008 the present time 35% are undergraduate or graduate students, primarily in anthropology. Male members outnumbered female members (88% vs. 12%) in the “Brief Biographies” published in the PPA Newsletter in 1973, but today the two sexes are equally represented. The motto of the Paleopathology Association (mortui viventes docent translated as the dead teach the living) celebrates not only the ancient Classical World interests of many members but also the very long tradition of scholarly interest in past human societies. At the same time, PPA is actively engaged with shaping the future of our discipline by fostering mentoring partnerships between older and younger members, providing editorial assistance to non-native English language speakers for presentations and publications, and sponsoring the Aidan and Eve Cockburn Award for the best student paper and Poster presentations at its annual North American meetings, which include practical workshops, roundtable discussions, focused symposia, and general sessions of podium and Poster presentations. In 1976, the first of a regular series of European Biennial Meetings of PPA members was held in London, England, and in 2005 a second biennial meeting series was inaugurated with PAMinSA I (the first Paleopathology Association Meeting in South America) held in Rio de Janerio, Brazil. The Paleopathology Newsletter, published quarterly by PPA since 1973, contains research articles and reports, notices of upcoming professional conferences of interest, comments and inquiries about specific topics and cases, abstracts of recent theses and dissertations on paleopathological topics, and a regular series of annotated bibliographic references (including journal articles, books, films, and most recently, websites). PPA maintains a website (www.paleopathology.org) that provides updated notices of short courses in paleopathology offered at various universities, information about meetings by other relevant professional associations, and excerpts from the Paleopathology Newsletter, and facilitates registration for PPA annual and biennial meetings.
Cockburn, Eve. 1994. The Paleopathology Association: “Mortui viventes docent”. Eres (Arqueologi´a) 5(1):135.147.
Poster INJURED BUT HEALTHY? A STUDY OF HOW TRAUMA AFFECTED HEALTH AT MAIDEN CASTLE HILLFORT Rebecca Redfern Buckinghamshire, UK The hillfort of Maiden Castle is located in the southwest of Dorset (England), and is one of the largest defensive earthworks identified in the region. Excavations by Sir Mortimer Wheeler in the 1930’s recovered a sample of 75 Iron Age individuals (8th century B.C. to 1st century A.D.), many of who had suffered massive trauma before death. Wheeler (1943) determined that the cemetery resulted from a single battle with the invading Romans in 43 A.D., however work by Sharples (1991) (amongst others) has demonstrated that it is an attritional cemetery. The human remains were recorded using Buikstra and Ubelaker (1994), providing a sample of 11 subadults, 32 males, 23 females and 1 ambiguous adult individual (MNI= 67) who could be securely dated to the Iron Age. A range of blunt and sharp force ante-and peri-mortem traumas was identified, particularly in the adult age groups, in addition to developmental anomalies, osteoarthritis, dental disease, non-specific infectious and metabolic diseases. Previous work on Iron Age samples in Dorset by the author (Redfern 2008) has demonstrated a clear link between trauma prevalence and the attainment of adulthood, particularly for individuals who formed a combatant sub-group. This Poster will explore this finding, using selected indicators of health (stature, body size, osteoarthritis, dental disease and indicators of stress) to determine whether individuals with a history of trauma differed from their peers, and how this may be understood in relation to life course and social change in late Iron Age Britain.
Buikstra JE and Ubelaker DH (eds.). 1994. Standards for data collection from human skeletal remains. Arkansas: Arkansas Archaeological Survey Research Series Number 44. Redfern R. 2008. A bioarchaeological analysis of violence in Iron Age females: a perspective from Dorset, England (mid to late 7th century B.C. to the 1st century A.D.). In OP Davis, NM Sharples and
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KE Waddington (eds.), Changing Perspectives on the First Millennium B.C. Oxford: Oxbow Books, 139-160. Sharples N. 1991. English Heritage book of Maiden Castle. London: BT Batsford. Wheeler REM. 1943. Maiden Castle, Dorset. Research report for the Committee of the Society of Antiquaries. London.
Paper MIGRATION AND HEALTH AT THE BOWL-HOLE CEMETERY, BAMBURGH, NORTHUMBERLAND, ENGLAND: A PRELIMINARY STUDY OF BURIAL CONTEXT AND HEALTH OF LOCALS AND NON-LOCALS Charlotte Roberts(1), Sarah Groves(1), Graham Pearson(2), Geoff Nowell(2) Department of Archaeology(1), Department of Earth Sciences(2),Durham University, UK The excavations at the 7th-8th century Bowl-Hole cemetery Bamburgh, north-east England AD, have revealed around 100 burials (BRP, 2005, Groves, in press). An AHRC funded bioarchaeological study (2006-9) aims to elucidate health, dietary status and mobility here. This paper asks: can ‘non- locals’ be distinguished from ‘locals’ through their biological profile, isotopic signature, or burial treatment, extending recent research on early medieval samples using Sr isotope analysis (Montgomery et al., 2005). Detailed osteological recording of the skeletons has already been completed. Enamel samples were prepared and analysed for 87/86Sr ratios. Preliminary data suggest one person probably derives from east Yorkshire/Lincolnshire (YL-south of the site), one from central Scotland, 37 from southern Scotland/Cumbria (SC - north and west), and 23 are local (N- Northumberland). Locals have lower rates of dental calculus/AMTL compared to those from SC (60% V 78% and 8% V 16%, respectively); diet may have been different for the groups, although stable carbon and nitrogen isotope analyses will provide more data. Cribra orbitalia, maxillary sinusitis and tibial periostitis were also less frequent in locals than in people from SC (14% V 33%, 4% V 22% and 6% V 21%). Discussion focuses on integrating Sr, osteological and funerary context data, including further forthcoming Sr data on a larger sample, to understand the origin and characteristics of the people buried there.
Bamburgh Research Project. 2005. 156: Bamburgh Castle and village. Medieval Britain and Ireland in 2004. Medieval Archaeology 49:396. Groves SE (In Press). The Bowl Hole Burial Ground; A Late Anglian cemetery in Northumberland. In Buckberry J, Cherryson A (eds). Later Anglo-Saxon Burial: c.650-1100 AD. Oxbow Montgomery J, Evans J, Powesland D, Roberts CA. 2005. British continuity or immigrant replacement at West Heslerton Anglian settlement: lead and strontium isotope evidence for mobility, subsistence practice and status. American J. Physical Anthropology 126(2):123-138
Poster HIP LESION IN A FEMALE INDIVIDUAL FROM BRONZE AGE Roca Rodríguez MG, Al Oumaoui I, Jiménez-Brobeil SA, Castillo González C Universidad de Granada ,Laboratorio de Antropología, Spain We present a mature-age woman from the Bronze Age discovered at the site of Castellón Alto (Galera, Granada, Spain), a typical village of the Argar culture. Among the pathologies detected in this skeleton (loss of teeth, healed fracture of left distal radius and mild osteoarthritis of the spine), the most remarkable is the right femoral head, which is separated from the femoral neck and found inside the acetabulum. The main cause of this lesion is the intracapsular fracture of the femoral head. A partial necrosis of the fragment is observed, with complete reabsorption of the femoral neck. Because this individual is not senile and another fracture is observed in the skeleton, the most probable cause of the femoral fracture is a traumatism, taking account of the environment of the site, i.e., a small village on a steep hill with dwellings built on stepped terraces.
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Poster MICROSCOPIC COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF HUMAN AND NON-HUMAN TRABECULAR BONE STRUCTURE FOR THE PURPOSES OF FORENSIC, BIOARCHAEOLOGICAL, AND PALEOPATHOLOGICAL IDENTIFICATION Maria A. Rosado, Adam Capel, Lynn Goodfellow, Samuel Twardowski Geography and Anthropology Dept, Rowan University The histomorphology of archaeological bone is often preserved under a variety of taphonomic conditions (Stout ,1978; Holden, 1995). Therefore, microscopic analysis of first level histologic structures and forms is possible and can aid in the identification of bone as animal or human when only fragments are available. By comparing trabecular forms of known animals (e.g, cow, dog) and human (e.g., cranium, femur) at 10X magnification, a diagnostic criteria has been established based on variable form traits by which unidentified, fragmentary bones can be compared. Animal trabeculae display a largely elongated, prismatic/sharp edged form resulting in a grid-like arrangement; Human trabeculae display a more circular/oval form resulting in a more scattered-like arrangement. The approximate area of the trabeculae was calculated to determine if diagnostic differences exist between human and animal. The area measurements (in µm.), however, are too variable within the same species to permit comparison among species (human= max. 8714329.24, min. 64086.60, aver. 1369424.21; cow= max. 2329668.57, min. 158537.43, aver. 1109853.03). Trabecular form has been applied to identify: unknown fragmented calcined bones (Early Archaic, Cumberland County, New Jersey), known animal and known human (Diaguita, ca. 500 YBP, Museo de La Serena, Chile), and known present-day animal samples (e.g., cow). This communication presents the trabecular form differences observed as a way to identify unknown bone fragments for forensic, bioarchaeological, and paleopathological purposes.
Holden JL, Phakey PP, Clement JG. 1995. Scanning electron microscope observations of heat-treated human bone. Forensic Science International, Vol. 74, pp.:29-45. Stout DS. 1978. Histological Structure and its Preservation in Ancient Bone. Current Anthropology, Vol. 19, No. 3, pp.: 601-604.
Paper TRAUMA IN TÀRREGA’S POGROM Jordi Ruiz(1), Vàngelis Villar(1), Anna Colet(2), Oriol Saula(2), M. Eulàlia Subirà(1) Unitat d’Antropologia Biològica. Dept. BABVE, Bellaterra (1), Museu Comarcal de l’Urgell, Tàrrega (2), Spain Tàrrega is placed in the North East of the Iberian Peninsula. It is known to have had an important Jewry during the Middle Ages, until the expulsion of the Jews from Spain in 1492. Historical data tell us that several cities, including Tàrrega, suffered a pogrom in 1348. Recent excavations uncovered more than 150 burials and 6 mass graves, with a minimum of 219 individuals in all. Thirty-seven cases of weapon-related trauma have been described in the mass graves, which represents 50 % of the individuals buried in them. No preference of age or sex is observed. Two kinds of lesions have been described: those derived from cutting weapons and tools (swords, sickles, etc.) and those derived from blunt weapons. Most of the injuries (68 %) were found in skull, including face and jaw, but only 32 % were described in the postcranium (neck, arms and legs). Moreover, signs of fierce fighting were observed in some cases. Location, number and kind of lesions confirm lethal intentions of injuries. The aim of the study is to describe lesions found in Roquetes and to ascribe individuals buried on the mass graves to the pogrom victims with help of historical, anthropological and forensic data.
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Paper EMERGING TRENDS IN NON-INVASIVE DIAGNOSTIC IMAGING IN PALEOPATHOLOGY Frank Rühli Division of Macroscopic Anatomy, Institute of Anatomy, University of Zurich, Switzerland. Non-invasive diagnostic imaging has a rich tradition in paleopathological research since its very first application (König, 1896) shortly after the discovery of X-rays (Röntgen, 1895). However, non- invasive imaging of e.g. ancient mummies is still full of diagnostic pitfalls (Rühli et al., 2004), with computed tomography (CT) being currently the gold-standard. New emerging techniques representing the current methodological advances in clinical and non-clinical bone and soft tissue research may contribute for an improved reconstruction of ancient health and disease in the future. Recently, magnetic resonance imaging – by using e.g. ultra-shot-echo time sequence and standard clinical hardware – has been applied successfully for non-invasive studies of ancient mummified corpses without prior rehydration of the specimen (Rühli et al., 2007a). Also, the application of advanced CT–modalities allows e.g. new insights in the microarchitecture of historic bone samples (Rühli et al., 2007b). The aim of this talk is to outline current and possible future state-of-the art imaging technologies and to address both, diagnostic impact as well as pitfall of such modalities.
References König W. 1896. 14 Photographien mit Röntgen-Strahlen, aufgenommen im Physikalischen Verein Frankfurt A.M. Leipzig, J.A. Barth. Röntgen W C. 1895. Ueber eine neue Art von Strahlen. Sitzungsber. Würzb. Physik-med. Gesellsch. 1-10. Rühli FJ, Chhem RK, Böni T. 2004. Diagnostic paleoradiology of mummified tissue: interpretation and pitfalls. Can. Assoc. Radiol. J. 55: 218-27. Rühli FJ, Kuhn G, Evison R, Müller R, Schultz M. 2007a. Diagnostic value of micro-CT in comparison with histology in the qualitative assessment of historical human skull bone pathologies. Amer. J. Phys. Anthropol. 133: 1099-111. Rühli F, von Waldburg H, Nielles-Vallespin S, Böni T, Speier P. 2007b. Clinical MR-imaging of ancient dry mummies without rehydration. JAMA. 298: 2618-20.
Poster PALEOPATHOLOGY OF PORVOO (BORGÅ) – THE SECOND OLDEST TOWN IN FINLAND Kati Salo University of Helsinki. Finland The aim of this Poster is to present different types of pathologies in an early urban center in the north. The material consists of 53 well-preserved skeletons excavated and analyzed during 2007. The material can be dated mostly to the 17th and 18th centuries, but some may be younger, even from the 14th century. Largest age group is infants under one year of age, but also adultus and maturus groups are well represented. The most common pathology among infants is scurvy and signs of specific infections were found among the young adults. Traumatic injuries were more common among males than females. The ones that had signs of linear enamel hypoplasia were shorter than the ones who had no signs of hypoplasia. Hypoplasia was mainly found amongst adults. On the whole these results are not surprising. The lack of vitamin C during winter in northern latitudes has been a problem, and early urban centers are known to be favorable to infections. Men are usually also more susceptible to traumatic injuries. Further catch-up growth may not have been able to fully compensate arrest in growth. The only surprising result is that the ones who had signs of enamel hypoplasia had generally reached adulthood.
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Poster PALEOPATHOLOGICAL DIAGNOSIS ON FEMUR OF MIDDLE AGED SKELETONS FROM NORTHERN ITALY – VARESE Sassi Anna, Congiu Terenzio, Basso Petra. Insubria University, Dipartimento di Morfologia Umana, Varese, Italy At the end of 2002, during the renovation of S. Giulio's church in Cassano Magnago (in Varese district), many empty graves were found. Among them there was a twin grave containing a well preserved skeleton corresponding to an adult, aged about fifty years, sexed as a male. Dating back to VII century, he has a clear morphological alteration of the left femur. In this paper we are going to discuss some hypotheses of differential diagnosis (Paget disease, Ewing sarcoma, syphilis and melorheostosis). Another interesting skeleton was found in the Varese city centre in 1998 during building excavation. The most superficial layer was represented by a well preserved female adult skeleton buried in late middle age, showing pathological deformity concerning pelvis and rachis immediately diagnosed as hip dysplasia by a clinician. This pathology nowadays has a high incidence in Italian population from our geographic area but the subsequent laboratory analysis shows us the necessity of differential diagnoses with Perthes pathology and femur trauma.
Poster DENTAL CALCULI AS LIFE INDICATORS IN ANCIENT POPULATION: A SCANNING ELECTRON MICROSCOPY STUDY Sassi Anna, Congiu Terenzio. Insubria University, Dipartimento di Morfologia Umana,Varese, Italy As we know, teeth are very important elements in anthropological and especially in archaeological-anthropological investigations because of their long preservation after death. They represent the interface between human body and environment and can give us details of diet, pathology, peculiar social behaviours and self care. Furthermore, the deposition of dental calculi that depends on diet, chemical composition of saliva, oral bacterial flora, documents the events that occurred in the oral environment during life. We think that scanning electron microscopy may be very useful in the study of dental calculus morphology. We show images from specimens collected from middle-aged human remains and from specimens taken from living people. The analysis of the whole calculus thickness reveals the presence of layers related to the variation of physiological condition in dental calculus formation. Suggestive pictures are taken from the fractured surfaces to show the presence within mineralized matrix of microorganisms, food debris and other peculiar findings. In particular vegetal fragments, part of Lepidoptera, sand and pollen can be identified.
Hershkovitz I, Kelly J, Latimer B, Rothschild BM, Simpson S, Polak J, Rosenberg M. 1997. Oral bacteria in miocene Sivapithecus. J. Hum. Evol. Oct;33(4):507-12. Capasso L, Di Tota G. 1992. Atomic absorption studies on ancient human dental calculi from an iron age population in central Italy (Sulmona, Abruzzo, ca IIIrd century b.C.). Anthropologie. XXX/2:205-8.
Poster ARTICULATION DESPITE DAMAGED Articulationes: SYNGNATHIS IN HISTORICAL SKULLS Schamall D1, Teschler-Nicola M1, Stloukal M2, Veleminsky P2, Tangl S 3, 4, Salaberger D5, Brandstätter F6, Imhof H7, Patzak B8, Pretterklieber ML9 1 Department of Anthropology, Natural History Museum Vienna, Austria, 2 Department of Anthropology, Národní Muzeum Prague, Czech Republic, 3 Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Experimental and Clinical Traumatology, Vienna, Austria, 4 Department of Oral Surgery, Dental School of the Medical University of Vienna, Austria, 5 Upper Austrian University of Applied Science, Wels Campus, Austria, 6 Department of Mineralogy and Petrography, Natural History Museum Vienna, Austria, 7 Division of Neuroradiology and Musculoskeletal Radiology, Department of
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Radiology, Medical University of Vienna, Austria, 8 Federal Pathologic-Anatomical Museum Vienna, Austria, 9 Center of Anatomy and Cell Biology, Medical University of Vienna, Austria Craniofacial malformations due to coalition of jaws (syngnathia) are very rarely observed. Such alterations are caused by connective tissue (synechiae) or manifest themselves in bony junctions (synostoses) and represent congenital or acquired pathologic conditions. We present three historical cases with complete uni- as well as bilateral bony adhesion. The skeletal remains of individual one originate from Schönkirchen / Lower Austria (Austria) of the avar period (6th-8th century). The fragment of the left temporomandibular joint represents the oldest sample being concerned by this malformation ever described. The second individual was excavated from a Slavonic burial ground (9th century) in Rajhradice / Moravia (Czech Republic). In this case, both temporomandibular joints are fused to the temporal bone. The third individual from Vienna (Austria) dates to the 19th century; here, an ankylosis between the right maxillary and mandibular alveolar ridges occurs. Following conventional radiography, sagittal and 3D-reconstructions were created from series of high-resolution computed tomography images (CT) as well as of µCT-scans. Subsequently, in two of the specimens samples of the tissue connecting the jaws were prepared for conventional light- (LM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) investigation in secondary electron (SE)-mode as well as in backscattered electron (BSE)-mode. Acquired conditions resulting in ankylosis of the jaws may be caused by trauma and/or chronic inflammation. In this review the individual differential diagnoses are discussed.
Poster A CASE OF TRAMAUATIC LESION ON MALE SKELETON OF TIME OF THE GREAT MIGRATION OF PEOPLES T.Yu.Shvedchikova Institute of Archaeology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia The Eastern Aral region may be valuable for bioarchaeological analysis because during the 1st millennium AD the area was inhabited by tribes later included into the great migration of peoples to Europe. For example, archeological data give evidence of Hunnu presence before their war trip to the West on that territory. Palaeoanthropological materials indicate some patterns of life style of Eastern Aral population in that “dark period”. Taking into account the military profile of part of local population, it could be especially important to describe consequences of traumas which might be the result of weapon use. Skeletal remains of an adult male (40-49 years at death) from the grave of the 4th century AD have been studied. The skeleton was partly disturbed by robber activity shortly after the funeral. The facial part of the skull demonstrates clear traces of slashed trauma. According to provided reconstruction, the injury was caused by sword or by dagger with a wide blade. There were no traces of healing. But in the middle of the diaphysis of the right tibial bone, healed trauma has been detected. Besides, multiple osteomas on the skull surface, dental caries and odontogenous osteomyelitis were identified. The case illustrates an aggressive life style typical among Eurasian tribes involved in the Great Migration of peoples.
Paper ATYPICAL MORPHOLOGY OF PROXIMAL FEMUR FROM PORTUGUESE LATE NEOLITHIC/CHALCOLITHIC POPULATIONS Ana Maria Silva Department of Anthropology, University of Coimbra, Portugal In a recent study of several Portuguese Late Neolithic/Chalcolithic samples two morphological details of the proximal area of the femur became distinguished: the low mean value of the femoral neck-shaft angle (124,7º - 127,3º) and the position of the femoral head towards the greater trochanter, frequently at an approximate level or even below. For the former, a greater mobility than the one normally related to pastoralist’s activities and/or daily dislocations in a mountain region was suggested. For the low level of the femoral head towards the greater trochanter, several differential diagnoses are proposed and discussed, as developmental bone dysplasia and congenital hip dislocation.
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Poster A POSSIBLE CASE OF AN OSSIFYING FIBROMA IN A LATE NEOLITHIC POPULATION FROM PORTUGAL Silva AM, Wasterlain SN Department of Anthropology, University of Coimbra, Portugal This paper details differential diagnosis of an unusual bone formation observed in the right maxilla of one adult individual exhumed from the Late Neolithic collective burial of Lapa do Bugio (Sesimbra, Portugal). The differential diagnosis of the lesion gave rise to several possible pathological conditions, namely, desmoplastic fibroma, non-ossifying fibroma, ossifying fibroma, fibrous dysplasia, and osseous dysplasia. Despite the impossibility of performing histological analysis, various macroscopic and radiological aspects lead us to consider ossifying fibroma as the most probable diagnosis. This appears to be the earliest reported case of this condition in the osteoarchaeological literature, and adds to the very few paleopathological case descriptions available for ossifying fibroma.
Poster CRANIAL TRAUMA ON A CHILD FROM A DOUBLE ROMAN BURIAL AT AUGUSTA EMERITA, SPAIN Filipa Cortesão Silva(1) Juana Márquez Pérez(2) João Rosa(3), Ana Luísa Santos(1) 1 Centro de Investigação em Antropologia e Saúde, Department of Anthropology, University of Coimbra, Portugal, 2 Departamento de Documentación. Consorcio de Mérida, Spain, 3 Department of Pediatrics - Hospital Central de Faro, Portugal During 2004 and 2005 a funerary area located in the south zone of Augusta Emerita (Mérida, Spain) was partially excavated [by J. M. P.]. This intervention number 5036 has an area of 1342 m2 and revealed approximately 52 graves (35 cremations, 3 provable cremations and 14 inhumations). This work will present the study of the double burial A 33 composed by one urned cremation and one inhumation in an atypical position. The grave goods (two ceramics vessels) date the burial between second half of 1st to 2nd century AD. The anthropological analysis showed two children about 3 years old. The inhumed individual has a severe cranial traumatic lesion, affecting the frontal and right zigomatic areas with signs of bone remodeling. Our goals are the description and the discussion of the traumatic lesion, its aetiology and likely effects on the health of this child from a medical point of view. Moreover, we will try to interpret this double burial with different funeral practices according to archaeological and anthropological data.
Paper OSTEOMYLITIS IN DRY BONES Smrcka Vaclav(1), Kuzelka Vitezslav(2), Povysil Ctibor(3) Institute for History of Medicine and Foreign Languages(1), Anthropological department, National Museum(2), Institute of pathology of first faculty of Medicine and General Teaching Hospital(3), Praha, Czech Republic We present the processed portion of bone dissections from upper and lower extremities from the National Museum collection of the former 2nd Pathological Clinic. This portion comprises preserved clinical dissections with finds on the skeleton from the period between 1830 and 1950. Osteomyelitis of adolescent subjects was recorded in four bone dissections in the lower extremity. Twenty-two bone dissections include osteomyelitis of adult subjects. In two dissections of the scapula, osteitis manifested itself by focal demineralisation, and even by the formation of oval defects. The osteomyelitis of the humerus is thickened in its proximal two thirds and curved medially with the apex of the curvature in the middle of the bone. Chronic osteomyelitis of the radius (AJ 2948) formed an involucrum around the radius due to a periosteal reaction. Six bone dissections point to the affection of the femur with osteomyelitis. In the case of chronic osteomyelitis, the head of the left femur is completely dissolved, the upper part of the diaphysis is enlarged in a spindle-like manner, a dish-like depression is eroded on the greater trochanter, and the lesser trochanter is dissolved. The whole region of the upper half of the diaphysis has its surface sclerotised. The marrow space reaches only to the lower half. Otherwise, it is
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Poster DIFFERENT DESPITE CLOSE PROXIMITY: NUTRITIONAL DEFICIENCY DISEASES IN LOWER AUSTRIAN EARLY MEDIEVAL POPULATIONS Spannagl M, Novotny F, Teschler-Nicola M, Harkins K. Natural History Museum, Department of Anthropology, Vienna, Austria Deficiency diseases are considered to be good indicators of health and nutritional status of ancient populations. Chronic anaemia, chronic vitamin C deficiency and stress markers during childhood are linked with changes in alimentary habits, poor diet or infectious diseases. In this study, cribra orbitalia, porotic hyperostosis, enamel hypoplasia and periostosis are the skeletal features to evaluate the health status of three early medieval populations in Lower Austria: Zwölfaxing, dated between 7th – 9th century AD (N=270), an Avarian population, known for their rural economic system; Pottenbrunn, dated between 9th – 10th century AD (N=197), a Slavonian population, economic system similar to Zwölfaxing; Gars Thunau, dated between 8th – 10th century AD (N=237), representing Slavs, which populated a fortified settlement, economic system was rural/mixed. The skeletal remains were investigated by macroscopic, light microscopic and radiological techniques. The frequencies observed differ in many directions: the adult individuals from Gars/Thunau compared to the subadults of this site are characterised by a higher frequency of porotic hyperostosis, enamel hypopalsia and periostosis. In contrast, the subadults of Pottenbrunn are more often affected by cribra orbitalia than the adults, but hypoplastic alterations are more frequent in adults. Among the Avar population of Zwölfaxing, the low frequencies of cribra orbitalia and porotic hyperostosis are conspicuous. The inconsistent results between the two Slavonic and the Avar populations, which lived in close proximity under similar climate, will be discussed in the light of probable different socio- economical conditions and their access to nutritional resources.
Goodman AH, Rose JC. 1991. Dental enamel hypoplasia as indicator of nutritional status. In: Kelley MA and Larsen CS (eds). Advances in Dental Anthropology. Wiley-Liss, New York: 279 – 293. Schultz M. 2001. Paleohistopathology of bone: A new approach to the study of ancient diseases. Yearbook of Physical Anthropology 44: 106 – 144. Stuart-McAdam P. 1992. Porotic hyperostosis: a new perspective. American Journal of Physical Anthropology 87: 39 – 47.
Paper FAT MONKS, FEASTS, AND FASTS: AN ANALYSIS OF DISH AND DIET IN LATE MEDIEVAL ENGLAND Rosa Spencer Durham University, UK Many theories surround the aetiology of diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis (DISH) but few attempts have been made to test them. The theory that DISH correlates with overindulgence and a diet rich in protein, particularly amongst late medieval monastic communities, is the one that most pervades the osteo-archaeological literature but is this a true reflection of what is going on? This paper will present the conclusions of my research into the aetiology of DISH. In order to test the link between DISH and diet, carbon and nitrogen stable isotope analysis was carried out on skeletal material with and without DISH. Samples were taken from skeletons from late medieval (12th to 16th century) monastic and non-monastic communities in England in order to explore the links with monastic populations. The results of this research will be presented and the impact of the findings upon the current theories about DISH and diet will be discussed. This research has been funded by NERC (Natural Environment Research Council) NER/S/A/2004/12245
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Poster A CASE OF LANGERHANS' CELL HISTIOCYTOSIS AND TUBERCULOSIS OF AN INFANT FROM THE 18th CENTURY HUNGARY M Spigelman(1), I Pap(2), I Szikossy(2), HD Donoghue(1) Centre for Infectious Diseases and International Health, University College London, UK(1), Hungarian Natural History Museum, Department of Anthropology, Budapest, Hungary(2) Langerhans' cell histiocytosis, also referred to as Histiocytosis-X, is a spectrum of disorders characterised by over-proliferation and accumulation as lesions of 'histiocytes'. The etiology and pathogenesis of histiocytosis are still unknown. A 1.5-2.5 year-old-child – one of the bodies of the 263 individuals buried in the Dominican Church crypt in Vác, Hungary – displayed numerous bony lesions present throughout the skeleton. They appear as punched out lytic lesions, with no apparent reactive changes at the edges. The likely date of the burial is approximately 1750-1770. The ribs contain lesions showing evidence of pure osteolytic effects with no evidence of any attempt at healing. Petrous temporal bone and pelvic bone show the bone with typical destructive and multiple lytic lesions, varying in size between 3-8 mm. One rib was tested for the presence of M. tuberculosis DNA, and the samples from the visceral surface of the rib were positive. The case is more within the normally accepted age group for a case of Langerhans cell histiocytosis, and this is our considered final diagnosis1. In view of this diagnosis the finding of tuberculosis is not surprising. This child would have a repressed immune system, due to marrow replacement by the malignant cells, and thus be vulnerable to tuberculosis, which was widespread in this community. The support of the Hungarian Scientific Research Fund (OTKA) No. 61155 is greatly acknowledged.
1 Spigelman M, Pap I, Donoghue HD. A death from childhood cancer and tuberculosis in 18th Century Hungary - what palaeopathology can tell us today. Leukemia 20, 740-742, 2006.
Poster GOLFER AND TENNIS ELBOW IN BYZANTINE TURKEY: EPICONDYLITIS AS AN IMPORTANT NEW OCCUPATION/ACTIVITY MARKER Mark Spigelman, Ron Pinhasi, Helen D.Donoghue, Yilmaz S. Erdal Centre for Infectious Diseases and International Health, University College London, UK The presence of both lateral and medial epicondylitis are well know in modern medicine as diseases of occupation leaving recognizable lesion on the epicondyles, affecting up to 1-3% of todays population. We report on an obvious case from a 40-year-old male from the Byzantine period from Kovuklukaya, near Sinop, North Central Anatolia, Turkey. The significance of these lesions in interpreting the activities of this person in life is discussed, as are the implication for further studies on the activities of peoples in the past. Possible reasons why these lesions were not recorded previously by paleopathologists are suggested. The significance of such findings in the assessment of activity patterns and occupational stress markers in past populations is reviewed. It is proposed that the epicondyles can provide an important and previously underreported activity indicator and that physical anthropologists should take care to examine these in the field as the Paleopathology is vulnerable to damage in transport.
Poster PATHOLOGY OF THE ARGUABLY UPPER PALAEOLITHIC CALVARIUM FROM SKHODNYA, RUSSIA Ekaterina Stansfield. Paläoanthropologie und Quatärpaläontologie Sencknberg Forschungsinstitut, Naturmuseum, Frankfurt am Main, Deutschland. The Skhodnya calvarium is one of several arguably upper palaeolithic fossils that are not very well know to the scientific community beyond the Russian Federation. It has been discovered in 1936 on the left bank of the Skhodnya River (near Moscow) and dated by its stratigraphic provenance and proximity to the layers with periglacial faunal remains (Sakharov, 1952, Bader 1952). The first
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XVII European Meeting of the Paleopathology Association 2008 description of the fragment noted particular flatness of the frontal and high development of its supraorbital relief thus placing the bone between modern humans and neanderthaloid forms of Central and Eastern Europe (Gremyatski, 1952). A comparative geometric morphometric analysis provided by the author argues for a very special position of the Skhodnya frontal bone among Upper palaeolithic and recent modern humans and possibly its ancient age. In detail, Skhodnya frontal bone cannot be affiliated with any of the three groups in the analysis: recent modern humans, European Upper Palaeolithic and Neanderthals. However, given the particularities of its morphology, it compares well with such Early Modern Human fossil as Skhul V. Here we present for discussion a possible conflict between the morphology of the Skhodnya frontal bone and the pathology in its nasal area which might be indicative of its later, possibly Middle Age, provenance.
Bader ON. 1952. On the age of the Skhodnya calvarium and on the character of its external surface. Uchenye zapiski MGU: “Iskopaemy Chelovek y Ego Kultura na territorii SSSR”. 193-198 (in Russian). Gryemiatski IA. 1952. Morphological pecularities of the Skhodnya calvarium. Uchenye zapiski MGU: “Iskopaemy Chelovek y Ego Kultura na territorii SSSR”. 167-173 (in Russian). Sakharov VV. 1952. Geological conditions of reposition of the Skhodnya calvarium. Uchenye zapiski MGU: “Iskopaemy Chelovek y Ego Kultura na territorii SSSR”. 193 (in Russian).
Paper CASE REPORT: CRANIAL FRACTURES IN CHILD ABUSE M Steyn Department of Anatomy, University of Pretoria, South Africa Forensic anthropologists have intimate knowledge of normal skeletal anatomy and bone healing and are therefore sometimes asked to assist with cases of child abuse. Patterns of abuse include fractures in different phases of healing, multiple fractures and severe cranial fractures stretching across cranial sutures. One such case presented in 2004, and the aim of this paper is to report on the analysis of the skeletal remains of a 3.5 years old boy. He had allegedly suffered a head injury on a Monday after a fall, and on the Wednesday of the same week convulsed and died. Forensic pathological examination indicated that the boy had died from a massive cranial fracture, with multiple injuries elsewhere. After the body had been buried for some time, it was exhumed and we were requested to look for signs of chronic abuse. Findings included a massive cranial fracture, another fracture in the roof of the orbit, two areas of non-specific subperiosteal bone growth and several untreated carious teeth. No clear healed fracture could be found, except for a possible healed cranial base fracture which stretched transversely across the petrosal bone. This area showed signs of recent bone activity. The court decided that this was not enough evidence of chronic abuse and found the stepfather guilty of murder but not of chronic child abuse. This case illustrates the difficulty to obtain clear signs of chronic injury on juvenile remains.
Paper BIG LYTIC DEFECT IN CRANIAL VAULTS Eugen Strouhal, Alena Nemeckova Institute for History of Medicine and Foreign Languages, Institute for Histology and Embryology, 1st Medical Faculty, Charles University, Medical Faculty Pilsen, Charles University, Czech Republic The skull of a 40-50 year old male was found in Shaft XV of the New Kingdom Tomb of Maya and Meryt at Saqqara by the mission of Egypt Exploration Society London in 1993. It was a part of loose bones accumulation BC 57 as skull no. 2, without postcranial skeleton. The occipital bone and adjoining structures have been perforated by a large opening (transv. 102 mm, A-P more than 85 mm) with irregular, deeply hollowed and cicatrized edges. Other smaller lytic foci are present in the left squama temporalis, cavitas glenoidalis, maxilla with large wing of the sphenoid as well as in the right incisura mandibulae. Histology of the edge of the big defect revealed accumulation of Howship lacunae and remnants of bone marrow with celular elements. The diagnosis of lytic metastatic
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XVII European Meeting of the Paleopathology Association 2008 carcinoma appears well founded. Similar big lytic defects on skull vaults from Borovce (Slovakia), Giza S 151 (Egypt), Lisieux 128 (France), Norregard (Denmark) etc. will be discussed in light of our case.
Bennike P. 1985. Palaeopathology of Danish Skeletons. Copenhagn: Akademisk Forlag. Guld S. 1995. Das altägyptisches Gräberfeld von Gizeh. Anthropologische Untersuchung mit Schwerpunkt der Paläopathologie. Diploma work for Mgr of Natural Sciences, University of Vienna, tab. VII, X. Kaufman MH, Whitaker D, McTavish J. 1997. Differential diagnosis of holes in the calvarium: Application of Modern Clinical Data to Palaeopathology. J. of Archaeol. Science 24/3: 193-218. Strouhal E, Němečková A. 2008. Trpěli i dávní lidé nádory? (Did also past people suffered by tumours? In Czech, English summary). Praha: Karolinum. Šefčáková A, Strouhal E, Němečková A, Thurzo M, Staššíková-Štukovská D. 2001. Case of metastatic carcinoma from end of the 8th - early 9th century Slovakia. Amer. J. of Phys. Anthrop. 116/3: 216-229. Waldron A. 1987. Lytic lesions in a skull: A problem in diagnosis. J. of Paleopathology 1/1: 5-14.
Paper HISTORY OF PALEOPATHOLOGY IN JAPAN Takao Suzuki Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Gerontology, Tokyo, Japan The first paleopathological study in Japan was conducted in 1894 by Koganei who studied 166 Ainu skeletal remains excavated on the islands of Hokkaido and Kuril. From the 1920’s to 1940’s, Kiyono and his colleagues (the first to introduce the term “paleopathology” in 1922) carried out analyses of pathological changes such as those resulting from trauma, tumors, and degenerative joint diseases on prehistoric (Jomon), neolithic (Yayoi) and protohistoric (Kofun) skeletal remains. After World War 2, detailed investigation of skeletal trauma found in a large number of skeletons from the medieval period was carried out by Suzuki (H; 1956). After the 1970’s, publications on paleopathology increased, including infectious diseases such as tuberculosis and syphilis, with an increase seen in epidemiological analyses. Paleopathology in Japan has developed particularly in relation to the development of Japanese populations occurring during the Jomon and Yayoi periods, and to social change seen from the medieval to early modern periods. From a global perspective, it has also contributed to our understanding of the early appearance of some infectious diseases in the Bronze Age in Far East Asia in relation to population movements.
Paper SECTIO CAESAREA POST MORTEM MATRIS – A CASE FROM THE 18TH CENTURY, VÁC, HUNGARY I. Szikossy(1), P. Varjassy(2), I. Horányi(3), L. Kristóf(4), E. Riedl(5), I. Pap(1) Natural History Museum, Department of Anthropology, Budapest(1), Health Center, Budapest(2), Semmelweis Museum, Budapest(3), University of Szeged, Department of Anthropology(4), State Health Center, Department of Radiology and Diagnostic, Budapest, Hungary(5) A large number of naturally mummified specimens were explored from the Dominican church of Vác, Hungary. Due to the excellent climatic condition of the crypt the bodies were dried. The 265 individuals lived in the 18th century. The coffins preserved the names of the dead persons and the registers offer more details of them. One of the mummies, Terézia Borsodi, died in childbirth in 1794. To save the child of the deceased mother, the foetus was delivered by Caesarean section as it is known from the Death Register entry: „Terézia Borsodi … after receiving the sacrament died in childbirth at the age of 26 with her son, who was delivered by Caesarean section alive and baptised while still alive.” The authors found the trace of a Caesarean section on the body. A sharp-edged cut runs from the umbilical ring to the symphysis. X-ray, CT and endoscopic examinations were done. The aim of the study was to answer the following questions. What could happen to the mother? Why could not the baby be born in a normal way? How could the Caesarean section happen?
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Up to now there has just been indirect evidence from the written sources that Caesarean section was practised. The case of Terézia Borsodi is the first direct evidence of sectio caesarea post mortem matris. The support of the Hungarian Scientific Research Fund (OTKA) No. 61155 is greatly acknowledged.
Paper THE ANATOMICAL RECORD OF PELLEGRA: MACRO- AND MICRO-SKELETAL INDICATORS OF MAIZE INTENSIFICATION Dannielle L.Tompkins, Barrett P. Brenton, Robert R. Paine University of Massachusetts Amherst, St. John’s University, Texas Tech University, USA Pellagra, a niacin/tryptophan deficiency disease, is prevalent in populations that have high maize/low protein diets. Historically it has been essentially a disease of undernutrition and social inequality, but little is known of its skeletal manifestations (Brenton and Paine 2000, 2007; Paine and Brenton 2006a, 2006b). We offer a unique analysis from the anatomical record of both macro- and microstructural skeletal indicators from 17 individuals known to have died from pellagra. Fourteen pellagrins (Black South Africans) are part of the Raymond Dart Anatomical Skeletal Collection, housed at the University of Witwatersrand Medical School, Johannesburg, South Africa. A comparative sample of 6 pellagrins (African-Americans and European-Americans) is from the Robert Terry Anatomical Skeletal Collection located at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC. Both of these anatomical collections have available individual profiles that include age, sex, ethnicity, and cause of death. These samples are drawn from historical and geographical contexts in which pellagra was common in populations whose diets were highly maize dependent. Macroskeletal indicators included a high incidence of alveolar bone loss, dental caries, enamel hypoplasias, periostitic lesions, osteomyelitis, cribra orbitalia, and cranial pitting. Microskeletal indicators showed that in comparison to a non-malnutrition control population pellagrins were found to have statistically significant larger Haversian canals, smaller cortical areas, and a greater number of incomplete osteons. Given its implications for interpreting skeletal-based micronutrient-related health problems of prehistoric and historical transitions to maize intensive diets, we present a checklist of indicators for investigating a signature pattern for the paleopathology of pellagra.
Brenton BP, Paine RR. 2007. Reevaluating the health and nutritional status of maize dependent populations: Evidence from the impact of pellagra on human skeletons in South Africa. Ecology of Food & Nutrition 46(3-4):345-360. Brenton BP, Paine RR. 2000. Pellagra and paleonutrition: Assessing the diet and health of maize horticulturists through skeletal biology. Nutritional Anthropology 23(1):2-9. Paine RR, Brenton BP. 2006a. Dietary health does affect histological age assessment: an evaluation of the Stout and Paine (1992) age estimation equation using secondary osteons from the rib. Journal of Forensic Sciences 51(3): 489-492. Paine RR, Brenton BP. 2006b. Paleopathology of pellagra. Journal of Anthropological Sciences. Volume 84: 125-135.
Poster AN ATYPICAL VERTEBRAL LESION IN A MEDIEVAL SKELETON FROM THE NORTH-EAST OF ITALY: A FINDING IN SEARCH OF A DIAGNOSIS Luciana Travan*, Gastone Sabbadini**, Paola Saccheri*, Gino Fornaciari*** *Dept. of Medical and Morphological Research, Chair of Human Anatomy, University of Udine, ** Dept. of Clinical Morphological and Technological Sciences, Institute of Internal Medicine, University of Trieste, ***Dept. of Oncology, Transplants and Modern Technologies in Medicine, Chair of History of Medicine, University of Pisa, Italy Here, we report the case of the skeleton of an adult male, buried during the late Middle Ages period and coming from the North-Eastern area of Italy. The anterior surface of the bodies of T12, L1, L2 (the last one partially missing) displays an impression, roughly circular in shape, whose maximum diameter is 5.8 cm; such a lesion is surrounded by a reactive bone layer forming a well-delimited, raised border. Although the vertebral bodies are severely remodeled, the cortical bone appears to be
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XVII European Meeting of the Paleopathology Association 2008 continuous and disk spaces are detectable. The morphology and characteristics of the described lesion suggest it might be due to a long-lasting compression by an extrinsic nearly spherical mass localized just in front of the vertebral bodies. A number of disparate conditions are implicated in the differential diagnosis, including tuberculous spondylitis, infections, neoplasms, paraaortic lymphadenopathy. However, a reasonable hypothesis to explain our unusual finding seems to be that of an aortic aneurysm: when an aneurysm involves a segment of an artery running near a bone, skeletal changes like scalloping of osseous surfaces and reactive bone formation can, in fact, occur.
Paper CONTRIBUTIONS OF T. DALE STEWART (1901-1997) TO PALEOPATHOLOGY Douglas H. Ubelaker Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC, USA Although T. Dale Stewart published extensively on broad ranging themes within physical anthropology, he made substantial, critical contributions to the field of paleopathology at a time when the field was nascent and in need of leadership. Stewart’s research in paleopathology focused on such diverse topics as dental caries, spondylolisthesis, behavioral influences on the skeleton, and treponemal disease. Throughout his career at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., he championed an approach to paleopathology that involved a thorough knowledge of the published literature, a well- designed problem oriented research strategy, detailed data collection, and a broad interpretative framework. His critical, conservative perspective elucidated aspects of pseudopathology and sought natural, logical explanations for observed features in contrast to exotic ones. His many publications focusing on paleopathology featured environmental/cultural factors as key variables to be considered in the interpretation of pathological conditions. Although medically trained (MD from Johns Hopkins University), his research approach was broadly anthropological. His work on spinal defects added key perspective to the clinical literature. He pioneered interpretations featuring dietary influences on the formation of dental caries, recognition of behavioral stress factors in the formation of vertebral defects and clarification of issues relating to dental alterations, trephination and cranial deformation. His critical, detailed approach to research and broad interpretative framework greatly advanced the field of paleopathology.
Poster SPINAL PATHOLOGICAL SIGNALS IN A FEMALE INDIVIDUAL FROM THE MEDIEVAL NECROPOLIS OF ALCÁÇOVA DO CASTELO, MÉRTOLA, PORTUGAL Umbelino C 1,2, Silvério C 1, Marques C 1,2 , Matos V 1,2, Martínez SG 3, Rodrigues C3, Torres C 3 1) University of Coimbra, Department of Anthropology, 2) University of Coimbra, Department of Anthropology, CIAS, 3) Campo Arqueológico de Mértola, Portugal Dated from the 14th to the 16th century, a Medieval necropolis with approximately 700 skeletons was recovered from the Castle (“Alcáçova”) in Mértola, Southern Portugal. The archaeological work was conducted in several campaigns that took place between 1978 and 2000. Until now the Department of Anthropology of the University of Coimbra had the opportunity to analyse nearly 50 individuals from this site. In the future the study of the complete series is planned. Among the evaluated osteological material we would like to describe a case study observed in a middle aged female individual. Besides the trauma evidences observed on the left humerus, radius and ulna, with callus formation, the more relevant pathological signs are noticed in the vertebral column. This one exhibits a pronounced kyphosis due to vertebrae crush in the lower thoracic region affecting three consecutive vertebral bodies. The cervical region also presents a vertebral collapse that led to an ankylosis involving two bodies. Finally, in the lumbar region the three first vertebrae are fused in a block appearance as a result of a ligamentar ossification. In order to achieve a more probable diagnosis for these pathological lesions, the different entities that lead to vertebral destruction or fusion, namely traumatic events, infectious diseases and rheumatic conditions, amongst other, will be approached.
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Poster ENDOCRANIAL LESIONS IN A GROUP OF SKELETONS FROM KADIKALESI/ANAIA (KUŞADASI, TURKEY) Handan Üstündağ Anadolu University, Department of Archaeology, Eskişehir, Turkey Kadıkalesi is a Byzantine castle of the ancient city Anaia located near Kuşadası, Izmir, on the west coast of Turkey. Skeletal remains of 54 individuals, which dated to the late Byzantine period, were excavated from the cemetery of a Byzantine church located inside the castle and from the edges of the fortification wall so far. 28 of the 54 individuals are subadults under the age of 15 (52%) and 26 are adults over the age of 15 (48%). Reactive new bone formation on the endocranial surface of the skulls (endocranial lesions) was recognized in 16 of the 34 skulls examined (47%). 10 of the affected skulls belong to subadults (62.5%) and 6 to adults (37.5 %). Endocranial lesions appear due to haemorrhage or inflammation of the meninges (meningitis) and they have a multifactorial aetiology (Lewis 2004). Bacterial or viral infections, tuberculosis, scurvy, rickets, skull trauma, epidural haematoma, and tumours are reported as causes of endocranial lesions in the literature. The aim of this presentation is to discuss the possible causes of the relatively high percentage of the endocranial lesions in the skeletons found in Kadıkalesi/Anaia. Various forms of endocranial lesions were identified and their distribution was determined in the sample group.
Lewis ME. 2004. Endocranial lesions in Non-adult skeletons: Understanding their aetiology. Int. J. Osteoarchaeol. 14: 82-97.
Paper PERIODONTAL DISEASE IN A PORTUGUESE IDENTIFIED SKELETAL SAMPLE FROM THE LATE NINETEENTH AND EARLY TWENTIETH CENTURIES Sofia Neto Wasterlain Department of Anthropology, University of Coimbra, Portugal Periodontal status was investigated in 600 adult dentitions belonging to the identified osteological collections of the Museum of Anthropology of University of Coimbra, Portugal (late nineteenth/early twentieth centuries). The aims of this study are: 1) to record the pattern and distribution of periodontal disease and thereby establish a baseline for quantitative comparisons with similar investigations; 2) to investigate the epidemiology of periodontal disease in the absence of dental treatment; and, 3) to discuss the importance of these findings to modern populations without access to modern dental treatment. No individual was recorded as having an entirely healthy periodontium. Gingivitis was widespread in the younger age groups. Destructive periodontitis was observed early in adulthood, rising steadily with age. Men were more susceptible to periodontal disease than women. The pattern of frequency and distribution of periodontal disease was similar to many modern epidemiological surveys, but did not support previous suggestions that the frequency of periodontitis in historic material was high. Instead, there appeared to be a small percentage of individuals who were either resistant or susceptible to this disease.
Paper CELTIC TREPANATION TECHNIQUES –SUCCESSFUL TREATMENT OR FATAL MALPRACTICE? Karin Wiltschke-Schrotta Anthropology, Natural History Museum Vienna Techniques of skull trepanation were performed in many parts of the world and in different cultures from Neolithic times onward. Generally, it was a response to an open skull wound. A skull trepanation was the only way to diagnose or treat an injury before applying x-ray scanning techniques. The visualization of the dimensions of the impact, draining the clot underneath the fracture, removing dead bone splinters and letting the pus flow were probably the main reasons for operations on the skull. The investigations of 600 individuals from the Celtic population of Dürrnberg/ Austria displayed six individuals with trepanations on the skull. Interestingly, different techniques of opening the skull like scraping, drilling or cutting as well as combinations of the different techniques were
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XVII European Meeting of the Paleopathology Association 2008 applied within this group. The chance of surviving the surgery was best in the cases where drilling and/ or scraping was performed, as these skulls show signs of healing. The techniques of opening the skull, used within different Celtic populations of Europe, are compared and discussed. Frequencies of applied methods and the frequency of surviving individuals are used to find a possible “medical school” or a path of knowledge spreading.
Paper HISTOLOGICAL AND NANOTECHNOLOGICAL INVESTIGATIONS OF SKIN WOUNDS OF THE TYROLEAN ICEMAN Albert R. Zink(1), Marek Janko(1), Eduard Egarter-Vigl(2), Andreas G. Nerlich(3) Institute for Mummies and the Iceman (1), Department of Pathology, Province Hospital Bozen, Bolzano, Italy(2), Institute of Pathology, Academic-Teaching Hospital München-Bogenhausen, Germany(3) A recent re-examination of thoracic CT scans of the mummy of the c. 5300 year old Tyrolean Iceman, commonly known as “Ötzi”, provided evidence for a presumably intravital arrow injury (Pernter et al. 2007). Concomitantly, a small skin wound was detected on the Iceman´s back which was identified as the entry point of the arrow. This finding strongly suggested that the Iceman had died from a lethal assault. In a previous study, a 3-5 days old stab wound on Ötzi´s right hand and a small, circumscribed hematoma on his back were identified (Nerlich et al., 2003). In order to gain further information on the different injuries of the Iceman, we performed a detailed histological and nanotechnological study of his wounds. Small tissue samples were rehydrated and embedded into paraffin wax for histological analysis. In a further step, we applied high resolution atomic force microscopy (AFM) on the histological specimens to evaluate the state of preservation of the organic matrix. During the histological analysis of the arrow wound no evidence of healing could be detected, which confirms the fatal course of the arrow injury. The nanotechnological study revealed an excellent preservation of the Iceman’s tissue and, additionally, the presence of erythrocytes in the samples. Remarkably, this represents the first successful approach of detecting blood in the Tyrolean Iceman after a period of extensive scientific studies since his detection in 1991.
Nerlich AG, Bachmeier B, Zink A, Thalhammer S, Egarter-Vigl E. 2003. Ötzi had a wound on his right hand. Lancet 362: 334. Pernter P, Gostner P, Vigl EE, Ruhli FJ. 2007. Radiologic proof for the Iceman's cause of death (ca. 5’300 BP). J Archaeol Sci 34: 1784-1786.
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LIST OF REGISTERED PARTICIPANTS
FAMILYNAME FIRSTNAME E-MAIL Al Oumaoui Ihab [email protected] Arcini Caroline [email protected] Baetsen Steffen [email protected] Baibourdian Sylvie [email protected] Baxarias Joaquim [email protected] Bekvalac Jelena [email protected] Bennike Pia [email protected] Benuš Radoslav [email protected] Bereczki Zsolt [email protected] Berezina Nataliya [email protected] Bernofsky Karen [email protected] Bianucci Rafaella [email protected] Blondiaux Joël [email protected] Boano Rosa [email protected] Boel Lene Warner [email protected] Brickley Megan [email protected] Bruintjes Tjasse [email protected] Buck Andrea [email protected] Buck Bruce [email protected] Buckley Laureen [email protected] Buikstra Jane E. [email protected] Buzhilova Alexandra [email protected] Cardoso [email protected] Castillo González Coralee [email protected] Cekalovic Helen [email protected] Christensen Tina [email protected] Collier Larissa [email protected] Cook Della Collins [email protected] Cordy-Collins Alana [email protected] Cortesâo Silva Filipa [email protected]
Dabernat Henri [email protected] Dar Gali [email protected] Dias George [email protected] Dobrovolskaya Maria [email protected] Domett Kate [email protected] Donoghue Helen [email protected] Drew Maryrose [email protected] Eggers Sabine [email protected] Einwögerer Tina [email protected] Faccia Kathleen [email protected] Ferrari Luisa [email protected] Fibiger Linda [email protected] Finke Lutz [email protected] Flohr Stefan [email protected] Foley Allison [email protected] Fóthi Erzsébet [email protected] Fox Sherry [email protected] Francken Michael [email protected]
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Gallien Véronique [email protected] García Guraieb Solana [email protected] Geber Jonny [email protected] Gerhards Guntis [email protected] Giannakopoulou Nia [email protected]
Graefen Angela [email protected] Grauer Anne [email protected] Gresky Julia [email protected] Günay Isin [email protected] Hanson Christine [email protected] Harvig Lise [email protected] Hasegawa Mariko [email protected] Henderson Charlotte [email protected] Herrerín López Jesús [email protected] Herrscher Estelle [email protected] Hershkovitz Israel [email protected] Isaza Peláez Juliana [email protected] Jacobi Frauke [email protected] Jakob Tina [email protected] Jakubowska Gabriels [email protected] Jankauskas Rimantas [email protected] Jennings Jaime [email protected] Jiménez-Brobeil Sylvia A. [email protected] Jordana Xavier [email protected] Justus Hedy [email protected] Jørkov Marie Louise [email protected] Katzenberg M. Anne [email protected] Kausmally Tania [email protected] Keating Denise [email protected] Kjellström Anna [email protected] Kozak Alexandra [email protected] Kuzelka Vitezslav [email protected] Laguillo González Oliver [email protected] Lanfranco Luis Pezo [email protected] Oona Ying- Lee Chi [email protected] Lewis Mary [email protected] Liebe-Harkort Carola [email protected] Loe Louise [email protected] Lombardi Guido [email protected] Lovász Gabriella [email protected] Lynnerup Niels [email protected] [email protected] Lösch Sandra muenchen.de Mangiapane Gianluigi [email protected] Mark Laszlo [email protected] Marques Carina [email protected] Marschler Maria [email protected] Masnicová Sona [email protected] Masson Muriel [email protected] May Hila [email protected] Mednikova Maria [email protected]
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Meyer Christian [email protected] Micalizio Salvatore [email protected] Minaldi Donatella [email protected] Minnikin David [email protected] Mitchell Piers [email protected] Molnar Erika [email protected] Molnar Petra [email protected] Monsalve Maria Victoria [email protected] Morgan Jenna [email protected] Mostert Willem [email protected] Müller Romy [email protected] Maat George [email protected] [email protected] Nerlich Andreas muenchen.de Novotny Friederike [email protected] Nowakowski Dariusz [email protected] Nystrom Kenneth [email protected] Obertova Zuzana [email protected] Ortner Donald [email protected] Palfi György [email protected] Panhuysen Raphaël [email protected] Pankowska Anna [email protected] Pany Doris [email protected] Pap Ildikó [email protected] Papathanasiou Anastasia [email protected] Piombino- Mascali Dario [email protected] Ponce Paola [email protected] Poundstone John W. [email protected] Powell Mary Lucas [email protected] Redfern Rebecca [email protected] Rimstad Charlotte [email protected] Roberts Charlotte Ann [email protected] Roca Rodríguez María Gracia [email protected] Rosado Maria A. [email protected] Ruhli Frank [email protected] Ruiz Jordi [email protected] Salo Kati [email protected] Sassi Anna [email protected] Shvedchikova Tatiana [email protected] Silva Ana Maria [email protected] Smrcka Vaclav [email protected] Spannagl- Steiner Ute-Michaela [email protected] Spencer Rosa [email protected] Spigelman Mark [email protected] Stansfield Katya [email protected] Steyn Maryna [email protected] Strouhal Eugen [email protected] Suzuki Takao [email protected] Szikossy Ildikó [email protected] Teschler Maria Eva [email protected] Tompkins Dannielle [email protected] Travan Luciana [email protected]
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Ubelaker Douglas [email protected] Umbelino Cláudia [email protected] Van der Merwe Lida (AE) [email protected] Vercellotti Giuseppe [email protected] Villa Chiara [email protected] Walker Roxie [email protected] Wasterlain Sofia [email protected] White William [email protected] Wiltschke Karin [email protected] Houdini Ho- Wu Tin [email protected] Yorke-Edwards Victoria [email protected] Üstündag Handan [email protected] Zink Albert [email protected] Bygbjerg Ib C. [email protected] Jensen Niklas Thode [email protected] [email protected] Kjær Inger
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Sponsored by The Institute of Bioarchaeology & University of Copenhagen
Location of Registration and Meeting (all days): Panum Institute, Faculty of Health, Blegdamsvej 3 B, DK 2200, Copenhagen N
Chairpersons/reviewers Joël Blondiaux (France) Megan Brickley (UK) Jane E. Buikstra (USA) Sherry C. Fox (Greece) Anne L. Grauer (USA) Christine Hanson (USA) Rimantas Jankauskas (Lithuania) Anne Katzenberg (Canada) Niels Lynnerup (Denmark) George J.R Maat (Holland) Anastasia Papathanasiou (Greece) Piers D. Mitchell (UK) Mary Lucas Powell (USA) Charlotte A. Roberts (UK) Frank Rühli (Switzerland) Eugen Strouhal (Czech Republic) Maria Teschler-Nicola (Austria)
Organizer Pia Bennike, University of Copenhagen (PPA President)
Local Committee Gert Almind, Society of Medical History, Copenhagen Caroline Arcini, Swedish National Heritage Board, Lund, Sweden. Jesper Boldsen, Inst. Forensic Med. Biol. Anthropology, Univ. Southern Denmark, Odense. Ulla Lund Hansen, Saxo Institute (Prehistoric Archaeology), Univ. of Copenhagen Per Holck, Inst. of Anatomy, (Anthropology), Univ. of Oslo, Norway. Niklas Thode Jensen, Saxo Institute (History), University of Copenhagen Anna Kjellström, Osteoarchaeological Research Lab., University of Stockholm, Sweden. Inger Kjær, Dept. of Odontology, Univ. of Copenhagen Lene Koch, Inst. Public Health, Univ. of Copenhagen Anne Løkke, Saxo Institute (History), Univ. of Copenhagen Niels Lynnerup, Inst. Forensic Medicine, Lab.Biol. Anthropology, Univ. of Copenhagen Thomas Söderquist, Inst. Public Health, Medical Museion, Univ. of Copenhagen
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Scientific Committee Andrea Buck, USA (PPA Newsletter editor) Megan Brickley, Univ. of Birmingham, UK. (PPA past secretary) Jane Buikstra, Univ. of New Mexico, USA. (PPA past president. Journal editor candidate) Sherry C. Fox, Am. School Classic Studies at Athen, Greece. (PPA secretary) Anne L. Grauer, Loyola Univ. of Chicago, USA. (PPA webweaver, president-elect) Christine Hanson, Univ. of Alaska, USA. (PPA board Member: Awards) Margaret Judd, Univ. of Pittsburgh, USA. (PPA board Member: SAC Liaison) Anne Katzenberg, Univ. of Calgary, Canada. (PPA Vice-president) Simon Mays, English Heritage, Centre for Archaeology, UK (PPA member) Anastasia Papathanasiou (PPA past European meeting organizer 2006) Mary Lucas Powell (PPA past Newsletter editor) Charlotte Roberts, Durham Univ., UK. (PPA past vice- president) Jerome C. Rose, Univ. of Arkansas, USA. (PPA past president) Ann L.W. Stodder, Univ. of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, USA. (PPA treasurer) Maria Teschler-Nicola, Naturhistorische Museum Vienna, Austria. (PPA European meeting organizer 2010) Roxie Walker, Institute of Bioarchaeology, UK ( poster prize sponsor)
ISSN: 01 484737
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