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At least 451 records · Page 25Linked to original sources
PubMed1976

The Caribou Eskimo: general and specific disease.

Reported here are two forms of skeletal pathology identified in an inclusive sample of Caribou Eskimo skeletons. Harris Lines, nonspecific indicators of stress, show marked periodicity in approximately one-half of the observable adults. This pattern is interpreted as the result of a recurrent, annual stress cycle, perhaps attributable to late winter famine. A second form of pathological change comprises resorptive lesions primarily localized in the spinal column and infrequently found on articular surfaces of the appendicular skeleton. Differential diagnosis is developed utilizing attributes of lesion form, lesion distribution, and epidemiology. Emphasis is placed upon deriving objective models which reflect disease in the absence of modern medical intervention. Major forms of pathology known to produce vertebral lesions are included. The model which best fits the Caribou Eskimo data is that of tuberculosis.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1976

Tumors in the remains of ancient Egyptians.

A survey of the tumors found in the remains of the Ancient Egyptians shows the occurrence of all the kinds of tumors which would be expected to be preserved in the osteological evidence. On the other hand, findings of tumors in the soft tissues of mummies are only exceptional. The frequency of tumors seems to be lower than in recent years, probably because of the shorter mean duration of life. The pathological lesions preserved in bony sturcture reveal not only osseous tumors, but also the presence of some tumors of soft tissues eroding the bone. To the survey of cases described in the literature, original findings of a calcified myoma uteri and of a probably epipharyngeal carcinoma are added. Because our knowledge on the history of tumors is not yet comprehensive, much more attention should be devoted to the search for them, starting from the moment of excavation of any cemetary.

Adult↗
PubMed1976

Pathology of bedouin skeletal remains from two sites in Israel.

Frequency of pathology and of some anomalies in skeletons of Bedouin living about 200 BP, uncovered in the Israeli Negev, is considered in relation to particular bone, sex, age-group, and kinds of defects. The environment of the Bedouin in relation to his "health-status" is noted. Two-thirds of the skeletons had one or more different bones with defects. Incidence of crania with defects was: males, 26%, females, 18%; the highest incidence occurred at age 35-49. Alveolar abscesses occurred in 28% of maxillae, 9% of mandibles. Of the long bones, the tibia was most frequently affected (15%): swelling of the shaft, relatively common, was apparently caused by bejel, a non-venereal form of syphulis, similar to yaws, endemic to the Bedouin. Forty-eight percent had defective vertebrae, usually an arthritic manifestation of one kind or another; half of this group had defects in more than one region of the spine. Defects also occurred relatively frequenly in the innominata, sacrum, scapula, and clavicle, mostly arthritic lesios except in the sacrum in which the percentage with sacral hiatus was high. Average age at death was, males, 43 years, females, 33 years (adults only), and 28 years for all ages.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1977

The Alto Salaverry child: a case of anemia from the Peruvian preceramic.

Excavations during 1974 at the Peruvian Preceramic site of Alto Salaverry led to the discovery of a child's skeleton. The fragmentary skeleton exhibits cribra orbitalia, a pitting of the orbital roof associated with anemia. This specimen provides the first evidence of anemia in a population of the predominantly non-agricultural Peruvian Preceramic and extends the antiquity of the pathology among Precolumbian Peruvians.

Anemia↗
PubMed1977

Defective enamel histology of prehistoric teeth from Illinois.

Histological enamel defects have been used as indicators of childhood morbidity and nutritional inadequacy. However, the usefulness of these defects has been hampered by a lack of clear criteria for differentiating normal and defective enamel. This report demonstrates that the criteria of abnormal prism structure can accurately differentiate defective enamel (i.e., pathological bands) from normal enamel. In addition, pathological bands can be divided into three distinct subtypes: distorted structure bands, black spot pathological bands, and structureless pathological bands. It has been assumed that the patterning of pathological bands and enamel hypoplasia is the same for all populations. Comparisons between populations show that each population has its own unique pattern. It has also been assumed that striae of Retzius, pathological bands, and enamel hypoplasias represent three grades of severity of the same phenomenon. Correlations between these three features demonstrate instead that this patterning is possibly influenced by the morphology of the teeth.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1979

J. Lawrence Angel.

Explore the source record for details and available documents.

Anthropology, Physical↗
PubMed1979

Disease and mortality in the Early Bronze Age people of Bab edh-Dhra, Jordan.

During the 1977 field season at the Early Bronze Age site of Bab edh-Dhra 92 individuals were recovered from underground shaft tomb chambers. Morbid conditions found in these skeletons include trauma, possibly two cases of tuberculosis, osteomyelitis, post-menopausal osteoporosis and congenital anomalies. Of the 92 skeletons recovered 56 (61%) were 18 years of age or older, 28 (30%) were between 1 and 18 years of age and 8 (9%) were less than one year of age.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1979

Human treponematosis and tuberculosis: evidence from the New World.

The purpose of this study has been first, to critically review the evidence for the presence of human treponematosis and tuberculosis in the skeletal remains of prehistoric natives in the New World, and second, to report on nine new cases dated to before contact and suggesting the presence of these two disease conditions. A review of the medical history and findings by human paleopathologists leaves little doubt that both diseases originated in the Old World. The findings of this study lend further support to the fact that, although rare, human treponematosis and tuberculosis were indeed endemic in the pre-Columbia New World before contact. There is no evidence that these two diseases could have arisen independently and de novo, especially during the relatively short time since man's arrival in the New World. Where a disease has been endemic for quite some time as appears to be the case with human treponematosis and tuberculosis, milder forms of the disease and improved host response could have developed in which only the most severe cases would be observable. This explains the rarity of skeletal lesions suggestive of these two human disease conditions in prehistoric human populations.

Adult↗
PubMed1980

The pattern of involvement of appendicular degenerative joint disease.

Patterns of degenerative joint disease are investigated in the shoulder, elbow, hip, and knee joints of the macerated remains of approximately 800 individuals from 20th century American and two prehistoric populations. Age is an important contributory factor in all joints, but its effects are seen most directly in the shoulder and hip. Patterns of right-left involvement also indicate the elbow is the most susceptible area to local factors. Multiple joint involvement is seen more often in females from contemporary populations but more often in males from archeological groups. No significant association is found between degenerative involvement and osteometric measurements, and cause of death is probably only incidentally associated with degenerative disease.

Age Factors↗
PubMed1980

Autopsies on two native American Mummies.

An interdisciplinary team performed autopsies on an adult male and an infant male mummy from the American Southwest. Cause of death has not been determined for the infant. The presence of an unhealed skull fracture associated with an apparent hematoma in the adult male is suggestive of trauma as the cause of death in the adult. Evidence of disease is minimal. Analysis of powder thought to be dried blood from the thoracic cavity of the adult suggests the presence of human IgG. The instability of this protein may indicate the presence of proteolytic activity by enzymes that degrade immunoglobulins upon rehydration. The possibility of enzymatic degradation of proteins will be an important factor in future studies of such immunoglobulins in mummy remains and also indicates the importance of maintaining the desiccated condition of mummy tissues.

Adult↗
PubMed1982

Trauma among the Shanidar Neandertals.

Four of the adult Neandertals from Shanidar Cave, Iraq, Shanidar 1, 3, 4, and 5, show evidence of antemortem trauma. Shanidar 1 sustained injuries to the right frontal squama, the left lateral orbit, the right humerus and right fifth metatarsal. Associated with this trauma are hypoplasia or atrophy of the right clavicle, scapula, and humerus, osteomyelitis of the right clavicle, degenerative joint disease at the right knee, ankle, and first tarsometatarsal joint, and remodeling of the left tibia. Shanidar 3 experienced trauma-related degenerative joint disease at the right talocrural and talocalcaneal joints and sustained a penetrating wound across the left ninth rib. Shanidar 4 suffered a fracture of the right seventh or eighth rib, and Shanidar 5 had a scalp wound over the left frontal. A high frequency of antemortem trauma associated with the survival of the injured individuals appears to have been characteristic of the Neandertals.

Adult↗
PubMed1982

Osteology of a slave burial population from Barbados, West Indies.

A unique seventeenth-nineteenth century slave cemetery population from Newton plantation, Barbados, allows examination of craniodental characters in relation to ethnohistorical data. Age-at-death estimates suggest life expectancy at birth of 29 years and low infant mortality; historical demography, however, suggests life expectancy of 20 years and very high infant mortality. Tooth decay, bilateral tooth loss, periodontal disease, root hypercementosis, and severe enamel hypoplasia are high in frequency. The teeth yield evidence of such cultural practices as pipe-smoking and incisor mutilation. Several skeletal features reflect periodic near-starvation. Directional and fluctuating dental asymmetry, relative tooth size, and hypoplasia distribution suggest slaves experienced considerable weaning trauma; metabolic stress at this time exceeded that of prenatal and immediate postnatal periods. Odontometrics and dental and cranial nonmetric traits indicate that modern Blacks are intermediate between the ancestral slaves and modern Whites but more similar to the latter, suggesting effects of environmental covariance exceed those of genetic admixture. Nonmetric trait distributions show nonrandom patterns according to area of burial in the cemetery, a possible result of family segregation.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1984

A possible case of pre-Columbian treponematosis from New York State.

This paper presents evidence for what is believed to be the first reported case of pre-Columbian treponematosis in northeastern North America. The temporal position of the skeletal material, salvaged from a site in New York State, is determined on the basis of archeological evidence.

Bone and Bones↗