RESUMEN
OBJECTIVE: This project seeks to create a differential diagnosis for lesions found on the skeletal remains of two children as a means to explore the presence of viral disease in 16th- century Peru. MATERIALS: Extremely well-preserved human remains of two children who died between the ages of 1-2 years old, recovered from the circum-contact (â¼1540 CE) cemetery in Huanchaco, Peru. METHODS: Macroscopic and radiographic analysis. RESULTS: Both individuals present with cortical thickening, symmetrical destructive lesions, metaphyseal expansion, perforations, exposure of the medullary cavity, resorption of metaphyseal ends and necrosis of the long bones, and deposited reactive new bone. These features are consistent with osteomyelitis variolosa and bacterial osteomyelitis. CONCLUSIONS: Three features of Individuals IG-124 and IG-493 suggest a highly consistent diagnosis of osteomyelitis variolosa: multiple skeletal lesions, the historical context of the area, and the high mortality rate of non-adults in the circum-contact cemetery. SIGNIFICANCE: Although viral infections are ubiquitous and well documented historically, their etiologies are often difficult to determine in archaeological populations. Orthopoxvirus variola (smallpox) is one of the many viruses whose archaeological impact is still under explored in skeletal remains. LIMITATIONS: The absence of smallpox in other children from the Huanchaco cemetery creates difficulty in ascertaining true prevalence rates or information on potential outbreaks. SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH: Further research analyzing aDNA from calculus and/or residues using a DIP-GC-MS method might create a better understanding of how smallpox spread through the region.
Asunto(s)
Viruela , Humanos , Viruela/historia , Viruela/patología , Perú , Historia del Siglo XVI , Lactante , Preescolar , Masculino , Osteomielitis/historia , Osteomielitis/patología , Paleopatología/métodos , Femenino , Cementerios/historiaRESUMEN
OBJECTIVE: This paper assesses the relationship between the distance between the cemento-enamel junction and alveolar crest and risk factors commonly associated with periodontitis. MATERIALS: Eighty individuals between 28 and 92 years old with known biological sex and age were analyzed from a 20th century forensic human collection from Merida, Yucatan (Mexico). METHODS: Macroscopic assessment, along with metric analysis, was employed using a probe. RESULTS: Ante-mortem tooth loss was positively correlated with the distance between the cemento-enamel junction and alveolar crest, as was the presence of root calculus in females. CONCLUSIONS: Cemento-enamel junction to alveolar crest distance is not a reliable indicator of periodontitis since it is not directly related to periodontitis-causing infectious pathogens, and since ante-mortem tooth loss can affect root exposure. SIGNIFICANCE: This study demonstrates that a purely quantitative approach to diagnosing periodontitis in archaeological and forensic human remains can be misleading. LIMITATIONS: The skeletal collection is only representative of the low socioeconomic class of Merida, and its female cohort is underrepresented. In addition, because the Xoclan collection is modern, limitations (particularly with respect to tooth wear) of the applicability of these interpretations to older archaeological remains exist. SUGGESTION FOR FURTHER RESEARCH: A combination of quantitative and qualitative characteristics of alveolar bone is needed to reliably diagnose periodontitis in skeletal populations.
Asunto(s)
Pérdida de Hueso Alveolar , Cálculos Dentales , Periodontitis , Humanos , Femenino , Persona de Mediana Edad , Anciano , Adulto , Masculino , México , Anciano de 80 o más Años , Pérdida de Hueso Alveolar/patología , Pérdida de Hueso Alveolar/historia , Periodontitis/patología , Periodontitis/historia , Cálculos Dentales/patología , Cálculos Dentales/historia , Pérdida de Diente/patología , Pérdida de Diente/historia , Paleopatología/métodos , Clase Social , Estatus Socioeconómico BajoRESUMEN
OBJECTIVE: To present paleopathological evidence of a congenital anomaly with photographic support and a review that will help scholars to diagnose the condition. MATERIALS: Well-preserved skeletal remains of a child from central Colombia, dated 968-1046 CE. METHODS: Macroscopic examination and computerized axial tomography. RESULTS: Two holes were observed in the skull. CONCLUSIONS: The pathology is consistent with a neural tube defect or an inclusion cyst. SIGNIFICANCE: Neural tube defects and inclusion cysts, in paleopathology, are rarely reported in children. The preservation and origin of the individual make this case valuable. The photographic support and the review is useful for other scholars in the field. LIMITATIONS: It was not possible to determine a single cause. SUGGESTIONS FOR FUTURE RESEARCH: Review cases in identified osteological collections.
Asunto(s)
Paleopatología , Cráneo , Humanos , Niño , Diagnóstico Diferencial , Cráneo/diagnóstico por imagen , Paleopatología/métodos , América del Sur , CabezaRESUMEN
The Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTC) has affected South American populations since ca. 200 years BCE. In Argentina, possible cases date from ca. 1000-1400 Common Era (CE). This paper describes the oldest (905-1030 CE) confirmed case of tuberculosis (TB) in a young adult male from Lomitas de Saujil (Tinogasta, Catamarca, Argentina). Osteolytic lesions on the bodies of the lower spine were macroscopically and radiographically identified. Bilateral new bone formation was seen on the visceral vertebral third of several ribs and in long bones, compatible with hypertrophic osteoarthropathy. Representative rib and hand bones gave profiles for MTC-specific C27-C32 mycocerosic acid lipid biomarkers; these were strongest in one heavily-lesioned lower rib, which also had MTC-diagnostic C76-C89 mycolic acids and positive amplification of MTC-typical IS6110 aDNA fragments. During the first millennium CE, the intense social interaction, the spatial circumscription of villages among the pre-Hispanic societies in the mesothermal valleys of Catamarca and the fluid contacts with the Eastern lowlands, valleys and puna, were factors likely to favor disease transmission. It is proposed that TB arrived from northern Chile and dispersed towards the northeast into the Yocavil valley, where several cases of TB infection were macroscopically identified for a later chronology.
Asunto(s)
Huesos/diagnóstico por imagen , ADN Bacteriano/historia , Mycobacterium tuberculosis/genética , Paleopatología/métodos , Tuberculosis Osteoarticular/historia , Adulto , Argentina/epidemiología , Huesos/microbiología , ADN Bacteriano/análisis , Historia del Siglo XV , Historia del Siglo XVI , Historia Antigua , Historia Medieval , Humanos , Incidencia , Masculino , Mycobacterium tuberculosis/aislamiento & purificación , Tuberculosis Osteoarticular/diagnóstico , Tuberculosis Osteoarticular/epidemiologíaRESUMEN
OBJECTIVE: We assessed whether Petrus Donders (died 1887), a Dutch priest who for 27 years cared for people with leprosy in the leprosarium Batavia, Suriname, had evidence of Mycobacterium (M.) leprae infection. A positive finding of M. leprae ancient (a)DNA would contribute to the origin of leprosy in Suriname. MATERIALS: Skeletal remains of Father Petrus Donders; two additional skeletons excavated from the Batavia cemetery were used as controls. METHODS: Archival research, paleopathological evaluation and aDNA-based testing of skeletal remains. RESULTS: Neither archives nor inspection of Donders skeletal remains revealed evidence of leprosy, and aDNA-based testing for M. leprae was negative. We detected M. leprae aDNA by RLEP PCR in one control skeleton, which also displayed pathological lesions compatible with leprosy. The M. leprae aDNA was genotyped by Sanger sequencing as SNP type 4; the skeleton displayed mitochondrial haplogroup L3. CONCLUSION: We found no evidence that Donders contracted leprosy despite years of intense leprosy contact, but we successfully isolated an archaeological M. leprae aDNA sample from a control skeleton from South America. SIGNIFICANCE: We successfully genotyped recovered aDNA to a M. leprae strain that likely originated in West Africa. The detected human mitochondrial haplogroup L3 is also associated with this geographical region. This suggests that slave trade contributed to leprosy in Suriname. LIMITATIONS: A limited number of skeletons was examined. SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH: Broader review of skeletal collections is advised to expand on diversity of the M. leprae aDNA database.
Asunto(s)
Cementerios/historia , ADN Bacteriano/genética , Genoma Bacteriano/genética , Mycobacterium leprae/patogenicidad , Esqueleto/microbiología , ADN Bacteriano/historia , Genotipo , Historia del Siglo XIX , Humanos , Paleopatología/métodos , SurinameRESUMEN
OBJECTIVE: Osteomas are slow-growing benign tumors that can affect the skull, most frequently the parietal and frontal. Temporal bone osteomas are more common in the external acoustic meatus and exceptional in the mastoid region. The rarity of mastoid osteomas is confirmed by the fact that very few cases have been reported in the clinical and paleopathological literature. The aim of this paper is to report a new paleopathological case of mastoid tumor in a Pre-Hispanic adult cranium. MATERIALS: The skull derives from the Chunchuri (today Dupont-1 site) Pre-Hispanic site in Northern Chile (1390 A.D). METHODS: Macroscopical examination and high-resolution tomography were used to assess the cranium. RESULTS: The CT scan revealed a well demarcated lesion suggestive of a mastoid osteoma. CONCLUSIONS: This case adds new evidence regarding the antiquity of primary neoplasms in ancient populations and reinforces the importance of high resolution imaging in paleopathological research. SIGNIFICANCE: Due to the antiquity of the remains this is probably the oldest reported case of mastoid osteoma. LIMITATIONS: The patrimonial nature of the remains did not allow histopathological studies. SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH: Further intensive review of archeological skeletal collections is needed to better understand the epidemiology of neoplastic lesions in past populations.
Asunto(s)
Huesos/patología , Conducto Auditivo Externo/patología , Apófisis Mastoides/patología , Osteoma/historia , Adulto , Chile , Femenino , Historia Medieval , Humanos , Masculino , Persona de Mediana Edad , Osteoma/diagnóstico , Osteoma/patología , Paleopatología/métodos , Hueso Temporal/patología , Tomografía Computarizada por Rayos XRESUMEN
The past two decades have seen a proliferation in bioarchaeological literature on the identification of scurvy, a disease caused by chronic vitamin C deficiency, in ancient human remains. This condition is one of the few nutritional deficiencies that can result in diagnostic osseous lesions. Scurvy is associated with low dietary diversity and its identification in human skeletal remains can provide important contextual information on subsistence strategy, resource allocation, and human-environmental interactions in past populations. A large and robust methodological body of work on the paleopathology of scurvy exists. However, the diagnostic criteria for this disease employed by bioarchaeologists have not always been uniform. Here we draw from previous research on the skeletal manifestations of scurvy in adult and juvenile human skeletal remains and propose a weighted diagnostic system for its identification that takes into account the pathophysiology of the disease, soft tissue anatomy, and clinical research. Using a sample of individuals from the prehistoric Atacama Desert in Northern Chile, we also provide a practical example of how diagnostic value might be assigned to skeletal lesions of the disease that have not been previously described in the literature.
Asunto(s)
Paleopatología/métodos , Escorbuto , Adulto , Arqueología , Huesos/patología , Niño , Chile , Diagnóstico Diferencial , Dieta , Historia Antigua , Humanos , Lactante , Maxilar/patología , Escorbuto/diagnóstico , Escorbuto/historia , Escorbuto/patologíaRESUMEN
Diverse pathological processes can produce overlapping or even indistinguishable patterns of abnormal bone formation or destruction, representing a fundamental challenge in the understanding of ancient diseases. This paper discusses increasing rigor in differential diagnosis through the paleopathological study of scurvy. First, paleopathology's use of descriptive terminology can strive to more thoroughly incorporate international standards of anatomical terminology. Second, improved observation and description of abnormal skeletal features can help distinguish between anemia or vitamin C deficiency. Third, use of a structured rubric can assist in establishing a more systematic, replicable, and precise decision-making process in differential diagnosis. These issues are illustrated in the study of two new cases of suspected scurvy from northern Peru. From this, it appears possible that ectocranial vascular impressions may further examined as a morphological marker of scurvy in the skeleton. Also, increased paleopathological attention to pellagra is long overdue, especially as it may produce generally comparable lesions to scurvy. This paper reflexively speaks to the process of paleopathological problem solving and the epistemology of our discipline-particularly regarding the ways in which we can continuously improve description and the construction of diagnostic arguments.
Asunto(s)
Huesos/patología , Paleopatología/métodos , Escorbuto/historia , Escorbuto/patología , Factores de Edad , Anemia/historia , Anemia/patología , Deficiencia de Ácido Ascórbico/historia , Deficiencia de Ácido Ascórbico/patología , Remodelación Ósea , Huesos/fisiopatología , Niño , Preescolar , Diagnóstico Diferencial , Historia Antigua , Humanos , Perú , Porosidad , Valor Predictivo de las Pruebas , Reproducibilidad de los Resultados , Escorbuto/fisiopatologíaRESUMEN
The review article presents some of the history of how paleoparasitology started in Brazil, making highlight the great responsible Dr. Luiz Fernando Ferreira and Dr. Adauto Araújo, the trajectory of paleoparasitology in Brazil since 1978 and its performance in science to the present day. In sequence, it is made a presentation of parasitological findings on human remains found in archaeological sites in South America, highlighting Brazil, Argentina, Chile, and Peru, where major discoveries have occurred. Many of the parasites found in archaeological material and mentioned in this review went out of Africa with the peopling of Europe and from there they dispersed around the world, where climatic conditions allow the transmission. However, humans have acquired other parasites of animals, since humans invaded new habitats or creating new habits adopting new technologies, thus expanding its range of influence on the environment. Thus, this review article is finalized with information that explain the importance of these findings in the interaction between parasites, human host, and ambient.
Asunto(s)
Restos Mortales/parasitología , Helmintos/clasificación , Helmintos/aislamiento & purificación , Paleopatología/métodos , Enfermedades Parasitarias/epidemiología , Animales , Historia del Siglo XV , Historia del Siglo XVI , Historia del Siglo XVII , Historia del Siglo XVIII , Historia del Siglo XIX , Historia del Siglo XX , Historia Antigua , Historia Medieval , Humanos , Paleopatología/historia , Enfermedades Parasitarias/historia , Parasitología/historia , Parasitología/métodos , América del Sur/epidemiologíaRESUMEN
Paleopathologists have begun exploring the pathoecology of parasitic diseases in relation to diet and environment. We are summarizing the parasitological findings from a mummy in the site of Lapa do Boquete, a Brazilian cave in the state of Minas Gerais. These findings in context of the archaeology of the site provided insights into the pathoecology of disease transmission in cave and rockshelter environments. We are presenting a description of the site followed by the evidence of hookworm, intestinal fluke, and Trypanosoma infection with resulting Chagas disease in the mummy discovered in the cave. These findings are used to reconstruct the transmission ecology of the site.
Asunto(s)
Momias/parasitología , Parásitos/clasificación , Parásitos/aislamiento & purificación , Enfermedades Parasitarias/parasitología , Animales , Brasil , Historia Antigua , Humanos , Paleopatología/métodos , Enfermedades Parasitarias/historia , Parasitología/métodosRESUMEN
Over the last four decades, bioarchaeology has experienced significant technical growth and theoretical maturation. Early 21st century bioarchaeology may also be enhanced from a renewed engagement with the concept of biological stress. New insights on biological stress and disease can be gained from cross-disciplinary perspectives regarding human skeletal variation and disease. First, pathophysiologic and molecular signaling mechanisms can provide more precise understandings regarding formation of pathological phenotypes in bone. Using periosteal new bone formation as an example, various mechanisms and pathways are explored in which new bone can be formed under conditions of biological stress, particularly in bone microenvironments that involve inflammatory changes. Second, insights from human biology are examined regarding some epigenetic factors and disease etiology. While epigenetic effects on stress and disease outcomes appear profoundly influential, they are mostly invisible in skeletal tissue. However, some indirect and downstream effects, such as the developmental origins of adult health outcomes, may be partially observable in bioarchaeological data. Emerging perspectives from the human microbiome are also considered. Microbiomics involves a remarkable potential to understand ancient biology, disease, and stress. Third, tools from epidemiology are examined that may aid bioarchaeologists to better cope with some of the inherent limitations of skeletal samples to better measure and quantify the expressions of skeletal stress markers. Such cross-disciplinary synergisms hopefully will promote more complete understandings of health and stress in bioarchaeological science.
Asunto(s)
Arqueología/métodos , Enfermedad , Métodos Epidemiológicos , Paleopatología/métodos , Estrés Fisiológico , Epigenómica , Humanos , Inflamación , Microbiota , Periostitis , Transducción de SeñalRESUMEN
The aim of this study was to review all Pubmed(®)-listed palaeopathological studies performed on pre-Columbian South American mummies. A total of 61 studies were found (1977-2005). Review criteria included e.g. method of examination, method of mummification, palaeopathological diagnoses and individual age of mummies as well as dating, which ranged from 7500 to 500 years BP, mainly (if reported) originating from the Chiribaya and Chinchorro cultures. The average age of the 99 individually reported mummies was about 25 years. Only six studies included computed tomography, thirteen studies used classical radiography as an examination method. Three studies analysed parasite related diseases, especially caused by Trypanosoma cruzi. Among all of the reported infectious diseases (n=9), there were seven studies presenting cases of tuberculosis. The results were also compared inter-culturally. In 61 studies (37 epidemiological and 24 case reports) more than 6400 mummified individuals were analysed. By contrast, meta-analytic data for ancient Egyptian mummies (Zweifel et al., 2009) included about 3000 analysed individuals in 131 studies (85 case reports and 46 epidemiological studies). In general, ancient Egyptian mummies were shown to be intentionally mummified, whereas the Pre-Columbian American mummies showed a great diversity of spontaneous mummification. However, ritualistic mummification methods were also practised (n=2). This study's results shall assist to improve evidence-based research in palaeopathology.
Asunto(s)
Momias/patología , Enfermedad de Chagas/historia , Enfermedad de Chagas/patología , Comparación Transcultural , Antiguo Egipto , Femenino , Historia Antigua , Humanos , Masculino , Momias/parasitología , Paleopatología/métodos , Paleopatología/normas , PubMed , América del SurRESUMEN
This article is a review of research and additional unpublished diseases that have been discovered and documented in naturally mummified remains recovered from South America. A new impetus in paleopathological studies was the work and discovery of a solution for rehydration of mummified tissues by Sir Marc Armand Ruffer in 1913. This solution allows the paleopathologist, after performing the autopsy, to process the tissues in a manner similar to current practices in pathology. In our studies, the most common diseases were infectious in nature, similar to the diseases that are most prominent today in the same regions.
Asunto(s)
Momias/patología , Paleopatología , Autopsia , Entierro/historia , Enfermedades Cardiovasculares/historia , Enfermedades Cardiovasculares/patología , Enfermedades Transmisibles/historia , Enfermedades Transmisibles/patología , Femenino , Historia Antigua , Humanos , Masculino , Momias/historia , Neoplasias/historia , Neoplasias/patología , Paleopatología/métodos , América del Sur , Manejo de Especímenes , Heridas y Lesiones/historia , Heridas y Lesiones/patologíaRESUMEN
The origin of syphilis is still controversial. Different research avenues explore its fascinating history. Here we employed a new integrative approach, where paleopathology and molecular analyses are combined. As an exercise to test the validity of this approach we examined different hypotheses on the origin of syphilis and other human diseases caused by treponemes (treponematoses). Initially, we constructed a worldwide map containing all accessible reports on palaeopathological evidences of treponematoses before Columbus's return to Europe. Then, we selected the oldest ones to calibrate the time of the most recent common ancestor of Treponema pallidum subsp. pallidum, T. pallidum subsp. endemicum and T. pallidum subsp. pertenue in phylogenetic analyses with 21 genetic regions of different T. pallidum strains previously reported. Finally, we estimated the treponemes' evolutionary rate to test three scenarios: A) if treponematoses accompanied human evolution since Homo erectus; B) if venereal syphilis arose very recently from less virulent strains caught in the New World about 500 years ago, and C) if it emerged in the Americas between 16,500 and 5,000 years ago. Two of the resulting evolutionary rates were unlikely and do not explain the existent osseous evidence. Thus, treponematoses, as we know them today, did not emerge with H. erectus, nor did venereal syphilis appear only five centuries ago. However, considering 16,500 years before present (yBP) as the time of the first colonization of the Americas, and approximately 5,000 yBP as the oldest probable evidence of venereal syphilis in the world, we could not entirely reject hypothesis C. We confirm that syphilis seems to have emerged in this time span, since the resulting evolutionary rate is compatible with those observed in other bacteria. In contrast, if the claims of precolumbian venereal syphilis outside the Americas are taken into account, the place of origin remains unsolved. Finally, the endeavor of joining paleopathology and phylogenetics proved to be a fruitful and promising approach for the study of infectious diseases.
Asunto(s)
Paleopatología/métodos , Filogenia , Sífilis/microbiología , Treponema pallidum/clasificación , Treponema pallidum/fisiología , Animales , Evolución Molecular , Interacciones Huésped-Patógeno , Humanos , Treponema pallidum/genéticaRESUMEN
This study tests the hypothesis that the colonial economy of the Lambayeque region of northern coastal Peru was associated with a mechanically strenuous lifestyle among the indigenous Mochica population. To test the hypothesis, we documented the changes in the prevalence of degenerative joint disease (or DJD) in human remains from the late pre-Hispanic and colonial Lambayeque Valley Complex. Comparisons were made using multivariate odds ratios calculated across four age classes and 11 principle joint systems corresponding to 113 late pre-Hispanic and 139 postcontact adult Mochica individuals. Statistically significant patterns of elevated postcontact DJD prevalence are observed in the joint systems of the shoulder, elbow, wrist, and knee. More finely grained comparison between temporal phases indicates that increases in prevalence were focused immediately following contact in the Early/Middle Colonial period. Analysis of DJD by sex indicates postcontact males experienced greater DJD prevalence than females. Also, trends between pre- and postcontact females indicate nearly universally elevated DJD prevalence among native colonial women. Inferred altered behavioral uses of the upper body and knee are contextualized within ecological, ethnohistoric, and ethnoarchaeological frameworks and appear highly consistent with descriptions of the local postcontact economy. These patterns of DJD appear to stem from a synergism of broad, hemispheric level sociopolitical alterations, specific changes to Mochica activity and behavior, regional economic intensification, and local microenvironmental characteristics, which were all focused into these biological outcomes by the operation of a colonial Spanish political economy on the north coast of Peru from A.D. 1536 to 1751.
Asunto(s)
Fósiles , Indígenas Sudamericanos , Artropatías/epidemiología , Artropatías/historia , Artropatías/patología , Adulto , Arqueología , Femenino , Historia del Siglo XV , Historia del Siglo XVI , Historia Medieval , Humanos , Masculino , Paleopatología/métodos , Perú/epidemiología , Prevalencia , Factores Sexuales , Factores SocioeconómicosRESUMEN
Paleoparasitological studies using microscopy showed that Ascarisand Trichuris trichiura are the human intestinal parasites most found in archaeological sites. However, in pre-Columbian South American archaeological sites, Ascaris is rare. In this work we standardized a molecular methodology for Ascaris diagnosis directly from ancient DNA retrieved from coprolites. Using cythochrome b gene (142 bp) target, ancient DNA sequences were retrieved from South American samples, negative by microscopy. Moreover, the methodology applied was sensitive enough to detect ancient DNA extracted from 30 Ascaris eggs from an European coprolite. These results revealed a new scenery for the paleodistribution of Ascaris in South America.
Asunto(s)
Ascariasis , Ascaris/genética , Citocromos b/genética , ADN de Helmintos/aislamiento & purificación , Heces/parasitología , Paleopatología/métodos , Animales , Ascariasis/diagnóstico , Ascariasis/historia , Ascaris/aislamiento & purificación , Citocromos b/química , ADN de Helmintos/química , ADN de Helmintos/genética , Historia Antigua , Humanos , Reacción en Cadena de la Polimerasa , Sensibilidad y Especificidad , Análisis de Secuencia de ADN , América del SurRESUMEN
Paleoparasitological studies using microscopy showed that Ascarisand Trichuris trichiura are the human intestinal parasites most found in archaeological sites. However, in pre-Columbian South American archaeological sites, Ascaris is rare. In this work we standardized a molecular methodology for Ascaris diagnosis directly from ancient DNA retrieved from coprolites. Using cythochrome b gene (142 bp) target, ancient DNA sequences were retrieved from South American samples, negative by microscopy. Moreover, the methodology applied was sensitive enough to detect ancient DNA extracted from 30 Ascaris eggs from an European coprolite. These results revealed a new scenery for the paleodistribution of Ascaris in South America.
Asunto(s)
Animales , Historia Antigua , Humanos , Ascariasis , Ascaris/genética , Citocromos b/genética , ADN de Helmintos/aislamiento & purificación , Heces/parasitología , Paleopatología/métodos , Ascariasis/diagnóstico , Ascariasis/historia , Ascaris/aislamiento & purificación , Citocromos b/química , ADN de Helmintos/química , ADN de Helmintos/genética , Reacción en Cadena de la Polimerasa , Sensibilidad y Especificidad , Análisis de Secuencia de ADN , América del SurRESUMEN
Wormian bones are accessory bones that occur within cranial suture and fontanelles, most commonly within the posterior sutures. They occur more frequently in disorders that have reduced cranial ossification, hypotonia or decreased movement, thereby resulting in deformational brachycephaly. The frequency and location of wormian bones varies with the type and severity of cranial deformation practiced by ancient cultures. We considered the hypothesis that the pathogenesis of wormian bones may be due to environmental variations in dural strain within open sutures and fontanelles. In order to explore this further, we measured the cephalic index (CI) in 20 purposefully deformed pre-Columbian skulls: 10 from Chichen Itza, Mexico, and 10 from Ancon, Peru, as well as 20 anatomically normal skulls used for medical school anatomy classes. We tested for a direct correlation between the CI and the number of wormian bones in skulls with varying degrees of brachycephalic cranial deformation and found no significant correlation. When the CI was grouped into three categories (normal (CI < 81), brachycephalic (CI 81-93), and severely brachycephalic (CI > 93)) there was a trend toward increasing number of wormian bones as the skull became more brachycephalic (P = 0.039). A second part or our study tabulated the frequency and location of large wormian bones (greater than 1 cm) in 3-dimentional computerized tomography (3D-CT) scans from 207 cases of craniosynostosis and compared these data with published data on 485 normal dry skulls from a manuscript on wormian bones by Parker in 1905. Among cases of craniosynostosis, large wormian bones were significantly more frequent (117 out of 207 3D-CT scans) than in dry skulls (131 out of 485). There was a 3.5 greater odds of developing a wormian bone with premature suture closure (P < 0.001). Midline synostosis, specifically metopic or sagittal synostosis, has more wormian bones in the midline, whereas unilateral lambdoidal or coronal synostosis more often had wormian bones on the contralateral side. Taken together, these data suggest that wormian bones may arise as a consequence of mechanical factors that spread sutures apart and affect dural strain within sutures and fontanelles.
Asunto(s)
Disostosis Craneofacial/diagnóstico , Craneosinostosis/diagnóstico , Antropología Física/métodos , Cefalometría/métodos , Suturas Craneales/patología , Disostosis Craneofacial/patología , Craneosinostosis/patología , Humanos , México , Paleopatología/métodos , Perú , Cráneo/patologíaRESUMEN
Auditory exostoses are bone masses located in the external auditory canal. Currently, most researchers agree that the environment (especially water temperature, but also atmospheric temperature and wind action) plays a pivotal role in the development of this trait. This article discusses whether the presence of auditory exostoses can be used as an aquatic activity marker in bioarchaeological studies, especially in groups that inhabited tropical and subtropical regions. We analyzed 676 skeletons (5,000 years BP to historical times) from 27 coastal and inland native Brazilian groups. Very low frequencies of auditory exostoses were found in the inland groups (0.00-0.03), but the expected high frequency of auditory exostoses in the coastal groups was not always observed (0.00-0.56). These differences might be explained by the combination of water and atmospheric temperatures in conjunction with wind effects. In areas with mild atmospheric temperatures and wind chill factors, the coastal populations analyzed do not show high frequencies of auditory exostoses. However, high frequencies of auditory exostoses develop where cold atmospheric temperatures are further lowered by strong wind chill. Therefore, the association between aquatic activities, low atmospheric temperature, and wind chill is strongly correlated with the presence of auditory exostoses, but where these environmental factors are mild, the frequencies of auditory exostoses are not necessarily high. Concluding, auditory exostoses should be cautiously used as a marker of aquatic activity in bioarchaeological studies in tropical and subtropical regions, since these activities do not always result in the presence of this trait.
Asunto(s)
Conducto Auditivo Externo/patología , Ecosistema , Exostosis/patología , Fósiles , Brasil , Geografía , Historia Antigua , Humanos , Indígenas Sudamericanos , Paleopatología/métodos , Estaciones del Año , Temperatura , Clima Tropical , VientoRESUMEN
Enterobius vermicularis, pinworm, is one of the most common helminths worldwide, infecting nearly a billion people at all socio-economic levels. In prehistoric populations the paleoparasitological findings show a pinworm homogeneous distribution among hunter-gatherers in North America, intensified with the advent of agriculture. This same increase also occurred in the transition from nomad hunter-gatherers to sedentary farmers in South America, although E. vermicularis infection encompasses only the ancient Andean peoples, with no record among the pre-Colombian populations in the South American lowlands. However, the outline of pinworm paleoepidemiology has been supported by microscopic finding of eggs recovered from coprolites. Since molecular techniques are precise and sensitive in detecting pathogen ancient DNA (aDNA), and also could provide insights into the parasite evolutionary history, in this work we have performed a molecular paleoparasitological study of E. vermicularis. aDNA was recovered and pinworm 5S rRNA spacer sequences were determined from pre-Columbian coprolites (4110 BC-AD 900) from four different North and South American archaeological sites. The sequence analysis confirmed E. vermicularis identity and revealed a similarity among ancient and modern sequences. Moreover, polymorphisms were identified at the relative positions 160, 173 and 180, in independent coprolite samples from Tulán, San Pedro de Atacama, Chile (1080-950 BC). We also verified the presence of peculiarities (Splicing leader (SL1) RNA sequence, spliced donor site, the Sm antigen biding site, and RNA secondary structure) which characterise the SL1 RNA gene. The analysis shows that the SL1 RNA gene of contemporary pinworms was present in pre-Columbian E. vermicularis by 6110 years ago. We were successful in detecting E. vermicularis aDNA even in coprolites without direct microscopic evidence of the eggs, improving the diagnosis of helminth infections in the past and further pinworm paleoepidemiological studies.