Poundbury Camp in Context-a new Perspective on the Lives of Children from urban and rural Roman England

A calvarial osteolytic lesion of probable vascular origin in a Maya juvenile from the Classic Period ( 250-900 CE)

OBJECTIVE

This case study evaluates a focal osteolytic lesion in the right sulcus sinus transversi of an isolated os occipitale.

MATERIALS

The os occipitale is from a juvenile from the Cueva de Sangre at the Classic Period (250-900 CE) site of Dos Pilas, Guatemala METHODS: The lesion was examined macroscopically, microscopically, and radiographically.

RESULTS

The oval lesion has a well-circumscribed margin, endocranial origin, and involves cortical destruction of the inner and outer tables. Subperiosteal bone reaction around the lesion is present on the ectocranial surface. Skeletal evidence of increased vascularity, diploë expansion, and perimortem fracture near the lesion are not observed.

CONCLUSIONS

The lesion appears to reflect a response to the presence of an expansile process that has caused pressure erosion. The anatomical location of the lesion and the endocranial origin suggest a probable vascular anomaly, such as a vascular malformation.

SIGNIFICANCE

This case study represents one of the few bioarchaeological evaluations of probable vascular anomaly in a juvenile. As such, it expands our knowledge about vascular anomalies in the past and provides a comparative and core reference for guiding future paleopathological investigations on cranial osteolytic lesions.

LIMITATIONS

The skeletal assemblage is commingled and fragmentary preventing the assessment of the distribution of lesions across the skeleton.

SUGGESTIONS FOR FUTURE RESEARCH

Further scrutiny of bioarchaeological collections is needed to better understand the distribution of vascular anomalies in the past.

A macroscopic assessment of porosity and new bone formation on the inferior pars basilaris: Normal growth or an indicator of scurvy?

OBJECTIVES

This research aims to determine the aetiology of porosity and subperiosteal new bone formation on the inferior surface of the pars basilaris.

MATERIALS

A total of 199 non-adult individuals aged 36 weeks gestation to 3.5 years, from a total of 12 archaeological sites throughout the UK, including Iron Age (n=43), Roman (n=12), and post-medieval (n=145) sites, with a preserved pars basilaris.

METHODS

The pars basilaris was divided into six segments, with porosity (micro and macro) and subperiosteal new bone formation recorded on the inferior surface in scorbutic and non-scorbutic individuals. Scurvy was diagnosed using criteria from the palaeopathological literature that was developed using a biological approach.

RESULTS

There was no statistically significant difference in microporosity between scorbutic and non-scorbutic individuals in four out of the six segments analysed. There was a significant negative correlation between age and microporosity in non-scorbutic and scorbutic individuals. A significant difference in subperiosteal new bone formation was observed between scorbutic and non-scorbutic individuals.

CONCLUSIONS

Microporosity on the inferior pars basilaris should not be considered among the suite of lesions included in the macroscopic assessment of scurvy in non-adult skeletal remains (less than 3.5 years).

SIGNIFICANCE

This study highlights the risk of over diagnosing scurvy in past populations.

LIMITATIONS

It is difficult to distinguish between physiological (normal) and pathological (abnormal) bone changes in the skeleton of individuals less than one year of age.

SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH

Future research should focus on the analysis of individuals over 3.5 years of age.

Investigating the "scapula sign" as an indicator of rickets

OBJECTIVE

In 1971, Weiss identified a "scapula sign" comprising a defect at the inferior angle of the scapula in juveniles with vitamin D deficiency rickets, but this has been little studied since. This study aimed to explore pathological variation of this defect in juveniles with other skeletal manifestations of vitamin D deficiency rickets.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

527 juveniles, aged from birth to 12 years, from two post-medieval British assemblages were macroscopically evaluated to document the range of pathological changes at the inferior angle. Scapula maximum lengths were recorded and supplementary radiographs were assessed.

RESULTS

Blunting, flattening or squaring of the inferior angle occurred in 34 of 155 (22%) juveniles with other indicators of rickets and occurred frequently in cases of severe active rickets. Coarsening of the border and cupping deformities were identified radiographically, as well as residual defects in healed cases. Scapula lengths in juveniles with active rickets did not consistently deviate from those expected in any age group.

CONCLUSIONS

The scapula sign is identifiable in some children with rickets. Differential diagnoses of scapula defects are important but the socio-cultural and environmental context of this sample suggests a link to vitamin D deficiency.

SIGNIFICANCE

This finding expands the range of pathological changes known to occur in rickets, helping to improve recognition of this condition in past groups.

LIMITATIONS

Small sample sizes prevented observation of the defect in adolescents with rickets. Defects can affect the positioning of standardised scapula length measures, complicating assessments of growth impacts.

SUGGESTIONS FOR FUTURE RESEARCH

Continued research into the range of skeletal changes that can develop in vitamin D deficiency to improve the identification of this deficiency in past groups.

Forgotten and found: A case of childhood rickets in the 19th-century settler village of Heuvelton, New York

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate pathological lesions suggesting the presence of rickets and to place the diagnosis into bioarchaeological and historical context.

MATERIALS

The remains of a 3-year ± 12-month-old child discovered during a rescue excavation in Heuvelton, New York.

METHODS

We examined the individual macroscopically and conducted a differential diagnosis following established protocols in the palaeopathological literature.

RESULTS

Bony change on the orbits, mandible, ribs, clavicles, left scapula, humerii, radii, ulnae, femora, tibiae, fibulae (e.g., porosity, diaphyseal thickening, flaring, bowing), and dental lesions were recorded.

CONCLUSIONS

We demonstrate that the child likely presented with vitamin D deficiency rickets during crawling and as they learned to walk.

SIGNIFICANCE

This example offers an important contribution to the bioarchaeological literature, as few cases of rickets have been recorded in rural North America using updated diagnostic criteria and little is known of the health and lifeways of early settlers in 19th-century upstate New York.

LIMITATIONS

It is not possible to ascertain the precise aetiology of this child's rachitic state and to compare this individual with others in the population.

SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH

Examination (and re-assessment) of other North and South American skeletal assemblages for signs of vitamin D deficiency rickets following current bioarchaeological standards.

Is dietary deficiency of calcium a factor in rickets? Use of current evidence for our understanding of the disease in the past

OBJECTIVE

Rickets is considered an indicator of vitamin D deficiency in palaeopathology, but a strand of biomedical thought maintains that dietary calcium deficiency may sometimes play a part in its causation. Our aim is to evaluate the extent to which low calcium intake should be considered as a factor in biocultural interpretations of rickets.

METHODS

We assess published modern epidemiological studies that provide primary data to support claims for a role for dietary calcium deficiency in rickets. We also consider how we might identify, via indicators of calcium intake, populations at risk of calcium deficiency in the past.

RESULTS

Support for dietary calcium deficiency as a cause of rickets is equivocal. Direct measurement of dietary calcium in the past is not possible, but exposure to risk factors for low calcium intake can to some extent be identified.

CONCLUSION

Whilst there is little evidence to alter the view that rickets is essentially an indicator of a population's vitamin D status, occasionally, in very low calcium intake groups, dietary calcium deficiency may play a synergistic role by accentuating the need for vitamin D.

SIGNIFICANCE

The notion that dietary calcium deficiency may be a cause of rickets appears to be gaining currency in bioarchaeological studies. This paper shows that it is unusual for this to be the case, and even then the role of vitamin D remains crucial.

LIMITATIONS

This paper attempts to summarise the current state of biomedical study in an area that is subject to continuing investigation.

Height and health in Roman and Post-Roman Gaul, a life course approach

OBJECTIVE

The present study explores growth and health in Roman (1st-3rd centuries CE) and Post-Roman (4th-7th centuries CE) Gaul, incorporating a life-course approach, to better understand the influence of Roman practices and lifestyles on health, and the impact of cultural change from the Roman to the Post-Roman period.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The skeletal remains of 844 individuals were analyzed for non-specific signs of physiological stress, including growth disruption (diaphyseal and adult maximum femur length), dental enamel hypoplastic defects (DEH), cribra orbitalia (CO), and periosteal reaction of the tibiae (Tibia PR).

RESULTS

The Gallo-Roman sample demonstrated shorter femoral lengths, and higher rates of DEH and Tibia PR. Post-Roman groups demonstrated longer femoral lengths and higher rates of CO.

CONCLUSIONS

Gallo-Roman individuals may have been more regularly exposed to infectious pathogens throughout childhood, inhibiting opportunities for catch-up growth, resulting in high rates of DEH and shorter femoral lengths ('intermittent stress of low lethality'). This could be the result of overcrowding and insalubrious urban environments. Higher rates of CO in the Post-Roman samples may have been influenced by dietary changes between the periods.

SIGNIFICANCE

The intertwined and often synergistic relationships between early life environment, nutrition and settlement structure is highlighted, helping to further understandings of life experiences during the Roman and Post-Roman periods.

LIMITATIONS

It was not possible to obtain sufficient data from northern regions during the Gallo-Roman period, limiting this analysis.

SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH

Further application of life course approaches can reveal subtle patterns in stress indicators.

Toward a bioarchaeology of urbanization: Demography, health, and behavior in cities in the past

Urbanization is one of the most important settlement shifts in human history and has been the focus of research within bioarchaeology for decades. However, there have been limited attempts to synthesize the results of these studies in order to gain a broader perspective on whether or how urbanization affects the biology, demography, and behavior of humans, and how these potential effects are embodied in the human skeleton. This paper outlines how bioarchaeology is well-suited to examine urbanization in the past, and we provide an overview and examples of three main ways in which urbanization is studied in bioarchaeological research: comparison of (often contemporaneous) urban and rural sites, synchronic studies of the variation that exists within and between urban sites, and investigations of changes that occur within urban sites over time. Studies of urbanization, both within bioarchaeology and in other fields of study, face a number of limitations, including a lack of a consensus regarding what urban and urbanization mean, the assumed dichotomous nature of urban versus rural settlements, the supposition that urbanization is universally bad for people, and the assumption (at least in practice) of homogeneity within urban and rural populations. Bioarchaeologists can address these limitations by utilizing a wide array of data and methods, and the studies described here collectively demonstrate the complex, nuanced, and highly variable effects of urbanization.

A dual process model for paleopathological diagnosis

OBJECTIVES

This paper aims to provide an explicit theoretical model for the cognitive processes involved in paleopathological diagnosis.

METHODS

The approach adopted is a dual process model (DPM). DPMs recognize that cognition is a result of both Type 1 (intuitive) and Type 2 (analytical) processes. DPMs have been influential for understanding decision-making in a range of fields, including diagnosis in clinical medicine. Analogies are drawn between diagnosis in a clinical and a paleopathological setting.

RESULTS

In clinical medicine, both Type 1 and Type 2 processes play a part in diagnosis. In paleopathology the role of Type 1 processes has been unacknowledged. However, like clinical diagnosis, paleopathological diagnosis is inherently a result of a combination of both Type 1 and Type 2 processes. A model is presented by which Type 1 processes can be explicitly incorporated into a scientific approach to diagnosis from skeletal remains, and in which diagnosis is formalized as a process of hypothesis testing.

SIGNIFICANCE

Accurately modelling our diagnostic processes allows us to understand the biases and limitations in our work and potentially helps us to improve our procedures, including how we impart diagnostic skills in pedagogical settings.

LIMITATIONS

This work provides a theoretical model for paleopathological diagnosis. However, such models are by their nature dynamic and developing rather than static entities; it is hoped that this work stimulates further debate and discussion in this important area.

Cases of endocranial lesions on juvenile skeletons from Longshan cultural sites in Henan Province, China

Endocranial lesions were recognized on eight out of the 31 juveniles (25.8%) that were recovered from three Neolithic archaeological sites in Henan province. The remains of juveniles were recovered from urn burials at the Jiazhuang site (2200-2030 BCE) and graves at the Pingliangtai (2300-2100 BCE) and Haojiatai sites (2448-1700 BCE). The presence of endocranial lesions on all eight of these juvenile skulls was associated with a range of lesions on other bones, including areas of abnormal porosity and subperiosteal new bone deposition on either the sphenoid, maxilla, mandibular ramus, or orbit, as well as subperiosteal lesions on the postcranial bones. Several plausible explanations for the formation of these endocranial lesions in our eight cases include scurvy, shaken baby syndrome, and intrathoracic disease (such as tuberculosis or pulmonary infection). We show that the presence of endocranial lesions had a strong correspondence with skeletal markers of dietary deficiency, i.e. scurvy, and in one case, anemia. Millet was a key component of the Longshan subsistence in the area, while paleobotanical evidence of fruit and leafy vegetables appears to be limited, likely resulting in a nutrient deficient diet. The coupling of endocranial lesions with skeletal signs of dietary deficiency can be direct, as scurvy favors hemorrhaging, or mediated by physiological or sociocultural factors, and thereby represents comorbidity.

Analysis of patterning in the occurrence of skeletal lesions used as indicators of vitamin D deficiency in subadult and adult skeletal remains

Paleopathological investigations of conditions linked to vitamin D deficiency have increased in the last twenty years, and a suite of skeletal lesions has been established to aid in the diagnosis of vitamin D deficiency disease in subadults and adults. This paper analyzes the occurrence of these lesions in a large skeletal series comprising 3541 Roman period individuals (1st-6th century AD). Sixteen lesions reported in rickets in subadults, and 13 associated with residual rickets and osteomalacia in adults, were analyzed. Among subadults, there were clear associations among post-cranial lesions. Porotic cranial changes were associated with each other, but not with post-cranial lesions. A range of conditions could have produced the cranial lesions. There was a general paucity of correlations between indicators found in adults, and the difficulty in recording bending deformities was clear. Pseudofractures appear to provide a useful means of investigating osteomalacia in adults. In general, a simple algorithmic approach using presence or absence of lesions is unlikely to provide an adequate means of diagnosing vitamin D deficiency in paleopathology. Knowledge and consideration of the underlying physiological mechanisms involved in lesion formation, combined with individual judgement, will be required to differentially diagnose cases.

Life and death at the "The Land of Three Lakes": Revisiting the non-adults from Roman Aventicum, Switzerland (1st-3rd century CE)

The study of Roman childhood has been the focus of research primarily using documentary and archaeological evidence, while relatively few non-adult skeletal assemblages have been analyzed. This paper presents the study of 93 non-adult individuals from four cemeteries in the Roman (1st-3rd c. CE) civitas capital of Aventicum (Avenches), Switzerland. The results of the analysis offer a new bioarchaeological perspective on mortality and disease patterns during childhood in Roman Switzerland, adding to the discussion regarding living conditions in the urban centers at the periphery of the Roman Empire. This study also highlights the importance of studying perinates in archaeological populations, since the current research inform us about the experiences of mothers and their offspring in Aventicum. The mortality and disease patterns of the perinates, representing 71% of the total non-adult sample (66/93), suggest that pregnancy and the time around birth were extremely challenging at Aventicum. It is argued that environmental constraints, e.g. the risk of infectious diseases such as malaria and natural phenomena such as recurring floods resulting in resources scarcity, could have considerably affected the mother-fetus pair in this urban settlement.