Wormian bone formation in the skeletal population from Lachish

Prevalence of wormian bones worldwide: a critical review

Wormian bones (WB) are the irregular bone structures developed from additional centers of ossification. Although they are commonly found in healthy individuals, under certain conditions (number >10, mosaic pattern, large size), they can indicate pathology. While their coexistence with numerous diseases is well-documented, and various studies have reported their prevalence in populations of various geographic regions, no qualitative critical review of such studies has been conducted. The aim of this paper is to perform a critical review of research studies on the presence of Wormian bones in populations worldwide, with a particular emphasis on the methodology used and the selection of the samples studied. A sample of 44 original research articles was selected via PubMed and Google Scholar databases. Four criteria were assessed: 1) number of individuals in each group, 2) known sex of individuals, 3) selection criteria of individuals, and 4) implementation of the statistical analysis. The origin of the research sample was determined as well as the method of the WB calculation, and data on the WB prevalence worldwide was collected in tabular form. The reported size of the research samples varies from 22 to 628 individuals, derived from both contemporary and archaeological populations. Four major formulas were used in order to provide the frequency of WB. The sex of individuals was known in 18 (40.9%) articles. Most of the articles focused on Asian samples. The difficulties in comparing data on the Wormian bones are caused by considerable inconsistency in the methodology used to research this phenomenon. Therefore, the interpopulation comparisons currently made may not be correctly estimated. Our study highlights the need for using more comprehensive and consistent data collection as well as processing protocol suitable for populational research on sutural bones.

Bregmatic wormian bone and metopic synostosis

We present a case of a 14-week-old girl with metopic synostosis and an incidental finding of a large, pentagonal bregmatic wormian bone. No prior photographic evidence of this combination of rare findings exists. An extensive review of the incidence, etiology, and significance of these unusual supernumerary cranial bones is provided in this study.

Bioarchaeological analysis of cultural transition in the southern Levant using dental nonmetric traits

To many Near Eastern archaeologists, the Late Bronze Age-Early Iron Age transition in the southern Levant indicates the emergence of a new ethnicity. The question remains, however, whether changes in the material culture are the result of an invasion of foreigners, or instead arose from shifting cultural and technical practices by indigenous peoples. This study utilized dental morphological traits to assess phenetic relationships between the Late Bronze Age site of Dothan (1500-1100 BC) and the Iron Age II site of Lachish (Tell ed-Duweir, 701 BC). Information on 30 dental crown and root traits was collected for 4,412 teeth, representing 392 individuals from Lachish and a minimum of 121 individuals from Dothan, using the Arizona State University Dental Anthropology System. Seventeen traits from Dothan and Lachish were compared with dentitions from a Byzantine Jerusalem monastery, Iron Age Italy, a Natufian group (early agrarians from the Levant), and a Middle Kingdom Egyptian site using C.A.B. Smith's mean measure of divergence statistic. The findings suggest that there are more similarities between Dothan and Lachish than either of them and other sites. This analysis indicates that the material culture changes were not the result of a foreign invasion. Rather, the Iron Age people of the southern Levant were related to their Bronze Age predecessors.

Effects of different kinds of cranial deformation on the incidence of wormian bones

Researchers have debated whether the presence and frequency of wormian bones (sutural bones, supernumerary bones, and ossicles) are attributable to genetic factors, environmental factors, or both. This research examines the effects of many different kinds of cranial deformation on the incidence of wormian bones. A sample of 127 deformed and undeformed crania from New World archaeological sites was examined. An undeformed cranial sample (n=35) was compared to the following cranially deformed groups: 1) occipital, 2) lambdoid, 3) annular, 4) fronto-vertico-occipital, 5) parallelo-fronto-occipital, and 6) sagittal synostosis. Three levels of degree of cultural cranial deformation were qualitatively determined. Type and number of wormian bones along each major suture were recorded for each cranium. Group means were analyzed using Kruskal-Wallis one-way ANOVA statistical tests to test the null hypothesis that cranial deformation does not have an effect on wormian bone incidence. Results indicate that all forms of cranial deformation affect the frequency of some types of wormian bones. In particular, all cranially deformed groups exhibited significantly greater frequencies of lambdoid ossicles. Apical, parieto-mastoid, and occipito-mastoid wormian bones also appeared with greater frequency in some groups of culturally deformed crania. Further, varying degrees of cultural deformation all had more lambdoid wormian bones than the undeformed group. These results suggest that wormian bone development in posteriorly placed sutures may be affected more by environmental forces than are their anteriorly placed counterparts.