Browsing by Subject "Paleopathology"
Now showing 1 - 4 of 4
Results Per Page
Sort Options
Item A health assessment of an Etruscan skeletal series dating from the VIII century to the I century BC(2011-08) Crockford-Peters, Elizabeth; Paine, Robert R.; Durband, Arthur C.We examine the frequency of paleopathological lesions exhibited by 279 skeletons recovered from several Etruscan Necropolis located near the city of Tarquinia, Italy. The necropolis dates from the VIII century BC to the I century BC. The purpose of this thesis is to compare lesions frequencies by sex, chronology and by cultural affiliation. Skeletal lesions appear in 65% of the adults (64% of females and 66.4% of males). The following lesions were recorded: osteoarthritis, degenerative joint disease, trauma porotic hyperostosis, cribra orbitalia, caries, enamel hypoplasias and periodontal disease. The differences in rates between the sexes for this sample of Etruscan burials are not statistically significant. Twenty percent of the sub-adults presented skeletal or dental lesions. The presence of lesions caused by chronic health stressors in the sub-adult sample indicates that they were likely under the same health constraints as the adults. Additionally, it is likely that acute health problems lead to many of the sub-adult deaths. Finally, our findings are compared to Imperial Roman skeletal samples from across Italy. In general, the Etruscan sample falls below the frequency of cranial pitting and degenerative joint disease found among the Imperial Roman samples.Item A statistical analysis of the relationship between enamel hypoplasias and periosteal lesions among the colonial Maya from Tipu, Belize(2012-08) Murphy, Megan; Paine, Robert R.; Durband, Arthur C.The purpose of this project it to determine if there is a significant statistical correlation between enamel hypoplasias and periosteal lesions of long bones among the Colonial Maya from the archaeological site of Tipu in Belize. Enamel hypoplasias and periosteal lesions are commonly recognized as indicators of physiological stress in skeletal populations. Although the exact etiology of enamel hypoplasias is unknown, their presence has been linked to periods of metabolic stress during the first 7 years of life. Non-specific periosteal lesions are the result of an inflamed periosteum due to infection or trauma. This study provides information about the relationship between enamel hypoplasias and periosteal lesions, which can in turn be interpreted to determine a correlation between individuals who incurred metabolic stress during childhood and the frequency of periosteal infections they sustained as an adult. The skeletal material used in this project comes from the Tipu collection, which is housed at SUNY in Plattsburgh, NY. The Tipu skeletal collection has an occupational history stretching as far back as 300 B.C. The individuals in this study however, are from the Colonial period between 1544 and 1707. For this study, 111 individuals were selected based on the completeness of the skeletons, presence of associated teeth, and completeness of demographic profiles. Fisher’s exact tests were performed to determine if there was any statistically significant correlation between the presence of enamel hypoplasias and periosteal lesions for the whole sample and for subcategories. Subcategories were divided by sex, age, specific long bones, and specific teeth. Several hypotheses have been formulated to increase our understanding of the data.Item The forensic application of comparative mammalian bone histology(Texas Tech University, 2002-05) Horni, HaraldNot availableItem The Late Medieval Agrarian Crisis and Black Death plague epidemic in medieval Denmark: a paleopathological and paleodietary perspective(2009-06-02) Yoder, Cassady J.The medieval period of Denmark (11th-16th centuries) witnessed two of the worst demographic, health, and dietary catastrophes in history: the Late Medieval Agrarian Crisis (LMAC) and the Black Death plague epidemic. Historians have argued that these events resulted in a change in subsistence from a cereal grain to a more pastorallyfocused diet, and that the population decimation resulted in improved living conditions. This dissertation bioarchaeologically examines the impact of these historically described events on the diet and health of the population from Jutland, Denmark. I examine the stable isotopic ratios of carbon and nitrogen, dental caries, cribra orbitalia, porotic hyperostosis, periosteal reactions, and femur length to examine the samples for dietary and health differences due to sex, time period, site and social status. The results suggest that there are few chronological differences in diet or health in these samples. There are greater disparities among the sites, as peasants from the rural site had a more terrestrially-based diet and poorer health than the urban sites. While there is little difference in diet by sex, there is a disparity in health between the sexes. However, the direction of difference varies by site, suggesting that the relative treatment of the sexes was not universal in Denmark. While the results indicate there is little difference in health by status, there are dietary differences, as elites had a more marinebased diet than peasants. This research indicates the importance of bioarchaeological analysis in the interpretation of historical events. The recording of history is dependent on the viewpoint of the recorder and may not accurately reflect the importance of events on the the population itself. Bioarchaeological techniques examine skeletal material from the individuals in question and may provide a better understanding of the consequences of historic events on the population, such as the effects of the LMAC and Black Death on the population of Denmark. This research reveals that, contrary to historical expectation, these events did not have a measurable impact on Danish diet or health. Thus, the use of historical documentation and bioarchaeological analyses provides a richer understanding of these historical events.