A case of disability and care during Inca times

IF 1.3 3区地球科学 Q3 PALEONTOLOGY

International Journal of Paleopathology Pub Date : 2025-03-03 DOI:10.1016/j.ijpp.2025.02.007

Catalina Morales, Francisco Garrido

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Objective

To evaluate pathological lesions observed in an individual and use them as a means to explore cultural patterns of caregiving.

Materials

A well-preserved female skeleton aged 45 years or older exhibiting an unusual distribution and severity of alterations on joints. The individual comes from a Late Horizon cemetery (1400–1550 CE) in the Copiapó Valley, northern Chile.

Methods

Visual analysis was utilized to estimate sex and age, followed by a paleopathological differential diagnosis. Additionally, a model of disability and care was applied.

Results

Our examination suggests the presence of a polyarticular arthritic condition. The differential diagnosis pointed to spondyloarthritis, affecting the spine, sacrum, hands, knees and feet. The individual was buried without any discernible distinction from others within their local group.

Conclusions

This case presents new evidence of the presence of spondyloarthritis in populations of South America before Spanish colonization, which probably produced mobility limitations. Additionally, it provides evidence of caregiving practices in the Copiapó society during the Late Horizon.

Significance

Our study contributes to the understanding of spondyloarthritis during the Inca period in northern Chile and indicates that despite living in a time of political transformation, labor demands, and social pressures related to Inca territorial expansion, caregivers appeared to have possessed adequate resources and time to offer aid and secure survival for individuals impacted by chronic disease.

Limitations

Molecular indicators of arthritis were not included in our analysis.

Suggestions for further research

A comparative study involving other instances of arthropathies associated with inflammatory disorders in the Andes region could offer valuable insights.

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来源期刊

International Journal of Paleopathology PALEONTOLOGY-PATHOLOGY

CiteScore

2.90

自引率

25.00%

发文量

期刊介绍： Paleopathology is the study and application of methods and techniques for investigating diseases and related conditions from skeletal and soft tissue remains. The International Journal of Paleopathology (IJPP) will publish original and significant articles on human and animal (including hominids) disease, based upon the study of physical remains, including osseous, dental, and preserved soft tissues at a range of methodological levels, from direct observation to molecular, chemical, histological and radiographic analysis. Discussion of ways in which these methods can be applied to the reconstruction of health, disease and life histories in the past is central to the discipline, so the journal would also encourage papers covering interpretive and theoretical issues, and those that place the study of disease at the centre of a bioarchaeological or biocultural approach. Papers dealing with historical evidence relating to disease in the past (rather than history of medicine) will also be published. The journal will also accept significant studies that applied previously developed techniques to new materials, setting the research in the context of current debates on past human and animal health.