Samantha Tipper, Penelope Wilson, Charlotte A. Roberts
{"title":"Spondylolysis in ancient Nubian skeletal populations","authors":"Samantha Tipper, Penelope Wilson, Charlotte A. Roberts","doi":"10.1002/oa.3241","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p>A comprehensive study of spinal health in ancient Nubia has not been achieved to date. This study is a component of a larger survey of spinal health. It presents a comparative analysis of spondylolysis, with the aim of providing an insight into the quality of life, environmental and socio-political stresses faced by individuals in ancient Nubia. This study provides bioarchaeological data from 515 adult individuals with preserved lumbar vertebrae (where spondylolysis is most commonly observed) from five populations that date from the Meroitic to the Medieval period (350 <span>BC</span>–1500 <span>AD</span>). Contextual data from settlements and cemeteries were used to interpret the data. The results demonstrated an overall crude prevalence of 6.6% for spondylolysis (individuals affected with vertebrae preserved) and an overall true prevalence of 1.2% (number of lumbar vertebrae affected). The data also revealed a number of possible trends, for example, that males were most affected, that there was an increase in prevalence over time, with the highest prevalence rates observed in the Medieval period, and that there was a higher prevalence rate among the populations from Mis Island compared with the other populations. It is possible that activities such as farming, building or rowing as well as socio-political changes could have contributed to the prevalence of spondylolysis seen in this study.</p>","PeriodicalId":14179,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Osteoarchaeology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.1000,"publicationDate":"2023-06-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/oa.3241","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"International Journal of Osteoarchaeology","FirstCategoryId":"98","ListUrlMain":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/oa.3241","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"历史学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"ANTHROPOLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
A comprehensive study of spinal health in ancient Nubia has not been achieved to date. This study is a component of a larger survey of spinal health. It presents a comparative analysis of spondylolysis, with the aim of providing an insight into the quality of life, environmental and socio-political stresses faced by individuals in ancient Nubia. This study provides bioarchaeological data from 515 adult individuals with preserved lumbar vertebrae (where spondylolysis is most commonly observed) from five populations that date from the Meroitic to the Medieval period (350 BC–1500 AD). Contextual data from settlements and cemeteries were used to interpret the data. The results demonstrated an overall crude prevalence of 6.6% for spondylolysis (individuals affected with vertebrae preserved) and an overall true prevalence of 1.2% (number of lumbar vertebrae affected). The data also revealed a number of possible trends, for example, that males were most affected, that there was an increase in prevalence over time, with the highest prevalence rates observed in the Medieval period, and that there was a higher prevalence rate among the populations from Mis Island compared with the other populations. It is possible that activities such as farming, building or rowing as well as socio-political changes could have contributed to the prevalence of spondylolysis seen in this study.
期刊介绍:
The aim of the International Journal of Osteoarchaeology is to provide a forum for the publication of papers dealing with all aspects of the study of human and animal bones from archaeological contexts. The journal will publish original papers dealing with human or animal bone research from any area of the world. It will also publish short papers which give important preliminary observations from work in progress and it will publish book reviews. All papers will be subject to peer review. The journal will be aimed principally towards all those with a professional interest in the study of human and animal bones. This includes archaeologists, anthropologists, human and animal bone specialists, palaeopathologists and medical historians.