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

Abstract

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.