International Journal of Paleopathology最新文献

{"title":"Implications of the prevalence of Ascaris sp. in the funerary context of a Late Antique population (5th-7th c.) in Granada (Spain)","authors":"Ramón López-Gijón ,&nbsp;Edgard Camarós ,&nbsp;Ángel Rubio-Salvador ,&nbsp;Salvatore Duras ,&nbsp;Miguel C. Botella-López ,&nbsp;Inmaculada Alemán-Aguilera ,&nbsp;Ángel Rodríguez-Aguilera ,&nbsp;Macarena Bustamante-Álvarez ,&nbsp;Lydia P. Sánchez-Barba ,&nbsp;Benjamin Dufour ,&nbsp;Matthieu Le Bailly","doi":"10.1016/j.ijpp.2023.09.002","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ijpp.2023.09.002","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Objective</h3><p>To evaluate the prevalence of gastro-intestinal parasites in human remains from Late Antiquity (5th – 7th c.) Granada (Spain).</p></div><div><h3>Materials</h3><p>The study included pelvic and cranial control samples from 17 skeletons from the archaeological sites of Los Mondragones (n = 13) and Rafael Guillén (n = 4).</p></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><p>In the paleoparasitological study, soil samples from pelvic area and cranium were analyzed using the rehydration, homogenization, and micro-sieving method and visualization under brightfield microscopy.</p></div><div><h3>Results</h3><p><em>Ascaris</em> sp. eggs were detected in pelvic samples from seven individuals.</p></div><div><h3>Conclusions</h3><p>These findings may indicate that this parasite was endemic. Its detection frequency is one of the highest reported at group level in an osteological series from Late Antiquity.</p></div><div><h3>Significance</h3><p>The prevalence of <em>Ascaris</em> sp. associated with skeletal remains has implications for assessing the lifestyle and health of populations in southern Spain during the Late Antique period.</p></div><div><h3>Limitations</h3><p>The number of individuals is small and taphonomic processes could have limited paleoparasitological findings</p></div><div><h3>Suggestions for further research</h3><p>Future interdisciplinary studies of this type are warranted in larger osteological series to improve knowledge of parasitosis in the past.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":48817,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Paleopathology","volume":"43 ","pages":"Pages 45-50"},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2023-09-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41165294","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Trepanations in non-adults of the 16th to 18th C. The osteological series of the Church of the Assumption of Valdepeñas (Ciudad Real, Spain)","authors":"Á. Rubio Salvador ,&nbsp;L.P. Sánchez-Barba ,&nbsp;J. Úbeda-Portugués ,&nbsp;A. Martín-Prats ,&nbsp;J. Vélez ,&nbsp;J. Irurita ,&nbsp;I. Alemán","doi":"10.1016/j.ijpp.2023.09.005","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ijpp.2023.09.005","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Objective</h3><p>To investigate the presence of trepanations in an early Modern Age, skeletal collection documented in medical treatises but infrequently reported in osteological collections.</p></div><div><h3>Materials</h3><p>Analyses were conducted on 387 non-adult crania from the ossuary in the church of the Assumption of Valdepeñas (16th - 18th C.), Ciudad Real, Spain.</p></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><p>All complete or semi-complete crania of non-adults (aged 3–20 years) were macroscopically examined.</p></div><div><h3>Results</h3><p>Trepanation was detected in two adolescents aged 14 and 20 years; no evidence of their survival was observed.</p></div><div><h3>Conclusions</h3><p>These findings suggest that trepanation was carried out in rural areas as Valdepeñas in the 16th-18th centuries, where the selection of instruments indicates knowledge of contemporaneous medical treatises.</p></div><div><h3>Significance</h3><p>The present study provides new data on trepanation and how it was performed in adolescents during this period.</p></div><div><h3>Limitations</h3><p>Understanding the motive for these interventions is highly challenging in the absence of bone lesions, and their occurrence is likely underestimated due to the scant research in skeletal remains from the early Modern Age.</p></div><div><h3>Suggestions for future research</h3><p>Further palaeopathological analyses of osteological collections from this period will provide more information about how this surgical technique was perfected.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":48817,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Paleopathology","volume":"43 ","pages":"Pages 37-44"},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2023-09-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41155868","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Differential diagnosis of a calcified object from the South Tombs Cemetery at Amarna, Egypt","authors":"Gretchen R. Dabbs","doi":"10.1016/j.ijpp.2023.09.001","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ijpp.2023.09.001","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Objective</h3><p>This paper provides a brief history of the publication of calcified biological objects and presents one that was present in the grave associated with a mature adult female buried in the South Tombs Cemetery at Amarna, Egypt (c. 1353–1332BCE).</p></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><p><span>Macroscopic examination revealed an ovoid object constructed of concentric layers of a coarse sand-like material oriented around a dense core that lacked evidence of parasites. Microscopic examination revealed the object is composed of densely, yet haphazardly packed, elongated octahedron shaped crystals with no evidence of cellular structures. Basic chemical analysis eliminated </span>calcium carbonate as a constituent material.</p></div><div><h3>Results</h3><p>Based on comparison with previously published examples from the archaeological and clinical literature and careful differential diagnosis, it is suggested this object is a bladder stone.</p></div><div><h3>Significance</h3><p>A brief discussion of the implications of bladder stones on individual health and broader epidemiological constraints to illustrate the depth such discoveries can bring to our understanding of ancient lived experience concludes the work.</p></div><div><h3>Limitations</h3><p>The burial of Ind. 286 was disturbed. The identification of a bladder stone presumes the stone would have been found within the pelvic cavity, which cannot be confirmed. Other graves in the vicinity of this grave were also disturbed. It is unlikely, but still possible, that the stone originated from another grave and was relocated to this grave after disturbance. Full chemical analysis was not possible.</p></div><div><h3>Suggestions for future research</h3><p>Radiographic and chemical analysis would provide more information to strengthen the certainty of the differential diagnosis.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":48817,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Paleopathology","volume":"43 ","pages":"Pages 31-36"},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2023-09-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41126097","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"New paleopathological findings from the Quaternary of the Brazilian Intertropical Region expand the distribution of joint diseases for the South American megafauna","authors":"Rodolfo C. da Silva ,&nbsp;Fernando H. de S. Barbosa ,&nbsp;Kleberson de O. Porpino","doi":"10.1016/j.ijpp.2023.08.002","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ijpp.2023.08.002","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Objective</h3><p>To evaluate pathological changes in fossils from the Brazilian Intertropical Region (BIR), expanding the records of previously reported diseases for representatives of the Quaternary South American megafauna, including taxa not studied in previous works.</p></div><div><h3>Materials and methods</h3><p>We carried out a thorough macroscopic analysis of fifteen unpublished specimens belonging to representatives of the Quaternary megafauna of BIR to identify evidence of pathological alterations.</p></div><div><h3>Results</h3><p>Alterations included: osteophytes in Toxodontidae, Megatheridae and <em>E. laurillardi</em>; rough subchondral bone, bone overgrowth and bone erosion in <em>E. laurillardi</em><span>; slit-shaped subchondral depressions in Equidae and </span><em>E. laurillardi</em>; and a triangular-shaped porous lesion in Mylodontidae.</p></div><div><h3>Conclusions</h3><p><span>The alterations found allowed the recognition of the first cases of osteoarthritis for Toxodontidae and articular depressions for Equidae, and new cases of both diseases in </span><em>Eremotherium laurillardi;</em><span> a new case of osteochondritis dissecans<span><span> for Mylodontidae; potential new cases of calcium pyrophosphate deposition and </span>spondyloarthropathy for </span></span><em>E. laurillardi</em></p></div><div><h3>Significance</h3><p>Our results provide additional evidence that calcium pyrophosphate deposition disease was widely spread among species of the South American megafauna and suggest that osteochondritis dissecans may have been relatively common among ground sloths.</p></div><div><h3>Limitations</h3><p>The identification of calcium pyrophosphate deposition and spondyloarthropathy in <em>E. laurillardi</em> are quite tentative because the evidence found is ambiguous and the number of examined specimens is limited.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":48817,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Paleopathology","volume":"43 ","pages":"Pages 16-21"},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2023-09-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"10273413","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Holes in the Head. Double cranial surgery on an individual from the Chalcolithic burial site of Camino del Molino (SE Spain)","authors":"Sonia Díaz-Navarro ,&nbsp;María Haber Uriarte ,&nbsp;Rebeca García-González","doi":"10.1016/j.ijpp.2023.09.003","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ijpp.2023.09.003","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Objective</h3><p>This article analyses new prehistoric evidence of trepanation from a collective burial site in the south-eastern Iberian Peninsula.</p></div><div><h3>Materials</h3><p>The trepanned individual was documented in the Chalcolithic burial site of Camino del Molino, where 1348 individuals (30.7 % non-adults and 69.3 % adults) were deposited in two contiguous funerary phases, making it a reference site for the knowledge of Recent Prehistoric populations.</p></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><p>The individual has been sexed using traditional anthropological methods and ancient DNA. C14 dating has also been obtained. The lesion has been analysed macroscopically and microscopically using SEM.</p></div><div><h3>Results</h3><p>The skull under study belonged to an adult female deposited in the second burial phase (2566–2239 years cal BCE). It exhibits in the anterior region of the right temporal fossa two contiguous and partially overlapping holes that correspond to two trepanations performed using the scraping technique.</p></div><div><h3>Conclusions</h3><p>It is a double cranial trepanation with signs of bone remodelling suggesting survival from surgery. No pathological signs were identified potentially associated with the intervention.</p></div><div><h3>Significance</h3><p>This is the second case of surgical interventions in the geographical area of study and one of the few evidences of this practice in women during prehistoric times.</p></div><div><h3>Limitations</h3><p>So far only the articulated skeletons from this burial have been thoroughly analysed.</p></div><div><h3>Suggestions for further research</h3><p>Further intensive review of skull collection is advised to learn more about these surgical interventions in Copper Age and to go deeper into the causes that motivated their execution.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":48817,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Paleopathology","volume":"43 ","pages":"Pages 22-30"},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2023-09-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"10289761","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Prevalence and distribution of ossification of the ligamenta flava in a 16th–18th century skeletal population sample from Poland","authors":"Kamil Mrożek ,&nbsp;Justyna Marchewka ,&nbsp;Beata Borowska ,&nbsp;Alicja Budnik","doi":"10.1016/j.ijpp.2023.06.001","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ijpp.2023.06.001","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Objective</h3><p>This study aimed to determine the prevalence of the ossification of the ligamenta flava (OLF) among skeletal remains from Poland.</p></div><div><h3>Materials and methods</h3><p><span>124 skeletons aged 25 years and older were analyzed. The presence and size of OLF were observed macroscopically. OLF was recorded at the cranial and caudal attachment sites of each </span>vertebra<span>. The following factors were analyzed: age at death, sex, and presence of other spondyloarthropathies.</span></p></div><div><h3>Results</h3><p><span>The crude prevalence of OLF in the analyzed series was 68.55 %. OLF was located most frequently in the lower thoracic spine. A statistically significant relationship was observed between the presence of OLF and age at death. OLF coincided with degenerative spondyloarthropathies of the </span>thoracolumbar spine.</p></div><div><h3>Conclusions</h3><p>The results of this study indicate that OLF was not a rare condition in past populations of European ancestry. Analysis of OLF prevalence in skeletal materials can contribute to reconstruction of the conditions and lifestyles of past people.</p></div><div><h3>Significance</h3><p>This study shed new light on the prevalence of OLF and provides information on the variability of OLF in past European populations. The evaluation of the prevalence of OLF represents an important contribution to the field of paleopathology in understanding disease changes in prehistoric and historic human populations.</p></div><div><h3>Limitations</h3><p>The analyzed material came from unknown populations without demographic data. Sex and age at death were assessed using standard anthropological methods.</p></div><div><h3>Suggestions for further research</h3><p>It is important to understand the influence of sociocultural factors<span> and physical activity patterns on the development of OLF.</span></p></div>","PeriodicalId":48817,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Paleopathology","volume":"42 ","pages":"Pages 1-13"},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2023-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"10037396","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A pathological Neandertal thumb phalanx from Moula-Guercy (France)","authors":"Silvana Condemi ,&nbsp;Michel Panuel ,&nbsp;Kathia Chaumoitre ,&nbsp;Maria Giovanna Belcastro ,&nbsp;Annalisa Pietrobelli ,&nbsp;Jean-Luc Voisin","doi":"10.1016/j.ijpp.2023.06.002","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ijpp.2023.06.002","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Objective</h3><p><span>To discuss a Neandertal pathological adult first pollical </span>proximal phalanx (I2-104) from the Baume de Moula-Guercy (Ardèche, France) and evaluate the possible causes of this pathology.</p></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><p>Macroscopic analyses of external features, as well as CT imaging, were used in the analysis</p></div><div><h3>Results</h3><p>The presence of asymmetric eburnation on the distal epiphysis<span> associated with an osteophyte on the palmar surface, as well as the absence of periosteal bone reaction visible on CT images, is consistent with osteoarthritis.</span></p></div><div><h3>Conclusion</h3><p>Osteoarthritis (OA) can have different origins and the cause is difficult to identify. The pathology of the Moula-Guercy I2-104 phalanx may be due to a genetic predisposition for OA known in Neandertals and associated with short limb bones. The OA could have been aggravated by the age of this individual and by an inflammatory reaction caused by repeated movements and intense vibrations provoked by high-frequency knapping or by other use of the hands</p></div><div><h3>Significance</h3><p>The I2-104 phalanx is the first Neandertal pollical phalanx known to display OA, although joints of this bone are frequently affected by this pathology in modern humans. Thus, greater insight into the presence and consequences of Neandertal behaviors is offered</p></div><div><h3>Limitation</h3><p>It is impossible to give a definitive conclusion on the cause(s) of the OA in this case.</p></div><div><h3>Suggestions for further research</h3><p>More data is needed concerning OA within Neandertals and its relationship with behavior and genetics.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":48817,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Paleopathology","volume":"42 ","pages":"Pages 14-17"},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2023-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"10094337","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A distant city: Assessing the impact of Dutch socioeconomic developments on urban and rural health using respiratory disease as a proxy","authors":"Maia Casna,&nbsp;Rachel Schats,&nbsp;Menno L.P. Hoogland,&nbsp;Sarah A. Schrader","doi":"10.1016/j.ijpp.2023.07.003","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ijpp.2023.07.003","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Objectives</h3><p>To investigate the prevalence of respiratory disease in several populations from the Netherlands across different time periods and socioeconomic conditions.</p></div><div><h3>Materials</h3><p>We analyzed 695 adult individuals from six different Dutch contexts of urban and rural settlements dating to different time periods (i.e., early-medieval, late-medieval, post-medieval).</p></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><p>For each individual, the presence/absence of chronic maxillary sinusitis, otitis media, and inflammatory periosteal reaction on ribs was recorded macroscopically according to accepted methods.</p></div><div><h3>Results</h3><p>Statistically significant associations were found in the presence of sinusitis diachronically (early-medieval to late-medieval period, and early-medieval to post-medieval period) both in rural and urban environments. Differences in prevalence rates of otitis media were found statistically significant when comparing rural to urban environments in the early-medieval and late-medieval periods.</p></div><div><h3>Conclusion</h3><p>Our results suggest that factors such as increased contact between towns and countryside, higher population densities, and intensification of agricultural production impacted the respiratory health of past populations both in rural and urban settings.</p></div><div><h3>Significance</h3><p>Our study provides new insights into the impact of environmental changes and urbanization on respiratory disease prevalence, shedding light on the relationship between health and changing social and environmental contexts.</p></div><div><h3>Limitations</h3><p>Research limitations included the complex etiology of respiratory diseases, and the impact of uncontrollable factors such as hidden heterogeneity, selective mortality, and rural-to-urban migration.</p></div><div><h3>Future research</h3><p>Further research in different contexts is advised in order to continue exploring urbanization and its impact on human health across both time and space.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":48817,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Paleopathology","volume":"42 ","pages":"Pages 34-45"},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2023-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"10037676","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Insights into molar-incisor hypomineralisation in past populations: A call to anthropologists","authors":"Elsa Garot ,&nbsp;Diego Lopez Onaindia ,&nbsp;Christine Couture ,&nbsp;Juan Ignacio Morales ,&nbsp;Artur Cebrià ,&nbsp;Xavier Oms ,&nbsp;David John Manton ,&nbsp;Marina Lozano","doi":"10.1016/j.ijpp.2023.07.004","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ijpp.2023.07.004","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Objective</h3><p><span>Molar incisor hypomineralisation (MIH) is a developmental defect of </span>enamel<span> affecting the first permanent molars and often the incisors and affecting approximately 13% of the current population worldwide. Here, we aim to highlight potential differential diagnoses of MIH in archaeological collections (taphonomic discoloration, amelogenesis<span> imperfecta, fluorosis, rachitic teeth, etc.).</span></span></p></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><p>Causative factors of dental discolourations are identified through a literature review.</p></div><div><h3>Results</h3><p><span>In an archaeological context, the sediments contained in the burial soil can lead to tooth discoloration. Taphonomic staining of the dentition may have a similar appearance to enamel hypomineralisation, and thus is a confounding factor that has the potential to cause miscalculation of the true prevalence of MIH within archaeological collections. Some rare medieval cases are reported in the modern literature but without microanalysis, misdiagnosis is possible. The aetiological factors of MIH are unknown but probably follow the multifactorial model involving systemic medical and </span>genetic factors.</p></div><div><h3>Conclusions</h3><p>Systematic detection and diagnosis of MIH during anthropological studies is therefore of great interest.</p></div><div><h3>Significance</h3><p>The hypotheses that only contemporary agents are causative factors of MIH could be refuted by the discovery of individuals living before medication or pollutants. The identification of MIH in a group of individuals also provides information regarding the health status of a population and reflects stress occurring during the period of mineralisation of the first permanent molars after secretion of the enamel matrix.</p></div><div><h3>Limitations</h3><p>Taphonomic alterations of archaeological remains prevent MIH diagnosis.</p></div><div><h3>Suggestions for future research</h3><p>MIH diagnosis can be difficult in archaeological series and further non-destructive methods (microtomography, elemental analyses, etc.) are required.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":48817,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Paleopathology","volume":"42 ","pages":"Pages 18-26"},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2023-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"10038497","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Postmortem changes in ancient Egyptian child mummies: Possible pitfalls on CT images","authors":"Stephanie Panzer ,&nbsp;Stephanie Zesch ,&nbsp;Wilfried Rosendahl ,&nbsp;Randall C. Thompson ,&nbsp;Albert R. Zink","doi":"10.1016/j.ijpp.2023.07.005","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ijpp.2023.07.005","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Objective</h3><p>To identify and interpret computed tomography<span> (CT) findings of postmortem changes in ancient Egyptian child mummies.</span></p></div><div><h3>Materials</h3><p>Whole-body CT examinations of 21 ancient Egyptian child mummies from German (n = 18), Italian (n = 1), and Swiss museums (n = 2).</p></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><p>Conspicuous CT findings from prior evaluations with various research questions that were assessed as postmortem changes were classified, and special cases were illustrated and discussed.</p></div><div><h3>Results</h3><p>Postmortem changes were classified into several categories. From these, individuals with evidence of invasion of resin/oil/tar into bone, dried fluid-levels within bone most likely due to natron, probable interaction of natron with soft tissues and bone, as well as insect infestation were demonstrated.</p></div><div><h3>Conclusions</h3><p>One challenge of paleoradiology is to differentiate between intravital and postmortem changes, which can be multifarious. These changes can be obvious, but also subtle, and can mimic diseases.</p></div><div><h3>Significance</h3><p>The provided classification of postmortem changes, as well as the demonstrated cases, may serve as models for further paleoradiological investigations. The dried intraosseous fluid levels in two mummies, most likely due to natron, suggests that these children were immersed in a liquid natron bath, in contrast to the current scientific view that natron for mummification was routinely applied in the solid form.</p></div><div><h3>Limitations</h3><p>CT was used as the only examination method, as sampling of the mummies was not possible.</p></div><div><h3>Suggestions for further research</h3><p>The awareness that postmortem changes on CT images of ancient Egyptian mummies might mimic pathology should be raised to reduce or avoid incorrect interpretation.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":48817,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Paleopathology","volume":"42 ","pages":"Pages 46-54"},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2023-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"10038970","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}