Evidence of non-adult vitamin C deficiency in three early medieval sites in the Jaun/Podjuna Valley, Carinthia, Austria

Objective

This study aims to determine and discuss the prevalence of non-adult scurvy cases from the early medieval Jaun/Podjuna Valley in southern Austria.

Materials

86 non-adult individuals were assessed from three early medieval sites.

Methods

Morphological characteristics associated with suggestive and probable scurvy were observed macroscopically and under 20–40x magnification.

Results

A significant relationship between the prevalence of scurvy and age group was observed. Perinates (46%, 6/13) and children (27.5%, 8/28) showed a high prevalence of skeletal features indicating a diagnosis of scurvy, while no cases of scurvy were observed in adolescents and adults.

Conclusions

In this Alpine region, scurvy occurred frequently in infants and children. Seasonal fluctuations of diet are discussed as factors triggering scurvy.

Significance

This study sheds new light on the prevalence of scurvy in the Alpine region and how the region developed after the fall of the Roman Noricum. It also models ways in which multiple lines of evidence can contribute to the diagnostic process.

Limitations

Poor preservation posed a challenge to identifying probable cases of scurvy. Likewise, non-adult remains are difficult to diagnose due to their developing nature and it is not always possible to distinguish between normal bone growth and pathological growth.

Suggestions for further research

Future applications of biomolecular studies will help illustrate changes in diet that may have contributed to vitamin deficiencies.