Cribra orbitalia,a possible sign of anemia in early historic native populations of the British Columbia coast

Excavated and museum skeletons of the postcontact period revealed cribra orbitalia in four native ethnolinguistic divisions of the British Columbia coast, Haida, Kwakiutl, Nootka, and Coast Salish. Affected skulls were distributed among 25 of 35 localities, indicating widespread occurrence in a mainly heterogeneous population. Manifestations were similar to porotic hyperostosis, and additional lesions in the sample tend to support the concept that cribra orbitalia is related to anemia. Both inherited and acquired disorders may have been involved in the etiology. A uniquely high incidence of 52.9% occurred in immature of the Haida, a relatively homogeneous population. However, marked variability in expression by age group and by sex in the total sample is suggestive of iron-deficiency anemia. The data and historical information parallel modern expectations of susceptibility. Among 454 skulls, cribra orbitalia occurred in 32.7% of growing children and adolescents, 19% of infants and toddlers, 13.3% of adult females, and 4.8% of adult males. Postcontact disruptions and disease may have figured in promoting iron-deficiency anemia, but noted precontact occurrences may also have been due to the disorder.     

Secular trend and age distribution of cribra orbitalia in Japanese

Cribra orbitalia is currently regarded as an indicator of environmental conditions. The prevalence and severity of this lesion in Japanese populations from prehistoric Jomon to modern times were recorded and discussed. Since the lesion was low in both frequency and grade in the late and final Jomon people from Chiba Prefecture, they presumably lived in relatively favorable environmental conditions. The increased prevalence of the lesion in the medieval Muromachi citizens of Kamakura may be attributed to the poor hygiene and social conditions. The high prevalence and marked severity of the lesion in the citizens of Edo (the old name of Tokyo) in the 17th century suggested that they lived under extremely unfavorable situations of nutrition, sanitation and medical care. Cribra orbitalia was most prevalent in adolescence (81.3%) among the Edo citizens. The incidence of the most severe type of lesion rose gradually during childhood, reached a peak in adolescence, and then gradually decreased with age. These findings would reflect intense marrow hyperplasia in the orbital roof associated with both iron deficiency anemia of long standing during the immature period and increased iron requirement in adolescence. The results obtained support the hypothesis that iron deficiency anemia is the primary factor in the etiology of cribra orbitalia. It was concluded that the incidence and severity of cribra orbitalia due to various anemic reactions reflected the dietary, hygienic, social and environmental circumstances of the populations investigated.     

Notes on some skeletal changes in pre-European contact Australian aborigines

This is a brief account of skeletal changes noted in large collections of pre-European contact Australian aboriginal remains. These changes included evidence of congenital anomalies, dental disease, degenerative arthropathy, trauma and infection. The most interesting infective process is treponarid.     

The Alto Salaverry child: a case of anemia from the Peruvian preceramic.

Excavations during 1974 at the Peruvian Preceramic site of Alto Salaverry led to the discovery of a child's skeleton. The fragmentary skeleton exhibits cribra orbitalia, a pitting of the orbital roof associated with anemia. This specimen provides the first evidence of anemia in a population of the predominantly non-agricultural Peruvian Preceramic and extends the antiquity of the pathology among Precolumbian Peruvians.     

Porotic hyperostosis: relationship between orbital and vault lesions

The exact nature of the relationship between orbital and skull vault lesions of porotic hyperostosis has remained a controversial issue among anthropologists. Many researchers believe that lesions in both areas are related and have a common etiology; others remain unconvinced of any relationship and prefer to consider orbital and vault lesions as separate conditions with their own etiology. This paper explores the issue by comparing data on microscopic, macroscopic, radiographic, and demographic aspects of orbital and vault lesions from both clinical and anthropological studies. The results of these comparisons support the views that there is a relationship between lesions on both areas and that they share a common etiology.     

Genetic and socio-cultural differentiation in the aborigines of Arnhem Land, Australia

Four tribes of Arnhem Land were surveyed for dermatoglyphics; based on pattern intensity indices, total ridge-counts, and a distance statistic combining the two, it was shown that the tribes can be arranged into western (Tiwi, Gunwinggu) and eastern (“Murngin” and Andilyaugwa) groups. This substantiates observations made on Arnhem Land by linguists and social anthropologists. From a survey of allele frequency traits of blood factors and P.T.C. tasting, distance statistics were computed between the four tribes. These confirmed the relative isolation of the extreme Arnhem Land tribes. Distance statistics were also computed between the four tribes and two Central Australian tribes, the Aranda and Wailbri. The Aranda and “Murngin” were relatively close together agreeing with theories that the Aranda are derived from a not too remote southwards migration from north Arnhem Land, as supported by linguistic data. Correlations between the biological, geographical and linguistic distances were positive, and generally agreed with the expectation that socio-cultural and linguistic barriers are important in regulating gene flow between populations. This study emphasizes the need to consider biological distances in association with ecological and socio-cultural factors.     

Porotic hyperostosis: new evidence to support the anemia theory

The etiology of skull lesions known as porotic hyperostosis has long been a matter for speculation. The most widely accepted theory at present suggests that an anemia, either acquired or genetic, is responsible for lesion development. However, acceptance of this theory is not universal and the nature of the relationship between orbital and vault lesions remains a controversial issue. This paper provides a much broader field of supportive evidence on which to base the anemia theory. This involves a synthesis of information from the clinical and anthropological literature as well as new data from two skeletal collections: Poundbury Camp, a Romano-British series, and the Hodgson collection, a 19th century East Asian series. A comparison is made between clinical and anthropological data at the macroscopic, microscopic, radiographic, and demographic levels of analysis. This approach reveals the similarities in expression between clinically diagnosed anemias and porotic hyperostosis.     

A radiographic study of porotic hyperostosis

Skull lesions known as porotic hyperostosis have been of interest to researchers since the mid-19th century. The etiology of porotic hyperostosis has long been a matter for speculation yet there has never been complete acceptance or substantiation of any one of the many theories proposed. Today the most widely accepted theory suggests that anemias of either acquired or genetic origin are responsible for porotic hyperostosis. The present study tests this hypothesis using criteria which were chosen after the examination of clinical radiographs of patients with various types of anemia. These criteria are: the presence of “hair-on-end” trabeculation, outer table thinning, texture changes, diploic thickening, orbital roof thickening, orbital rim changes, and the underdevelopment of frontal sinuses. A comparison of these criteria from the clinical X-rays with X-rays of skulls with porotic hyperostosis provides a more rigorous, repeatable, and standardized method upon which to base a diagnosis. This approach enables radiography to provide the necessary link between the clinical and anthropological with which to investigate the origin of porotic hyperostosis.     

Cribra orbitalia in two temporally disjunct population samples from the Dakhleh Oasis, Egypt

Cribra orbitalia (CO), an osseous sign of anemic stress, occurs in 67% (n = 296) of the pre-Roman (n = 153) and Roman (n = 143) period crania from the Dakhleh Oasis, Egypt. CO is primarily a childhood condition in these samples, and its prevalence is significantly higher in virtually all cohorts in the pre-Roman group, including among females, who display higher rates of active lesions. This temporal trend suggests that the underlying causative factors (i.e., synergism between disease and nutrition) were less pervasive in the Roman period. In both population samples, anemic stress develops in some perinates prior to the expected minimum age for the development of iron deficiency anemia. This suggests additional causes of anemic stress in the Dakhleh population. A strong candidate is folic acid deficiency and its concomitant, megaloblastic anemia, which results from weaning of infants on goat's milk, a known practice in ancient Egypt. The putative incorporation of other food items in the weanling diet, particularly honey, a confirmed source of C. botulinum, represents yet another retrospective data source to help understand the epidemiological profile of cribra orbitalia in this population. Comparative data from other Egyptian populations, though limited, show similar patterns, however, they display a lower prevalence than the data from Dakhleh.     

Porotic hyperostosis: representative of a childhood condition

Porotic hyperostosis is currently considered to be one of several stress markers available for assessing the health and nutritional status of past human populations. The present study questions one of the basic assumptions underlying its use; that is, that the occurrence of porotic hyperostosis in an individual represents an episode of anemia that was current or had occurred within a relatively short period prior to death. A synthesis of data from a Romano-British site Poundbury Camp, anthropological and clinical studies, and information on bone physiology suggests that lesions of porotic hyperostosis seen in adults are most probably representative of a childhood episode of anemia. Lesions seen in adults are the result of bone changes occurring in the growth period that have not undergone complete remodelling. This viewpoint has implications for future interpretation of data on porotic hyperostosis obtained from skeletal collections.     

Porotic hyperostosis in a marine-dependent California Indian population

A maize-based iron- and protein-deficient diet is commonly cited as the most important cause of porotic hyperostosis among American Indian agriculturalists. An alternative to this maize dependence hypothesis is suggested by the analysis of 432 crania from the nonagricultural, fish-dependent population of the Channel Island area of southern California. Cribra orbitalia, a form of porotic hyperostosis associated with iron deficiency anemia, is just as common among these fisherpeople, whose diet was rich in iron and essential amino acids, as it is among maize-dependent agriculturalists. Northern Channel Island crania have much more cribra orbitalia than those from the California mainland. The highest incidence is on San Miguel, a small geographically isolated island with a shortage of fresh water and terrestrial resources. The Indians who lived on Santa Cruz, the largest of the northern Channel Islands with the greatest diversity of terrestrial plants and animals, have less cribra orbitalia than those who lived on Santa Rosa or San Miguel Island. This geographical distribution appears to be explained by island-mainland and interisland differences in water contamination, exposure to fish-borne parasites, and nutritional adequacy of the diet. The prevalence of porotic hyperostosis in a population with a heavy dietary dependence on marine resources shows that among prehistoric American Indians, this condition is not always associated with an iron- and protein-deficient diet of cultigens. It seems likely that high nutrient losses associated with diarrheal disease are often more significant in the etiology of porotic hyperostosis than a low dietary intake of essential nutrients.     

Principal components method and nonmetric two-dimensional scaling method for quantitative dermatoglyphic traits of the taimir aborigines

The quantitative dermatoglyphic traits of the Taimir aborigines have been studied in this paper. The correlation matrix of the traits was analyzed by a nonmetric two-dimensional scaling method and by a principal components method. Comparative contribution of palmar and digital traits variation to the principal components is under discussion.     

Measurements of tooth wear among Australian aborigines: II. Intrapopulational variation in patterns of dental attrition

The possible implications of variations in dental attrition patterns have necessitated a detailed assessment of the types, ranges, and causes of tooth wear. Hear we employ measurements of postcanine occlusal wear facets from a sample population of extant Australian aborigines. A principal components analysis was applied as a tool in determining common types of attritional patterns. It was concluded that the range of intrapopulational variation in dental wear patterns must be attributed to a multiplicity of sources in addition to such commonly cited causes as dietary variations, gender, age, and developmental eruption sequences.     

Interproximal grooving and task activity in Australia

Interproximal grooving was recorded in 85 nineteenth century aboriginal skulls from Swanport in South Australia. One or more grooved teeth were noted in 41% of individuals, but the frequency of grooving in males was twice that in females. Distal surface grooving was noted in 93 teeth in contrast to only five instances of mesial grooving. The lesions were similar in appearance to those reported in many other populations--confined primarily to the premolar-molar region, located at the cementoenamel junction, directed horizontally, and usually clean-cut and free of caries. Stripping of animal sinews between the clenched posterior teeth has been recorded on film as a common task activity in traditional aboriginal society. In our opinion, task activity and not toothpicking was the likely cause of the observed interproximal grooving in the aboriginals.     

Cribra orbitalia, dentin hypoplasia and life expectancy of 20-year-old persons as social and sex specific stress indicators in correlation with the health status of an early medieval population

The aim of this study is based on the analysis of diachronically social and sexual specific considerations on the life situation of the early medieval population of Schleitheim, Kanton Schaffhausen, Switzerland. Cribra orbitalia and the linear enamel hypoplasia of the teeth are considered as stressors. This study is based on the life expectancy of the 20 years old, as the life expectancy gives information on the health condition of a social group or an entire population. The considered indicators show the same tendencies in three of the four social groups (women social group A and group B/C, men of the social group A). The female and male population of the social group A show a steady decrease in the indicator from the 5th century to come to its lowest level in the 7th century. The same parameters indicate a continuous increase in stress for the female population of the group B/C. Only one of the three indicators, the Cribra orbitalia, shows a positive tendency in the male population of the social group B/C from the 6th century to the following period, while hypoplasia and the life expectancy on the other hand indicate a negative tendency. The results show equal tendencies in the three independent indicators concerning three of the four social groups. This proves the high reliability of the indicators. These results are astonishing in two ways. First of all, the tendencies show that the originally better life situation of women of the higher ranking social group decreases in the following periods, whereas the women of the lower social group show an inverse development. This female population of low life situation in the 5th century shows an increase in life qualities in the following periods. Remarkable, too, is the fact, that the female population of both social groups shows a lower level of stress than the corresponding male population. This fact is astonishing, as we would expect inverse results in a patriarchal society. This may point to a well known fact: Women show a higher vitality than the male population.     

Human genome diversity: Ethics and practice in Australia

Researchers who propose projects about the human past frequently fail to distinguish between scientific value and the impact of both the proposal and the possible outcome for participant groups. It is only in recent years, and still in relatively few cases, that Aboriginal Australians have been directly involved in projects about themselves. The legacy of previous research experiences is a lingering distrust of ‘white’ researchers who visit communities briefly, take material/information, publish papers, and are rarely seen again. This distrust is understandable but in turn becomes a barrier which many well-intentioned researchers are unable or unwilling to overcome. The expectations of the scientific community, particularly in the field of molecular biology, simply do not make allowances in terms of time or funding to build a trusting relationship between the researchers and the researched. Sensitivity to indigenous rights and expectations with regard to scientific research brings obligations to scientific investigators with which few are well prepared to deal. The direct involvement of indigenous people in research about themselves is essential to the development of trusting working relationships likely to result in valuable outcomes for all participants and increased opportunities for ongoing research. Well negotiated, co-operative research can provide information of value to both scientific investigators and local participants, but adequate and ongoing consultation, as well as the return of results to the communities in an accurate and appropriate form must be part of research strategy. For example, information about mitochondrial DNA studies may assist Indigenous Australian people, whose families were dispersed during colonisation by Europeans, to trace links with the past, find ‘stolen children’ and by association with other anthropological, linguistic and archaeological data, repossess some remnants of traditional knowledge, but researchers must ensure that participants have a realistic understanding of the limitations of the research.     

A congenital meningocoele in prehistoric Australia

This report concerns a congenital meningocoele in a young adult Aboriginal female from north-western New South Wales, Australia. The fact that this individual reached adulthood throws new light on the attitude of these nomadic people towards such conditions. Evidence of this kind may prompt also a re-evaluation by prehistorians and anthropologists of the popularly held belief that all such malformations were automatically eliminated by infanticide. The discovery of this form of pathology helps provide new information not only on past cultural attitudes towards disease, but its frequency and geographical incidence, and adds to our knowledge concerning the range of pathological conditions suffered by prehistoric societies worldwide.     

Bird pollination in South Western Australia: A checklist

At least 560 species of flowering plants distributed in 64 genera and 16 families native to Southern Western Australia are pollinated by birds. This represents 15% of the total flora, and indicates adaptation to bird pollination is a major evolutionary force in this region.     

Historical linguistics in Australia: trees, networks and their implications

This paper presents an overview of the current state of historical linguistics in Australian languages. Australian languages have been important in theoretical debates about the nature of language change and the possibilities for reconstruction and classification in areas of intensive diffusion. Here are summarized the most important outstanding questions for Australian linguistic prehistory; I also present a case study of the Karnic subgroup of Pama-Nyungan, which illustrates the problems for classification in Australian languages and potential approaches using phylogenetic methods.