Anatomy of uncorrected talipes equinovarus in a fifteenth-century American Indian

Abstract

Although congenital talipes equinovarus is the most common major musculoskeletal malformation in contemporary populations, its occurrence in archaeological specimens is rare. The deformity of untreated clubfoot in an adult American Indian male is discussed.

A Possible Case of Arthrogryposis Multiplex from Medieval Canterbury

“…11 More recently, a ®fteenth century American example has been published. 12 In the latter, a 25±30-year-old male, only the right foot is involved and skeletal evidence of crutch use has been postulated. Johnson and Kerley have reported four cases of talipes equinovarus from the same site, Mokapu Hawaii.…”

A foot deformity from a Romano‐British cemetery at Gloucester, England, and the current evidence for talipes in palaeopathology

“…Perrot & Arnaud (1973) describe clubfoot in an individual with suggested poliomyelitis from 15th-century France, and Salib (1962) reported clubfoot in Pharaoh Siptah of the 19th Dynasty in Egypt (disputed by some, including Brothwell, 1967). Mann & Owsley (1989) discuss a native American male skeleton from the Texas Panhandle dated to the 15th century AD with uncorrected talipes equinovarus, while Owsley & Mann (1990) discuss the condition in another native American skeleton from Hemphill County, Texas. More recently Murphy (2000) suggests an individual from Iron Age southern Siberia may have the condition but, in this case, the foot bones did not survive burial and excavation.…”

Congenital absence of the ulna with humeroradial synostosis in a prehistoric skeleton from Moundville, Alabama

“…Some examples of other archaeologically derived skeletal deformities include a case of clubfoot (talipes equinovarus) in a Native American Indian from Texas [2]; a severely malformed left foot (ectrodactyly) in an Alaskan Eskimo dating to AD 1400-1850 [3]; and an adult male from thirteenth century Poland with severe spinal curvature (scoliosis), absence of his right forearm, and attachment of his upper arm and hand to his upper trunk (phocomelia) [4].…”