Bilateral Femoral and Tibial Periostitis in the La Ferrassie 1 Neanderthal

Neanderthal reconstructed

“…The foundation of the reconstruction was the La Ferrassie 1 skeleton due to its overall completeness, availability, and noteworthy surface preservation (Heim, 1976(Heim, , 1982Fennell and Trinkaus, 1997). Although elements from other individuals were utilized in the reconstruction process, the extent of available and well-preserved bones from the La Ferrassie 1 specimen resulted in a complete longitudinal continuity in the fully articulated final product.…”

Brief communication: Paleopathology of the Kiik‐Koba 1 Neandertal

“…The paleopathological lesions on the Kiik-Koba 1 partial skeleton therefore make it similar to other known older Neandertal partial skeletons, all of which exhibit some form of degenerative lesion(s) (Heim, 1982;Trinkaus, 1983Trinkaus, , 1985Crubézy and Trinkaus, 1992;Fennell and Trinkaus, 1997;Schultz, 2006). The dental and many of the skeletal changes of Kiik-Koba 1 can be seen as the accumulated effects of a Middle Paleolithic lifestyle, plus survival to 40 years of age, combining high dental attrition, mobility, and risk of minor trauma.…”

“…Many of these lesions are minor developmental defects reflecting stress periods during development (e.g., dental enamel hypoplasias) or the scars of superficial traumatic lesions that impacted the underlying bone. These lesions may be notable for their commonness (Ogilvie et al, 1989;Berger and Trinkaus, 1995;Cowgill et al, 2007), even though the frequencies of the developmental lesions fall within recent human ranges of variation (Guatelli-Steinberg et al, 2004;Cowgill et al, 2007), but the Neandertals also appear to have sustained a number of more serious injuries and/or systemic abnormalities (Trinkaus, 1983(Trinkaus, , 1985Duday and Arensburg, 1991;Crubézy and Trinkaus, 1992;Fennell and Trinkaus, 1997;Schultz, 2006). Given the dearth of individuals in the Neandertal sample that are likely to have lived to at least the fifth decade, their accumulation of such lesions may well provide insight into both their habitual stress levels and sociocultural means of surviving the insults sufficiently to leave diagnosable lesions.…”

A Possible Witness to the Sixth Century Slavic Invasion of Greece from the Stadium Tunnel at Ancient Nemea

“…While it is sometimes reported in the femora (e.g., Ribot and Roberts 1996), the presence of subperiosteal bone deposition on the femoral shaft in the absence of involvement of the tibiae departs from the typical pattern seen in skeletal remains and requires closer consideration. Fennel and Trinkaus (1997) review a number of systemic conditions that might be expected to cause periostitis of the femora. The study shows that bilateral subperiosteal depositions on the femoral shafts, along much of their length and unaccompanied by other lesions, is a relatively unusual pattern.…”

“…As reviewed by Ortner and Putschar (1985) and Fennel and Trinkaus (1997), subperiosteal bone is deposited by the periosteal membrane in response to a number of possible triggers including trauma, local infection, and systemic infection. Given the many conditions that can lead to periostitis and the difficulty of distinguishing these from skeletal remains, nonspecific periostitis of the long bones is a relatively common finding in skeletal populations (Larsen 1997;Ortner and Putschar 1985).…”