Congenital anomalies of the vertebral column: a case study on ancient and modern Egypt

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to identify the frequency of congenital anomalies of the vertebral column in ancient Egyptians. The material for this study consisted of 272 skeletons excavated from Giza and belonging to the Old Kingdom (the time of the early pyramid builders). The vertebral columns of these skeletons were examined for the different types of congenital anomalies that affect the vertebrae. Nine cases (3.33%) were affected with spina bifida occulta, while six cases (2.22%) had transitional vertebrae at the lumbosacral joint. These frequencies are compared with other ancient populations.

Sacralization in the Mary Rose and Kronan assemblages: An inconsistently recorded anomaly

“…Sacralization rates observed from randomly available remains of two warship crews give identical rates of 16.7% for the same number of sacra from each ship. When compared with 6.3% observed by Tague (2009), 4.2% observed by Apazidis et al (2011) and 1.5%-8% found by Masnicová and Beňuš (2003) and El-Din Sarry and El Banna (2006), there seems to be a striking difference between the findings reported here, and in most other studies rating bony fusion separately from other types. The Magora and Schwartz (1978, p. 135) study of 460 Scandinavians with 14% "complete sacralization" suggests that something related to sample population may be in effect.…”

“…Finally, the samples analyzed for this project are much smaller than the 2086 individuals rated by Tague (2009), the hundreds or even thousands of participants in various clinical studies, or the large collections of archeological skeletons observed by others (El‐Din Sarry & El Banna, 2006; Kim et al, 2018; Masnicová & Beňuš, 2003). By using specific criteria to identify types of LSTV, archeological collections can be more accurately described and more easily compared.…”

“…Archeological studies also reported rates of 1.5% to 8% (El-Din Sarry & El Banna, 2006;Masnicová & Beňuš, 2003). The discrepancy between literature and observation became interesting.…”

“…When considering all variants, sacralization occurs in approximately 2%–10% of prehistoric or medieval populations as reported in general texts (Barnes, 1994, p. 111; Aufderheide & Rodriguez‐Martin, 1998p. 66, Roberts & Cox, 2003) and from 0.9% to 8% in more specific studies (El‐Din Sarry & El Banna, 2006; Kim et al, 2018; Masnicová & Beňuš, 2003) (Table 1). However, partial versus complete sacralizations are rarely differentiated in archeological reports.…”

“…General paleopathology texts and clinical studies (i.e., Aufderheide & Rodriguez‐Martin, 1998; Barnes, 1994; Magora & Schwartz, 1978; Tague, 2009; Tini et al, 1977) reported rates of 2%–14%, which seemed much lower than that observed in the Tudor remains. Archeological studies also reported rates of 1.5% to 8% (El‐Din Sarry & El Banna, 2006; Masnicová & Beňuš, 2003). The discrepancy between literature and observation became interesting.…”