Degenerative changes in the appendicular joints of ancient human populations from the Japan Islands

Abstract

Degenerative changes in the appendicular joints of ancient human populations from the Japan Islands http://researchonline.ljmu.ac.uk/id/eprint/8316/ Article LJMU has developed LJMU Research Online for users to access the research output of the University more effectively.Abstract: Degenerative changes in six major limb joints were investigated to compare their prevalence among five ancient skeletal populations from the Japan Islands. The populations assessed in this study consisted of the farmers in the northern Kyushu/Yamaguchi area and the foragers from the northwestern Kyushu area from the Yayoi period (5th century BC to 3rd century AD); the Okhotsk (5th to 12th centuries AD) foragers from Hokkaido and Sakhalin; the common people from medieval Kamakura (12th to 14th centuries AD) in Kanto, central Japan; and the early-modern farmers (17th to 19th centuries AD) from Kumejima, in the southernmost island chain (Ryukyu Islands). Crude prevalence comparisons showed that the shoulder and hip joints were principally affected in earlymodern Kumejima and medieval Kamakura, which contrasted with the high prevalence of elbow and knee joint changes in the Okhotsk people. The heavy dependence on marine mammals and fish for dietary protein intake probably required flexion and extension movements of the most severely degenerated joints in the Okhotsk people. The northern Kyushu/Yamaguchi and northwestern Kyushu Yayoi peoples were more affected by degeneration in the wrist joints than others, possibly due to their use of innovative tools such as stone or shell knives and harpoons. A multivariate logistic regression analysis, adjusted for age, region, and sex as the predictor variables for degenerative changes in joints, was applied to only to the two samples from Kumejima and Kamakura (including previously reported spine data) because of their better preservation. This revealed differences in the prevalence of changes in some joints; for example, age-related changes were recognized. The Kumejima people were more commonly affected by hip and knee joint changes, whereas the Kamakura people were more commonly affected by changes to apophyseal joints. Because a stable isotope analysis indicated that the trophic levels of the two populations were almost the same, the pattern of degenerative changes would have reflected differences in their specific workloads, such as wet rice cultivation using a peculiar hoe by the Kumejima people. This study, combining multivariate logistic regression analysis of degenerative joint changes and stable isotope analyses, uses large skeletal populations to add clarity to the actual rigors of ancient life. AbstractDegenerative changes in six major limb joints were investigated to compare their prevalence among five ancient skeletal populations from the Japan Islands. The populations assessed in this study consisted of the farmers in the northern Kyushu/ Yamaguchi area and the foragers from the northwestern Kyushu area from the Yayoi period (5th century BC to 3rd century AD); the Okhotsk (5th to 12th c...

An Okhotsk adult female human skeleton (11th/12th century AD) with possible SAPHO syndrome from Hamanaka 2 site, Rebun Island, northern Japan

“…This relationship is also supported by the results of recent mitochondrial DNA analyses (Sato et al, 2007(Sato et al, , 2009. Severe degenerative changes and compression fractures were found in the spines and limb bones of these remains, probably due to the heavy loads associated with marine mammal hunting and fishing Shimoda et al, 2012;Suzuki et al, 2016).…”

An assessment of postcranial indices, ratios, and body mass versus eco‐geographical variables of prehistoric Jomon, Yayoi agriculturalists, and Kumejima Islanders of Japan

“…Furthermore, women obtained more protein from cereals while men obtained their protein intake from animal and fish meat, seaweed, wild grass and nuts (Ishida et al, ; Yoneda, ). According to Suzuki et al (), stable isotope analyzes support the above history indicating that they consumed both C3 plants and fish (Yoneda, Shibata, & Doi, ). The Kumejima people, especially women, might have experienced nutritional stress which may have influenced their body size (Irei et al, ).…”

“…The Kumejima women engaged in both agriculture and textile‐making. Women tended to display significantly high degree of osteoarthritis on right elbows (Ishida et al, ; Moromizato et al, ; Suzuki et al, ). Furthermore, women obtained more protein from cereals while men obtained their protein intake from animal and fish meat, seaweed, wild grass and nuts (Ishida et al, ; Yoneda, ).…”

A Preliminary Study Using Visual Assessment of Variation in Proximal Ulnar Morphology: Implications for Sex, Age, and Population Estimation

“…It is generally understood that many bones of the skeleton undergo age-related and or biomechanically induced (stress-related) morphological and arthritic changes such as bony lipping and spur formation at a joint [9,10] over the course of the lifespan. It was hypothesized that changes of this nature, perhaps even subtle changes not easily visible, could be detected in the proximal ulna by way of applying the method of compression and release introduced here.…”