First bioarchaeological evidence of probable scurvy in Southeast Asia: Multifactorial etiologies of vitamin C deficiency in a tropical environment

Halcrow, Siân E.; Harris, Nathaniel; Beavan, Nancy; Buckley, Hallie R.

doi:10.1016/j.ijpp.2014.01.004

Cited by 50 publications

(35 citation statements)

References 73 publications

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“…Porous subperiosteal new bone has since been described at this location in a large body of paleopathological work (Brickley & Ives, 2006; Brown & Ortner, 2011; Buckley et al, 2014; Geber & Murphy, 2012; Halcrow, Harris, Beavan, & Buckley, 2014; Ortner et al, 1999, 2001). …”

Section: Macroscopic Osseous Lesions Of Adult and Juvenile Scurvy: Anmentioning

confidence: 97%

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Macroscopic features of scurvy in human skeletal remains: A literature synthesis and diagnostic guide

Snoddy

Buckley

Elliott

et al. 2018

American J Phys Anthropol

101

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The past two decades have seen a proliferation in bioarchaeological literature on the identification of scurvy, a disease caused by chronic vitamin C deficiency, in ancient human remains. This condition is one of the few nutritional deficiencies that can result in diagnostic osseous lesions. Scurvy is associated with low dietary diversity and its identification in human skeletal remains can provide important contextual information on subsistence strategy, resource allocation, and human‐environmental interactions in past populations. A large and robust methodological body of work on the paleopathology of scurvy exists. However, the diagnostic criteria for this disease employed by bioarchaeologists have not always been uniform. Here we draw from previous research on the skeletal manifestations of scurvy in adult and juvenile human skeletal remains and propose a weighted diagnostic system for its identification that takes into account the pathophysiology of the disease, soft tissue anatomy, and clinical research. Using a sample of individuals from the prehistoric Atacama Desert in Northern Chile, we also provide a practical example of how diagnostic value might be assigned to skeletal lesions of the disease that have not been previously described in the literature.

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Section: Macroscopic Osseous Lesions Of Adult and Juvenile Scurvy: Anmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…It has subsequently been described in a large body of paleopathological work (Brickley & Ives, 2006; Crist & Sorg, 2014; Geber & Murphy, 2012; Halcrow et al, 2014; Ortner et al, 2001). …”

Section: Macroscopic Osseous Lesions Of Adult and Juvenile Scurvy: Anmentioning

confidence: 97%

Macroscopic features of scurvy in human skeletal remains: A literature synthesis and diagnostic guide

Snoddy

Buckley

Elliott

et al. 2018

American J Phys Anthropol

101

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“…The consideration of non-dietary aetiologies of scurvy is also becoming acknowledged (e.g. Buckley et al 2014;Halcrow et al 2014;Mays 2014).…”

Section: The Palaeopathology Of Childhoodmentioning

confidence: 99%

Child Bioarchaeology: Perspectives on the Past 10 Years

Mays

Gowland

Halcrow

et al. 2017

Childhood in the Past

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The full-text may be used and/or reproduced, and given to third parties in any format or medium, without prior permission or charge, for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-prot purposes provided that:• a full bibliographic reference is made to the original source • a link is made to the metadata record in DRO • the full-text is not changed in any way The full-text must not be sold in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders.Please consult the full DRO policy for further details. This article aims to provide an overview of some of the more important developments in the bioarchaeology of childhood over the past decade. Analysis of publication trends in the major osteoarchaeology and physical anthropology journals demonstrated a rise in research papers dealing with skeletal remains of children, with dietary and palaeopathological studies especially predominant. Innovations in these areas are discussed in more detail, together with some important developments in theoretical frameworks for using skeletal evidence to situate children in past societies. Among these latter is the life course approach, in which childhood is considered within the context of the trajectory of the entire life course. The integration of studies of child skeletal remains with those of adults helps to provide a more complete picture of communities in the past.

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“…during infections), malabsorption of vitamin C (e.g. in some gastrointestinal diseases) and genetic predisposition to lowered vitamin C levels (Delanghe et al 2013;Halcrow et al 2014). …”

Section: Scurvymentioning

confidence: 99%

Growth and health status of children and adolescents in medieval Central Europe

Krenz‐Niedbała

2017

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Subadult growth and health have been analyzed in three cemetery samples from medieval Poland, including two early-urban sites: Cedynia dated to the 10th-14th centuries AD, and Ostrów Lednicki dated to the 13th-15th centuries AD, and a rural site Słaboszewo dated to the 14th-17th centuries AD. The nutritional status was not expected to have substantially differed among the settlements, due to the culturally induced undiversified diet of children, and predominant share of medium-to-low status individuals. However, city life and village life were supposed to differ in factors correlated with the spread of infections, and as such it was expected to find significant differences in respiratory health among early-urban and rural dwellers.The prevalences of diet-dependent diseases, scurvy and rickets, were found to be statistically indistinguishable among the three studied populations, while higher frequency of skeletal signs of poor respiratory health was observed in early-urban Cedynia than rural Słaboszewo. Slightly lower prevalences of skeletal stress indicators were found for the rural than the early-urban site. Skeletal growth profiles and the dynamics of long bone growth were found to be remarkably similar for the early-urban samples (Cedynia and Ostrów Lednicki), with the rural subadults having the shortest diaphyseal lengths, and lower growth dynamics.It can be concluded that adverse factors associated with the urban settlement were more detrimental to respiratory health than those in the village. A variety of factors are potentially responsible for this pattern, including population density, building structure, quality of air and water, sanitation, and occupation. Perhaps, the key factor in response to environmental and socio-cultural constraints was the stability of living conditions in the village, which allowed the inhabitants to develop sufficient adaptive mechanisms. In contrast, the history of strongholds such as Cedynia was changeable due to political situation, military threats and migrations of people.

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First bioarchaeological evidence of probable scurvy in Southeast Asia: Multifactorial etiologies of vitamin C deficiency in a tropical environment

Cited by 50 publications

References 73 publications

Macroscopic features of scurvy in human skeletal remains: A literature synthesis and diagnostic guide

Macroscopic features of scurvy in human skeletal remains: A literature synthesis and diagnostic guide

Child Bioarchaeology: Perspectives on the Past 10 Years

Growth and health status of children and adolescents in medieval Central Europe

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