Forager and farmer evolutionary adaptations to malaria evidenced by 7000 years of thalassemia in Southeast Asia

Vlok, Melandri; Buckley, Hallie R.; Miszkiewicz, Justyna J.; Walker, Meg M.; Domett, Kate; Willis, Anna; Trinh, Hiep Hoang; Minh, Tran Thi Phuong; Nguyen, Mai; Nguyen, Lan Thi; Matsumura, Hirofumi; Wang, Tianyi; Nghia, Huu T.; Oxenham, Marc

doi:10.1038/s41598-021-83978-4

Cited by 25 publications

(43 citation statements)

References 76 publications

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“…Although non-specific, this pathological feature is consistent with hematopoiesis observed in some cases of thalassemia intermedia (Adamopoulos & Petrocheilou, 2019;Cambouris, 1989) rather than cortical rarefaction observed in thalassemia major, such as in the case reported here. Extramedullary hematopoiesis of long bones was also observed in the pre-agricultural sample from Con Co Ngua reported by Vlok et al (2021). Paleohistological cross sections from these long bones displayed significant evidence of endosteal macroporosity consistent with clinical descriptions of bone loss in modern thalassemic patients.…”

Section: Paleopathological Implications Of Thalassemia Diagnosis In Prehistorysupporting

confidence: 74%

“…Recent research that combined macroscopic and paleohistological approaches identified thalassemia in a further two prehistoric sites from Northern Vietnam (Vlok et al, 2021). One site (Man Bac) is contemporaneous with the cases reported by Tayles (1996), where up to Weatherall, 2008;Figure 13).…”

Section: Paleopathological Implications Of Thalassemia Diagnosis In Prehistorymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Paleohistological techniques devised by Vlok et al (2021) may further assist with diagnosis of thalassemia in poorly preserved skeletal remains. Othering of individuals with thalassemia is reported in present day due to the visible facial deformities associated with the condition (Roy & Chatterjee, 2007).…”

Section: Paleopathological Implications Of Thalassemia Diagnosis In Prehistorymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…tion of the bone cortices that occurs with increasing age. Similarly, the Neolithic cases reported byVlok et al (2021) from Man Bac present with multiple instances of porosity of the skull alongside diagnostic features of thalassemia including "rib-within-a-rib" sign and maxillary and mandibular marrow hyperplasia (rodent facies). These cases range from birth to adulthood and present a range of severities that reflect a spectrum in disease…”

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confidence: 93%

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Thalassemia major in a 49‐year‐old Thai female: Gross and X‐ray examination of dry bone

Techataweewan

Mann

Vlok

et al. 2021

Intl J of Osteoarchaeology

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Objective: We present a clinically diagnosed case of beta thalassemia major in a deceased 49-year-old Thai female for comparison with paleopathological cases and consideration of age-related changes of anemic skeletal lesions.Methods: Dry bone and radiographic descriptions of pathological changes are provided and compared to clinically documented features of thalassemia. Results:The limb bones in this case exhibit extreme "ballooning" (widening), cortical rarefaction (cortex thinning due to osteoporosis), and varus deformity of the proximal humeri. In the cranium, reduction and coarsening of the trabeculae due to marrow hyperplasia, and radiographic "hair-on-end" appearance are evident. This individual did not present with severe porotic hyperostosis or cribra orbitalia but exhibited diploic expansion.Significance: This case study provides a rare opportunity for a detailed examination of the bone changes present in a fatal homozygote with severe anemia. The case also enables discussion of thalassemia in the wider Southeast Asian context, as major gene variations are known to impact bone metabolism and possibly cause the development of macroscopically observable traits. The absence of observable cribra orbitalia or severe porotic hyperostosis in such an extreme case calls for careful consideration of age-related skeletal changes in the diagnosis of genetic anemias (and anemia in general).Limitations: The individual received blood transfusion treatment that likely prolonged her life-impacting skeletal progression.Suggestions for future research: Descriptions of different anatomical cases of thalassemia, particularly when accompanied with detailed clinical documentation, would further enable the development of more rigorous diagnostic protocols that accommodate skeletal variation in disease expression.

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Section: Paleopathological Implications Of Thalassemia Diagnosis In Prehistorysupporting

confidence: 74%

Section: Paleopathological Implications Of Thalassemia Diagnosis In Prehistorymentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Paleopathological Implications Of Thalassemia Diagnosis In Prehistorymentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 93%

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Thalassemia major in a 49‐year‐old Thai female: Gross and X‐ray examination of dry bone

Techataweewan

Mann

Vlok

et al. 2021

Intl J of Osteoarchaeology

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“…Other recent genetic studies have demonstrated the prominence of malaria-related blood pathologies (thalassemia) in prefarming populations in southeast Asia as well (Vlok et al, 2021).…”

Section: Sickle Cell Anemiamentioning

confidence: 99%

Niche Construction Theory in Archaeology: A Critical Review

Spengler

2021

J Archaeol Method Theory

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Over the past decade, niche construction theory (NCT) has been one of the fastest-growing theories or scholarly approaches in the social sciences, especially within archaeology. It was proposed in the biological sciences 25 years ago and is often referred to as a neglected evolutionary mechanism. Given its rapid acceptance by the archaeological community, it is important that scholars consider how it is being applied and look for discrepancies between applications of the concept. Many critical discussions of NCT have already been published, but most of them are in biology journals and may be overlooked by scholars in the social sciences. In this manuscript, my goal is to synthesis the criticisms of NCT, better allowing archaeologists to independently evaluate its usefulness. I focus on the claims of novelty and differences between NCT and other approaches to conceptualizing anthropogenic ecosystem impacts and culture-evolution feedbacks. I argue that the diverse concepts currently included in the wide-reaching purview of NCT are not new, but the terminology is and may be useful to some scholars. If proponents of the concept are able to unify their ideas, it may serve a descriptive function, but given that lack of a testable explanatory mechanism, it does not have a clear heuristic function.

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Hydatid disease (Echinococcosis granulosis) diagnosis from skeletal osteolytic lesions in an early seventh‐millennium BP forager community from preagricultural northern Vietnam

Vlok

Buckley

Domett

et al. 2021

American Journal of Biological Anthropology

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Objectives: Con Co Ngua is a complex, sedentary forager site from northern Vietnam dating to the early seventh millennium BP. Prior research identified a calcified Echinococcus granulosis cyst, which causes hydatid disease. Osteolytic lesions consistent with hydatid disease were also present in this individual and others. Hydatid disease is observed in high frequencies in pastoralists, and its presence in a hunter-gatherer community raises questions regarding human-animal interaction prior to farming. The objective of this article is to identify and describe the epidemiology of hydatid disease in the human skeletal assemblage at Con Co Ngua.Materials and methods: One hundred and fifty-five individuals were macroscopically assessed for lesions. Of these, eight individuals were radiographed. Hydatid disease was diagnosed using a new threshold criteria protocol derived from clinical literature, which prioritizes lesions specific to the parasite.Results: Twenty-two individuals (14.2%) presented with osteolytic lesions consistent with hydatid disease, affecting the distal humerus, proximal femur and forearm, and pelvis. Seven individuals radiographed (4.5%) had multilocular cystic lesions strongly diagnostic for hydatid disease. All probable cases had lesions of the distal humerus.The remaining lesions were macroscopically identical to those radiographed and were considered possible cases.Discussion: While hydatid disease has previously been found in pre-agricultural communities, the high prevalence at Con Co Ngua is non-incidental. We propose that the presence of wild canids and management of wild buffalo and deer increased the risk of disease transmission. These findings further reveal subsistence complexity among hunter-gatherers living millennia prior to the adoption of farming in Southeast Asia.

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Forager and farmer evolutionary adaptations to malaria evidenced by 7000 years of thalassemia in Southeast Asia

Cited by 25 publications

References 76 publications

Thalassemia major in a 49‐year‐old Thai female: Gross and X‐ray examination of dry bone

Thalassemia major in a 49‐year‐old Thai female: Gross and X‐ray examination of dry bone

Niche Construction Theory in Archaeology: A Critical Review

Hydatid disease (Echinococcosis granulosis) diagnosis from skeletal osteolytic lesions in an early seventh‐millennium BP forager community from preagricultural northern Vietnam

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