Palaeoepidemiological Patterns of Trauma in a Medieval Nubian Skeletal Population

Abstract

Evidence of trauma was investigated in a well-preserved skeletal sample from the Medieval Sudanese Nubian site of Kulubnarti. The skeletal materials derive from two temporally overlapping Christian cemeteries, dating from the sixth to circa the sixteenth century. The available sample consisted of the skeletons of 146 adults which were investigated for fractures of the long bones, crania and the hands and feet, as well as for dislocations and muscle pulls. Results showed a high incidence of long bone fractures, seen especially in the forearm, and involving 33.5 per cent of individuals. Many of these lesions indicated quite severe injury, and an unusually high number of affected individuals (27 per cent) showed multiple long bone involvement. Conversely, only one possible cranial fracture was apparent.Fractures were also found in 13 hand and seven foot elements. In addition, one hip dislocation and evidence of pulled tendons in 11 individuals were also observed. Compared to other similarly controlled samples, the Kulubnarti population stands out for its high prevalence of healed fractures, the high proportion of multiple involvement and the severity of numerous lesions. The forbiddingly harsh and uneven terrain of this region of Nubia was most likely a major in¯uence on the unusually high prevalence and pattern of traumatic lesions in this group.

Traumatic injury risk and agricultural transitions: A view from the American Southeast and beyond

“…The options to relocate and increase labor investment are not mutually exclusive since a farmer who chooses to relocate to a less productive environment may also need to invest in elevating field productivity to achieve returns similar to those in the previous field system. Agricultural intensification as understood using the IFD and MAB Ratchet models is expected to increase an individual's involvement in situations associated with field construction, irrigation systems, livestock, farm equipment, and/or potentially rough terrain, which clinical and archaeological literatures suggest are correlated with an increased risk of injury (Agnew et al, 2015;Byrne et al, 2011;Cogbill et al, 1991;Drudi, 2000;Jones, 1990;Judd & Roberts, 1999;Kilgore, Jurmain, & Van Gerven, 1997;Nordstrom et al, 1995;Myers et al, 2009;Pickett et al, 1995;Purschwitz & Field, 1990;Virtanen et al, 2003;Von Essen & McCurdy, 1998). These risks may be further compounded by increased risk of violence linked to denser settlement patterns and crowding (Calhoun, 1962;Kumar & Ng, 2001;Walker, 1997).…”

“…These samples were selected based on mode of food production (hunting & gathering, low-intensity agriculture, or high-intensity agriculture) and on the availability of comparable postcranial fracture data. The comparative sample includes: six hunter-gatherer populations, defined as those practicing no substantial horticultural subsistence activities (Jurmain, 2001;Keenleyside, 1998;Lovejoy & Heiple, 1981;Smith, 2003); four (additional) low-intensity agricultural populations, groups occupying floodplains, and/or investing only minimally in irrigation or other land modification strategies (Domett & Tayles, 2006;Papathanasiou, 2005;Pietrusewsky, Douglas, & Ikehara-Quebral, 1997;Powell, 1988); and six high intensity agricultural populations, defined as those investing in irrigation systems, terracing, plowing, animal husbandry, and other forms of intensified agricultural production (Djuric, Roberts, Rakocevic, Djonic, & Lesic, 2006;Domett & Tayles, 2006;Judd, 2002;Kilgore et al, 1997;Neves, Barros, & Costa, 1999;. Among these studies, fracture identification methodology varied from combined radiographic and macroscopic analysis (Djuric et al, 2006;Judd & Roberts, 1999;Jurmain, 2001;Jurmain et al, 2009;Keenleyside, 1998;Kilgore et al, 1997;Papathanasiou, 2005) to macroscopic analysis alone (Domett & Tayles, 2006;Doran, 2002;Lovejoy & Heiple, 1981;Neves et al, 1999;Powell, 1988) (Table 3).…”

“…San Pedro de Atacama (Neves et al, 1998); 17. Kulubnarti (Kilgore et al, 1997); 18. Raunds (Judd & Roberts, 1999); 19.…”

Physical activity according to sex in the argar culture. An approach based on the human remains

“…Por otra parte, la frecuencia de los argáricos resulta inferior al 32,88 % de la población sudanesa de Kulubnarti. Esta última cifra se ha atribuido (Kilgore et al 1997) al terreno especialmente duro, en el que se desenvolvieron estos individuos que sufrieron numerosas caídas accidentales y que presentan cifras altas de fracturas de antebrazo y tan sólo un 0,76% de lesiones en cráneo atribuibles a agresiones intencionales. Si se comparan los resultados a nivel de piezas analizadas, la frecuencia de 1,73 % de los argáricos es similar al 1,8% de una población indígena de California (Jurmain 2001) y superior a la de daneses prehistóricos y medievales del 0,8% (Bennike 1985) y a las medievales británicas urbanas de St. Helen (0,8%) y Blackfriars (0,9%) (Judd y Roberts 1999).…”

“…Si se comparan los resultados a nivel de piezas analizadas, la frecuencia de 1,73 % de los argáricos es similar al 1,8% de una población indígena de California (Jurmain 2001) y superior a la de daneses prehistóricos y medievales del 0,8% (Bennike 1985) y a las medievales británicas urbanas de St. Helen (0,8%) y Blackfriars (0,9%) (Judd y Roberts 1999). Sin embargo, resulta inferior al 2,2% de Raunds (Judd y Roberts 1999), 2,4% de Kerma (Judd 2004) y 3,7% de Kulubnarti (Kilgore et al 1997). En todas estas poblaciones los varones presentan frecuencias de traumatismos mayores que las de las mujeres, pero en ningún caso se alcanza la significación estadística.…”