Treponemal disease in the Old World? Integrated palaeopathological assessment of a 9th–11th century skeleton from north-central Spain

Abstract

The hypothesis of an American origin of acquired (venereal) syphilis and other infectious diseases carried by Columbus's crew has been considered for a long time as the most plausible one, and has been supported recently by considerable anthropological and molecular evidence. According to this line of thought, it can be argued that Spain would have been the gateway of acquired syphilis, which quickly expanded after the return of Columbus in the late 15th century. However, the hypothesis that syphilis previously existed in Europe but went unrecognized has also been considered by many authors. The present work reports one Pre-Columbian putative case of venereal syphilis found in a Spanish necropolis and radiocarbon dated to the 9th-11th century. The complexities of carrying out accurate diagnoses in remains from archaeological timeframes are addressed by the combined use of palaeopathological, medical, and histological techniques. The results, which point toward third-stage acquired syphilis, spark discussion about the need to revisit or complement the theories and hypothesis on the origin of syphilis in the light of a growing body of cases from European historical populations.

Medical diagnostic methods applied to a medieval female with vitamin D deficiency from the north of Spain

“…However, it is known to affect the skull and other bones, with well-described destructive and reactive lesions, so it can be ruled out as a diagnosis in this case (Lopez et al 2017;Ortner 2003;Pinhasi and Mays 2008;Waldron 2009).…”

Advancing the understanding of treponemal disease in the past and present

“…Where dates are reported, sites and skeletons were most often dated using archaeological evidence, such as grave inclusions or the coffin wood. Radiocarbon dates are rarely reported and typically do not consider any potential reservoir effect or calibrate according to any offset that may be justified (see Section 4.1.2; see also Bayliss et al [] and Philippsen []), but there are occasional exceptions (e.g., Mays et al, ; Mays, Vincent, & Meadows, ; Lopez et al, ).…”

“…Overall, the majority of the skeletal evidence in all the reports surveyed was observed macroscopically. Some investigators use imaging techniques, including plain film radiographs (e.g., Tomczyk et al, ) and computed tomography (e.g., Lopez et al, ). Very few include histological (e.g., Von Hunnius, Roberts, Boylston, & Saunders, ) or biomolecular analyses (e.g., Schuenemann et al, ).…”

A historical approach to syphilis infection in Korea

“…According to this hypothesis, Columbus' expedition to and return from the New World was coincidental with a sudden spike in syphilis virulence, which disease was mistakenly identified as a new, New World-origin disease [17]. This argument is appealing in that it can explain why syphilis-like signs have been occasionally found in bones unearthed at Old World sites dated pre-1493 [12,20,27]. According to this theory, the syphilis was actually present in the Old World even before the 1490s [28,29].…”