Two cases of facial involvement in probable treponemal infection from late prehistoric coastal North Carolina

Nutrition and health at contact in late prehistoric central Gulf Coast Florida

“…In addition to the crania with stellate lesions and the Burial 106 postcrania, 10 tibiae exhibited periosteal apposition on the anterior crest, five tibiae exhibited mild to extreme anterior curvature (saber tibia), and three tibiae exhibited nodular areas of periosteal reaction (of 337 observable tibiae for postcontact individuals; Hutchinson et al, 2005). No facial lesions were observed, other than one possible case of nasal remodeling, which is similar to a case seen in late prehistoric coastal North Carolina populations (Hutchinson, 2002;Hutchinson and Weaver, 1998).…”

Temporal and Spatial Distribution of Treponemal Infection in South Florida: An Epidemiological Approach

“…Skeletal lesions characteristic of treponemal disease have been reported at coastal and non‐coastal sites in Florida dating from Archaic times to early contact and into the historic period (Table ). Reported cases of pre‐contact osseous reactions attributed to a treponemal infection are not limited to Florida and are noted throughout the Southeastern United States including Alabama (Powell, , , , ), Arkansas (Powell, ), Georgia (Larsen, ), Kentucky (Powell & Eisenberg, ), Louisiana (Robbins, ), Mississippi (Ross‐Stallings, ), North Carolina (Bogdan & Weaver, ; Reichs, ; Hutchinson & Weaver, ; Sandford et al ., ; Weaver et al ., ; Hutchinson, ) and Tennessee (Smith, ; Smith et al ., ). These studies, including the present investigation, continue to support the premise that some form (perhaps a form dissimilar to modern forms) of a treponemal infection was endemic in Florida as well as the Southeastern United States prior to and leading up to contact with Europeans (Bullen, ; Hutchinson, ; Hutchinson et al ., ; Hutchinson & Richman, ) (Table ).…”

Regional, social, and evolutionary perspectives on treponemal infection in the Southeastern United States

“…In the past 25 years, many researchers presented evidence that some form, possibly multiple forms, of a treponemal disease was endemic in pre-Columbian eastern North America (Baker and Armelagos, 1988;Bogdan and Weaver, 1989;Hutchinson, 1990Hutchinson, , 1993Miller-Shaivitz and İscan, 1991;Powell, 1986Powell, , 1988Powell, , 1990Powell, , 1991aReichs, 1989). Skeletal responses characteristic of treponemal infection were noted for precontact populations in Illinois (Cook, 1976), Alabama (Powell, 1986(Powell, , 1988(Powell, , 1991a, Arkansas (Powell, 1989), Mississippi (Ross-Stallings, 1989), Georgia (Powell, 1990(Powell, , 1991b, Florida (Brothwell, 1970;Bullen, 1972;Hrdlička, 1922;Hutchinson, 1993Hutchinson, , 2004İscan and Miller-Shaivitz, 1985;Miller-Shaivitz and İscan, 1991;Snow, 1962), Kentucky (Powell and Eisenberg, 1998), New York (Baker, 1998;Elting and Starna, 1984), North Carolina (Bogdan and Weaver, 1989;Hutchinson, 2002;Hutchinson and Weaver, 1998;Reichs, 1989;Sandford et al, 1998;, and Louisiana (Robbins, 1978). They were all based on skeletal lesions.…”