The Old Frankfort Cemetery (15Frl54) is located in downtown Frankfort, Kentucky, at the foot of Fort Hill. Records indicate this cemetery may have been the first in use in Frankfort. It was initially used as a general burial ground for the city in the early 1800s; however, it appears that the cemetery quickly became dilapidated and was primarily used for the poor of the city. Subsequent development of the site through out the 19th and 20`" centuries effectively removed the cemetery from the landscape and public memory. This amnesia was compounded by the social status of those interred at the Old Frankfort Cemetery.The specific aim of this study is to better understand children's health in the Antebellum South. Through a case study of Frankfort, Kentucky, political and economic conditions during the 19th century that affected health conditions will be examined. Documentation of immature skeletal remains from this unknown population will provide insight as to delays in both bone and dental growth and maturity, and epiphyseal closure. It will also provide information on the health of the overall population. Results of this study will not only enhance the social, economic and political intra-relationships between the population of the cemetery, but also the surrounding urban area of Frankfort, KY, during the early 19'h century and Antebellum America. / Department of Anthropology

Diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis (DISH) is a rheumatology term for a particular type of vertebral arthritis involving the calcification of the right aspect of the anterolateral ligament (ALL) and the presence of ligament ossification at particular peripheral joints. DISH is most common among middle to late age males and is thought to be present in 10% of males over the age of 65. Although the etiology of the disease is unknown, many have associated it with diabetes and a high status lifestyle. In this thesis, DISH is examined in a late nineteenth, early twentieth century almshouse cemetery known as the Milwaukee County Institution Grounds (MCIG) cemetery. Due to the health and diet of the immigrant peoples living in Milwaukee during the MCIG cemetery’s usage, 1850 to 1974, it is suspected that diabetes would not have been a common disorder, thus leading to little to no DISH presence in the cemetery population. However, DISH is seen in the MCIG population which suggests that the etiology of DISH is not a result of diet or diabetes but other factors altogether. / Department of Anthropology

Identification of human or nonhuman skeletal remains is important in assisting the police and law enforcement officers for the investigation of forensic cases. Identification of bone can be difficult, especially in fragmented remains. It has been reported that 25 to 30% of medicolegal cases, which involved nonhuman skeletal remains have been mistaken for human. In such cases, histomorphometric method was used to identify human and nonhuman skeletal remains. However, literature has shown that histomorphometric data for human and nonhuman bone were insufficient. Additionally, age estimation in bone may help in the identification of human individual, which can be done by using a histomorphometric method. Age estimation is based on bone remodeling process, where microstructural parameters have strong correlations with age. Literature showed that age estimation has been done on the American and European populations. However, little work has been done in the Asian population. The aims of this project were thus, to identify human and nonhuman bone, and to estimate age in human bones by using histomorphometric analysis. In this project, 64 human bones and 65 animal bones were collected from the mortuary of the Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical Centre and the Zoos in Malaysia, respectively. A standard bone preparation was used to prepare human and nonhuman bone thin sections for histomorphometric assessment. Assessments were made on the microstructural parameters such as cortical thickness, medullary cavity diameter, osteon count, osteon diameter, osteon area, osteon perimeter, Haversian canal diameter, Haversian canal area, Haversian canal perimeter, and Haversian lamella count per osteon by using image analysis, and viewed under a transmitted light microscope. The microstructural measurements showed significant differences between human and nonhuman samples. The discriminant functions showed correct classification rates for 81.4% of cases, and the accuracy of identification was 96.9% for human and 66.2% for animal. Human age estimation showed a standard error of estimate of 10.41 years, comparable with those in the literature. This study project offers distinct advantages over currently available histomorphometric methods for human and nonhuman identification and human age estimation. This will have significant implications in the assessment of fragmentary skeletal and forensic population samples for identification purposes.

This dissertation deals with the study of ancient diseases mentioned in the historical period of the Scriptures in the region of Syro-Palestine. The definition, history, methodology and etymology of the terms relating to biblical diseases are discussed. Leprosy, syphilis, plague and anaemia amongst other diseases leave skeletal signs and lesions. Paleopathologists may reveal these diseases by studying skeletal remains of the population of Syro-Palestine. Criticisms and recommendations are offered for the practical paleopathologist, anthropologist or archaeologist. More interest should be taken in the study of coprolite in every new discovery of human remains. The scarcity of skeletal remains in the region is well known. The past and present law structure, the Halakah, may partly be to blame. The future of paleopathology worldwide is undisputedly the biochemical science of DNA analysis. With this new science the role for macromorphological examination may diminish. The diseases mentioned in the Bible are finding it increasingly difficult to hide behind the words in the Scriptures. / Old Testament and Ancient Near Eastern Studies / MA (Biblical Archaeology)

Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) is a disease in which the body has "turned on itself", with its immune system attacking mobility. In RA, an immune mechanism attacks and destroys the joints and limits mobility, in some circumstances to the point of needing replacement of joints. The aim of this research is the development of a less costly, widely accessible, passive sensing technology that provides a quantitative assessment of RA and that monitors the therapeutic effectiveness on joint-debilitating diseases. The proposed solution relies on a quantitative evaluation of human gestures. Such a quantitative assessment supports the comparison between the motion capabilities of a patient and that of a healthy person, using a kinematic model of the human skeleton. Criteria for the classification of severity were established, and tables were generated to classify the levels of severity as a function of the measurements extracted from processed videos of a subject performing predefined movements. This research project, while contributing a new tool to the process of classification of RA level of severity, opens the way for using widely accessible digital imaging for diagnosing and monitoring the evolution of the illness. Replacing MRI or HRUS with a cheaper and more accessible technology would have a major impact on health care services. From the clinical point of view, the proposed techniques based on digital images processing combined with a monitoring approach based on infrared images that was previously developed may provide a utility of care for patients with RA, as well as an alternative and automated approach for early detection of RA and active inflammation at a critical time.

This dissertation deals with the study of ancient diseases mentioned in the historical period of the Scriptures in the region of Syro-Palestine. The definition, history, methodology and etymology of the terms relating to biblical diseases are discussed. Leprosy, syphilis, plague and anaemia amongst other diseases leave skeletal signs and lesions. Paleopathologists may reveal these diseases by studying skeletal remains of the population of Syro-Palestine. Criticisms and recommendations are offered for the practical paleopathologist, anthropologist or archaeologist. More interest should be taken in the study of coprolite in every new discovery of human remains. The scarcity of skeletal remains in the region is well known. The past and present law structure, the Halakah, may partly be to blame. The future of paleopathology worldwide is undisputedly the biochemical science of DNA analysis. With this new science the role for macromorphological examination may diminish. The diseases mentioned in the Bible are finding it increasingly difficult to hide behind the words in the Scriptures. / Old Testament and Ancient Near Eastern Studies / MA (Biblical Archaeology)

Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) is a disease in which the body has "turned on itself", with its immune system attacking mobility. In RA, an immune mechanism attacks and destroys the joints and limits mobility, in some circumstances to the point of needing replacement of joints. The aim of this research is the development of a less costly, widely accessible, passive sensing technology that provides a quantitative assessment of RA and that monitors the therapeutic effectiveness on joint-debilitating diseases. The proposed solution relies on a quantitative evaluation of human gestures. Such a quantitative assessment supports the comparison between the motion capabilities of a patient and that of a healthy person, using a kinematic model of the human skeleton. Criteria for the classification of severity were established, and tables were generated to classify the levels of severity as a function of the measurements extracted from processed videos of a subject performing predefined movements. This research project, while contributing a new tool to the process of classification of RA level of severity, opens the way for using widely accessible digital imaging for diagnosing and monitoring the evolution of the illness. Replacing MRI or HRUS with a cheaper and more accessible technology would have a major impact on health care services. From the clinical point of view, the proposed techniques based on digital images processing combined with a monitoring approach based on infrared images that was previously developed may provide a utility of care for patients with RA, as well as an alternative and automated approach for early detection of RA and active inflammation at a critical time.

The Kellis 2 cemetery site within the Dakhleh Oasis, Egypt provides a unique study opportunity due to the large number of infant, perinatal, and fetal individuals that have been recovered. Several of the infant and fetal remains have undiagnosed circular defects on the temporal bone, and others have undiagnosed lesions on the zygomatic bone. Of the 268 individuals under one year of age that have been analyzed from the Kellis 2 cemetery, twentysix individuals have the temporal bone defect and six have the zygomatic bone lesions. A survey of clinical and paleopathological research provided possible pathological conditions that could cause abnormalities such as defects or lesions on the temporal bones or zygomatic bones in the fetal and infant population. For this study, the temporal bone defects and zygomatic bone lesions were macroscopically observed and a descriptive analysis was created. The information garnered from the literature survey was then compared to the individuals from the Kellis 2 cemetery that had the temporal bone defects and zygomatic bone lesions to create a differential diagnosis. A differential diagnosis of the temporal bone defects includes mastoid emissary vein defects and petrosquamous sinus anomalies. A differential diagnosis of the zygomatic bone lesions includes scurvy. Contributing factors may also have been present in order for these defects and lesions to occur. Creating a differential diagnosis of the defects and lesions can provide information on the health, growth, and morbidity of the youngest members of the society related to the Kellis 2 cemetery.

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a degenerative pathological condition of the appendicular joints which affects the cartilage and underlying bone. OA is relatively common in both the archaeological and clinical context, and a significant amount of research has been conducted on this osteological condition. The purpose of this thesis is to assess the incidence, demographic prevalence, and general severity of hip and knee OA in a Roman-Christian period (50 A.D – 450 A.D) population sample from the Dakhleh Oasis, Egypt. The bioarchaeological sample originates from the Kellis 2 cemetery which is associated with the ancient town of Kellis. The town of Kellis is believed to have been a prosperous economic hub in Egypt, located in the Western Sahara Desert approximately 250 kilometers west of the Nile. The skeletal samples (n=135, 83 females and 51 males) was visually assessed for the osteological characteristics of OA in the hips and the knees. Joint surfaces of the hip include the acetabulum and femoral head. Joint surfaces of the knee include lateral/medial tibio-femoral compartments and the patellofemoral compartment. The ages of the individuals assessed in this study range from 19-72 years, and have been divided into five age categories which were then cross-tabulated with sex and OA incidence in order to determine demographic prevalence of OA. Findings indicate that age is a significant etiological factor of OA prevalence for both males and females. Males are afflicted by the disease significantly more than females in the hips (F: [L] 3.6%, [R] 5.9% and M: [L] 13.7%,[R] 13.7%) and also slightly more affected in the knees(F: [L] 17.5%,[R] 18.3% and M: [L] 22.9%,[R]21.3%). The acetabulum tends to be more arthritic than the femoral head for both males and females. Femoral condyles tend to be more arthritic than tibial condyles for both males and females. The patello-femoral compartment tends iv to be the most arthritic part of the knee while the medial condyles of both tibiae exhibit virtually no OA (with the exception of one individual). The joint surface observed with the highest OA prevalence is the femoral surface of the patella (F: [L] 17.5%,[R] 15.9% and M: [L] 21.3%,[R] 21.3%). The highest prevalence of OA by joint complex is observed on the left knee in males (22.9%), and the lowest prevalence of OA is observed on the left hip of females (3.6%). Both hip and knee joints have higher prevalence of unilateral OA manifestation than bilateral. Isotopic and archaeological evidence indicates that the individuals at Kellis maintained an agricultural subsistence regime, and that the males within the population may have been highly mobile migrating to and from the Dakhleh Oasis. Subsistence agriculture has its necessary physical demands which may have been a contributory factor to OA rates. Males show higher OA rates than females throughout the joints of the legs. Sexual dimorphism of OA for the hips is suggestive of sexual divisions of labor. OA of the knees lacks sexual dimorphism therefore the knee joint complex of males and females were likely subjected to similar levels of mechanical loading. It can be concluded based on the OA data that males and females exhibit similar activity, or biomechanical stress levels in the knee joint complexes. Males exhibit significantly higher pathological manifestation of OA in the hip joint complexes, indicative of higher levels of mechanical loading in the hip joint complex which can theoretically be attributed to sexual divisions of labor or perhaps terrestrial mobility