No description available.

Sardinia was an island with a history of a malarious environment until eradication efforts were conducted from 1946 to 1950. While historic documents suggest the disease was introduced from North Africa around 500 BC, no study has been conducted to test for the presence of malaria in prehistoric native populations, such as the Nuragic people of the Bronze Age. However, it has been suggested that aspects of the Nuragic culture, for example the stone structures found throughout the island, are adaptations to a malarious environment. The purpose of this dissertation is to test the hypothesis that malaria was present in prehistoric Sardinia. In addition, the value of applying anthropology, pertaining specifically to prehistoric investigations, to understand and combat malaria is supported. To test for the presence of malaria, multiple lines of evidence were used to analyze human skeletal remains from a Middle Bronze Age tomb. Because malaria does not result in a specific pattern of bony responses that can be identified through a gross analysis of the remains, additional lines of evidence were used. These included an osteological analysis for the possible presence of conditions related to malaria (e.g., inherited hemolytic anemias) and the collection of bone samples to test for ancient malaria DNA, Plasmodium falciparum histidine-rich protein II, and the malarial pigment hemozoin. In addition, a review of the literature pertaining to the ecology and history of Sardinia were used with archaeological data to evaluate if it was possible the malaria parasite was affecting humans on the island during prehistory. While it was interpreted that conditions were favorable for malaria to infect individuals during this time, and possible cultural adaptations were noted, no conclusive evidence was found by analyzing skeletal remains. More work is needed to diagnose malaria better in human remains and understand the health of populations in Sardinia during the Bronze Age. Considering the coevolution of malaria parasites, humans, and mosquitoes is a necessary step in developing methods to combat malaria as the parasite and disease vector become more resistant to medicine and insecticides. In particular, applying anthropological methods and theories shows promise for fighting this disease.

This dissertation explores patterns of health and variability among hunter-gatherers during the Holocene in two distinct ecological settings: the semi-arid Lower Pecos and Central Western Gulf Coastal Plain regions of Texas. Skeletal indicators of long-term and short-term stress were examined for 279 individuals representing 20 cemetery sites. To test the assumption that stress indicators, and therefore interpretations of health, for hunter-gatherers are not homogenous but extremely variable, patterning in age, sex, porotic hyperostosis, cribra orbitalia, linear enamel hypoplasia and periostitis are analyzed. There are no significant differences in the frequencies of cribra orbitalia for adults by region; a significantly greater proportion of subadults in the Coastal Plain region were affected with anemia in infancy (40%) than adults (13.8%). If severity is not taken into account, or if only the mildest lesions are considered, a larger proportion of Lower Pecos adults show porotic hyperostosis, a sign of anemia in childhood, than Coastal Plain adults. Overall there are no statistically significant differences by sex for any of the skeletal indicators analyzed with the exception of cribra orbitalia, where males and females for Lower Pecos region are significantly different with significantly fewer males showing cribra orbitalia (0%) than females (33.3%). In analyzing linear enamel hypoplasias, only the mandibular second incisors of Lower Pecos adults were found to have a significantly greater prevalence of hypoplasia than those of the Coastal Plain. A greater proportion of adults from the Coastal Plain show periosteal lesions in the tibia and fibula (30-40%) than those from the Lower Pecos. The results of this bioarchaeological case study indicate that more complex interpretations of health patterning which include important factors such as the osteological paradox, relevant ecological variables, and a framework which stresses the age of occurrence of skeletal indicators within hunter-gatherer groups are vital and relevant to archaeological and bioarchaeological research as a whole. Increasing sample sizes in the future, using sites that are more temporally discrete, and expanding sites used from other ecological regions in addition to drawing on data from stable isotopes may help further this research.

No description available.

This thesis focuses on health among children in the medieval town Old Lödöse (1100-1500 AD) in western Sweden. Through the study of health indicators (enamel hypoplasia, growth retardation and porotic hyperostosis) on adults (45 crania), children (31 complete individuals) and the commingled remains of children from severeal contexts. The results showed 66,7% (N= 30 of 45) of the adults and 67,7% (N= 21 of 31) of the children had presence of stress indicators. Although 61,5% (N=8 of 13) of the children and 37,5% (N=15 of 40) of the adults had presence of cribra orbitalia it manifested mildly on several of the individuals. Enamel hypoplasia was present on 53,8% (N= 7 of 13) of the children and 36,8% (N= 15 av 38) of the adults. The enamel disturbances occurred by the ages of two to five. Growth retardation was minimal and was within the standard deviation for each method. The population suffered from ill health due to varying degrees as a result of the urban environment, parasites and infections. Several of the individuals have experienced periods of stress during childhood. The population sample was compared to material from Skara (1100-1500 AD) and New Lödöse (1473-1624 AD). The comparison showed that there was similar health parameters in all three cities during the Middle Ages. / Syftet med denna studie var att undersöka hälsa respektive ohälsa hos barn i medeltida Gamla Lödöse (1100-1500 e.Kr.) genom att studera frekvensen av stressmarkörer. Materialet bestod av 45 kranier från vuxna individer (både män och kvinnor), 31 individer under 20 år samt  209 enskilda element från omrörda kontexter (barn). MNI för barnen i studien blev totalt 56. De stressmarkörer som studerades var emaljhypoplasier, porotic hyperostosis (cribra orbitalia, cribra cranii, cribra humeralis och cribra femoralis) och tillväxtstörningar. Hos vuxna individer studerades endast cribra orbitalia, cribra cranii och emaljhypoplaiser. Resultatet visade att 66,7% (N= 30 av 45) av de vuxna individerna uppvisade spår av stressmarkörer medan 67,7% (N=21 av 31) av barnen (endast de kompletta individerna) uppvisade spår av stressmarkörer. Cribra orbitalia uppvisades hos 61,5% (N= 8 av 13) av barnen medan hos de vuxna individerna var frekvensen endast 37,5% (N= 15 av 40). Nästintill alla individer hade mild grad av cribra orbitalia, likaså för cribra cranii. Emaljhypoplasier fanns hos 53,8% (N= 7 av 13) av barnen medan hos de vuxna var frekvensen 36,8% (N= 14 av 38). Emaljhypoplasierna uppstod i åldern två till tre hos barnen och åldern tre till fem år för de vuxna individerna. Tillväxtstörningarna hos barnen var minimala och inom standardavvikelserna för respektive metod. Slutsatsen var att den undersökta population led av ohälsa i varierande grad från ung ålder och att flera har upplevt episoder av stress orsakade av bland annat miljömässiga faktorer som ökade risken för infektionssjukdomar och parasiter. I jämförelser med material från Skara (1100-1500 e.Kr.) och Nya Lödöse (1473-1624 e.Kr.) framkom det att frekvensen av stressmarkörer är högre, men att antalet undersökta individer är mindre i Gamla Lödöse. Förutom det tros städerna ha varit lika gällande hälsoparametrar hos barn.

Bab edh-Dhra is the most extensively excavated cemetery from Early Bronze Age, Jordan. Despite thorough study, the social structure and existence of social inequality remain unclear. This was addressed using osteological evidence of physiological stress to compare between family tombs. In societies exhibiting social inequality, individuals of lower status experience higher levels of stress. Evidence of physiological stress (femoral length, LEH, metabolic disorders, periosteal reactions, cribra orbitalia, and porotic hyperostosis) was recorded using standard methods for 250 adults. The artifact counts in this study have been previously published. Differences in the frequency of stress indicators were compared using chi-square tests. The results show no difference in the frequency of stress indicators between tombs and no correlation between artifacts and frequency of stress indicators. This indicates that families at Bab edh-Dhra experienced similar stress levels and low inequality. This may be due to cultural practices, subsistence methods or lack of data.