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Internat J Osteoarchaeol 15 (6)
Title
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Title:
Internat J Osteoarchaeol 15 (6)
Series
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Series:
International Journal of Osteoarchaeology
Volume
Volume number and part
Volume:
15 (6)
Publication Type
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Publication Type:
Journal
Editor
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Editor:
G J R Maat
Shelley Saunders
Terry P O'Connor
Publisher
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Publisher:
John Wiley & Sons Ltd
Year of Publication
The year the book, article or report was published
Year of Publication:
2005
Source
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Source:
BIAB (The British & Irish Archaeological Bibliography (BIAB))
Relations
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Relations:
URI:
http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/cgi-bin/jissue/112157275
Created Date
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Created Date:
04 May 2007
Please click on an Article link to go to the Article Details.
Article Title
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Abstract
Skeletal manifestations of vitamin D deficiency osteomalacia in documented historical collections
Megan B Brickley
Simon Mays
R Ives
389 - 403
It is suggested that the frequency with which changes related to vitamin D deficiency are recorded in juvenile bone from archaeological contexts makes it clear that conditions conducive to such deficiency were fairly widespread at a number of points in the past, and that although changes will take longer to be manifest in the adult skeleton than in juveniles, and may not be as obvious, the scarcity of reported cases suggests that it is likely that cases of osteomalacia are being overlooked in archaeological human bone. Vitamin D is probably better described as a hormone, rather than a vitamin, and the production of vitamin D within the body following exposure to sunlight allows adequate mineralisation of bone to take place. Lack of exposure to sunlight, which can be caused by a range of factors, is probably one of the main causes of vitamin D deficiency. The result of such a deficiency is a general weakening of the skeleton. The range of skeletal changes recorded across different bones of the skeleton in two documented historical pathology collections (the Galler collection, Basel, and the collection of the Federal Museum for Pathological Anatomy, Vienna), are discussed for scapulae, vertebrae, ribs, sterna, pelves and femora. The likelihood of each feature being preserved in archaeological skeletal material is considered. Although the changes associated with osteomalacia may lead to fragmentation of the skeleton, it is suggested that the presence of characteristic changes on bones from across the skeleton should make the condition identifiable using macroscopic examination, even where the skeleton is not well preserved. The identification of cases of osteomalacia in archaeological skeletal material is potentially significant because of the socio-cultural information that can be implied from diagnosis of the condition.
Comparing methods for analysing mortality profiles in zooarchaeological and palaeontological samples
T E Steele
404 - 420
The authors examine three methods that are currently used for comparing mortality profiles from zooarchaeological and palaeontological samples: histograms with 10% of life-span age classes; boxplots showing tooth crown height medians; and triangular plots of the proportions of young, prime and old animals. The advantages and disadvantages of each method are assessed using data collected on two samples of Northern Yellowstone elk (Cervus elaphus nelsoni) with known, or cementum annuli-determined, ages at death. One sample was hunted by wolves (n = 96), and the other was hunted by recent humans using rifles (n = 226). The author tested each method with the known or cementum annuli age distributions and with age estimation techniques appropriate for archaeological assemblages. It is concluded that histograms are best used when the relationship between dental eruption/attrition and age is well established so that individuals can be confidently assigned into 10% of life-span groups, and when more than 30 or 40 individuals are present in the assemblage. Boxplots employ raw crown heights, thus removing the error introduced by assigning specimens to age classes, and therefore they allow the analysis of species where the relationship between dental eruption/attrition and age is unknown. Confidence intervals around the medians allow samples to be statistically compared. Triangular plots are easy to use and allow multiple samples and species to be considered simultaneously, but samples cannot be statistically compared. Modified triangular plots bootstrap samples to provide 95% confidence ellipses, allowing for statistical comparisons between samples. When possible, samples should be examined using multiple methods to increase confidence in the results.
Age changes in bone microstructure: do they occur uniformly?
G A Macho
R L Abel
H Schutkowski
421 - 430
Age estimations based on conventional multifactorial methods were compared with trends observed in the internal morphology of bones obtained from high-resolution µCT. Specifically, average trabecular thickness and number of trabeculae/mm transect were determined in the non-load-bearing capitate (hand) and the load-bearing navicular (foot). The µCT findings reveal age-related trends but -- surprisingly -- these correspond only loosely with the ages assigned by conventional ageing methods, and are also not in accordance with what would be predicted from biomechanical considerations: trabeculae tend to be thinner in the (habitually) load-bearing navicular than in the (habitually) non-load-bearing capitate. While the statistically significant correlation between trabecular thickness and number of trabeculae would suggest a compensatory mechanism between these two aspects of microanatomy, they are not correlated with the assigned ages and, importantly, may differ between sexes. Only in females is there an unequivocal trend towards trabecular thickness increase with age. These findings, although unexpected, can be reconciled with recent histological evidence and assumed average activity levels in historical populations. Conversely, changes in trabecular number are less clear-cut and may be due to the lack of very old individuals in the sample. Nevertheless, the trends observed for trabecular thickness, as well as for trabecular number, seem to imply that the higher incidence of osteoporosis in women could be explained from a structural point of view alone.