RESUMO
This paper presents a case study of a young adult from the late Neolithic Yangshao cultural period site (â¼3300-2900 years BC) of Guanjia () located in Henan Province on the Central Plains of China, who has evidence for skeletal dysplasia characterised by proportional stunting of the long bones and a small axial skeleton, generalised osteopenia, and non-fusion of epiphyses. We provide a detailed differential diagnosis of skeletal dysplasia with paediatric onset and conclude that this is likely a form of hypopituitarism or hypothyroidism, an extremely rare finding within the archaeological context. This paper highlights the issues of distinguishing the forms of proportional dwarfism in palaeopathology because of the considerable variation in manifestation of these conditions. Finally, we assess whether there were any health and social implications for this person and community through the consideration of a bioarchaeology of care approach across the lifecourse, burial context, and information on social perceptions of 'difference' in the community. ï¼ï¼ ï¼3300ï½2900ï¼ãï¼ï¼ï¼ï¼ãï¼ï¼ããï¼ãï¼ãã""ï¼ã.
Assuntos
Múmias/patologia , Osteocondrodisplasias , Adulto , China , Diagnóstico Diferencial , História Antiga , HumanosRESUMO
We carried out a differential diagnosis of a large frontoparietal lesion on a human skull from a Late Bronze Age archaeological site located on the Central Plain of China, dating to between 771 and 476 BC. The head of this individual was covered in cinnabar, a mercury-based pigment that later was used for medicinal purposes in China. The lesion was well-circumscribed and involved the outer and inner tables of the skull, slight diploë thickening, and coarsening of bone trabeculae with expansion of intertrabecular spaces. We show that the observed changes are most consistent with cavernous hemangioma of the skull, a benign vascular malformation that preferentially affects older adults. Hemangiomas are often neglected in the paleopathological literature because of their benign nature - they tend to be asymptomatic and do not affect quality of life to a significant degree. Nevertheless, they produce characteristic lesions that can be confused with several other conditions with unrelated etiologies, including congenital hemoglabinopathies, traumas, malignant or benign neoplasms, and Paget's disease. We outline the diagnostic criteria that distinguish cavernous hemangioma from other conditions affecting the skull.