Human consumption of seaweed and freshwater aquatic plants in ancient Europe.

During the Mesolithic in Europe, there is widespread evidence for an increase in exploitation of aquatic resources. In contrast, the subsequent Neolithic is characterised by the spread of farming, land ownership, and full sedentism, which lead to the perception of marine resources subsequently representing marginal or famine food or being abandoned altogether even at the furthermost coastal limits of Europe. Here, we examine biomarkers extracted from human dental calculus, using sequential thermal desorption- and pyrolysis-GCMS, to report direct evidence for widespread consumption of seaweed and submerged aquatic and freshwater plants across Europe. Notably, evidence of consumption of these resources extends through the Neolithic transition to farming and into the Early Middle Ages, suggesting that these resources, now rarely eaten in Europe, only became marginal much more recently. Understanding ancient foodstuffs is crucial to reconstructing the past, while a better knowledge of local, forgotten resources is likewise important today.

An integrative skeletal and paleogenomic analysis of stature variation suggests relatively reduced health for early European farmers.

Human culture, biology, and health were shaped dramatically by the onset of agriculture ∼12,000 y B.P. This shift is hypothesized to have resulted in increased individual fitness and population growth as evidenced by archaeological and population genomic data alongside a decline in physiological health as inferred from skeletal remains. Here, we consider osteological and ancient DNA data from the same prehistoric individuals to study human stature variation as a proxy for health across a transition to agriculture. Specifically, we compared "predicted" genetic contributions to height from paleogenomic data and "achieved" adult osteological height estimated from long bone measurements for 167 individuals across Europe spanning the Upper Paleolithic to Iron Age (∼38,000 to 2,400 B.P.). We found that individuals from the Neolithic were shorter than expected (given their individual polygenic height scores) by an average of −3.82 cm relative to individuals from the Upper Paleolithic and Mesolithic (P = 0.040) and −2.21 cm shorter relative to post-Neolithic individuals (P = 0.068), with osteological vs. expected stature steadily increasing across the Copper (+1.95 cm relative to the Neolithic), Bronze (+2.70 cm), and Iron (+3.27 cm) Ages. These results were attenuated when we additionally accounted for genome-wide genetic ancestry variation: for example, with Neolithic individuals −2.82 cm shorter than expected on average relative to pre-Neolithic individuals (P = 0.120). We also incorporated observations of paleopathological indicators of nonspecific stress that can persist from childhood to adulthood in skeletal remains into our model. Overall, our work highlights the potential of integrating disparate datasets to explore proxies of health in prehistory.

A possible case of paralysis in early modern Vilnius and the implications for social care.

OBJECTIVE: To present a case of possible paralysis from early modern Vilnius and to discuss the potential level of care that was provided in the society of that time. MATERIALS: A partially disturbed skeleton of a young female from a 16th-17th century Orthodox Christian cemetery. METHODS: Macroscopic, osteometric and X-ray examinations coupled with a literature review aimed at providing a differential diagnosis. RESULTS: The skeletal remains showed signs of disuse atrophy most probably due to a neurological disorder acquired in the woman's late teens. Differentials suggest that the observed limb atrophy was most likely a consequence of poliomyelitis. CONCLUSIONS: The case of a young female with paralysis presented in this paper could serve as an example of care provided by her household. SIGNIFICANCE: This study substantially contributes to further understanding of the nature and quality of care provided to disabled individuals in their households even in the absence of written sources. LIMITATIONS: There is a degree of diagnostic ambiguity due to the application of routine clinical criteria to paleopathological cases. SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH: The article makes several recommendations for future research, e.g., systematic investigation of possible cases of bone atrophy in a broader sociocultural context, as well as searching for evidence of gastrointestinal infections, especially poliomyelitis, supplemented by the application of biomolecular technologies.

An integrative approach to studying plasticity in growth disruption and outcomes: A bioarchaeological case study of Napoleonic soldiers.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to investigate how much variation in adult stature and body mass can be explained by growth disruption among soldiers who served in Napoleon's Grand Army during the Russian Campaign of 1812. METHODS: Linear enamel hypoplasia (LEH) were recorded as representations of early life growth disruption, while the impact on future growth was assessed using maximum femur length (n = 73) as a proxy for stature and maximum femoral head diameter (n = 25) as a proxy for body mass. LEH frequency, severity, age at first formation, and age at last formation served as explanatory variables in a multiple regression analysis to test the effect of these variables on maximum femur length and maximum femoral head diameter. RESULTS: The multiple regression model produced statistically significant results for maximum femur length (F-statistic = 3.05, df = 5 and 67, P = .02), with some variation in stature (adjusted r2 = 0.13) attributable to variation in growth disruption. The multiple regression model for maximum femoral head diameter was not statistically significant (F-statistic = 1.87, df = 5 and 19, P = .15). CONCLUSIONS: We hypothesized stress events during early life growth and development would have significant, negative, and cumulative effects on growth outcomes in adulthood. The results did not support our hypothesis. Instead, some variables and interactions had negative effects on stature, whereas others had positive effects. This is likely due to catch-up growth, the relationship between acute and chronic stress and growth, resilience, and plasticity in human growth over the life course.

A treponemal genome from an historic plague victim supports a recent emergence of yaws and its presence in 15th century Europe.

Developments in techniques for identification of pathogen DNA in archaeological samples can expand our resolution of disease detection. Our application of a non-targeted molecular screening tool for the parallel detection of pathogens in historical plague victims from post-medieval Lithuania revealed the presence of more than one active disease in one individual. In addition to Yersinia pestis, we detected and genomically characterized a septic infection of Treponema pallidum pertenue, a subtype of the treponemal disease family recognised as the cause of the tropical disease yaws. Our finding in northern Europe of a disease that is currently restricted to equatorial regions is interpreted within an historical framework of intercontinental trade and potential disease movements. Through this we offer an alternative hypothesis for the history and evolution of the treponemal diseases, and posit that yaws be considered an important contributor to the sudden epidemic of late 15th century Europe that is widely ascribed to syphilis.

A rare case of child abuse from early modern Lithuania.

The aim of this article was to describe the outcome of a probable case of physical abuse in the remains of a child dating from the 16th-18th centuries CE. The skeleton of a subadult was recovered during archaeological excavations carried out in the village of Uzubaliai, located in Alytus in southern Lithuania, and subsequently curated in the Faculty of Medicine at Vilnius University. The bones of this child were observed macroscopically and then submitted for radiological investigation. In order to speculate on the presence of abuse, features such as the presence, quantity, and type of injuries were considered. Stages of healing and the occurrence of additional nonspecific stress markers, such as linear enamel hypoplasia or Harris lines, were also recorded. The remains revealed the presence of lesions showing three stages of healing, including antemortem and perimortem fractures. Periosteal reactions were also observed on many of the bones. Traumas with high specificity for abuse, such as rib and scapular fractures, were assessed. Finally, endocranial new bone formation was also noted as a possible sign of neglect. The pattern of observed injuries showed evidence that was compatible with a case of physical abuse.

Social differences in oral health: Dental status of individuals buried in and around Trakai Church in Lithuania (16th-17th c.c.).

The evaluation of social differences in dental health is based on the assumption that individuals belonging to a higher social class consumed a different diet than a common people. The aim of our study was to analyse and compare dental health of 16(th) - 17(th) c. individuals, buried inside and around the Roman Catholic Church in Trakai (Lithuania). All material (189 adult individuals) was divided in two samples of a presumably different social status: the Churchyard (ordinary townsmen) and the Presbytery (elite). Dental status analysis included that of tooth loss, tooth wear, caries, abscesses and calculus. Results revealed higher prevalence of dental disease in the Churchyard sample compared to the Presbytery. Individuals buried around the church had statistically higher prevalence of caries, antemortem tooth loss and abscesses compared to those who were buried inside the church. The Churchyard sample was also characterised by a higher increase in severity of caries with age, and a more rapid tooth wear. Differences in dental health between the samples the most probably reflect different dietary habits of people from different social groups: poor quality carbohydrate based diet of laymen buried in the churchyard and more varied diet with proteins and of a better quality of local elite, buried inside the church. Substantial sex differences in dental health were found only in the Churchyard sample: males had statistically higher prevalence of abscesses and calculus, while females had higher prevalence of caries and AMTL (antemortem tooth loss). Females were also characterised by a higher increase in the number of dental decay and tooth loss with age and had higher prevalence of gross caries, which indicates a more rapid progression of the disease. Worse dental health of females could be a result of culturally based dietary differences between females (more carbohydrates) and males (more proteins) and different physiological demands (hormonal fluctuations and suppression of immune system during pregnancy).

Im Osten etwas Neues: Anthropological analysis of remains of German soldiers from 1915-1918.

In the summer of 2005, exhumation and identification of the remains of German soldiers was performed in Panevezys (Northern Lithuania). Historical data indicate that in autumn of 1915 the building of a local gymnasium was transformed into a military hospital, and casualties were buried in its garden. The hospital functioned until the German withdrawal in the winter 1918. Archaeological finds include ID tags, personal items, residues of uniforms and medical devices. Routine anthropological analysis was performed on the site, as the remains had to be ready for scheduled reburial the same summer. In total, the remains of 837 soldiers have been discovered. Most of the remains belong to males up to 30 years of age. There were, however, remains of five females. The average stature (acc. Trotter-Gleser) of males (+/- SD) was 171.4 +/- 5.1 cm (range 155.4-188.8 cm). Dental status was characterized by a high incidence of antemortal tooth loss (81.8% of individuals, 14.9% teeth) and caries complications. Some healed trauma and other lesions (including some suggestive of tuberculosis) indicate that they were not obstacles for military service. The highest number of pathologies observed was leg trauma (125 cases, among them 49 amputations), followed by head trauma (48 cases, among them 13 cases with surgical treatment, and 8 cases of maxillofacial lesions), trauma of upper extremity (29 cases, including 9 amputations); incidence of other kinds of trauma was much lower (trunk area - 7, pelvic area - 5, possible abdominal traumas, indicated by metal plates with wire, probably used to support drain inserted into abdominal cavity - 36, lesions of vertebral column - 2) - this can be explained by worse field-survival after such lesions and smaller involvement of the skeleton. However, a significant number of skeletons (115) were covered with lime, suggesting death from other (infection?) causes; the presence of chronic disease treatment is suggested by a certain number (32) of osteoperiosteal lesions. The presence of dissected bodies (13 cases) indicate systemic analysis of mortality causes. Numerous other pathologies and traces of medical interventions are also informative. All this indicates the functioning of a large hospital with qualified staff and at least several specialised departments.