A probable case of hypophosphatasia in St Bride's Lower Churchyard (1770-1849, London, UK).

OBJECTIVES: The objective of this study was to analyse an individual whose remains are characterised by early deciduous tooth loss and multi-focal lesions on the post-cranial skeleton. MATERIALS: Skeletal remains of an immature individual buried between 1770 and 1849 in London. METHODS: The remains were examined by visual macroscopic inspection, supplemented by radiographic examination of the mandible and maxillae. A differential diagnosis with possible conditions, frequent in this archaeological context, was conducted. A comprehensive examination of dental lesions was performed to investigate the aetiologies of deciduous tooth loss. RESULTS: The individual exhibited a mosaic of skeletal and dental pathological changes, including premature loss of deciduous dentition, premature eruption of permanent teeth generalised bone loss in both the mandible and maxilla; osteomyelitis of the left radius; osteolytic lesion on the body of the second lumbar vertebra, and marked expansions of the rib shafts due to sub-periosteal new bone formation. CONCLUSION: A differential diagnosis considered indicates that the pathological changes of the individual were most likely associated with a comorbidity involving hypophosphatasia and tuberculosis. SIGNIFICANCE: We present in this study several oral signs that could alert paleopathologists and bioarcheologists to systematically consider the potential of a condition that is rarely encountered in archaeological contexts. LIMITATIONS: Due to poor preservation, this study was confined to the analysis of a partial maxilla and mandible, a left radius shaft and the axial skeleton (rib heads and vertebrae) of the individual. SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH: Further radiographic, histological and genetic analyses would confirm the diagnosis.

Well supplied in life, set aside in death: A multi-isotope study of Justinian plague victims from Saint-Doulchard (France, 7th-8th centuries AD).

OBJECTIVES: Justinian plague and its subsequent outbreaks were major events influencing Early Medieval Europe. One of the affected communities was the population of Saint-Doulchard in France, where plague victim burials were concentrated in a cemetery enclosure ditch. This study aimed to obtain more information about their life-histories using the tools of isotope analysis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Dietary analysis using carbon and nitrogen isotopes was conducted on 97 individuals buried at Le Pressoir in Saint-Doulchard, with 36 of those originating from the enclosure ditch. This sample set includes all individuals analyzed for plague DNA in a previous study. Mobility analysis using strontium isotope analysis supplements the dietary study, with 47 analyzed humans. The results are supported by a reference sample set of 31 animal specimens for dietary analysis and 9 for mobility analysis. RESULTS: The dietary analysis results showed significantly different dietary behavior in individuals from the ditch burials, with better access to higher quality foods richer in animal protein. 87Sr/86Sr ratios are similar for both studied groups and indicate a shared or similar area of origin. DISCUSSION: The results suggest that the ditch burials contain an urban population from the nearby city of Bourges, which overall had a better diet than the rural population from Saint-Doulchard. It is implied that city's population might have been subjected to high mortality rates during the plague outbreak(s), which led to their interment in nearby rural cemeteries.

Population affinities in pre-colonial West Africa: The case of the burial cave Iroungou (Gabon, 14th-15th century CE).

INTRODUCTION: Our knowledge of the populations of sub-Saharan Africa in the periods before European colonization is limited. Few archeological sites containing human remains have been identified, and written sources for these periods are rare. The discovery in 2018 of the Iroungou sepulchral cave (Gabon), whose use predates the arrival of the Portuguese (14th-15th centuries CE), is an exceptional source of information: at least 28 individuals associated with numerous metal artifacts were found there. The anthropobiological remains were left in situ, but the eight best preserved crania were digitized. OBJECTIVES: This study focuses on the population affinities of these crania, whose morphology was described using 237 landmarks. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Geometric morphometric analyses were used to compare the eight Iroungou specimens with 154 individuals representing 12 well-defined African populations. After alignment (Generalized Procrustes Analysis), morphological affinity was assessed using Euclidean and Mahalanobis distances, and posterior probabilities of population membership (discriminant analysis). RESULTS: Results indicate that the eight Iroungou crania have, on average, more affinity with Bayaka Pygmy, followed by Central African Bantu. Nevertheless, individually, the Iroungou specimens show an important morphological variation and the eight crania can be separated into different affinity groups: Bayaka and Central African Bantu, KhoeSan, and East-African Bantu. Finally, one individual presents strong affinity with Somalis. CONCLUSION: This phenetic mapping of the Iroungou sample raises questions about the profile of the individuals deposited in the cave in a geographical area known for the Loango pre-colonial kingdom, which ruling class seemed to have had privileged relationships with the Pygmy populations.

INTRODUCTION: Nos connaissances sur les populations d'Afrique sub­saharienne des périodes précédant la colonisation européenne sont limitées. Peu de sites archéologiques contenant des restes humains ont été identifiés, et les sources écrites pour ces périodes sont rares. La découverte en 2018 de la grotte sépulcrale d'Iroungou (Gabon), dont l'utilisation remonte au XIVe­XVe siècles de notre ère, avant l'arrivée des Portugais, constitue une source d'information exceptionnelle: au moins 28 individus associés à de nombreux artefacts métalliques y ont été retrouvés. Les restes anthropobiologiques ont été laissés in situ, néanmoins, les huit crânes les mieux préservés ont été numérisés. OBJECTIFS: Cette étude s'intéresse aux affinités populationnelles de ces crânes, dont la morphologie a été décrite à l'aide de 237 points­repères répartis sur le massif facial supérieur et le calvarium. MATÉRIEL ET MÉTHODES: Des analyses par morphométrie géométrique ont permis de comparer les spécimens d'Iroungou avec 154 individus représentants 12 populations africaines bien définies. Après alignement des conformations (analyse Procrustes généralisée), l'affinité morphologique a été évaluée à l'aide des distances procrustes, euclidienne et mahalanobis, ainsi que des probabilités postérieures d'appartenance à une population (analyse discriminante). RÉSULTATS: Les résultats indiquent que les huit crânes d'Iroungou présentent en moyenne plus d'affinités avec les populations pygmées Bayaka, suivies des Bantus d'Afrique centrale. DISCUSSION: Cette affinité moyenne recouvre une réalité complexe: la population d'Iroungou est la plus hétérogène de notre échantillon et les huit crânes peuvent être séparés en différents groupes d'affinités: avec les Bayakas et les Bantus d'Afrique Centrale, les KhoeSan, et avec les Bantus d'Afrique de l'est. Enfin, un individu présente une affinité très forte avec les Somalis de notre échantillon. Cette cartographie phénétique de la population d'Iroungou interroge sur le profil des individus déposés dans la grotte dans une zone géographique connue le royaume précolonial Loango dont la classe dirigeante semble avoir eu des relations privilégiées avec les populations pygmées.