RESUMO
For more than two centuries, lack of sunlight has been understood to cause vitamin D deficiency and documented as a primary cause of rickets. As such, evidence of rickets in the archeological record has been used as a proxy for vitamin D status in past individuals and populations. In the last decade, a clinical global consensus has emerged wherein it is recognized that dietary calcium deficiency also plays a role in the manifestation of rickets and classic skeletal deformities may not form if dietary calcium is normal even if vitamin D is deficient. This disease is now clinically called "nutritional rickets" to reflect the fact that rickets can take calcium deficiency-predominant or vitamin D deficiency-predominant forms. However, there are currently no paleopathological studies wherein dietary calcium deficiency is critically considered a primary etiology of the disease. We review here the interplay of calcium, vitamin D, and phosphorous in bone homeostasis, examine the role of dietary calcium in human health, and critically explore the clinical literature on calcium deficiency-predominant rickets. Finally, we report a case of rickets from the late Formative Period (~2500-1500 years ago) of the Atacama Desert and argue the disease in this infant is likely an example of calcium deficiency-predominant rickets. We conclude that most archeological cases of rickets are the result of multiple micronutrient deficiencies that compound to manifest in macroscopic skeletal lesions. For clinicians, these factors are important for implementing best treatment practice, and for paleopathologists they are necessary for appropriate interpretation of health in past communities.
Assuntos
Raquitismo , Deficiência de Vitamina D , Lactente , Humanos , Cálcio da Dieta , Cálcio , Raquitismo/etiologia , Raquitismo/tratamento farmacológico , Deficiência de Vitamina D/complicações , Vitamina D , VitaminasRESUMO
OBJECTIVES: This study explores whether ancient Atacama Desert populations in northern Chile were exposed to endemic boron contamination. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Using Laser Ablation-Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS), we studied 144 strands of ancient mummy hair, ranging from 3000 B.C. to 1500 A.D., excavated from the Lluta, Azapa, and Camarones valleys in northern Chile. We tested whether these ancient populations showed signs of significant boron concentration in hair tissue. RESULTS: On average, all individuals from these valleys showed high boron concentrations, ranging from 1.5 to 4 times above the average boron concentration in contemporary hair (baseline <0.85 µg/g). The boron concentration in mummy hair varied according to the main geographic areas mentioned above. CONCLUSIONS: The rivers of northern Chile have high geogenic boron concentrations. They contain 38 times above the recommended limit for human consumption. Geogenic boron contamination likely played a role in population morbidity and the types of crops that were cultivated in antiquity. The ancient populations were chronically affected by boron overexposure, suggesting that ancient geogenic water contamination should be considered when discussing the biocultural trajectories of ancient populations.
Assuntos
Boro/análise , Exposição Ambiental/análise , Adolescente , Adulto , Criança , Pré-Escolar , Chile , Clima Desértico , Feminino , Cabelo/química , História Antiga , Humanos , Lactente , Recém-Nascido , Masculino , Pessoa de Meia-Idade , Múmias/história , Rios/química , Adulto JovemRESUMO
OBJECTIVES: This article addresses evidence of violence imbedded in both soft and hard tissues from early populations of hunters, fishermen, and gatherers, known as the Chinchorro culture, who lived between 10,000 and 4,000 cal yr BP, along the coast of the Atacama Desert, one of the driest environments on Earth. Our study is aimed to test two hypotheses (a) that interactions and violent behaviors increased through time as population density and social complexity augmented; and (b) that violence was more prevalent between local Chinchorro groups and groups from other inland locations. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Two lines of data were analyzed: (1) bioarchaeology, through the quantification of physical traces of interpersonal violence in skeletons and mummies from a sample of 136 adult individuals and, (2) isotopic chemical analysis (strontium) of individuals with traces of trauma in order to determine their local or foreign origin. RESULTS: Violence among Chinchorro populations was ubiquitous and remained invariant over time, with a remarkable skew to male (about 25% above female across the complete sample). Moreover, the chemical signature of individuals with traces of violence was not of foreign origin. DISCUSSION: The violence exerted by the Chinchorro groups was not related to increased population size, nor social complexity and was mostly restricted to individuals coming from the same coastal habitat. That is, our data suggest that violence was constant across the Archaic period among the Chinchorro, implying that violent behavior was part of the sociocultural repertory of these populations, likely associated to mechanisms to resolve conflicts and social tensions.
Assuntos
Fraturas Ósseas/etnologia , Comportamento Social/história , Violência/etnologia , Adolescente , Adulto , Arqueologia , Chile , Clima Desértico , Feminino , História Antiga , Humanos , Masculino , Adulto JovemRESUMO
This article describes the hidden natural chemical contaminants present in a unique desert environment and their health consequences on ancient populations. Currently, millions of people are affected worldwide by toxic elements such as arsenic. Using data gathered from Atacama Desert mummies, we discuss long-term exposure and biocultural adaptation to toxic elements. The rivers that bring life to the Atacama Desert are paradoxically laden with arsenic and other minerals that are invisible and tasteless. High intake of these toxic elements results in severe health and behavioral problems, and even death. We demonstrate that Inca colonies, from Camarones 9 site, were significantly affected by chemical contaminants in their food and water. It appears however, some modern-day Andean populations resist the elevated levels of arsenic exposure as a result of positive selection mediated via the arsenic methyltransferase enzyme and display more tolerance to high chemical doses. This article further debate the effects of natural pollution and biocultural adaptation of past populations.
Assuntos
Intoxicação por Arsênico , Exposição Ambiental , Arqueologia , Arsênio/análise , Arsênio/metabolismo , Criança , Humanos , Múmias , Polidactilia , Dermatopatias , América do SulRESUMO
The past two decades have seen a proliferation in bioarchaeological literature on the identification of scurvy, a disease caused by chronic vitamin C deficiency, in ancient human remains. This condition is one of the few nutritional deficiencies that can result in diagnostic osseous lesions. Scurvy is associated with low dietary diversity and its identification in human skeletal remains can provide important contextual information on subsistence strategy, resource allocation, and human-environmental interactions in past populations. A large and robust methodological body of work on the paleopathology of scurvy exists. However, the diagnostic criteria for this disease employed by bioarchaeologists have not always been uniform. Here we draw from previous research on the skeletal manifestations of scurvy in adult and juvenile human skeletal remains and propose a weighted diagnostic system for its identification that takes into account the pathophysiology of the disease, soft tissue anatomy, and clinical research. Using a sample of individuals from the prehistoric Atacama Desert in Northern Chile, we also provide a practical example of how diagnostic value might be assigned to skeletal lesions of the disease that have not been previously described in the literature.
Assuntos
Paleopatologia/métodos , Escorbuto , Adulto , Arqueologia , Osso e Ossos/patologia , Criança , Chile , Diagnóstico Diferencial , Dieta , História Antiga , Humanos , Lactente , Maxila/patologia , Escorbuto/diagnóstico , Escorbuto/história , Escorbuto/patologiaRESUMO
AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: The transition to an agricultural economy is often presumed to involve an increase in female fertility related to changes in weaning practice. In particular, the availability of staple crops as complementary foods is hypothesized to allow earlier weaning in agricultural populations. In this study, our primary aim is to explore whether this model fits the agricultural transition in the Atacama Desert using incremental isotopic analysis. A secondary aim of this study is to identify isotopic patterns relating to weaning, and assess how these may be differentiated from those relating to early life stress. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We use incremental isotopic analysis of dentine to examine changes in δ15 N and δ13 C values from infancy and childhood in sites of the Arica region (n = 30). We compare individuals from pre-agricultural and agricultural phases to establish isotopic patterns and relate these patterns to maternal diet, weaning trajectory and physiological stress. RESULTS: We find that there is no evidence for systematic temporal or geographic variation in incremental isotopic results. Instead, results from all time periods are highly variable, with weaning completed between 1.5 and 3.5 years. Characteristics of the incremental profiles indicate that both in utero and postnatal stress were a common part of the infant experience in the Atacama. DISCUSSION: In the Atacama Desert it appears that the arrival of agricultural crops did not result in uniform shifts in weaning behavior. Instead, infant and child diet seems to have been dictated by the broad-spectrum diets of the mothers, perhaps as a way of mitigating the stresses of the harsh desert environment.
Assuntos
Aleitamento Materno/etnologia , Aleitamento Materno/história , Desmame/etnologia , Antropologia Física , Osso e Ossos/química , Isótopos de Carbono/análise , Pré-Escolar , Chile , Dieta/história , Feminino , História Antiga , Humanos , Indígenas Sul-Americanos , Lactente , Recém-Nascido , Isótopos de Nitrogênio/análise , Estresse Fisiológico/fisiologiaRESUMO
OBJECTIVES: Archaeological and genetic research has demonstrated that the Pacific Coast was a key route in the early colonization of South America. Research examining South American skeletons >8000 cal BP has revealed differences in cranial morphology between early and late Holocene populations, which may reflect distinct migration events and/or populations. However, genetic, cultural, and some skeletal data contradict this model. Given these discrepancies, this study examines â¼9000 years of prehistory to test the hypothesis that Early skeletons have a distinct cranial morphology from later skeletons. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Using 3D digital models, craniofacial landmarks, and geometric morphometric analyses, we compared Early Holocene crania (n = 4) to later Chilean samples (n = 90) frequently absent in continental assessments of craniofacial variation. PCA, Mahalanobis distances, posterior and typicality probabilities were used to examine variation. RESULTS: Two of the earliest skeletons from northern Chile show clear affinities to individuals from later sites in the same region. However, the hypothesis cannot be rejected as one Early individual from northern Chile and one individual from inland Patagonia did not always show clear affinities to coastal populations. DISCUSSION: Biological affinities among northern populations and other regions of Chile align with genetic and archaeological data, supporting cultural and biological continuity along the Pacific Coast. In Patagonia, archaeological data are in accordance with skeletal differences between the Early inland steppe individual and coastal populations. This study incorporates 3D methods and skeletal datasets not widely used in assessments of biological affinity, thus contributing to a critical body of research examining the ancient population history of western South America.
Assuntos
Cefalometria/métodos , Imageamento Tridimensional/métodos , Crânio/anatomia & histologia , Adulto , Antropologia Física , Chile , Feminino , História Antiga , Migração Humana , Humanos , Indígenas Sul-Americanos/história , Masculino , Modelos AnatômicosAssuntos
Raquitismo , Deficiência de Vitamina D , Humanos , Vitamina D , Cálcio da Dieta , Raquitismo/etiologia , VitaminasRESUMO
The emergence of complex cultural practices in simple hunter-gatherer groups poses interesting questions on what drives social complexity and what causes the emergence and disappearance of cultural innovations. Here we analyze the conditions that underlie the emergence of artificial mummification in the Chinchorro culture in the coastal Atacama Desert in northern Chile and southern Peru. We provide empirical and theoretical evidence that artificial mummification appeared during a period of increased coastal freshwater availability and marine productivity, which caused an increase in human population size and accelerated the emergence of cultural innovations, as predicted by recent models of cultural and technological evolution. Under a scenario of increasing population size and extreme aridity (with little or no decomposition of corpses) a simple demographic model shows that dead individuals may have become a significant part of the landscape, creating the conditions for the manipulation of the dead that led to the emergence of complex mortuary practices.
Assuntos
Evolução Cultural , Múmias/história , Comportamento Social/história , Condições Sociais/história , Chile , Clima Desértico , História Antiga , Humanos , Camada de Gelo/química , Isótopos de Oxigênio/análise , Dinâmica PopulacionalRESUMO
Recent studies of louse ectoparasites from mummies have developed robust data sets that allow a true epidemiological approach to the prehistory of louse parasitism. One epidemiological principle is that the binomial of overdispersion is normally negative, meaning that in a host population, parasites are aggregated in a few individuals. We demonstrate the overdispersion of lice in 3 different prehistoric communities that differ along 3 axes or variables: environmental setting, socioeconomic status, and cultural affiliation. Distinct cultural practices could have been involved in different patterns of louse infestation. Prevalence, intensity, and abundance of infestations exhibit statistically significant differences between the communities. We also find differences in prevalence between subadults and adults that contrasted by cultural affiliation and suggest conditions different from those seen today. We show that overall prevalence was affected primarily by ecological setting, not socioeconomic status nor cultural affiliation. These findings demonstrate that statistical analysis of archaeological data can reveal the states of infestation in past populations with lifestyles not seen in modern people. Our approach paves the way for future comparisons of subpopulations within archaeological communities.
Assuntos
Infestações por Piolhos , Pediculus , Adulto , Animais , Humanos , Peru/epidemiologia , Infestações por Piolhos/epidemiologia , Infestações por Piolhos/veterinária , RiosRESUMO
In this study, we examine the long-term trajectory of violence in societies that inhabited the coast of the Atacama Desert in northern Chile using three lines of evidence: bioarchaeology, geoarchaeology and socio-cultural contexts (rock art, weapons, and settlement patterns). These millennia-old populations adopted a way of life, which they maintained for 10,000 years, based on fishing, hunting, and maritime gathering, complementing this with terrestrial resources. We analyzed 288 adult individuals to search for traumas resulting from interpersonal violence and used strontium isotopes 87Sr/86Sr as a proxy to evaluate whether individuals that showed traces of violence were members of local or non-local groups. Moreover, we evaluated settlement patterns, rock art, and weapons. The results show that the violence was invariant during the 10,000 years in which these groups lived without contact with the western world. During the Formative Period (1000 BC-AD 500), however, the type of violence changed, with a substantial increase in lethality. Finally, during the Late Intermediate Period (AD 1000-1450), violence and lethality remained similar to that of the Formative Period. The chemical signal of Sr shows a low frequency of individuals who were coastal outsiders, suggesting that violence occurred between local groups. Moreover, the presence of weapons and rock art depicting scenes of combat supports the notion that these groups engaged in violence. By contrast, the settlement pattern shows no defensive features. We consider that the absence of centralized political systems could have been a causal factor in explaining violence, together with the fact that these populations were organized in small-scale grouping. Another factor may have been competition for the same resources in the extreme environments of the Atacama Desert. Finally, from the Formative Period onward, we cannot rule out a certain level of conflict between fishers and their close neighbors, the horticulturalists.
Assuntos
Brassicaceae , Mustelidae , Adulto , Animais , Humanos , Caça , Isótopos de Estrôncio , ViolênciaRESUMO
Peruvian and Chilean mummies and coprolites provide a source of population-based parasitological information. This is especially true of the fish tapeworm, Adenocephalus pacificus. Our analysis of Chinchorro and Chiribaya mummies and diversified coprolite samples from Chile and Peru show variation in infection. There is a statistically significant difference in prevalence between Chinchorro hunter-gatherer and Chiribaya mixed-subsistence contexts. Furthermore, the most pronounced differences occur between populations within these groups. Chinchorro differences in cemeteries at the same location can be related to El Niño-Southern Oscillation variations. Pronounced prevalence variations between 3 Chiribaya villages within 7 km of each other relate to fish distribution and preparation variation. As with other recent archaeoparasitology studies, eggs-per-gram data exhibit overdispersion.
Assuntos
Cestoides , Difilobotríase , Diphyllobothrium , Animais , Prevalência , Difilobotríase/epidemiologia , Difilobotríase/parasitologia , Peru/epidemiologiaRESUMO
In the extreme north of Chile, the genus Tillandsia L. (Bromeliaceae) is represented by three native species, T. marconae Till & Vitek and T. landbeckii Phil., both of terrestrial atmospheric habit, and T. virescens Ruiz & Pav. of saxicolous habit. There is little information on the foliar structures that allow its establishment in arid environments. Therefore, we studied the leaf anatomy of each of these terrestrial and saxicolous atmospheric species from different altitudinal levels (1000 and 3000 m) in the Arica and Parinacota regions of the Atacama Desert. All populations are monospecific. The study considered scanning electron microscopy, optical microscopy, and the fingernail polish technique. The surface distribution of stomata and trichomes of the species is described. The studied species presented hypostomatic leaves, with anomocytic stomata and peltate trichomes on the abaxial and adaxial sides. Trichomes are formed by a central disc of four equal-sized empty cells, surrounded by a peripheral series of several concentric rings, the innermost of eight, the second of sixteen and the outermost of multiple elongated cells, one cell thick, that form the flexible asymmetric wings. The number of wing cells varies according to the species. Trichomes are evenly arranged in long lanceolate leaf blades with smooth margins.
RESUMO
The Camarones (CB) and Vitor (VB) Bays are situated in the middle of Atacama Desert, and their economies are based on activities entirely associated with the extraction of marine produce. The aim of this study was to determine the total arsenic content in three species of fish and seven species of shellfish from these two bays. The quantification of the total arsenic content in these products was performed by Hydride-Generation Atomic Absorption Spectrometry, HG-AAS. The results showed that marine species associated with the CB sector had higher total arsenic levels than the same species in the area of VB, a finding attributed to much higher total arsenic concentrations in the water and soils of CB than VB. The species with the highest total arsenic concentration was the Venus antique (7.50 mg kg (-1)) from the CB, and the lowest total arsenic content was found in Cheilodactylidae variegatus (0.34 mg kg(-1)) from VB.
Assuntos
Arsênio/análise , Monitoramento Ambiental/métodos , Peixes/metabolismo , Frutos do Mar/análise , Poluentes Químicos da Água/análise , Animais , Baías , Chile , Peixes/classificação , Frutos do Mar/classificação , Especificidade da Espécie , Espectrofotometria Atômica/veterináriaRESUMO
Current clinical data show a clear relationship between the zoonosis rates of Diphyllobothrium pacificum and Anisakis caused by the El Niño Southern Oscillations (ENSO) phenomenon along the Chilean coast. These parasites are endemic to the region and have a specific habitat distribution. D. pacificum prefers the warmer waters in the northern coast, while Anisakis prefers the colder waters of Southern Chile. The ENSO phenomenon causes a drastic inversion in the seawater temperatures in this region, modifying both the cool nutrient-rich seawater and the local ecology. This causes a latitudinal shift in marine parasite distribution and prevalence, as well as drastic environmental changes. The abundance of human mummies and archaeological coastal sites in the Atacama Desert provides an excellent model to test the ENSO impact on antiquity. We review the clinical and archaeological literature debating to what extent these parasites affected the health of the Chinchorros, the earliest settlers of this region. We hypothesise the Chinchorro and their descendants were affected by this natural and cyclical ENSO phenomenon and should therefore present fluctuating rates of D. pacificum and Anisakis infestations.
Assuntos
Anisaquíase/parasitologia , Difilobotríase/parasitologia , Ecossistema , Conceitos Meteorológicos , Múmias/parasitologia , Animais , Anisaquíase/epidemiologia , Anisaquíase/história , Chile/epidemiologia , Difilobotríase/epidemiologia , Difilobotríase/história , História Antiga , Humanos , Paleopatologia , Peru/epidemiologiaRESUMO
We report a case of osteochondritis dissecans (OCD) in a 4000 year old mummy from ancient Chile. This middle-age female specimen had characteristic bilateral medial femoral condyle erosions consistent with modern day presentations of OCD. The knee joints also demonstrated associated loose bodies of fairly similar dimensions and shape. OCD belongs to a group of disorders, the so-called osteochondroses, affecting the joints of the skeleton producing fragmentation, collapse, sclerosis as well as re-ossification and reconstitution of the articular surface. This case represents an interesting example of the natural history of untreated OCD and is also the earliest example of this thus far found in South America.
Assuntos
Fêmur/patologia , Múmias/patologia , Osteocondrite Dissecante/patologia , Adulto , Chile , Feminino , Humanos , Articulação do Joelho/patologia , Pessoa de Meia-IdadeRESUMO
A review of the bioarchaeological collections from the site Morro de Arica in northern Chile allowed the identification of two cases of human polydactyly. Both cases are from the Chinchorro culture, hunters, fishers, and gatherers with a maritime orientation who inhabited the coast of the Atacama Desert (9000-3400â¯BP). Additionally, the analyses of 75 rock art sites in the area, from the Formative to Late Intermediate Periods (3000-550â¯BP), allowed the identification of hands and feet with six digits. Given the bioarchaeological record of polydactyly, it is highly probable that the rock art images were based on real individuals with polydactyly. However, the Sr chemical signal in a juvenile with polydactyly is the same as the Sr chemical signal in the rest of the individuals buried in the same site, proving that all the individuals were born and lived on the coast. We discuss the idea that, although these anomalies could have been the result of genetic mutations, endogamy and exposition to ecotoxic environments could also be at play within the Chinchorro groups.
Assuntos
Polidactilia/história , Adolescente , Chile , Exposição Ambiental , História Antiga , Humanos , Lactente , Masculino , Múmias , Polidactilia/etiologia , Estrôncio/análiseRESUMO
Here we evaluate Bhattacharya et al.'s (2018) recent paper "Whole-genome sequencing of Atacama skeleton shows novel mutations linked with dysplasia" published in Genome Research. In this short report, we examine the hypothesis that the so-called "Atacama skeleton" has skeletal abnormalities indicative of dysplasia, critique the validity of the interpretations of disease based on genomic analyses, and comment on the ethics of research on this partially mummified human foetus. The current paper acts as a case study of the importance of using an anthropological approach for aDNA research on human remains. A critical evaluation of the ethically controversial paper by Bhattacharya et al. highlights how an understanding of skeletal biological processes, including normal and abnormal growth and development, taphonomic processes, environmental context, and close attention to ethical issues of dealing with human remains, is vital to scientific interpretations. To this end, close collaboration with palaeopathologists and local archaeologists through appropriate peer-reviewed journals will add to the rigour of scientific interpretation and circumvent misinterpretation.
Assuntos
Antropologia , Pesquisa , Ética em Pesquisa , Humanos , Recém-Nascido , Mutação , Sequenciamento Completo do GenomaRESUMO
Domesticated maize evolved from wild teosinte under human influences in Mexico beginning around 9000 years before the present (yr B.P.), traversed Central America by ~7500 yr B.P., and spread into South America by ~6500 yr B.P. Landrace and archaeological maize genomes from South America suggest that the ancestral population to South American maize was brought out of the domestication center in Mexico and became isolated from the wild teosinte gene pool before traits of domesticated maize were fixed. Deeply structured lineages then evolved within South America out of this partially domesticated progenitor population. Genomic, linguistic, archaeological, and paleoecological data suggest that the southwestern Amazon was a secondary improvement center for partially domesticated maize. Multiple waves of human-mediated dispersal are responsible for the diversity and biogeography of modern South American maize.
Assuntos
Evolução Biológica , Domesticação , Zea mays/classificação , Zea mays/genética , Genoma de Planta , Modelos Biológicos , Mutação , Filogenia , América do SulRESUMO
Metric data of the claws of archaeological specimens of Pediculus humanus capitis (dating between 1500 B.C. and A.D. 1500) and modern lice specimens coming from school children were analyzed and compared. Both sets of samples come from Arica in northern Chile. The overall sample is comprised of 14 archaeological specimens (6 females and 8 males) of Pediculus humanus capitis and 22 modern specimens (13 females and 9 males). All specimens were studied with scanning electron microscopy (SEM), uncoated, using variable pressure mode. The objective of this study was to metrically analyze the first couple of clutches of ancient and modern adult lice specimens (width and length of the tibio-tarsal claw and tarsus length) to test if morphological changes have taken place throughout time in these anatomical elements. We found that archaeological male and female specimens presented significant differences in the tibio-tarsal width (right and left). When comparing data between archaeological and modern male specimens, statistically significant differences were found in almost all the parameters studied, except for the right tarsal length. On the other hand, archaeological and modern female specimens showed no statistically significant change in the variables studied. In brief, our data suggest that modern male specimens have undergone a process of claw reduction, but females have maintained the same dimensions.