Eduardo Saldías | University of Chile (original) (raw)

Papers by Eduardo Saldías

Research paper thumbnail of Multidisciplinary analysis of a mummy from the War of the Pacific

Anthropologischer Anzeiger, 2022

The War of the Pacific (1879-1884) was a big scale war between Chile against the alliance of Peru... more The War of the Pacific (1879-1884) was a big scale war between Chile against the alliance of Peru and Bolivia. One of the most important battles, the "Batalla del Campo de la Alianza" was situated in the desert near Tacna, Peru. The conditions of this environment favored the conservation of the dead soldiers after many years. Decades ago, the Natural History Museum of Concepción in Chile, received a naturally mummified individual of a probably Chilean soldier as a donation; its uncertain context was never studied nor confirmed. Considering this, our investigation analyzed this body under exploratory methods, ballistic analysis, archaeological contrast, 14 C radiocarbon dating, ancient DNA, and isotopic analysis to reconstruct the biological profile of this mummy. The results indicated that the mummy belongs to an adult man between 33-39 years of age (> 1.50 m) and has a perimortem wound in the left flank of the abdomen. CT scan and X-rays revealed the presence of a bullet (Comblain II or Gras) hosted near the L2 vertebra. It is possible that the individual died of bleeding from a gunshot wound done by a long-distance firearm projectile from an inferior level, whose trajectory was from left to right, with slight inclination towards the top, and without a projectile exit. Other analyses confirmed the historical context and suggests the Chilean origin of the mummy. Despite the passage of time and other factors, it was possible to reconstruct the death of this individual thanks to technology and approaches from different disciplines.

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Research paper thumbnail of A new methodology to estimate flat foot in skeletal remainsthe example of Mediterranean collections

Homo, 2021

Flat feet (pes planus) are considered a postural defect caused by the collapse of the longitudina... more Flat feet (pes planus) are considered a postural defect caused by the collapse of the longitudinal arch, producing complete or near-complete contact of the sole of the foot with the ground. Pes planus has been well-studied in clinical literature and paleoanthropology but has not been approached extensively in bioarchaeology. The main difficulty is related to the diagnosis of this pathology based exclusively on bone remains. In this work, we propose a metric and morphological method to discriminate flat foot in dry bones. Thus, we studied 390 pairs of adult feet in a fair state of preservation from archaeological contexts from Spain, Italy, and Oman. Morphological variability, angles, and dimensions of both the normal bones and the bones displaying flat foot characteristics were analyzed. We found a correlation between the presence of flat foot and some morphological and metric features, mainly in the subtalar and Chopart joints. These results are expressed through a combination of morphological and metric variables, which are useful to discriminate between these two groups. No markedly significant differences of flat foot frequencies between the Spanish and Italian series were found across centuries. However, we noticed a notable increase of the prevalence of flat foot in the contemporary collection, possibly due to the consequences of a rise in life expectancy and modern styles of footwear.

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Research paper thumbnail of Pathological and normal variability of foot bones in osteological collections from Catalonia (Spain) and Lazio (Italy)

International Journal of Osteoarchaeology , 2021

A wide number of factors can affect the structure of the bones in the foot. In bioarchaeology, fe... more A wide number of factors can affect the structure of the bones in the foot. In bioarchaeology, few studies about foot anomalies include population comparisons and changes across time. We aimed to identify normal and pathological variability that affected the foot in the recent history of West Mediterranean populations. Thus, we analyzed change in occurrence of rare variants, pathological lesions, entheseal morphology, and their probable causes. We studied 518 pairs of skeletonized feet dated from the 2nd-20th centuries CE, from Catalonia (Spain) and the region of Lazio (Italy). Moreover, a Neolithic series from Oman has been analyzed for contrast. We found that calcaneal spur, hypertrophic peroneal trochlea of calcaneus, periosteal reaction of talar neck, alteration of articular surface to lateral cuneiform, displaced

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Research paper thumbnail of Morphological and Biomechanical Implications of Cuboid Facet of the Navicular Bone in the Gait

International Journal of Morphology

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Research paper thumbnail of Estimación del sexo a través del navicular en poblaciones españolas contemporáneas

Investigación forense. Revista científica forense, 2018

La estimación sexual es primordial para la construcción del per l biológico de los individuos, pe... more La estimación sexual es primordial para la construcción del per l biológico de los individuos, pero hay factores que alteran la resistencia ósea, impidiendo un correcto diagnóstico en laboratorio. Generalmente, los naviculares mantienen un buen nivel de preservación en contextos arqueológicos y forenses, siendo una buena alternativa para discriminar el sexo. En esta investigación analizamos 231 pares de naviculares de colecciones contemporáneas de España para chequear la existencia de dimor smo sexual. Para ello, se llevó a cabo un análisis estadístico mediante regresiones logísticas binarias en ocho medidas replicables y una prueba de curva COR para aquellas variables que demostraron mayor discriminación.
Los análisis indicaron que al menos 5 de las 8 variables tienen un alto poder discriminativo, siendo el largo máximo de la faceta para los cuneiformes (LMAXCUN), la medida que mostró un mejor rendimiento estadístico. Además, empleando variables combinadas, se lograron ecuaciones con sobre un 80% de precisión de clasi cación correcta. La ecuación más precisa (83,4%) incluyó la combinación de la altura máxima del navicular (ALMAX), LMAXCUN y el largo máximo de la faceta talar (LMAXTAL). Las ecuaciones de regresión presentadas en este trabajo son útiles para las poblaciones del oeste del mediterráneo. No obstante, considerando que la población chilena actual presenta un origen genético mixto, procedentes de población amerindia y migrantes españoles hacendados en Chile desde el tiempo de la conquista, las fórmulas podrían ser una opción viable al discriminar por sexo.

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Research paper thumbnail of Earliest Probable Case of Mueller-Weiss Disease From Ancient Egypt

The Journal of Foot and Ankle Surgery, 2018

Mueller-Weiss disease is an alteration of the tarsal navicular that is primarily due to anomalous... more Mueller-Weiss disease is an alteration of the tarsal navicular that is primarily due to anomalous ossifi-cation of the bone and lateral deviation of the talar head associated with screw-like movement through the axis of the subtalar joint. This syndrome tends to be associated with various degrees of flatfoot and hindfoot valgus combined with subtalar joint varus. Ancient cases of Mueller-Weiss disease have not been described in specialized literature. We present the case of an adult male from the Hellenistic period (Ptole-maic dynasty; fourth to first century BC), the skeleton for which was found inside a sarcophagus in the archaeological site of Sharuna (middle Egypt) with Mueller-Weiss disease. The specimen is, in all likelihood , the earliest case of this type of foot pathology in the archaeological record.

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Research paper thumbnail of Sex estimation from the navicular bone in Spanish contemporary skeletal collections

Forensic Science International, 2016

Sexual estimation is fundamental to reconstruct the biological profile of individuals, but postde... more Sexual estimation is fundamental to reconstruct the biological profile of individuals, but postdepositional factors can alter the resistance of the bones, thereby preventing accurate diagnosis especially when the skull and the pelvis are absent. Navicular bones are usually well preserved in archeological and forensic contexts and can a good alternative to discriminate sex. On the basis of these aspects, the present investigation analyzed the sexual dimorphism in 231 pairs of navicular bones from documented contemporary collections from Spain. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis and binary logistic regressions were carried out in eight replicable linear measurements of the navicular bone. Each of the eight variables showed a significant sexual dimorphism in our sample.

The ROC curve results indicate that at least five out of the eight variables used have high ability for sex diagnosis, among which the maximum length of the cuneiform surface (LMAXCUN) showed a better performance (area under the curve value = 0.86). Moreover, we introduced regression equations with combination of measurements that correctly allocated the skeletons with 80% or greater accuracy. The equation with high allocation accuracy rate (83.4%) included a combination of the maximum height of the navicular (HMAX), maximum length of the cuneiform surface (LMAXCUN), and maximum length of the talar facet (LMAXTAL). The regression equations presented here are useful for the Western Mediterranean populations and offer better alternatives than formulas based on other population groups.

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Research paper thumbnail of Morphological and Biomechanical Implications of Cuboid Facet of the Navicular Bone in the Gait

International Journal of Morphology, 2019

The cuboid facet of the navicular bone is an irregular flat surface, present in non-human primate... more The cuboid facet of the navicular bone is an irregular flat surface, present in non-human primates and some human ancestors. In modern humans, it is not always present and it is described as an “occasional finding”. To date, there is not enough data about its incidence in ancient and contemporary populations, nor a biomechanical explanation about its presence or absence. The aim of the study was to evaluate the presence of the cuboid facet in ancient and recent populations, its relationship with the dimensions of the midtarsal bones and its role in the biomechanics of the gait. 354 pairs of naviculars and other tarsal bones from historical and contemporary populations from Catalonia, Spain, have been studied. We used nine measurements applied to the talus, navicular, and cuboid to check its
relationship with facet presence. To analyze biomechanical parameters of the facet, X-ray cinematography was used in living patients.
The results showed that about 50 % of individuals developed this surface without differences about sex or series. We also observed larger sagittal lengths of the talar facet (LSAGTAL) in navicular bones with cuboid facet. No significant differences were found in the bones contact during any of the phases of the gait. After revising its presence in hominins and non-human primates, and its implication in the bipedalism and modern gait, we suggest that cuboid facet might be related with the size of talar facet and the position of the talonavicular joint. However, other factors such as geographical conditions, genetics and stressful activities probably affect its presence too.

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Books by Eduardo Saldías

Research paper thumbnail of Bellavista, Historia Oral de un Pueblo Industrial

Fondart, 2009

A partir de testimonios de 30 entrevistados de distintas edades y variadas visiones de vida, se o... more A partir de testimonios de 30 entrevistados de distintas edades y variadas visiones de vida, se obtuvo la información precisa para confeccionar la historia de la comunidad de Bellavista Tomé, VIII región del Biobio, Chile,; la que nació al alero de una fabrica textil homónima. Los autores, a través de exhaustiva observación del entorno, capturando sus impresiones, temores y esperanzas, dilucidan su relación con una empresa que hoy agoniza frente a un posible cierre definitivo.

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Research paper thumbnail of Colección Arqueológica UdeC

Fondart, 2011

Proceso de recuperación y catalogo de las piezas que conforman la colección arqueológica de la Un... more Proceso de recuperación y catalogo de las piezas que conforman la colección arqueológica de la Universidad de Concepción, Chile. Las series no contaban con un registro desde el parcial cierre de la carrera de antropología hasta su re-apertura, en el año 2005. En esta oportunidad, los autores realizan un breve resumen informativo y del contexto cultural de las piezas, pertenecientes a sitios arqueológicos chilenos, mayoritariamente a la región del Bio-bio.

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Research paper thumbnail of Multidisciplinary analysis of a mummy from the War of the Pacific

Anthropologischer Anzeiger, 2022

The War of the Pacific (1879-1884) was a big scale war between Chile against the alliance of Peru... more The War of the Pacific (1879-1884) was a big scale war between Chile against the alliance of Peru and Bolivia. One of the most important battles, the "Batalla del Campo de la Alianza" was situated in the desert near Tacna, Peru. The conditions of this environment favored the conservation of the dead soldiers after many years. Decades ago, the Natural History Museum of Concepción in Chile, received a naturally mummified individual of a probably Chilean soldier as a donation; its uncertain context was never studied nor confirmed. Considering this, our investigation analyzed this body under exploratory methods, ballistic analysis, archaeological contrast, 14 C radiocarbon dating, ancient DNA, and isotopic analysis to reconstruct the biological profile of this mummy. The results indicated that the mummy belongs to an adult man between 33-39 years of age (> 1.50 m) and has a perimortem wound in the left flank of the abdomen. CT scan and X-rays revealed the presence of a bullet (Comblain II or Gras) hosted near the L2 vertebra. It is possible that the individual died of bleeding from a gunshot wound done by a long-distance firearm projectile from an inferior level, whose trajectory was from left to right, with slight inclination towards the top, and without a projectile exit. Other analyses confirmed the historical context and suggests the Chilean origin of the mummy. Despite the passage of time and other factors, it was possible to reconstruct the death of this individual thanks to technology and approaches from different disciplines.

Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact

Research paper thumbnail of A new methodology to estimate flat foot in skeletal remainsthe example of Mediterranean collections

Homo, 2021

Flat feet (pes planus) are considered a postural defect caused by the collapse of the longitudina... more Flat feet (pes planus) are considered a postural defect caused by the collapse of the longitudinal arch, producing complete or near-complete contact of the sole of the foot with the ground. Pes planus has been well-studied in clinical literature and paleoanthropology but has not been approached extensively in bioarchaeology. The main difficulty is related to the diagnosis of this pathology based exclusively on bone remains. In this work, we propose a metric and morphological method to discriminate flat foot in dry bones. Thus, we studied 390 pairs of adult feet in a fair state of preservation from archaeological contexts from Spain, Italy, and Oman. Morphological variability, angles, and dimensions of both the normal bones and the bones displaying flat foot characteristics were analyzed. We found a correlation between the presence of flat foot and some morphological and metric features, mainly in the subtalar and Chopart joints. These results are expressed through a combination of morphological and metric variables, which are useful to discriminate between these two groups. No markedly significant differences of flat foot frequencies between the Spanish and Italian series were found across centuries. However, we noticed a notable increase of the prevalence of flat foot in the contemporary collection, possibly due to the consequences of a rise in life expectancy and modern styles of footwear.

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Research paper thumbnail of Pathological and normal variability of foot bones in osteological collections from Catalonia (Spain) and Lazio (Italy)

International Journal of Osteoarchaeology , 2021

A wide number of factors can affect the structure of the bones in the foot. In bioarchaeology, fe... more A wide number of factors can affect the structure of the bones in the foot. In bioarchaeology, few studies about foot anomalies include population comparisons and changes across time. We aimed to identify normal and pathological variability that affected the foot in the recent history of West Mediterranean populations. Thus, we analyzed change in occurrence of rare variants, pathological lesions, entheseal morphology, and their probable causes. We studied 518 pairs of skeletonized feet dated from the 2nd-20th centuries CE, from Catalonia (Spain) and the region of Lazio (Italy). Moreover, a Neolithic series from Oman has been analyzed for contrast. We found that calcaneal spur, hypertrophic peroneal trochlea of calcaneus, periosteal reaction of talar neck, alteration of articular surface to lateral cuneiform, displaced

Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact

Research paper thumbnail of Morphological and Biomechanical Implications of Cuboid Facet of the Navicular Bone in the Gait

International Journal of Morphology

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Research paper thumbnail of Estimación del sexo a través del navicular en poblaciones españolas contemporáneas

Investigación forense. Revista científica forense, 2018

La estimación sexual es primordial para la construcción del per l biológico de los individuos, pe... more La estimación sexual es primordial para la construcción del per l biológico de los individuos, pero hay factores que alteran la resistencia ósea, impidiendo un correcto diagnóstico en laboratorio. Generalmente, los naviculares mantienen un buen nivel de preservación en contextos arqueológicos y forenses, siendo una buena alternativa para discriminar el sexo. En esta investigación analizamos 231 pares de naviculares de colecciones contemporáneas de España para chequear la existencia de dimor smo sexual. Para ello, se llevó a cabo un análisis estadístico mediante regresiones logísticas binarias en ocho medidas replicables y una prueba de curva COR para aquellas variables que demostraron mayor discriminación.
Los análisis indicaron que al menos 5 de las 8 variables tienen un alto poder discriminativo, siendo el largo máximo de la faceta para los cuneiformes (LMAXCUN), la medida que mostró un mejor rendimiento estadístico. Además, empleando variables combinadas, se lograron ecuaciones con sobre un 80% de precisión de clasi cación correcta. La ecuación más precisa (83,4%) incluyó la combinación de la altura máxima del navicular (ALMAX), LMAXCUN y el largo máximo de la faceta talar (LMAXTAL). Las ecuaciones de regresión presentadas en este trabajo son útiles para las poblaciones del oeste del mediterráneo. No obstante, considerando que la población chilena actual presenta un origen genético mixto, procedentes de población amerindia y migrantes españoles hacendados en Chile desde el tiempo de la conquista, las fórmulas podrían ser una opción viable al discriminar por sexo.

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Research paper thumbnail of Earliest Probable Case of Mueller-Weiss Disease From Ancient Egypt

The Journal of Foot and Ankle Surgery, 2018

Mueller-Weiss disease is an alteration of the tarsal navicular that is primarily due to anomalous... more Mueller-Weiss disease is an alteration of the tarsal navicular that is primarily due to anomalous ossifi-cation of the bone and lateral deviation of the talar head associated with screw-like movement through the axis of the subtalar joint. This syndrome tends to be associated with various degrees of flatfoot and hindfoot valgus combined with subtalar joint varus. Ancient cases of Mueller-Weiss disease have not been described in specialized literature. We present the case of an adult male from the Hellenistic period (Ptole-maic dynasty; fourth to first century BC), the skeleton for which was found inside a sarcophagus in the archaeological site of Sharuna (middle Egypt) with Mueller-Weiss disease. The specimen is, in all likelihood , the earliest case of this type of foot pathology in the archaeological record.

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Research paper thumbnail of Sex estimation from the navicular bone in Spanish contemporary skeletal collections

Forensic Science International, 2016

Sexual estimation is fundamental to reconstruct the biological profile of individuals, but postde... more Sexual estimation is fundamental to reconstruct the biological profile of individuals, but postdepositional factors can alter the resistance of the bones, thereby preventing accurate diagnosis especially when the skull and the pelvis are absent. Navicular bones are usually well preserved in archeological and forensic contexts and can a good alternative to discriminate sex. On the basis of these aspects, the present investigation analyzed the sexual dimorphism in 231 pairs of navicular bones from documented contemporary collections from Spain. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis and binary logistic regressions were carried out in eight replicable linear measurements of the navicular bone. Each of the eight variables showed a significant sexual dimorphism in our sample.

The ROC curve results indicate that at least five out of the eight variables used have high ability for sex diagnosis, among which the maximum length of the cuneiform surface (LMAXCUN) showed a better performance (area under the curve value = 0.86). Moreover, we introduced regression equations with combination of measurements that correctly allocated the skeletons with 80% or greater accuracy. The equation with high allocation accuracy rate (83.4%) included a combination of the maximum height of the navicular (HMAX), maximum length of the cuneiform surface (LMAXCUN), and maximum length of the talar facet (LMAXTAL). The regression equations presented here are useful for the Western Mediterranean populations and offer better alternatives than formulas based on other population groups.

Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact

Research paper thumbnail of Morphological and Biomechanical Implications of Cuboid Facet of the Navicular Bone in the Gait

International Journal of Morphology, 2019

The cuboid facet of the navicular bone is an irregular flat surface, present in non-human primate... more The cuboid facet of the navicular bone is an irregular flat surface, present in non-human primates and some human ancestors. In modern humans, it is not always present and it is described as an “occasional finding”. To date, there is not enough data about its incidence in ancient and contemporary populations, nor a biomechanical explanation about its presence or absence. The aim of the study was to evaluate the presence of the cuboid facet in ancient and recent populations, its relationship with the dimensions of the midtarsal bones and its role in the biomechanics of the gait. 354 pairs of naviculars and other tarsal bones from historical and contemporary populations from Catalonia, Spain, have been studied. We used nine measurements applied to the talus, navicular, and cuboid to check its
relationship with facet presence. To analyze biomechanical parameters of the facet, X-ray cinematography was used in living patients.
The results showed that about 50 % of individuals developed this surface without differences about sex or series. We also observed larger sagittal lengths of the talar facet (LSAGTAL) in navicular bones with cuboid facet. No significant differences were found in the bones contact during any of the phases of the gait. After revising its presence in hominins and non-human primates, and its implication in the bipedalism and modern gait, we suggest that cuboid facet might be related with the size of talar facet and the position of the talonavicular joint. However, other factors such as geographical conditions, genetics and stressful activities probably affect its presence too.

Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact

Research paper thumbnail of Bellavista, Historia Oral de un Pueblo Industrial

Fondart, 2009

A partir de testimonios de 30 entrevistados de distintas edades y variadas visiones de vida, se o... more A partir de testimonios de 30 entrevistados de distintas edades y variadas visiones de vida, se obtuvo la información precisa para confeccionar la historia de la comunidad de Bellavista Tomé, VIII región del Biobio, Chile,; la que nació al alero de una fabrica textil homónima. Los autores, a través de exhaustiva observación del entorno, capturando sus impresiones, temores y esperanzas, dilucidan su relación con una empresa que hoy agoniza frente a un posible cierre definitivo.

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Research paper thumbnail of Colección Arqueológica UdeC

Fondart, 2011

Proceso de recuperación y catalogo de las piezas que conforman la colección arqueológica de la Un... more Proceso de recuperación y catalogo de las piezas que conforman la colección arqueológica de la Universidad de Concepción, Chile. Las series no contaban con un registro desde el parcial cierre de la carrera de antropología hasta su re-apertura, en el año 2005. En esta oportunidad, los autores realizan un breve resumen informativo y del contexto cultural de las piezas, pertenecientes a sitios arqueológicos chilenos, mayoritariamente a la región del Bio-bio.

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