Calcaneus fracture in a Middle Holocene individual from the eastern Pampa-Patagonian transition (Argentina (original) (raw)
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Journal of Archaeological Science, 2011
Zooarchaeologists have often employed studies of bone fracture morphology as a means of understanding past human cultural activity, and various methodological approaches have been developed for analyzing archaeological broken bone assemblages. It is widely understood that bones degrade over time, however, few studies have attempted to define and quantify the rate at which bones degrade and fracture morphologies change. This study examines degradation in frozen bones (À20 C) and bones exposed to hot (40 C) dry conditions. These two simulated environmental conditions represent extreme real-world climates, and allow for an actualistic understanding of the rates of degradation that bones experience in nature. When frozen, bones degrade slowly but significantly, and demonstrate measurable differences in samples frozen for 1, 10, 20, 40, and 60 weeks. In hot, dry conditions, bones degrade very quickly, and demonstrate measurable differences after 1, 3, 7, 14, and 21 days. These data allow for a more detailed understanding of the relationship between the cultural and natural processes that result in bone fracture, and the time period during which bones can be expected to maintain fresh fracture characteristics. This research also has implications for understanding human subsistence and survival strategies and for interpreting the archaeological record.
International Journal of Osteoarchaeology, 2002
The Upper Palaeolithic skeleton from Vado all'Arancio (Italy), dated to about 11,330 BP, exhibits a severe ankle fracture healed with residual deformation. Following recovery, this young huntergatherer continued to walk for an extended period of time, albeit in a mechanically altered manner. While right-left differences in external lower limb bone measurements are relatively low, biomechanical analysis of femur and tibia indicates unusually pronounced asymmetry in all cross-sectional measures of diaphyseal strength. Asymmetry results primarily from normal side endosteal hypertrophy, and not from hypotrophy of the injured limb, suggesting that this individual resumed active life following recovery. This pattern of asymmetry underscores the role of physical activity in maintaining bone mass.
International Journal of Paleopathology, 2019
The impact of injury on the health and activities of human foragers is of great interest for understanding the adaptability of past populations to their environments. For the Gravettian female of Caviglione 1, a violent blow has been suggested as the origin of the left radial fracture, and abnormal body asymmetry has been observed. Access to high resolution CT-scans of the upper limb allows us to address new etiologic considerations and assess the after-effects of trauma on bone biomechanical properties by focusing on cortical and trabecular bones and conducting a comparative analysis of cross-sectional geometric properties in an Upper Paleolithic context. This originally right-dominant female, who became left-handed, was mainly affected by severe bone modifications on the proximal right humerus due to secondary changes following a traumatic event. The left radial fracture is very well consolidated with thick and homogeneous cortical bone. Etiological considerations point to a Galeazzi fracture for the left forearm occurring during a fall. The bone structure and robusticity of the left arm probably prove the lack of strong and enduring dependency of this female on her group for the usual cultural tasks despite the strongly limited function of the right arm.
Bone Diagenesis and Taphonomic History of the Paso Otero 1 Bone Bed, Pampas of Argentina
Samples of guanaco bone from an archaeological site in the Pampas of Argentina have been analysed to understand the diagenetic profile of the bone assemblages that characterized the taphonomic history of the site. Two archaeological occupations of Paso Otero 1 were investigated, encompassing similar landscape settings, climates, and depositional environments. The time span is a c. 2000 year period from c. 4800 to 2800 years . A total of 30 bone samples taken from both occupations were used to provide a preliminary characterization of the diagenetic pathways at the site. The parameters investigated provide a comprehensive account of how both mineral (hydroxyapatite) and bone protein (collagen) have been altered. In order to compare the two bone assemblages in terms of their diagenetic parameters, multivariate analyses were conducted. Results indicate two different diagenetic profiles in the site, % N being one of the variables that accounts for most of the variation in Paso Otero 1. The diagenetic analyses indicate that protein is less preserved in the bone assemblage from the middle stable landscape. Alternative interpretations of the diagenetic profiles are discussed in light of the taphonomic history of the site, and palaeoenvironmental information of the region. One hypothesis stresses the importance of the role of climate in defining the different diagenetic pathways, and the other the continued action of the combined diagenetic factors along time as the main explanation for the variability in the state of preservation of the bones in Paso Otero 1.
An incomplete human skull collected in Kusia, La Guajira, Zulia State, Venezuela, presents evidence of sharp and blunt force injuries. Evidence suggests the lesions occurred antemortem or perimortem. The location and direction of the force indicates the injuries were neither accidentally, nor self-inflicted. Therefore, the remains are probably those of a homicide victim.
Advances in animal bone archaeology in Argentina: general trends and some prospects for the future
2010
El International Council for Archaeozoology (ICAZ) promueve la organización pluralista y transdisciplinaria, al reunir a arqueólogos, biólogos, paleontólogos, veterinarios, entre otros especialistas de todo el mundo, cuyo objeto de estudio es la relación entre la sociedad humana y los animales a través del tiempo. En Latinoamérica este tipo de estudios han alcanzado un desarrollo muy notorio en las última décadas.
Osteological reference collections play a key role in bioanthropological research; they allow the development and testing of methods for sexing and aging individuals using different bone and dental attributes. This paper presents the first stage results of the ongoing Chacarita Research Project, which aims to generate and study a reference collection of adult skeletons representative of the contemporary population of Buenos Aires city. The Chacarita Collection is being conformed of unclaimed human remains of individuals of known nationality, sex, age, cause and date of death from the Chacarita Public Cemetery. Unlike other similar endeavors, this sample has been completely exhumed using archaeological techniques. So far, a total of 146 adult skeletons have been recovered (60 females - 41.1% - and 86 males - 58.90% -), the majority of which have ages-at-death in the range of 71-90 years. They were born primarily in Argentina (n = 133; 91.1%), although other nationalities are also represented. Dates of death go between 1987 and 2000. In the short term, the osteological study of this collection will allow assessment of the performance of classical methods of sex determination and age-at-death estimation in a local setting. A special priority will be given to the study of osteological changes in individuals over 50 years. As the sample is being retrieved by exhumation, the impact of taphonomic agents on the most diagnostic bones structures is also being assessed. In the long term, this osteological collection will be available to generate new population-specific techniques, and to develop comparative biological studies.
2009
Poster HYOID BONE TRAUMA FROM BRONZE AGE Al Oumaoui I, Jiménez-Brobeil SA, Roca Rodríguez MG, Fernández de la Gala J. Universidad de Granada, Spain We present a mature-age male from the Bronze Age discovered at the site of Motilla del Azuer (Daimiel, Ciudad Real) in the Spanish region of La Mancha. Hyoid bone from this individual exhibits changes thought to be due to a healed fracture, an exceptional finding in an archaeological population. This injury is very rare, and it is even more uncommon for individuals to survive this lesion. It was probably produced by a direct impact to the neck, either accidental, e.g., by fall, or resulting from intentional aggression. We discuss the latter possibility in the context of trauma patterns found at this and other sites from the Bronze Age. Poster NEW PALAEOPATHOLOGICAL EVIDENCE OF PRE-COLOMBIAN TREPONEMATOSES FROM NORTHERN FRANCE Armelle Alduc-Le Bagousse, Joël Blondiaux, Thomas Colart, Pierre-Marie Danzé, Anne-Sophie Drucbert, Xavier Demond...