Analysis of periosteal lesions from commingled human remains at the Xagħra Circle hypogeum reveals the first case of probable scurvy from Neolithic Malta
Accepted version
Peer-reviewed
Repository URI
Repository DOI
Change log
Authors
Abstract
jats:titleAbstract</jats:title>jats:secjats:titleObjectives</jats:title>jats:pPalaeopathological analysis is key for characterising population health at the individual level and across large assemblages but is rarely exploited to unite the remains of disarticulated individuals. This study explores the potential for individual identification through differential diagnosis of periosteal lesions in a commingled deposit, both to ascertain the number of individuals represented and provide a differential diagnosis.</jats:p></jats:sec>jats:secjats:titleMaterials and Methods</jats:title>jats:pThe late Neolithic Xagħra Circle hypogeum on Gozo contains the remains of more than 800 individuals, most of which were transformed to a collective disarticulated assemblage. Across the excavated population, pathological observations are strikingly low. In one specific 1 × 1‐m area in a single stratigraphic context, fragmented and disarticulated cranial and post‐cranial non‐adult bones were identified that displayed periosteal new bone formation. To aid differential diagnosis, macroscopic analysis, taphonomic analysis and micro‐computed tomography (μCT) imaging were integrated.</jats:p></jats:sec>jats:secjats:titleResults</jats:title>jats:pThis approach, when combined with osteobiographical analyses, reveals that the elements most likely derive from one individual, a young child, who presents a probable case of scurvy. The potential for micronutrient co‐morbidities are explored, but without further microscopic study it cannot be determined if this individual also experienced iron‐deficiency anaemia and/or rickets.</jats:p></jats:sec>jats:secjats:titleDiscussion</jats:title>jats:pIn the context of the Mediterranean and Europe in later prehistory, reported cases of scurvy are currently low and often reveal periods of environmental instability and resource insufficiency. Our finding of non‐adult scurvy in late 3rd millennium BC Malta contributes to a developing picture of an increasingly unstable palaeoenvironment and declining population health at this time, although it may also indicate an individual case of poor childhood health within this broader context.</jats:p></jats:sec>
Description
Keywords
Journal Title
Conference Name
Journal ISSN
1099-1212
Volume Title
Publisher
Publisher DOI
Rights
Sponsorship
European Research Council (323727)