Anthropological Science
Online ISSN : 1348-8570
Print ISSN : 0918-7960
ISSN-L : 0918-7960
Preliminary Observations of Some Paleopathological Conditions in Historic and Modern Human Skeletal Remains from Ishigaki Island, Ryukyu Islands, Japan
Chosei ZukeranTadahiko FukumineNaomi DoiNoburu SensuiHajime IshidaFuminori KanayaAyano Shimabukuro
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2002 Volume 110 Issue 4 Pages 421-436

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Abstract
This study investigates some aspects of skeletal and dental paleo-pathology, including cribra orbitalia, dental enamel hypoplasia, trauma, osteoarthritis, periostitis and osteomyelitis. The sample consists of the skeletal remains of 33 individuals from the medieval and early modern periods, found on Ishigaki Island, Ryukyu Islands, Japan. High frequencies of cribra orbitalia and enamel hypoplasias suggest that the Ishigaki people may have experienced many severe nutritional deficiency stresses, infectious diseases, and/or parasitism during early childhood. This study further reports a markedly high frequency of periostitis and two cases of osteomyelitis in bones of the lower leg, probably the result of a specific infection, such as treponematosis.
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© The Anthropological Society of Nippon
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