Individual number 12, exhumed at the Durató n Visigoth necropolis (Segovia, Spain), was found in a supine position inside a simple fossa without adornments. He was a very robust adult ($50/60 years) male presenting two pathologies, independently originated and both occurring in a particular anatomical area: the right hip. The first one has been diagnosed as Legg-Calvé-Perthes Disease, and it affects the right femur and the coxal.The femoral head has a diameter that is much greater than usual, with a porous articular surface, no fovea capitis and a marked arthritic secondary growth which is inserted in the femoral neck; the coxal shows a pathological acetabulum larger than the left one, and having osseous borders. The second disease, considered a unifocal eosinophilic granuloma, is in the inner face of the right ilium, and practically occupies the whole iliac fossa. The development of the two pathologies and their probable repercussions on the individual's mobility, on the basis of the study of both the pathological and normal pieces recovered, are discussed.

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Adsorptive stripping voltammetry was used for the determination of trace amounts of the benzodiazepines camazepam and bromazepam. This very sensitive method is based on controlled adsorptive pre-concentration of the drugs on the hanging mercury drop electrode. Measurements were taken by differential-pulse voltammetry after determination of the optimum accumulation conditions. The response was linear in the range 3 x 10-9-9 x l o -9 ~ (270 sand -0.60 V for the pre-concentration) for camazepam and 1 x 10-"8 x 10-8 M (90 s and -0.40 V) for bromazepam. In the concentration ranges investigated, the relative standard deviation was lower than 6%. The method is applicable to the determination of the drugs in human serum, with detection limits of 20 ng ml-1 of serum (30 s and -0.62 V for the pre-concentration) for camazepam and 200 ng ml-1 of serum (10 s and -0.41 V) for bromazepam.

Advances in geochemical and physical anthropological studies have provided new tools to reconstruct ancient lifestyles, especially of those minorities not commonly mentioned in historical texts. In comparison to males, little is known about everyday life in female monastic communities, and how it has changed over time. In this paper, we present a paleodietary (δ 13 C and δ 15 N in bone collagen) study of human (n = 58) and animal (n = 13) remains recovered from the former Convent of Santa Catalina de Siena in Belmonte (Cuenca, central Spain). Two funerary areas used by Dominican nuns were sampled: one dated to the sixteenth (n = 34) and the seventeenth (n = 15) centuries, and the other dated in the nineteenth and twentieth (n = 9) centuries. The isotopic values for sheep (n = 7) suggest the animals consumed at the convent came from diverse ecosystems or were raised under a range of management strategies. The human samples reflect a terrestrial diet, and those from the nineteenth to twentieth century, in some cases, reveal the presence of C 4 plants (millet, corn or sugar cane). Due to their religious practice, the consumption of terrestrial animal protein was restricted, and although they were allowed to eat fish, the isotopic signatures show little evidence of this. The individuals from the sixteenth and seventeenth century show a continuous shift in δ 15 N (9.7-12.7‰), with few significant differences in relation to the period, age, or pathologies (osteoporosis, periostitis, and brucellosis). The nineteenth-to twentieth-century samples can be divided into two groups: (a) one that fits the trend of previous centuries, albeit with a higher δ 15 N, possibly related to extensive access to animal protein; and (b) a second group with elevated δ 13 C values (up to − 15.7‰). Different customs in the assumed homogeneous monastic life are discussed as possible sources of isotopic variation, including access to luxury products such as animal protein or sugar, or the practice of periods of food abstinence, which were especially popular with these communities, according to historical records.

In this article we present a study that seeks to explain the nature of, and the mortuary practices behind, the burials containing multiple individuals at the site of El Caño, Panama (part of the “Gran Coclé” archaeological tradition, ca. AD 700–1000). We set out to test our first impression of these burials as products of sumptuous funerals held upon the death of the rulers that included, among other practices, human sacrifice. With this in mind, our research aims to elucidate the status relationships between individuals, the circumstances of their deaths, and the religious and symbolic significance of their burials. The results reveal the presence of an individual of higher status within every tomb, the existence of a pattern with respect to the status of those who accompany that individual, the practice of mortuary treatments typical of sacrificial contexts, toxic substances, an iconography referring to human sacrifice, and the clear intention of using a burial as a representation of social order. Considering all this, we conclude that multiple burials at this site should be interpreted as high status. Our study highlights the practice of human sacrifice in funerary rituals linked to that status.