No abstract

While historical documents indicate that complications during pregnancy, labour or soon after birth was a common cause of death in past populations, to date only a few archaeological cases have been reported. Here we present an example, unearthed in a small Portuguese churchyard, of an adult female buried with an infant at her pelvis. The pair appear to have died during labour, as the infant's estimated age at death corresponds to a full term pregnancy, while the distribution of the bones at the adult's pelvic girdle is consistent with birth positioning. The association between the skeletons and their cause of death is analysed, discussed and compared with similar archaeological evidence.

During 2002, the extensive archaeological excavations of the ancient Constâ ncia necropolis (Centre of Portugal), dated from 14th-19th centuries, resulted in the exhumation of 151 individuals. Among the several paleopathological cases, a middle-aged female skeleton with osteolytic lesions in her skull, axial skeleton, upper limbs and femurs was observed. These pathological findings are characterised by an asymmetric pattern with osteolytic focus of distinct size and irregular shape. Some skeletal elements display both osteolytic and osteoblastic lesions. The latter exhibit deposition of fine layers of woven bone. Lesions were observed macroscopically and radiology was used as a complementary method of scrutiny, especially in cases of unclear observation. The case was diagnosed as that of a probable metastatic carcinoma due to the multifocal distribution of the lesions in areas of intense haematopoietic activity, their morphology and some osteoblastic responses, as well as the presence of pathological fractures in the ribs. The skeleton's sex and age at death are in agreement with the proposed diagnostic, constituting the first case of malignant carcinoma detected in non-identified Portuguese human skeletal remains.

Syphilis is a sexually or congenitally transmitted infectious disease with an impact on the health of human populations that has undergone important cycles in different countries and periods of history. Its presence was first diagnosed in Europe in the late XIV century. In Portugal, although there are various written records of the infection in the last centuries, there are rare references to it in archeological findings (mummified bodies are also rare in Portugal). The current study describes a probable case of congenital syphilis in an 18-month-old girl buried in the Church of the Sacrament in Lisbon. Her body, dating to the XVIII century, was found mummified together with dozens of others, still not studied. Symmetrical periostitis of the long bones, osteitis, metaphyseal lesions, left knee articular, and epiphyseal destruction, and a rarefied lesion with a radiological appearance compatible with Wimberger's sign all point to a diagnosis of congenital syphilis. The diagnosis of this severe form of the infection, possibly related to the cause of death in this upper-class girl, calls attention to the disease's presence in XVIII century Lisbon and is consistent with the intense mobilization at the time in relation to the risks posed by so-called heredosyphilis. It is the first case of congenital syphilis in a child reported in archeological findings in Portugal, and can be correlated with other cases in skeletons of adults buried in cemeteries in Lisbon (in the XVI to XVIII centuries) and Coimbra (XIX century). Finally, this finding highlights the need to study the entire series of mummified bodies in the Church of the Sacrament in order to compare the paleopathological findings and existing historical documents on syphilis, so as to expand the paleoepidemiological knowledge of this infection in XVIII century Lisbon.

Age-at-death estimation in adult individuals is one of the most challenging issues in forensic anthropology, namely, due to the large age intervals provided by the current methods, which demand the development of more reliable investigations. The clavicle has been studied as an age-at-death indicator in many researches for its accessibility, low biomechanical implication in locomotion and accuracy to predict age at death when other age indicators are not available. The present study was developed on a sample of 332 clavicles from adult individuals of known sex and age from the current Spanish population. They were x-rayed and digitalized, in a standardized way, using a Sedecal X-ray generator, model SHF 415. Three indices were calculated at the mid-diaphysis point (anterior index, posterior index, and total index) which relate the cortical thickness and the total clavicle thickness to age at death. The average grey level was also calculated in a 0.5-cm(2) area of the sternal and acromial ends (sternal grey average, acromial grey average), using Image J software. The data were subjected to a statistical analysis, using SPSS, version 15.0. The results show that average grey level has a weaker correlation with age than the variables which are based on the cortical thickness. On the other hand, the regression equations, which were calculated combining all the variables, provided smaller age-at-death intervals, demonstrating the usefulness of this method for adult age-at-death estimation in forensic anthropology.