A secondary mandibular condylar articulation and collateral effects on a Late Neolithic mandible from Bois Madame rockshelter in Arbre, Belgium

An anthropological and paleopathological analysis of a peculiar skeleton from the Necropolis of Zancle (1st century BCE – 1st century CE): a case report

“…4). Several factors may have contributed to the particular morphology of T173's mandible, including arthritis, tumor, trauma suffered during growth, and congenital anomaly (Williams and Polet, 2017). Both arthritis and tumors were excluded as possible causes because the mandible does not show signs of erosion or lipping and inflammatory signs of the periosteal tissue.…”

“…The mandible of T173 does not show roughness, exostosis or anomalies in the region of insertion of the aforementioned musculature. The possible presence in T173 of craniosynostosis allows inferring that the malformation of the mandibular condyle is presumably to be traced back to a congenital anomaly, as a collateral results of prenatal craniofacial anomalies (Williams and Polet, 2017). The teeth -already affected by numerous degenerative diseases such as caries, calculus, periodontitis and abscess -do not seem to show an alteration due to the abnormal mandibular morphology, even if the latter could be one of the causes of the marked degree of dental wear, which manifests symmetrically between the hemi arches.…”

First insights into human mobility in Neolithic Belgium using strontium isotopic analysis and proteomics: A case study of Grotte de La Faucille (Sclayn, province of Namur)

“…Identifying which of the commingled skeletal and dental elements belong to the same individual is rarely possible. Despite this limitation (Polet, 2011), ongoing studies have provided insights into stature and overall health status (De Paepe & Polet, 2007;Orban et al, 2000;, diet (Sherrill & Williams, 2019), molar morphology (Williams et al, 2018;Williams & George, 2021), markers of activity (Polet et al, 2019) and paleopathology (Williams & Polet, 2017). In an extensive stable carbon and nitrogen (C and N) isotopic study, Bocherens et al (2007) established that freshwater resources were of negligible importance during the Late and Final Neolithic period (Bocherens et al, 2007).…”

Is differential diagnosis attainable in disarticulated pathological bone remains? A case-study from a late 19th/early 20th century necropolis from Juncal (Porto de Mós, Portugal)

“…Pathological analysis should remain generalized, when fragments of the same individual cannot be identified (Fox and Marklein, 2014) and the temptation to over interpret the lesions avoided (Sheridan, 2017). However, the careful palaeopathological study of commingled remains is possible, as supported by several studies (e.g., Willmon et al, 2013;Brickley and Buckberry, 2015;Ellis, 2016;Williams and Polet, 2017). This paper aims to explore the limits of differential diagnosis in the palaeopathological analysis of disarticulated and fragmentary bone pieces recovered after the accidental destruction of part of the former necropolis (dated approximately to between 1780 and the late 19 th or early 20 th century) of the village of Juncal (Portugal).…”