Advancements, challenges, and prospects in the paleopathology of scurvy: Current perspectives on vitamin C deficiency in human skeletal remains

Crandall, John; Klaus, Haagen D.

doi:10.1016/j.ijpp.2014.04.005

Cited by 35 publications

(21 citation statements)

References 37 publications

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“…Subperiosteal new bone on the shafts of long bones, as well as evidence of hemarthrosis, has been radiographically observed in adults with this disease, but these features also occur in a number of other pathological conditions, including trauma and infectious disease (Jaffe, 1972; Joffe, 1961). As chronic hemorrhage occurs in both scorbutic adults and children, the macroscopic lesions reported by Ortner and others can theoretically be applied to adult individuals and well as subadults (Crandall & Klaus, 2014; e.g., Buckley et al, 2014; Geber & Murphy, 2012). Jaffe (1972) reports that autopsy findings of adults with scurvy include bloody discoloration of muscle bellies and attachments, which lends clinical credibility to this argument (Jaffe, 1972, p. 454).…”

Section: Adult Scurvy: a Diagnostic Conundrummentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Jaffe (1972) reports that autopsy findings of adults with scurvy include bloody discoloration of muscle bellies and attachments, which lends clinical credibility to this argument (Jaffe, 1972, p. 454). However, the osseous response to hemorrhage is expected to be milder in expression in individuals who have ceased active appositional growth (Crandall & Klaus, 2014). This makes the identification of scurvy in adult skeletal remains from macroscopic lesions difficult and, as with other metabolic bone diseases, juveniles are expected to comprise the largest cohort within a skeletal assemblage who exhibit clear evidence of the disease (see Brickley & Ives, 2008).…”

Section: Adult Scurvy: a Diagnostic Conundrummentioning

confidence: 99%

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Macroscopic features of scurvy in human skeletal remains: A literature synthesis and diagnostic guide

Snoddy

Buckley

Elliott

et al. 2018

American J Phys Anthropol

101

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The past two decades have seen a proliferation in bioarchaeological literature on the identification of scurvy, a disease caused by chronic vitamin C deficiency, in ancient human remains. This condition is one of the few nutritional deficiencies that can result in diagnostic osseous lesions. Scurvy is associated with low dietary diversity and its identification in human skeletal remains can provide important contextual information on subsistence strategy, resource allocation, and human‐environmental interactions in past populations. A large and robust methodological body of work on the paleopathology of scurvy exists. However, the diagnostic criteria for this disease employed by bioarchaeologists have not always been uniform. Here we draw from previous research on the skeletal manifestations of scurvy in adult and juvenile human skeletal remains and propose a weighted diagnostic system for its identification that takes into account the pathophysiology of the disease, soft tissue anatomy, and clinical research. Using a sample of individuals from the prehistoric Atacama Desert in Northern Chile, we also provide a practical example of how diagnostic value might be assigned to skeletal lesions of the disease that have not been previously described in the literature.

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Section: Adult Scurvy: a Diagnostic Conundrummentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Adult Scurvy: a Diagnostic Conundrummentioning

confidence: 99%

Macroscopic features of scurvy in human skeletal remains: A literature synthesis and diagnostic guide

Snoddy

Buckley

Elliott

et al. 2018

American J Phys Anthropol

101

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“…Recent interest in diagnosing scurvy has further contributed to this literature. A 2014 special issue of the International Journal of Paleopathology examined scurvy, the issues with diagnosing it, cultural and environmental factors that contribute to it, and the importance of focusing on this condition (Crandall & Klaus, 2014). Issues of diagnosing the condition remain a focus of many of the pieces of the collection and are the theme for the first four articles in the volume (Crandall & Klaus, 2014;Armelagos et al, 2014;Stark, 2014;Zuckerman et al, 2014).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A 2014 special issue of the International Journal of Paleopathology examined scurvy, the issues with diagnosing it, cultural and environmental factors that contribute to it, and the importance of focusing on this condition (Crandall & Klaus, 2014). Issues of diagnosing the condition remain a focus of many of the pieces of the collection and are the theme for the first four articles in the volume (Crandall & Klaus, 2014;Armelagos et al, 2014;Stark, 2014;Zuckerman et al, 2014). The authors and editors of this collection continue to push scholars to carefully examine and differentially diagnose the condition where possible, as it provides unique insight into the intersections of nutrition and sociocultural environment (Crandall & Klaus, 2014).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Presence and Absence: An Exploration of Scurvy in the Commingled Subadults in the Spring Street Presbyterian Church Collection, Lower Manhattan

Ellis

2016

Intl J of Osteoarchaeology

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This paper presents the results of an examination of scurvy in the commingled subadult remains (minimum number of individuals = 70) of the Spring Street Presbyterian Church. This historic congregation in New York City had active burial vaults from 1820 to 1846. Scurvy is a vitamin C deficiency that results in haemorrhaging at the sites of muscle origin and insertion, particularly around the skull. These resulting lesions can occur in subadults undergoing growth, weaning and dietary stress. Applying diagnoses suggested by recent research, this article examines specific sites on the skull for lesions consistent with and suggestive of scurvy. Findings include 30 elements that display associated pathology. This population data are drawn from maxillae, sphenoids and orbits. Two osteobiographies are also presented. By connecting the biological data to the socio‐cultural environment of the church, this article raises questions of how to interpret the presence and absence of scurvy in a commingled collection. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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“…For example, new research is challenging our traditional interpretation of non-specific indicators of stress as measures of health status (Reitsema and McIlvaine 2014), including dental enamel defects (Hassett 2014;Hubbard et al 2009), periosteal reaction (e.g., DeWitte 2014a, 2014bDeWitte and Wood 2008;Weston, 2008Weston, , 2009Weston, , 2012, and porotic hyperostosis (McIlvaine 2013;Piperata et al 2014), as well as specific patterns of pathology that are diagnostic of metabolic conditions such as scurvy (Crandall and Klaus 2014) and anemia (Smith-Guzman 2015), and infections such as leishmaniasis (Marsteller et al 2011). The study of disease progression over the life course also is being examined more broadly in contemporary studies of paleopathology that also draw upon medical sources (e.g., Baker and Bolhofner 2013).…”

Section: Contemporary Directionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Stronger Together: Advancing a Global Bioarchaeology

Baker

2017

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Bioarchaeology is a burgeoning, integrative field that spans the globe. Bioarchaeology is often thought to encompass the study of only the human remains found within archaeological sites, frequently divorced from the contexts in which they were found. The physical remains of people store a record of their biological attributes, providing information on illnesses or trauma they survived or that may have contributed to their deaths, their daily activities, biological affinities, and more. Equally informative are the different ways that people were treated in death by those who survived them. Rather than investigating only the biological remains or studying material culture alone, integrating these components permits a more complete understanding of how people experienced an array of circumstances over the course of their own lives and through multiple generations. Differing subsistence practices, access to resources, exposure to hazards, and changes in economic, political, religious, or environmental factors over time and across vast areas of the world are topics explored by bioarchaeologists. Learning how past peoples were affected by pathogens, climate change, and immigration, for example, provides insight into contemporary issues and ABSTRACTBioarchaeology is a relatively young field that aims to improve our understanding of life, death, and interrelationships among past humans around the globe. The discipline grew out of 1960s American processual archaeology and biological anthropology and emerged as human osteoarchaeology in the UK. Today, bioarchaeology is a vibrant, interdisciplinary field of study that cross-cuts biological anthropology, archaeology, and social theory to situate past peoples within their biological, cultural, and environmental circumstances. The field emphasizes not only the study of human remains but the integrative analysis and interpretation of their context, including the archaeological, sociocultural, and political milieu and the environmental setting in which people lived. The growing interest in bio archae ol o gi cal research has created the need for a new peer-reviewed journal to help unify and advance this discipline around the globe. In this introduction to Bioarchaeology International, we trace the origins of the field and the different "schools" of bioarchaeology that have developed and are now merging as the discipline has matured. We then delineate the purpose and goals of the journal, highlighting how the articles in the first issue contribute to those goals. Finally, as co-editors in chief, we describe our vision for contemporary and future directions in bioarchaeology. With this overview of the field and journal, we wish to stimulate discussion and promote international submissions. We intend for Bioarchaeology International to strengthen this growing field and help promote scholarly and public interest in our collective research.Keywords: archaeology; biological anthropology; biocultural; funerary archaeology; mortuary behavior; osteology; osteoarchaeology; paleopatholo...

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Advancements, challenges, and prospects in the paleopathology of scurvy: Current perspectives on vitamin C deficiency in human skeletal remains

Cited by 35 publications

References 37 publications

Macroscopic features of scurvy in human skeletal remains: A literature synthesis and diagnostic guide

Macroscopic features of scurvy in human skeletal remains: A literature synthesis and diagnostic guide

Presence and Absence: An Exploration of Scurvy in the Commingled Subadults in the Spring Street Presbyterian Church Collection, Lower Manhattan

Stronger Together: Advancing a Global Bioarchaeology

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