Treponemal Disease, Tuberculosis and Subsistence‐settlement Pattern in the Late Woodland Period West‐central Illinois

Mosher, Germaine M.; Smith, Maria Ostendorf; Albrecht, Jessica Leigh; Salaka, V. P.

doi:10.1002/oa.2344

Cited by 11 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 43 publications

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“…They found minimal regional differences, but disease frequency increased through time, as noted by several contributors to Powell & Cook (; e.g., Baker, ; Powell, Jacobi, Danforth, & Eisenberg, ; Wilson, ; and detailed in the summary chapter by Cook & Powell, ). These results support Baker & Armelagos's (:719) conclusion that high frequencies of treponemal disease would “reflect population nucleation, particularly where sociopolitical organization allowed for widespread exchange of material goods and infectious diseases.” Similar patterning has been established in west‐central Illinois (e.g., Cook, ; Mosher, Smith, Albrecht, & Salaka, ) and in Tennessee, where Smith () demonstrated that treponemal disease was infrequent in Archaic period remains from the western Tennessee River Valley but increased in more sedentary Early Woodland (500 B.C.–A.D. 0) communities even though subsistence continued to be based on gathering and hunting.…”

Section: Paleopathologysupporting

confidence: 58%

Advancing the understanding of treponemal disease in the past and present

Baker

Crane-Kramer

Dee

et al. 2020

American J Phys Anthropol

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Syphilis was perceived to be a new disease in Europe in the late 15th century, igniting a debate about its origin that continues today in anthropological, historical, and medical circles. We move beyond this age-old debate using an interdisciplinary approach that tackles broader questions to advance the understanding of treponemal infection (syphilis, yaws, bejel, and pinta). How did the causative organism(s) and humans co-evolve? How did the related diseases caused by Treponema pallidum emerge in different parts of the world and affect people across both time and space? How are T. pallidum subspecies related to the treponeme causing pinta? The current state of scholarship in specific areas is reviewed with recommendations made to stimulate future work. Understanding treponemal biology, genetic relationships, epidemiology, and clinical manifestations is crucial for vaccine development today and for investigating the distribution of infection in both modern and past populations.Paleopathologists must improve diagnostic criteria and use a standard approach for recording skeletal lesions on archaeological human remains. Adequate contextualization of cultural and environmental conditions is necessary, including site dating and justification for any corrections made for marine or freshwater reservoir effects. Biogeochemical analyses may assess aquatic contributions to diet, physiological changes arising from treponemal disease and its treatments (e.g., mercury), or residential mobility of those affected. Shifting the focus from point of origin to investigating who is affected (e.g., by age/sex or socioeconomic status) and disease distribution (e.g., coastal/ inland, rural/urban) will advance our understanding of the treponemal disease and its impact on people through time. K E Y W O R D S archaeological biogeochemistry,

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Section: Paleopathologysupporting

confidence: 58%

Advancing the understanding of treponemal disease in the past and present

Baker

Crane-Kramer

Dee

et al. 2020

American J Phys Anthropol

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“…Diseases also contributed, directly or indirectly, to many deaths. Among them were tuberculosis and a treponemal infection, both of which were chronic, debilitating conditions suffered by many members of some communities ( 65 – 69 ).…”

Section: North American Midcontinentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Population trends and the transition to agriculture: Global processes as seen from North America

Milner

Boldsen

2023

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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Agriculture—specifically an intensification of the production of readily stored food and its distribution—has supported an increase in the global human population throughout the Holocene. Today, with greatly accelerated of growth during recent centuries, we have reached about 8 billion people. Human skeletal and archaeobotanical remains clarify what occurred over several millennia of profound societal and population change in small-scale societies once distributed across the North American midcontinent. Stepwise, not gradual, changes in the move toward an agriculturally based life, as indicated by plant remains, left a demographic signal reflecting age-independent ( α 2 ) mortality as estimated from skeletons. Designated the age-independent component of the Siler model, it is tracked through the juvenility index (JI), which is increasingly being used in studies of archaeological skeletons. Usually interpreted as a fertility indicator, the JI is more responsive to age-independent mortality in societies that dominated most of human existence. In the midcontinent, the JI increased as people transitioned to a more intensive form of food production that prominently featured maize. Several centuries later, the JI declined, along with a reversion to a somewhat more diverse diet and a reduction in overall population size. Changes in age-independent mortality coincided with previously recognized increases in intergroup conflict, group movement, and pathogen exposure. Similar rises and falls in JI values have been reported for other parts of the world during the emergence of agricultural systems.

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Identifying treponemal disease in early East Asia

Yawei

Gao

Zhang³

et al. 2022

American Journal of Biological Anthropology

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ObjectivesHistoric records suggest that a virulent form of treponematosis, sexually transmitted syphilis was introduced to Asia from Europe by the da Gama crew, who landed in India in 1498. Our objective is to assess the gross pathology of human skeletal remains from the Tang dynasty of China to test the presence of treponemal infection in East Asia before 1498. We interpret this paleopathological evidence in the context of site ecology and sociocultural changes during the Tang dynasty.Materials and methodsWe examined the gross pathology of 1598 human skeletons from Xingfulindai (AD 618 to AD 1279) archeological site located on the Central Plain of China. Using the modified diagnostic criteria defined by Hackett's classical work, we classify the pathology as consistent, strongly suggestive, or pathognomonic for treponemal infection.ResultsTwelve adult individuals from Xingfulindai had bone lesions suggestive of systemic pathology. Two of these individuals displayed a combination of lesion patterns pathognomonic of treponemal disease and one had lesions consistent with treponematosis. The radiocarbon dates for the bone samples from these skeletons place them before AD 1200.ConclusionsThe location of Xingfulindai in a continental climatic zone is not typical for yaws and bejel ecology, because these strains occur in the tropics, or in hot, dry environments, respectively. The urban setting, where there is documented evidence for increased interaction between multiple ethnic groups and a developed institution of courtesans during the Tang dynasty, favors sexually transmitted syphilis as the more likely diagnosis. This study supports an earlier spread of syphilis to China than 1498.

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Treponemal Disease, Tuberculosis and Subsistence‐settlement Pattern in the Late Woodland Period West‐central Illinois

Cited by 11 publications

References 43 publications

Advancing the understanding of treponemal disease in the past and present

Advancing the understanding of treponemal disease in the past and present

Population trends and the transition to agriculture: Global processes as seen from North America

Identifying treponemal disease in early East Asia

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