What were the chances of surviving the Black Death?

From the latest edition of Current Archaeology (No. 217):

Why did some people survive the Black Death, and others succumb? At the time of the plague – which ravaged Europe from 1347 to 1351, carrying off 50 million people, perhaps half the population – various prophylactics were tried, from the killing of birds, cats and rats to the wearing of leather breeches (protecting the legs from flea bites) and the burning of aromatic spices and herbs.

Now it seems that the best way of avoiding death from the disease was to be fit and healthy. Sharon DeWitte and James Wood of the University of Albany, New York, have examined 490 skeletons from the East Smithfield plague pit in London and found that the Black Death was selective in picking off the already frail. Lesions (damaged bone) associated with earlier episodes of infection, under-nutrition or other forms of physiological stress were present in most of those buried at East Smithfield, where the dead were stacked five deep in the mass graves on a site hurriedly opened on land donated by the Bishop of London.

“This actually contradicts what many have assumed about the epidemic,” says Dr De Witte. “The pattern we observed is of the Black Death targeting the weak, though it did also kill some people who were otherwise healthy. This is consistent with an emerging disease striking a population with no immunity.”

Blog Carnival – Four Stone Hearth #36

Volume 36 of the Anthropology and Archaeology Blog Carnival, Four Stone Hearth, is hosted this week by Afarensis. Alongside two special sections on the recent hot topics of Homo floresiensis and the small-bodied hominids from Palau, there is a wide variety of other submissions, including ‘Mad Neanderthal Disease?‘ by Julien Riel-Salvatore and ‘California’s forgotten, flightless seaduck‘ by Matt Mendenhall. All are well worth a read so pop on over and take a look.

Domestication of the donkey

An international group of researchers has found evidence for the earliest transport use of the donkey and the early phases of donkey domestication, suggesting the process of domestication may have been slower and less linear than previously thought.

Based on a study of 10 donkey skeletons from three graves dedicated to donkeys in the funerary complex of one of the first Pharaoh’s at Abydos, Egypt, the team, led by Fiona Marshall, Ph.D., professor of Anthropology at Washington University in St. Louis, and Stine Rossel of the University of Copenhagen, found that donkeys around 5,000 years ago were in an early phase of domestication. They looked like wild animals but displayed joint wear that showed that they were used as domestic animals.

“Genetic research has suggested African origins for the donkey,” said Marshall. “But coming up with an exact time and location for domestication is difficult because signs of early domestication can be hard to see. Our findings show that traces of human management can indicate domestication before skeletal or even genetic changes.”

The previously unpublished research was presented in “Domestication of the Donkey: New Data on Timing, Process and Indicators” in the March 10 online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Domestication of the donkey from the African wild ass was a pivotal point in human history. It transformed ancient transport systems in Africa and Asia and the organization of early cities and pastoral societies.

The research team examined the 5,000-year-old Abydos skeletons along with 53 modern donkey and African wild ass skeletons. Analysis showed that the Abydos metacarpals were similar in overall proportions to those of wild ass, but individual measurements varied. Mid-shaft breadths resembled wild ass, but mid-shaft depths and distal breadths were intermediate between wild ass and domestic donkey.

Despite this, all the Abydos skeletons exhibited a range of wear and other pathologies on their bones consistent with load carrying. Morphological similarities to wild ass show that despite their use as beasts of burden, donkeys were still undergoing considerable phenotypic change during the early dynastic period in Egypt. This pattern is consistent with recent studies of other domestic animals that suggest that the process of domestication is slower and more complicated than had been previously thought.

Source: EurekAlert!

A fossilized giant rhino bone questions the isolation of Anatolia

Contrary to generally accepted belief, Anatolia was not geographically isolated 25 million years ago (during the Oligocene epoch): this has just been demonstrated by researchers from the Laboratoire des Mécanismes et Transferts en Géologie (LMTG) (CNRS/ University of Toulouse 3/IRD) and the Paléobiodiversité et paléoenvironnements laboratory (CNRS/Muséum national d’histoire naturelle/University of Paris 6). These results were obtained thanks to analyses of the first fossilized giant rhinocerotoid bone discovered in 2002 in an Anatolian deposit during a Franco-Turkish paleontology expedition funded by the ECLIPSE INSU-CNRS program. The presence of this bone in Anatolia, with the remains of associated fauna, are indicative of animal migrations between Europe and Asia. The results, published online in the March 2008 issue of the Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, thus call into question the isolation of Anatolia, which until now was considered to have been an archipelago.

This is the first time that a fossilized giant rhinocerotoid bone dating from the Oligocene epoch (a period corresponding to intense tectonic movements around the Mediterranean Sea) has been found in Anatolia. Discovered in 2002 during a Franco-Turkish paleontology expedition in the region of ÇankiriÇorum (Central Anatolia, Turkey), the bone fragment from the forearm (radius) described by the scientists measures 1.20 meters long and probably belonged to a very large male (about 5 meters to the shoulder), attributed to the Paraceratherium genus. These herbivorous animals, also called baluchitheres or indricotheres, are considered to have been the largest terrestrial mammals that ever existed, equal in size to the largest mammoths (with a height to the shoulder estimated to be 5 meters or more, and a body weight of 15 to 20 tons).

As well as this specimen of Paraceratherium, known to have existed notably in Pakistan, China, Mongolia and Kazakhstan, the remains of ruminants and rodents were also found in the deposit. They enabled dating of the specimen to about 25 million years, and also exhibited close affinities with contemporary fauna in Asia and/or Europe. This observation is particularly surprising in that Anatolia was until now considered to have been an archipelago at that time, separated from both Europe and Asia by what is referred to as the Paratethys Sea; the Black, Caspian and Aral seas are today the only remaining vestiges of this body of water. The discovery thus proves the existence of terrestrial communication and close links at that period between Europe (including France) and Asia (China, Mongolia, Pakistan). Thus, during the Oligocene epoch, Anatolia was not isolated by the sea and was at least an isthmus: animals could therefore cross on dry land from continental Asiato Anatolia. On the other hand, this discovery also tends to confirm that there was indeed a separation from Africa, as to date no species of African affinity has been found in the Oligocene soils of Anatolia.

Source: EurekAlert!

Giant Fossil Bats Out Of Africa, 35 Million Years Old

When most of us think of Ancient Egypt, visions of pyramids and mummies fill our imaginations. For a team of palaeontologists interested in fossil mammals, the Fayum district of Egypt summons an even older and equally impressive history that extends much further back in time than the Sphinx.

In a recent issue of the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, scientists report on the discovery of six new bat species dating to around 35 million years ago, which sheds new light on the early evolution of bats.

It took over 25 years of fieldwork to collect the 33 specimens that form the basis of the new study. “That translates to a little over one specimen per year – a lot of effort for a single fossil,” said Erik Seiffert, a palaeontologist at Stony Brook University. “But it shows just how important patience and long term field programs are to science. Our long-term commitment to field work certainly paid off in this case.” Among the new species is “a giant among bats; though weighing in at less than a half-pound, it is one of the largest fossil bats ever discovered,” said Greg Gunnell, a palaeontologist at the University of Michigan.

Fossil bats of Eocene age are rare in Africa. Only a few fragmentary remains from Egypt, Morocco, Tanzania and Tunisia were previously known. The discovery of six new kinds of bats illustrates the remarkably rich, and previously unsuspected, diversity of bats in Africa 37-34 million years ago. These discoveries provide important new information for understanding the evolution of modern bat families.

It was thought that most Old World families of bats evolved and diversified in the northern hemisphere, but the new study indicates that many modern bat families only diversified and radiated after their initial dispersal into Africa. Seiffert noted that the Fayum bats include members of the most common and widespread group of living bats, “Clearly the modern bat families have very ancient origins, and at least some of them probably originated in Africa.”

Elwyn Simons of Duke University said, “Interestingly, it seems that primitive modern bats may have entered Africa together with primitive anthropoid primates. Only then did they diversify and disperse into the rest of the Old and New Worlds.”

Gunnell hopes that “if we can come to understand the history of how bats came to be so intertwined within our ecosystem, then we can begin to appreciate them instead of fear them as many people seem to do.”

Source: Society of Vertebrate Paleontology (2008, March 5). Giant Fossil Bats Out Of Africa, 35 Million Years Old. ScienceDaily. Retrieved March 9, 2008, from http://www.sciencedaily.com­ /releases/2008/03/080304191213.htm

Know Your Pathology: Treponematosis

Treponematosis is “a chronic or subacute infection caused by microorganisms called spirochetes of the genus Treponema. On the basis of clinical and geographic variation, the infection is divided into four types: pinta, yaws, bejel (or endemic syphilis) and venereal syphilis” (Aufderheide and Rodríguez-Martín, 1998: 154). There is debate about whether these are different diseases caused by different bacterial species within the genus, or whether they are different clinical manifestations of infection by one species, Treponema pallidum (Aufderheide and Rodríguez-Martín, 1998: 154):

• Pinta is the most geographically restricted of the four syndromes. It is limited to the tropical regions of America, from Mexico to Ecuador. Treponema carateum is responsible for the disease;
• Yaws or frambesia affects especially those populations with a low level of hygiene in tropical or subtropical humid areas. It is caused by Treponema pertenue;
• Bejel (endemic syphilis or non-venereal syphilis) is present in rural populations in temperate and subtropical non-humid regions, and caused by Treponema pallidum endemicum;
• Venereal syphilis is the most ubiquitous of the four syndromes, occurring primarily in urbanised populations in all geographic regions. It is caused by Treponema pallidum pallidum.

Except for pinta, which does not involve bone, the other syndromes produce nearly identical lesions upon the skeleton (Steinbock, 1976: 94). These lesions represent a late stage that marks the generalised spread of bacteria within the body. Inflammatory changes of a mainly destructive nature occur within the skeleton, although considerable repair and regeneration can often also be demonstrated. Venereal syphilis may be either congenital or acquired, congenital syphilis being transmitted in utero via the infected mother. The most severe of the forms, it is characterised not only by inflammatory changes in most tissues of the body, but also by the affection of arterial circulation and the nervous system (Roberts and Manchester, 1995: 151).

The gross bone destruction, called a gumma, is not dissimilar to non-specific osteomyelitis. However, treponemal osteomyelitis is accompanied by extensive regeneration. Consequently, the bone becomes much altered in appearance. The frequency of bone involvement ranges from about 3-5 percent of all cases of yaws to 10-12 percent of all cases of venereal syphilis, with endemic syphilis lying somewhere between the two. In yaws the most commonly affected bone is the tibia, resulting in the distinctive ‘sabre shin’, with the other bones only being affected to a lesser extent, the skull in particular being infrequently involved. Skull involvement is also uncommon in endemic syphilis, but may result in extensive destruction of the nasal and jaw regions. As with yaws, the ‘sabre shin’ shape is often seen, the tibia again being the most commonly affected element (Roberts and Manchester, 1995: 152).

As with the other previously described treponemal diseases, the tibia is the most commonly affected element of venereal syphilis, but multiple bone involvement is frequently noted. It may also result in destructive changes of the joints, such as the characteristic ‘Charcot’s joint’. In contrast to yaws and endemic syphilis, the skull is frequently affected, exhibiting a ‘worm-eaten’ appearance called caries sicca (Roberts and Manchester, 1995: 153).The diagnostic criteria most frequently used to establish the presence of treponemal disease in dry bones are by Hackett (1976).

The epidemiology and spread of treponemal disease has been the subject of much debate, with controversy raging over whether a New or Old World origin for the condition was more likely, the transatlantic voyage of Christopher Columbus being a date of great significance to epidemiologists. It is still unclear when, where and how the currently recognised clinical forms developed, and how they are related to one another from an evolutionary standpoint. Identifying the form of treponemal disease from the physical examination of skeletal remains is often impossible, although attempts have been made to make such a differentiation at population level and it is possible that ancient DNA analysis may aid in this (Mitchell, 2003: 122). For example, the causative agent of venereal syphilis, Treponema pallidum pallidum, has recently been extracted from a two hundred-year-old skeleton from Easter Island using a combination of immunological assay and DNA analysis (Kolman et al., 1999). The oldest dated case of treponematosis in the Middle East comes from Israel, and dates to 1290-1420 AD, during the Mamluk period just after the Crusades (Mitchell, 2003). Pre-Columbian dates have also been given for cases from Britain (Mays et al., 2003) and the United States of America (Hutchinson and Weaver, 1998).

Buckley and Tayles (2003) examined a prehistoric Pacific Island sample for diseases such as yaws, leprosy and malaria. Each type of bone change was recorded, with each type of pathological change also being given a numerical code. This code indicated the type of observed change and whether it was primarily osteoblastic activity, osteoclastic activity, or a mixed response. The presence of lesions was identified macroscopically. Diffuse pitting and/or apposition of new bone on the cortical aspect is an indication of osteoblastic activity as a response to an infectious or non-infectious mechanism. Active (unremodelled) or remodelled lesions were coded as such, the authors stating that “active osteoblastic lesions display a fibrous, vascular, porous, and irregular layer of new bone that has a scab-like appearance over the normal smooth cortex”, in contrast to remodelled lesions that “is usually smooth in appearance, and more organised than new woven bone.” Lesions that developed as a result of osteoclastic activity were identified by lytic foci in the cortical bone and/or trabeculae. Distortion of the normal shape, such as diaphyseal bowing, was also noted as pathological (Buckley and Tayles, 2003: 306). These lesions were then placed into either Osteoblastic (OB) or Osteoclastic (OL) grades 1-4 (Buckley and Tayles, 2003: 306-307), which are described in the article, with photographic illustrations of most, but not all, classes. Hackett’s (1976) coding criteria was used for recording classic gummatous caries sicca lesions of the cranial vault (Buckley and Tayles, 2003: 307).

In an attempt to control some of the limitations of estimating lesion prevalence within a population, the prevalence was estimated using both the individual and skeletal element as denominators. An ‘individual’ was defined by the presence of certain bone elements that are most frequently affected by systemic disease. Those selected, with at least one of each being needed, were the femur, tibia, clavicle, ulna and either the hands or feet for the minimum definition of an ‘observable individual’ (Buckley and Tayles, 2003: 308). This selection criteria was not as strict for the sub-adults due to the fact that sub-adult bones are more readily affected by pathological change. This was useful for increasing the sample size given the fragmentary nature of most of the sub-adult skeletons. Therefore, a sub-adult burial that included the tibia and any two other limb bones were included as individuals (Buckley and Tayles, 2003: 310).

Cranial material was recorded for all observable individuals as complete (presence of all cranial elements, whether articulated or fragmentary), partial (presence of some cranial elements, may be missing the frontal), or absent (no cranial material present). A burial was retained as an individual regardless of cranial preservation, however the presence of the frontal bone and a partial or complete naso-maxillary region was deemed ideal (Buckley and Tayles, 2003: 310).

All bones present were included in the analysis using the skeletal element as the indicator of prevalence, whether complete or partial, and from observable individuals or not. Left and right elements were combined to increase the sample sizes and the bones were sub-divided according to age group. It was considered that sex-related distributions of lesions could be best analysed using observable individuals and so were not studied using skeletal element as the denominator (Buckley and Tayles, 2003: 311). One limitation of the current study was the lack of systematic recording of joint pathology, which may have distorted the prevalence of lytic lesions affecting the joints (Buckley and Tayles, 2003: 310).

The status and severity of lesions in observable individuals was assessed; status 1 indicating several bones were affected and all lesions were active at death, status 2 indicating the presence of active lesions, but with some remodelling at the time of death, and status 3 indicated solely remodelled lesions (Buckley and Tayles, 2003: 310-311). In contrast, the lesions assessed by skeletal element were first classified into three main groups: active OB, remodelled OB, or OL. Cranial lesions were considered separately (Buckley and Tayles, 2003: 311).

It was found that more than half of the observable individuals (57 of 101) had post-cranial lesions, with similar prevalence for all age groups and both sexes. Less than one quarter had cranial lesions and the prevalence decreased with age. However, lesions were present in a low proportion of post-cranial elements overall, although the major long bones, especially the tibia, were most frequently affected. The lesions were effectively all active in sub-adults, whilst in adults there was a mixture of active and remodelled lesions (Buckley and Tayles, 2003: 313-316), a diagnosis of yaws being proposed as the most likely to fit the pattern displayed at the site (Buckley and Tayles, 2003: 321).

This methodology seems particularly useful as it does not require any specialist, or expensive equipment, and would be readily adoptable by most osteoarchaeologists. The categories seem a little crude at times, however this is not uncommon with those methodologies based upon macroscopic examination, and the classes do at least provide a baseline for comparison between populations. Better illustration of the various classes, by photographs of all grades for example, would have been useful in order to help decrease inter-observer variation.

It is worth noting, however, that bone lesions caused by treponemal disease are frequently very similar to non-specific bone diseases, particularly in the long bones. The use of polarised light in light microscopy can illuminate elements of the internal bone structure such as the arrangement of collagenous fibres, and this can make visible structures typically built up by different diseases. At the micro-level, telltale signs of treponemal disease are polsters and grenzstreifen (Schultz, 2001: 126).

Polsters are frequently found in the chronic treponemal diseases of the long bones, and consist of “parallel lamellae arranged at the periosteal level in the form of pillow-like newly built bone formations demarcated by periosteal blood vessels developed during the course of the inflammatory process” (Schultz, 2001: 126). These show a homogeneous structure due to the generally slow growth, in contrast to haematogenous osteomyelitis, which has a much more rapid growth pattern, and thus a more irregular structure (Schultz, 2001: 126). ‘Grenzstreifen’ or ‘grenzlinie’ can be observed in chronic treponemal diseases. This is a “very fine line or a narrow, band-like structure that represents the original external surface of the bone shaft (remains of external circumferential lamellae) and newly built lamellae that originate during the first infection of the periosteum due to the pathological process” (Schultz, 2001: 126).

In contrast to leprosy, treponemal diseases such as endemic syphilis include not only alterations in the subperiosteal bone, but also osteoclastic changes in the endosteal bone and the bony trabeculae of the medullary cavity, as well as in the compact bone of the affected elements (Schultz, 2001: 128). Palaeohistopathological analysis can, therefore, be an important tool for diagnosing conditions such as this in archaeological specimens, helping to discount non-specific conditions that are similar at a macromorphological level.

References:

Aufderheide, A. C and Rodríguez-Martín, C. 1998. The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Human Paleopathology. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Buckley, H. R, and Tayles, N. 2003. Skeletal pathology in a prehistoric pacific island sample: issues in lesion recording, quantification, and interpretation. American Journal of Physical Anthropology 122: 303-324.

Hackett, C. 1976. Diagnostic criteria of syphilis, yaws and treponarid (treponematosis) and of some other diseases in dry bone (for use in osteo-archaeology). Berlin: Springer-Verlag.

Hutchinson, D. L, and Weaver, D. S. 1998. Two cases of facial involvement in probable treponemal infection from Late Prehistoric coastal North Carolina. International Journal of Osteoarchaeology 8: 444-453.

Kolman, C. J, Centurion-Lara, A, Lukehart, S. A, Owsley, D. W, and Tuross, N. 1999. Identification of Treponema pallidum subspecies pallidum in a 200-Year-Old skeletal specimen. Journal of Infectious Diseases 180: 2060-2063.

Mays, S, Crane-Kramer, G, and Bayliss, A. 2003. Two probable cases of treponemal disease of medieval date from England. American Journal of Physical Anthropology 120: 133-143.

Mitchell, P. D. 2003. Pre-Columbian treponemal disease from 14th century AD Safed, Israel, and implications for the medieval Eastern Mediterranean. American Journal of Physical Anthropology 121: 117-124.

Roberts, C., and Manchester, K. 1995. The Archaeology of Disease. 2nd Edition. Stroud: Alan Sutton Publishing Ltd.

Schultz, M. 2001. Paleohistopathology of bone: a new approach to the study of ancient diseases. Yearbook of Physical Anthropology 44: 106-147.

Steinbock, R. T. 1976. Paleopathological Diagnosis and Interpretation: Bone Diseases in Ancient Human Populations. Springfield: Thomas Books.

Evidence of commerce between ancient Israel and China

Throughout the 12th and 13th centuries – during the time of the Crusades –ceramic vessels reached Acre from: Mediterranean regions, the Levant, Europe, North Africa, and even China – reveals new research, which examined trade of ceramic vessels, conducted at the University of Haifa.

This research, conducted by Dr. Edna Stern under the direction of Prof. Michal Artzy and Dr. Adrian Boasz, examined pottery found during excavations conducted by the Israel Antiquities Authority of Crusader period Acre and pottery found in shipwrecks around the Mediterranean coast. According to Dr. Stern, during these centuries, Acre – in addition to being the gateway for Christian pilgrims into the Land of Israel, was one of the busiest commercial ports in the Latin East that had commercial links to Europe, the Islamic world and the Byzantine Empire.

The study found that the majority of the ceramic wares that were imported to Acre included glazed tableware, predominantly bowls and plates. Other vessel forms that arrived in smaller numbers include containers, jars, bowls and cooking wares. 44.5% of imports arrived from the Mediterranean regions of Cyprus, Greece and Asia Minor. There were also strong commercial links with the neighbors in Syria and Lebanon where 29.3% of the imports arrived from. Western Mediterranean regions– such as France, Catalonia and Tunisia, were the source of some 3.3% of ceramic vessels and even Chinese pottery arrived in Acre – 0.2% of the imported pottery arrived from China.

According to Dr. Stern, in contrast to the notion that ceramic wares were imported to Acre and surrounding ports as luxury items, the findings of her study revealed exactly the opposite. “Pottery that arrived in Acre, and other sites around the Mediterranean Sea, did not arrive because of their high value, rather it seems that they were imported by commercial shipping companies for the long and medium term as secondary items as ‘space fillers’ for the more expensive items that were shipped,” she concluded.

Source: EurekAlert!

Darwin Was Wrong About Wild Origin Of The Chicken

Charles Darwin maintained that the domesticated chicken descended from the red jungle fowl, but new research from Uppsala University now shows that the wild origins of the chicken are more complicated than that.

Yellow-skinned chickens have a different version of a gene than their white-skinned cousins. Darwin believed that all chickens came from a wild species known as the red junglefowl. When the researchers looked for the yellow-skin gene in the red junglefowl, they only found the genetic variant that codes for white skin. More surprisingly, when they finally did find the yellow-skin version of the gene, it was present in a completely different wild species: the grey junglefowl.

“Our studies show that even though most of the genes in domesticated fowls come from the red jungle fowl, at least one other species must have contributed, specifically the grey jungle fowl,” says Jonas Eriksson, a doctoral student at Uppsala University.

It is most likely the case that the grey jungle fowl was crossed with an early form of the domesticated chicken. The genes for yellow skin are spread among billions of domesticated chickens around the world. Darwin’s studies of domesticated animals were of key importance to his theory of evolution, and he also explained the wild origins of domesticated animals.

“What’s ironic is that Darwin thought that more than one wild species had contributed to the development of the dog, but that the chicken came from only one wild species, the red jungle fowl. Now it turns out that it’s just the opposite way around,” says Greger Larson, a researcher at Uppsala University and Durham University in England.

The yellow leg color is a result of fodder: the more yellow carotenoids there are in the feed, the yellower the legs. The gene that these researchers have now identified codes for an enzyme that breaks down carotenoids and releases vitamin A. This gene is shut down in skin but fully active in other tissues in chickens with yellow legs. The consequence is that yellow carotenoids are stored in the skin in these chickens. This is called a regulatory mutation since the coding sequence of the gene is intact, but its regulation is modified.

“Our study is a clear example of the importance of regulatory mutations in the course of evolution. What we don’t know is why humans bred this characteristic. Maybe chickens with bright yellow legs were seen as being healthier or more fertile than other chickens, or were we simply charmed by their distinct appearance?” wonders Professor Leif Andersson, who directed the project.

The scientists believe that the same gene may well be of significance in explaining the pink color of the flamingo, the yellow leg color of many birds of prey, and the reddish meat of the salmon. These characteristics are all caused by carotenoids. The gene may also influence the skin color of humans to some extent.

Journal reference: Eriksson J, Larson G, Gunnarsson U, Bed’hom B, Tixier-Boichard M, et al. (2008) Identification of the Yellow Skin Gene Reveals a Hybrid Origin of the Domestic Chicken. PLoS Genet 4(2): e1000010. doi:10.1371/journal.pgen.1000010

Source: Uppsala University (2008, March 3). Darwin Was Wrong About Wild Origin Of The Chicken, New Research Shows. ScienceDaily. Retrieved March 4, 2008, from http://www.sciencedaily.com­ /releases/2008/02/080229102059.htm