A palaeopathological investigation of the third intercondylar tubercle of Parsons

The third intercondylar tubercle of Parsons (TITP) is a bony protuberance which is sometimes present on the tibial plateau. It corresponds to the insertion of the anterior fibres of the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL). Reasons why TITP is present in some knees and not others are at present unclear. TITP is studied in knee joints from 68 adult individuals from a medieval cemetery. Associations are investigated with age, sex, knee osteoarthritis, clinical and subclinical DISH, and skeletal signs of trauma, with the aim of evaluating existing ideas on the causation of TITP. Only trauma showed an association with the presence of TITP. The results offer support for the aetiology of trauma to the ACL in the formation of TITP. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Unilateral spondylolysis

Of 54 vertebrae with spondylolysis, five were found with a unilateral lesion. The unilateral lesion was sometimes associated with hypoplasia of the ipsilateral lamina or by differences in the size and position of the facet joints and by posterior wedging on the affected side. Radiologically there may be sclerosis in the pedicle on the normal side. In one case a healed fracture was noted on the apparently normal side indicating that the lesion originally had been bilateral.     

Supra‐acetabular cysts in a medieval skeletal population

This study is an investigation of supra‐acetabular cysts in non‐arthrotic hips in a large Medieval British skeletal series. Lesions were found to occur in 10% of adult innominates, and were more common in males. Evidence is presented for an aetiology of trauma. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Violence in the Atacama Desert during the Tiwanaku period: social tension?

Tiwanaku influence significantly affected the lifestyle of the prehistoric peoples of the Atacama Desert as it represented an important period of social and economic change. Such intense changes as social stratification and new religious and ideological influences have always been characterized as peaceful ones. Palaeopathological studies based on the violence‐induced traumatic lesions of 64 well‐preserved human skeletons from an excavated funerary site named Solcor‐3 have facilitated a comparison between Pre‐Tiwanaku and Tiwanaku periods. Results show an increase in violence between males represented by low‐intensity skull traumas, arrow wounds and a high mortality rate between 20 and 30 years of age during the Tiwanaku period. The interpretation of this data is contrary to the model of peaceful acceptance of the changes that followed the Tiwanaku influence into the Atacama. At least for Solcor‐3, economic and political factors should be re‐considered in order to explain the emergence of social tension during the Tiwanaku period. In the future, more detailed studies will probably help to clarify if conflicts had also extended to other sites in San Pedro de Atacama under Tiwanaku influence. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Reconstructing the massacre at Fort William Henry,New York

Fort William Henry, in upstate New York, was the site of a legendary siege and massacre in 1757 during the French and Indian War. As part of the terms of surrender, the British garrison was to retreat with all their arms and possessions, thus denying the Indian allies of the French their spoils of war. Contemporaneous and fictionalized accounts of the resulting massacre have often been regarded as exaggerations of actual events. Five men buried in a mass grave within the fort, known as the crypt, however, were clearly victims of the massacre. These men were among the sick and wounded who were unable to make the 15 mile (24 km) journey to Fort Edward and were left in the care of the French. Four of the five men sustained pre-mortem leg trauma that would have resulted in their hospitalization and prevented them from walking. The other massive perimortem trauma on these remains vividly depicts the results of the massacre. Three of the five men were shot in the knee; two of these three were shot elsewhere as well. One man was decapitated. Both the front and back of all the bodies bear cut marks, probably from the use of both axes and long-bladed knives as weapons. The numerous gashes in the thoracic and pelvic regions indicate the men were mutilated. Our analysis of the remains from this mass grave confirms and enhances the historical accounts of the massacre at Fort William Henry. The skeletons of these five men provide gruesome testimony of the assault to which they were subjected.     

Lysis at the anterior vertebral body margin: evidence for brucellar spondylitis?

Recently, palaeopathologists have begun to diagnose brucellosis in skeletal remains from minor lytic lesions located on the anterior margins of one or some few vertebral bodies, taking these lesions to represent brucellar epiphysitis. However, review of the literature indicates that these lesions have been sporadically noted for some time by palaeopathologists and various different interpretations have been placed upon them. In view of this, a study of these vertebral marginal lesions (VML) was undertaken in a large series of archaeological skeletons from England, with the aim of characterising their morphology and frequency and shedding light upon their causes. In the study material, VML were found only in the lumbar spine, where they occurred with a prevalence of approximately 4%. It was argued that VML are consistent with two principal alternative diagnoses: brucellosis and traumatic anterior disc herniation. Differentiating these possibilities for the VML in the study material was difficult, but the balance of the evidence seemed to favour traumatic anterior disc herniation as the more likely cause. It is concluded that VML should not be used to identify the presence of brucellosis in skeletal remains unless there is further evidence, in the form of additional skeletal lesions or biomolecular evidence for residual brucella bacterial DNA, to support such a diagnosis. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.