Hyperostosis Frontalis Interna and sex identification of two skeletons from the Early Middle Ages necropolis of Vicenne‐Campochiaro (Molise,Italy)

Lesions attributable to Hyperostosis Frontalis Interna (HFI) were examined in two skulls (from graves 100 and 113) from the Early Middle Ages necropolis of Vicenne‐Campochiaro (Molise, Italy). Both skeletons were of older individuals and it was difficult to sex them using standard anthropological methods. We discuss the sex identification of the skeletons in relation to the presence of HFI, as well as the usefulness of this pathological condition as a sex marker, underlining the importance of the relationship between palaeopathological and clinical‐forensic studies. Our study is a further contribution to the case history of HFI in osteoarchaeological material. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Roman Period fetal skeletons from the East Cemetery (Kellis 2) of Kellis,Egypt

Much can be learned about the religious ideology and mortuary patterns as well as the demographic and health profiles of a population from archaeological human fetal skeletons. Fetal skeletons are rare, however, largely due to poor preservation and recovery, misidentification, or non‐inclusion in general burial populations. We present an analysis of 82 fetal/perinatal skeletons recovered from Kellis 2, a Roman Period cemetery dated to the third and fourth centuries AD, located in the Dakhleh Oasis, Egypt. Most of the fetal remains were individually wrapped in linen and all were buried among the general cemetery population in a supine, east–west orientation with the head facing to the west. Gestational age estimates are calculated from diaphysis lengths using published regression and Bayesian methods. The overall similarity between the fetal age distributions calculated from the regression and Bayesian methods suggests that the correlation between diaphysis length and gestational age is typically strong enough to avoid the ‘regression’ problem of having the age structure of reference samples adversely affecting the age distribution of target samples. The inherent bias of the regression methods, however, is primarily reflected in the gestational age categories between 36 and 42 weeks corresponding with the expected increase in growth variation during the late third trimester. The results suggest that the fetal age distribution at Kellis 2 does not differ from the natural expected mortality distribution. Therefore, practices such as infanticide can be ruled out as having a significant effect on the observed mortality distribution. Moreover, the Kellis 2 sample is well represented in each gestational age category, suggesting that all premature stillbirths and neonatal deaths received similar burial rites. The age distribution of the Kellis 2 fetal remains suggests that emerging Christian concepts, such as the ‘soul’ and the ‘afterlife’, were being applied to everyone including fetuses of all gestational ages. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Leprosy in a skeleton from the 7th century necropolis of Vicenne‐Campochiaro (Molise,Italy)

Analysis of the skeleton from tomb 144 of the early medieval necropolis of Vicenne‐Campochiaro in Central Italy revealed several features indicative of leprosy. The skeleton belongs to a male estimated to be between 20 and 25 years of age at death. The distal halves of the 1st and 2nd left metatarsals present acro‐osteolysis and both legs show severe subperiosteal bone reaction. The facial skeleton shows changes compatible with a chronic inflammatory process, possibly due to an infectious disease. The anatomical distribution of the lesions and their association with other skeletal lesions seems to be compatible with a near‐lepromatous form of leprosy. A differential diagnosis is made, and the skeletal traits pathognomonic of leprosy are discussed. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Skeletal pathology of a high‐ranking official from Thrace (Turkey,last quarter of the 4th century BC)

A male human skeleton from Thrace dated at around 320 BC was found in a wealthy tomb 12 km from what is now Tekirdağ, Turkey. The occupant of the tomb died at the age of 40–45 years and has a pathologic left humerus caused most probably by traumatic injury. It is 9 cm shorter than the right humerus. A drainage fistula penetrating into the medullary cavity occurs at its proximal end. Due to severe arthritic destruction, the left humeral head has completely lost normal articulation, with the glenoid cavity of the left scapula displaying, in turn, severe erosive lesions and important reduction in its articular surface. A marked abscess is discernible bilaterally on the chondro‐costal sternal end. The individual also has a hip with a total sacroiliac joint fusion and shows slight or moderately developed exostoses on different parts of his skeleton. These joint destructions most likely indicate that he suffered from chronic osteomyelitis and septic arthritis. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The Chronology of Settlements with Pre‐Inca and Inca Occupations Superimposed: the Case of Pucará de Tilcara (Humahuaca Gorge,Argentina)

The region of the Central and South Andes was, in about the ninth and 15th centuries ad , the stage for the development of political systems tending towards demographic centralization in villages with defensive structures, known as Pucará. The chronological accuracy for these phenomena still remains uncertain, mainly because it involves intervals of long and superimposed occupations, masked by the Inca domination. Thus, this paper analyses the history of the occupation at Pucará de Tilcara, one of the biggest populated centres of the Humahuaca Gorge (Quebrada de Humahuaca, Argentina). Twenty‐five radiocarbon dates are critically evaluated to judge its reliability. The Bayesian statistics show that all the dated spaces were used on a long‐term basis. The most ancient signs are in the middens and relate at least to the 10th century ad , and the occupation of the housing areas could be calculated to the 13th and 16th centuries. A phase of higher intensity of occupation is observed during the Inca period. This redefinition of this site occupation shows the need to statistically analyse the dates in order to differentiate the phases of occupation.     

CT and micro‐CT analysis of a case of Paget's disease (osteitis deformans) in the Grant skeletal collection

This paper presents a case study in which Paget's disease of bone is differentially diagnosed in an individual from the Grant skeletal collection using non‐destructive computed tomography (CT) and micro‐computed tomography (micro‐CT) analyses of the pubis, in addition to plain film radiography and macroscopic examination. In archaeological and modern osteological samples diagnosis frequently relies on macroscopic examination, plain film radiography and histological examination of bone samples. CT and micro‐CT modalities provide researchers with a non‐destructive view of the internal structure of bone unhampered by the superimposition that is characteristic of plain film radiographs. Given the importance of the increased cortical and trabecular thickness in the differential diagnosis of Paget's disease, these techniques are ideal means by which to non‐destructively examine culturally‐sensitive and scientifically‐valuable human remains for signs of Paget's disease of bone. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Infancy and childhood in the pre‐Columbian North American Southwest–first results of the palaeopathological investigation of the skeletons from the Grasshopper Pueblo,Arizona

Infant and child skeletons (n = 369) from the pre‐Columbian Grasshopper Pueblo site in east‐central Arizona (US) dating from the 14^th century AD were examined macroscopically and with low‐power microscopy. They were studied as a representative example of a typical Mogollon community with respect to frequencies of deficiency and inflammatory diseases. First results revealed very poor living conditions, which are characteristic for this time period in the North American Southwest because of lack of food due to climatic and political changes. Thus, non‐specific stress indicators were frequently observed. In the group of deficiency diseases, anaemia was found in more than 50% of individuals, and in the group of inflammatory diseases, meningeal irritations were diagnosed in more than 70%. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Tacit knowledge and the economic geography of context, or The undefinable tacitness of being (there)

Within economic geography and industrial economics, interestin the concept of tacit knowledge has grown steadily in recentyears. Nelson and Winter helped revive this interest in thework of Michael Polanyi by using the idea of tacit knowledgeto inform their analysis of routines and evolutionary dynamicsof technological change. More recently, the concept has receivedcloser scrutiny. This paper offers a further contribution tothis project by offering a critical analysis of the prevailingimplicit and explicit economic geographies of tacit knowledge,focusing on the relationship between tacit knowledge and institutions.While much of the innovation literature focuses on a singlequestion – can tacit knowledge be effectively shared overlong distances – the paper argues that this issue cannotbe properly addressed without considering a broader range ofrelated questions. It highlights three tacit knowledge problemswhich, together, provide a more complete view of this issue.First, how is tacit knowledge produced? Second, how do firmsfind and appropriate tacit knowledge? Third, how is tacit knowledgereproduced or shared – that is, how does tacit knowledgepromote social learning processes, and must the participantsbe geographically proximate in order for effective learningto occur? The paper revisits Michael Polanyi's original conceptionof tacit knowledge, showing it to be limited by its experientialand cognitive emphasis, with insufficient attention devotedto the role and origins of social context. Alternatively, thepaper argues that one cannot sort out the geography of tacitknowledge without inquiring into the foundations of contextand culture, and the institutional underpinnings of economicactivity, taking the work of another Polanyi – Karl –as the logical starting point.     

Neolithic nomadism in south‐east Arabia — strontium and oxygen isotope ratios in human tooth enamel from al‐Buhais 18 and Umm al‐Quwain 2 in the Emirates of Sharjah and Umm al‐Quwain (UAE)

Human skeletal remains from the Neolithic sites BHS18 in the interior of the Sharjah Emirate and the Neolithic shell midden UAQ2 (Umm al‐Quwain) on the coast of the Persian Gulf (United Arab Emirates, UAE) were analysed for their isotope ratios of strontium (⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr) and oxygen (¹⁸O/¹⁶O). The results are not in agreement with earlier assumptions about a Neolithic nomadism between inland regions and the south‐eastern coast of the Persian Gulf. Existing evidence of nomadic movements of the people from BHS18 most possibly refers to transhumance within the mountains in the hinterland. The strontium isotope measurements on human skeletons from UAQ2 on the contrary indicate uninterrupted residence of this population on the coast. Nevertheless, evidence was found of individual mobility between inland regions and the coast.     

The future lies beneath: Mineral science,resource-making,and the (de)differentiation of the Peruvian underground

Engaging with recent scholarship on the relations among science, resources, and territory, this paper examines the role of late-nineteenth-century mineral science in the rendering of the Peruvian underground as a knowable and actionable space. I focus on the mineralogical work of Italian-born naturalist Antonio Raimondi, identifying in it a dual dynamic of geo-political differentiation and ontological dedifferentiation. On the one hand, Raimondi constructs Peruvian national territory as distinct due to the abundance and diversity of minerals contained in its subsurface. On the other, his mineralogy was undergirded by the idea that Peru's minerals were ontologically equivalent to minerals anywhere else, and thus knowable through ‘universal’ scientific knowledge practices. Both aspects of Raimondi's mineral science reflected an underlying aim: stimulating the ‘rebirth’ of Peruvian mining. Yet, I suggest that the influence of Raimondi's mineralogical work on the history of resource-making in Peru lay not in its immediate utility for political-economic calculation, but rather in its contribution to an imaginary of Peru as mineral-rich and underexploited. In conclusion, I call attention to the need for research on the political economies of Earth science to approach science as an historically and geographically situated practice, to attend to the multiple (e.g., calculative and symbolic) dimensions of scientific activities, and to be attentive to ways in which the logics and aims of Earth science may not fully intersect with those of capital and the state.     

The Golden Code of the Bird‐Men: Iconographic and Social Interpretation of the Moñes I Diadem‐Belt (Asturias,North‐west Iberian Peninsula,First Century BC)

If there is one piece of the Castro culture goldwork that stands out above the rest, it is the set of figurative gold diadem‐belt fragments from Moñes (Piloña, Asturias, Spain). Its uniqueness lies in its combination of local technological tradition with exogenous practices, like figurative representation. The figures that appear are armed characters, occasionally on horseback, and sometimes zoomorphic in appearance (especially as bird‐men), together with different kinds of animals, especially those from an aquatic environment. This iconography has been interpreted as emphasizing the warlike character of Celtic symbolism as expressed through an aquatic funerary ritual. My argument here, however, provides an alternative interpretation based on a context of dramatic social change, which warranted the reformulation of creation mythology such as that depicted on the diadem‐belt. This context must be viewed in relation to different social responses which developed during the first century BC, both before and immediately after the Roman conquest.     

Probable early presence of leprosy in Europe in a Celtic skeleton of the 4th–3rd century BC (Casalecchio di Reno,Bologna, Italy)

Examination of the skeleton of an adult male from the Celtic necropolis of Casalecchio di Reno (Bologna, Italy; 4th–3rd century BC) revealed some lesions on the feet, especially bilateral acro‐osteolysis of the metatarsals, and on the tibia, fibula and hand. The morphological and radiographic characteristics of the bones are consistent with a diagnosis of leprosy. Other features of the rhinomaxillary region support this diagnosis. As far as we know, this case could represent the oldest skeletal evidence of leprosy in Europe, indicating the early spread of this disease toward the Western world. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.