割股奉亲缘起的社会背景考察--以唐代为中心

割股奉亲现象的出现和蔓延与六朝隋唐特有的社会文化氛围息息相关,作为一种治疗手段,割股奉亲很可能起源于人肉治疗结核性疾病的民间偏方。而这种骇人听闻的行为能够发展成社会风俗并成为衡量孝心的重要尺度却依赖于那个时代特有的社会文化背景,惟一能够阻碍其蔓延的儒家教条“父母之体不合毁伤”,早在沉重的赋役压迫和游牧民族文化、佛教理论的冲击下变成一纸具文,加上儒家理论存在自我矛盾之处,使得割股奉亲行为中“孝”的一面被放大、对儒家教条的破坏被忽视。割股奉亲藉此蔓延,并且流毒千载。     

Biomolecular archaeology of ancient tuberculosis: response to “Deficiencies and challenges in the study of ancient tuberculosis DNA” by Wilbur et al. (2009)

It is sixteen years since the first detection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis DNA in archaeological specimens, yet the validity of findings continues to be questioned. Rigorous scientific scrutiny and debate is valuable and has led to a coalescence of procedures and precautions amongst those actively engaged in this work. It is disappointing that these good practices are not recognised by certain scientists whose primary expertise is in the related fields of archaeology, palaeopathology, and eukaryote ancient DNA. There is a danger that by constant repetition, disputable and inadequately justified concerns will assume the status of self-perpetuating myths and misunderstandings. We discuss these issues with reference to a recent article in this journal, in which clear peer-reviewed scientific data were specifically targeted as part of a general critique of the field of the palaeomicrobiology of tuberculosis. We believe we have given sufficient evidence and cogent argument to persuade the unbiased reader that the views in the critique by Wilbur et al. are unjustified.     

Tuberculosis among Iron Age individuals from Tyva,South Siberia: palaeopathological and biomolecular findings

The study focuses on the evidence for tuberculosis apparent in an Iron Age population recovered from the cemetery of Aymyrlyg, Tyva (Tuva), South Siberia. A recent wholly molecular study of five of the cases confirmed the presence of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) complex DNA in four of the individuals. In all cases the disease was caused by strains of Mycobacterium bovis rather than Mycobacterium tuberculosis and represents the first positive identification of the bovine form of the disease in archaeological human remains. Details of the palaeopathological characteristics of the cases are provided in the current paper, while the molecular observations are extended to include a quantitative evaluation of the surviving mycobacterial DNA using real-time PCR. The observation that bovine tuberculosis was the pathogen responsible is discussed in terms of current understanding of the evolution of the MTB complex as well as the implications for future ancient DNA studies in this area.     

Molecular history of tuberculosis from ancient mummies and skeletons

The origin and evolution of the infectious disease tuberculosis (TB) and its pathogens is still not fully understood. An important effort for a better understanding of the underlying mechanisms of TB evolution lies within the investigation of skeletal and mummified material dating back several thousand of years. In this work, molecular data from mummified and skeletal material from different time periods of the Old World are compared, and the current status of ancient mycobacterial DNA analysis in ancient human remains is discussed, with particular reference to the genetic evolution of human TB. The molecular analysis of material from southern Germany (1400–1800 AD), Hungary (600–1700 AD) and Egypt (3500–500 BC) revealed high frequencies of TB in all time periods. In several individuals from ancient Egypt the mycobacterial DNA could be further characterised by spoligotyping. Thereby, evidence for ancestral M. tuberculosis strains was found in the pre‐ to early dynastic material from Abydos (3500–2650 BC), while typical M. africanum signatures were detected in the Middle Kingdom tomb in Thebes‐West (2050–1650 BC). Samples from the New Kingdom to Late Period tombs (1500–500 BC) were characterised as modern M. tuberculosis strains. In concordance with other studies on ancient skeletal and mummified samples, no evidence for the presence of M. bovis was found. These results contradict the theory that M. tuberculosis evolved from M. bovis during domestication, but supports the new scenario that M. tuberculosis probably derived from an ancestral progenitor strain. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Earliest evidence of spinal tuberculosis from the Aneolithic Yayoi period in Japan

Tuberculosis has existed from early prehistoric days to modern times. The main causative agents of tuberculosis worldwide are Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M. tuberculosis) and M. bovis, along with M. africanum, M. cenettii and M. microti; these species make up the ‘M. tuberculosis complex’. This worldwide infection has been of special interest to palaeopathologists due to its characteristic bone lesions as well as its great antiquity. Historically, tuberculosis has been recognised in Japan for more than a thousand years. However, the origin and early prevalence of tuberculosis remain unknown. In the present study, we present the earliest evidence of skeletal tuberculosis found in the Aneolithic Yayoi period in Japan (ca. 300 BC to AD 300). The skeletal remains showing typical pathological changes of spinal tuberculosis were dated to between 454 BC and AD 124 by dendrochronological methods using coburied arrow-shield board and house columns made of Japanese cedar. We discuss the early prevalence of this infectious disease and its influence on the population history of the Japanese from prehistoric to Aneolithic times. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The use of the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to detect Mycobacterium tuberculosis in ancient skeletons

The polymerase chain reaction has been used to extract ancient DNA from a wide range of different types of material. We have considered the possibility of finding residual bacterial DNA in bone that may have been infected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis using this technique. We propose a method of collecting samples and testing for the presence of degraded genetic material in ancient bone. The steps of the polymerase chain reaction are detailed and discussed, as are those for the preparation of the bone sample. Results obtained would suggest that this technique could have wide application in osteoarchaeological research by giving us new information on diseases of antiquity. Future avenues for the investigation of bacterial DNA in ancient bone are suggested.     

Severe vertebral collapse in a juvenile from the graveyard (13th/14th–19th centuries) of the São Miguel church (Castelo Branco,Portugal): differential palaeopathological diagnosis

Diseases that culminate into vertebral collapse are of intricate diagnosis both in palaeopathology and modern clinical practice. When analysing human skeletal remains from the archaeological record this difficulty is amplified due to the absence of complementary medical diagnostic information. This is especially evident when the distinction between tuberculous and pyogenic spondylitis is intended. Taking into consideration this challenging task and based on the macroscopic and radiological study of the skeleton number 8, a specimen exhumed from the East necropolis (13th/14th to 19th centuries) of the São Miguel church, at the Portuguese city of Castelo Branco, the aims of the work here presented are to discuss the range of possible aetiological factors, especially infectious ones, ascribable to the striking pathological changes noticed on this 12‐year‐old individual. These included alterations on the axial skeleton, namely extensive vertebral destruction, presenting as a gibbus deformity, and correlated thoracic deformities. Consubstantiated on palaeopathological and clinical research, tuberculous spondylitis seems to be the most probable cause for the reported lesions. However, the scrutiny between this condition and other pyogenic spinal infections is of extreme complexity when analysing ancient human remains and deserves in‐depth future investigations. Within the framework of the Portuguese archaeological record, the specimen here presented is of major relevance since the pattern and severity of the spinal osseous changes observed were not previously reported. Further, if tuberculous spondylitis is assumed as the most probable diagnosis, the case here presented represents one of the earliest skeletal evidence of this condition in Portugal. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Knee Ankyloses Associated with Tuberculosis from the Medieval Hungary – Differential Diagnosis Based on Medical Imaging Techniques

Osseous ankylosis of large joints that occurs secondary to infection is rarely described in developed countries, thanks to diagnostic techniques that allow early detection and treatment of the underlying infection. Evidence of the natural history and progression of the disease is now primarily studied through the observation and analysis of osteoarcheological specimens, and medical reports or books dating from the pre‐antibiotic era. This report illustrates several cases where modern medical imaging techniques and ancient medical literature were successfully interpreted to diagnose rare, advanced‐stage tuberculous alterations in osteoarcheological specimens. Two skeletons from the Bátmonostor cemetery (Hungary) demonstrate complete unilateral ankylosis of the knee. Macroscopic and radiographic examinations were undertaken to assess the extent of skeletal changes and determine their cause. Data obtained from computed tomography (CT) were constructed in 2D and 3D. The 2D CT images revealed cavities involving both the metaphyses and the epiphyses. The 3D reconstructions allowed us to reconstruct the more precise volumetric morphology of the circumscribed lytic lesions, as well as clear ‘image‐mirror’ lacunar volumes. On the basis of the macroscopic and radiological analyses, extra‐spinal tuberculous infection seems to have been the most probable etiology of these two cases. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

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

In later pre‐Columbian prehistory (post AD 1000), the adaptation and intensification of maize agriculture and its correlate of aggregate village settlement (i.e. Mississippianization) is temporally and geographically variable. In the Midwest, consequential to the florescence of the major ceremonial centre of Cahokia (AD 1050–1300), the Mississippi River Valley alluvial plain in Illinois, known as the American Bottom, became a core area of this subsistence‐settlement change. Much archaeological research has traced aspects of this transition in the Lower and Middle Illinois River Valley, but little is known outside of these areas. A skeletal sample from the remote hinterland area of the Upper Mississippi River in west‐central Illinois was examined for arguable paleopathological correlates of sedentism (treponemal disease) and Mississippianization (tuberculosis). The Schroeder Mounds (AD 900–1100) adult skeletal sample (N = 53) exhibited a high frequency of treponemal disease (13.2–15.1%). This result is consistent with paleopathological literature linking a 9+ % pre‐Columbian North American prevalence with sedentism, challenging archaeologically based inferences that the hinterland was occupied by mobile forager‐horticulturalists. A hallmark of Mississippianization is the presence of diagnostic cases of tuberculosis. No cases were observed in the Schroeder sample, suggesting a pre‐Mississippian subsistence‐settlement pattern. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.