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Anemia, genetic diseases, and malaria in prehistoric mainland southeast Asia
Author(s) -
Tayles Nancy
Publication year - 1996
Publication title -
american journal of physical anthropology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.146
H-Index - 119
eISSN - 1096-8644
pISSN - 0002-9483
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1096-8644(199609)101:1<11::aid-ajpa2>3.0.co;2-g
Subject(s) - prehistory , postcrania , mainland , southeast asia , geography , malaria , east asia , population , anemia , thalassemia , demography , ancient history , ethnology , history , archaeology , medicine , biology , pathology , ecology , china , genetics , sociology , taxon
The analysis of a sample of skeletons from the 4,000‐year‐old site of Khok Phanom Di on the coast of central Thailand has identified a number of individuals with skeletal evidence suggestive of severe anemia. The differential diagnosis of the lesions is discussed and the presence of one of the thalassemia syndromes is proposed. The implications of this for southeast Asian prehistory are discussed. The presence of these conditions has been suggested in previous analyses of prehistoric southeast Asian populations, but this is the first population in which the evidence, including post‐cranial responses, is presented in detail. © 1996 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.