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Pathology of Bedouin skeletal remains from two sites in Israel
Author(s) -
Goldstein Marcus S.,
Arensburg Baruch,
Nathan Hilel
Publication year - 1976
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/ajpa.1330450329
Subject(s) - crania , sacrum , scapula , clavicle , medicine , anatomy , rib cage , postcrania , skull , incidence (geometry) , maxilla , paleopathology , autopsy , tibia , biology , pathology , botany , physics , taxon , optics
Frequency of pathology and of some anomalies in skeletons of Bedouin living about 200 BP, uncovered in the Israeli Negev, is considered in relation to particular bone, sex, age‐group, and kinds of defects. The environment of the Bedouin in relation to his “health‐status” is noted. Two‐thirds of the skeletons had one or more different bones with defects. Incidence of crania with defects was: males, 26%; females, 18%; the highest incidence occurred at age 35–49. Alveolar abscesses occurred in 28% of maxillae, 9% of mandibles. Of the long bones, the tibia was most frequently affected (15%): swelling of the shaft, relatively common, was apparently caused by bejel, a non‐venereal form of syphilis, similar to yaws, endemic to the Bedouin. Forty‐eight percent had defective vertebrae, usually an arthritic manifestation of one kind or another; half of this group had defects in more than one region of the spine. Defects also occurred relatively frequently in the innominata, sacrum, scapula, and clavicle, mostly arthritic lesions except in the sacrum in which the percentage with sacral hiatus was high. Average age at death was, males, 43 years, females, 33 years (adults only), and 28 years for all ages.