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Brief communication: Paleopathology of the Kiik‐Koba 1 Neandertal
Author(s) -
Trinkaus Erik,
Maley Blaine,
Buzhilova Alexandra P.
Publication year - 2008
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.20833
Subject(s) - context (archaeology) , lesion , diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis , paleopathology , pathological , patella , anatomy , hyperostosis , pathology , medicine , biology , ossification , paleontology
The Kiik‐Koba 1 Neandertal partial skeleton (canine, partial hands, partial leg, and feet), of a ≈40‐year‐old probable male, exhibits a suite of pathological lesions, including hypercementosis, minor fibrous ossifications, pedal phalangeal fracture, and pronounced enthesopathies on the patella and calcanei in the context of no articular degenerations. The first two sets of lesions are related to age in the context of advanced dental attrition and physical strains. The third lesion joins a series of healed minor traumatic lesions among the Neandertals. The last represents either pronounced tendinous inflammation, albeit in the context of no articular degenerations, or a case of diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis (DISH) in the Late Pleistocene. Kiik‐Koba 1 therefore adds to the high incidence of pathological lesions among the Neandertals and, if a diagnosis of DISH is correct, to a high frequency of this disorder among older Neandertals. Am J Phys Anthropol, 2008. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.