14 • Susan Pfeiffer 



the incidence of the trait from such evidence. Hence, pal- 

 eopathology can show us that this trait, which is a common 

 developmental anomaly in many species, is ancient in hu- 

 mans; it can even suggest that ancient humans thought it 

 noteworthy. It is unlikely to tell us anything new about Poly- 

 dactyly. 



Congenital dislocation of the hip, which is especially com- 

 mon among certain Canadian native groups (6% among 

 Cree-Ojibway; Corrigan and Segal 1950; Walker 1975), has 

 also been documented in prehistoric remains (Clabeaux 

 1977). Several authors have postulated that hip dislocations, 

 sometimes incorrectly considered a correlate of generalized 

 joint laxity {Walker 1975), represent a genetic tendency exac- 

 erbated by cradle-boarding. Contemporary cross-cultural 

 studies have been inconclusive (see Sievers and Fisher 1981 

 for discussion). A comparison of incidence between pre- 

 historic Cree-Ojibway remains and contemporary popula- 

 tions would offer valuable evidence regarding the effect of 

 cradle-board binding on hip development. However, no sub- 

 stantial Cree-Ojibway samples have been excavated to date. 

 A number of small samples would need to be combined and 

 compared carefully to gather accurate incidence data. 



Rheumatoid arthritis is another example of a congenital 

 tendency which may be exacerbated by environmental condi- 

 tions. Its contemporary incidence is particularly high among 

 Haida Indians of the Northwest Coast (Gofton et al. 1964; 

 Lawrence et al. 1966). The absence of reported prehistoric 

 cases has led some authors to suggest a recent origin for the 

 condition, perhaps triggered by some environmental change 

 (Short 1974). However, it is more likely that the absence of 

 paleopathological cases is due to uncertainty of the diagnosis 

 of rheumatoid versus traumatic arthritis or degenerative joint 

 disease (DJD). Progress is now being made in differentiating 

 the two (cf. Leisen 1986). Since relatively large isolated 

 prehistoric skeletal samples are accessible from the geograph- 

 ic areas in question, it may now be possible to use paleopatho- 

 logical evidence (or lack of evidence) to elucidate which 

 environmental factors are relevant to the development of 

 rheumatoid arthritis in these native groups (cf. Cybulski 1978). 



groups are especially susceptible to the condition when 

 bottle-feeding is practiced. The potential relevance of pal- 

 eopathology to the problem of otitis media has recently been 

 argued by Daniel et al. ( 1988). 



Tuberculosis has been a great source of native mortality in 

 historic times, and it continues to be found more commonly 

 among natives than among non-natives (Enarson and 

 Grzybowski 1986). In 1975, native deaths from tuberculosis 

 were8.3 times higher than the U.S. national average (Sievers 

 and Fisher 1981). This increased susceptibility was first 

 thought to reflect the natives' virgin immunological status 

 upon European contact (cf. Dubos 1965). However, the dis- 

 covery of acid-fast bacilli in indisputably pre-Columbian 

 mummified tissue (Allison et al. 1973) disproved this idea. 

 Evidence of tuberculous-type lesions in various pre- and pro- 

 tohistoric native samples is accumulating (cf. Pfeiffer 1984; 

 Hartney 1 98 1 ; Perzigian and Widmer 1978; Clark etal. 1987). 

 Paleopathological studies indicate a lack of probable tuber- 

 culosis among highly mobile , broadly dispersed ( low-density) 

 populations, but a wide range of disease incidence among 

 more sedentary, village-living (high-density) populations. 



The variability in disease incidence among the latter 

 groups approximates that of an epidemic wave in some areas, 

 such as southern Ontario (Pfeiffer 1984). Thus, paleopathol- 

 ogy has demonstrated the error of the earlier "virgin immune 

 status" assumption, and has demonstrated that tuberculosis 

 occurred prehistorically under the same kinds of environ- 

 mental stresses that cause problems today: poor hygiene, 

 crowding, and poor nutrition. This information is very rele- 

 vant to the current debate regarding whether certain ethnic 

 groups with high rates of infection are genotypically unique, 

 with respect to HLA haplotypes, for example (Ottenhoff et 

 al. 1986). This would appear to be a clear case of predictive 

 relevance for paleopathology. However, in fairness one must 

 add that the paleopathological evidence is not well known by 

 nonanthropological researchers. 



Relevance of paleopathology to other 

 metabolic conditions 



Relevance of paleopathology 

 to infectious diseases 



Otitis media is a common affliction among the children of 

 many Indian groups, and as many as one-third of the children 

 in some Inuit villages have chronic infection of the middle 

 ear (Brody et al. 1965). The condition, which can cause 

 permanent hearing impairment, appears to be tied to bottle- 

 feeding in infancy (Schaefer 1971 ), possibly exacerbated by 

 a particularly short, straight eustachian tube (Timmermans 

 and Gerson 1980). It seems improbable that paleopathologi- 

 cal evidence could be gathered relevant to its prehistoric 

 incidence, which should, indeed, be nil. However, study of 

 the normal auditory bulla of native crania in comparison to 

 those of other racial groups might help to explain why native 



The discussion thus far has not addressed the central group of 

 contemporary maladies, the "New World Syndrome." Nor 

 has it addressed certain ubiquitous skeletal conditions of pre- 

 historic natives which seem not to pertain to contemporary 

 health problems. 



Studies of cortical bone quality of prehistoric natives have 

 frequently demonstrated low adult bone mass (Pfeiffer and 

 King 1983; Mazess 1966; Thompson and Guinness-Hey 

 1981) and relatively rapid rates of adult cortical bone loss 

 (Ruff and Hayes 1983). 



Erickscn has summarized the results of several studies of 

 North American Indian femora, all of which indicate an adult 

 rate of loss greater than that seen in modem black or white 

 groups. The calculation of a bone loss rate is dependent on 

 accurate ages at death, and there is a tendency for most 



Zagreb Paleopathology Symp. 1988 



