126 • Jerome C. Rose and Philip Hartnady 



the 6% is a conservative estimate of the 

 frequency of tuberculosis. 



The final lesion complex to be dis- 

 cussed is the age-cumulative increase 

 in healed infections of the lower leg. 

 The location of the tibia just below the 

 skin makes it vulnerable to frequent in- 

 troductions of bacteria from relatively 

 inconsequential accidental wounds 

 (Ortnerand Putschar 1981:132). Thus, 

 the frequency of tibia infections should 

 increase under conditions of reduced 

 resistance to disease where the reduc- 

 tion of the body's defense mechanisms 

 permits the infectious agents to become 

 established. Periostitis of the tibia is 

 frequently found in archeologically 

 derived skeletal collections (Ortner 

 and Putschar 1981:131; Steinbock 

 1976:82). in contrast, we have found 

 periostitis of the fibula to be propor- 

 tionally less frequent in prehistoric 

 American skeletal samples (i.e., 50% 

 or less than the tibia rate) and interpret 

 the infections of the fibula as being as- 

 sociated with either major leg trauma or 

 spread of infection from the tibia. 

 Thus, increases in fibula infections can 

 be used to indicate a reduction in dis- 

 ease resistance. The age-specific fre- 

 quencies of adult healed tibia infections 

 range between 56 and 90%, while the 

 fibula rates range between 33 and 100% 

 (Table 3). The virtual absence of active 

 lower leg infections indicates that these 

 lesions were not associated with the 

 cause of death, but represent previous 

 episodes from which the individuals re- 

 covered. Both the high frequency of 

 tibia and fibula periostitis and the con- 

 cordance of rates between the two 

 bones suggest diminished disease re- 

 sistance among the people of Cedar 

 Grove. This interpretation is consistent 

 with the historical literature which sug- 

 gests poor diet and high stress for Afro- 

 Americans in the post-Reconstruction 

 South. 



Conclusions 



In this analysis of the Cedar Grove in- 

 fection data we have attempted to 

 achieve two goals: first, to improve our 

 understanding of Afro-American dis- 

 ease patterns in the post-Reconstruc- 

 tion period of southwest Arkansas, and 

 second, to demonstrate that paleo- 

 demographic and paleopathological 

 analysis can provide interpretations 

 compatible with historic interpreta- 

 tions. The Cedar Grove skeletal de- 

 mography is in excellent concordance 

 with the census data. There was high 

 infant mortality (27.5%), high frequen- 

 cy of stillbirths (6.2%), and high adult 

 mortality with average ages of death at 

 41 years for males and 38 years for 

 females. Skeletal evidence for dietary 

 deficiencies including iron, vitamins D 

 and C, and protein are in agreement 

 with the historical reconstructions. 



The distribution of proliferative le- 

 sions by affected bones of the skeleton 

 and age indicates the presence of four 

 major disease clusters. The systemic 

 infections among the neonates indicate 

 the presence of widespread congenital 

 syphilis. Although the classic stigmata 

 of venereal syphilis are not found 

 among the adults, the presence of le- 

 sions on the bones of the arm is sugges- 

 tive. The peak mortality at 18 months 

 and an associated increase in prolifera- 

 tive lesions indicate the presence of the 

 weanling diarrhea syndrome and, by 

 implication, protein deficiency. A dra- 

 matic age-cumulative increase in 

 healed lesions of the tibia and fibula 

 indicates continued adult malnutrition 

 and high overall stress loads. The fre- 

 quent rib infections are consistent with 

 a high frequency of pulmonary tuber- 

 culosis. All of these conclusions are 

 compatible with the interpretations pro- 

 duced by historical analysis of the doc- 

 umentary data. 



Acknowledgments 



Financial support for the Cedar Grove 

 Cemetery excavation and analysis was 

 provided by the U.S. Army Corps of 

 Engineers, New Orleans District, to the 

 Arkansas Archeological Survey and the 

 senior author. 



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