Epidemiological aspects of paleopathology in Denmark • 141 



were not paid much attention there, but professor of anatomy 

 Dr. Fr. C.C. Hansen was one of the few who became inter- 

 ested in physical anthropology. He was a coauthor of Cra/i(« 

 Groenkmdica (Furst and Hansen 1915) but is probably best 

 known in the paleopathological world for his work on the 

 remains of 25 skeletons of Norsemen excavated at Herjolfnes 

 in Greenland (Hansen 1924). 



From written sources we know that the Norsemen settled 

 in Greenland in the middle of the 10th century, but we also 

 know that they perished for some reason, probably during the 

 15th century. Theories on their disappearance have been pro- 

 posed, such as: the Norsemen were killed by the Eskimos, 

 the Norsemen may have become assimilated with the 

 Eskimos, the Norsemen may have sailed away, or the Norse- 

 men died from starvation. In spite of several studies, it is 

 interesting that nobody has ever been able to confirm any of 

 the theories and no satisfactory explanation has ever been 

 advanced of how the medieval Norse settlers in Greenland 

 perished. On the contrary, several findings from studies of 

 the Norsemen's environment have shown that none of the 

 theories above can stand alone. 



After studying the skeletons from a churchyard at Her- 

 jolfnes in the older East settlement of Greenland, Hansen, 

 however, drew the provoking conclusion that the Norsemen 

 became extinct owing to inbreeding. His conclusion was 

 based on the appearance of minor skeletal changes such 

 as osteophytes, caries, paradontosis, and similar changes 

 "commonly" seen in paleopathological studies. A pelvic 

 bone according to Hansen was marked with rachitic changes 

 but Fischer-M0ller ( 1942) later demonstrated that it was so 

 badly damaged and deformed by postmortem changes in the 

 grave that no clear conclusions could be drawn on the basis of 

 this material. From an anthropometric point of view, Hansen 

 furthermore based his conclusion on the small stature and 

 also the relatively small volume of the skulls. 



All the single cases on which Hansen based his theory 

 were later reexamined by Fischer-M0ller, who also studied 

 newly excavated skeletons of Norsemen from Greenland. 

 Fischer-Mrtllerwas able to reject almost ail the cases. Contr- 

 ary to Hansen he did not find any evidence of abnormal 

 degeneration as a result of inbreeding. It would be too exten- 

 sive to go into the details of Fischer-M0ller"s rejection of the 

 single cases here. A repetition of Hansen's concluding re- 

 marks would probably be useful in showing today's pal- 

 eopathologists how dangerous it can be to draw conclusions 

 from paleopathological studies without having long experi- 

 ence in studying skeletal changes and without having any 

 comparative studies to lean on, in order to learn which 

 changes are common and which are not. Hansen wrote: 



The vigorous northern race that originally colonized Green- 

 land degenerated in the course of the centuries under the in- 

 fluence of the hard and at last constantly deteriorating life 

 conditions and other unfavorable conditions, especially iso- 

 lation both intellectually, materially and as regards race 



Zaf^rrh Paleopathology Symp. I9HH 



hygiene. It became a race of small people, frail, physically 

 weakened, with many defects and pathologic conditions. 



That a race so small in number, so weakened both by in- 

 ternal and extemal unfavorable life conditions has neverthe- 

 less been able to stay so gallantly at its post so long, much 

 longer than was before conceived possible, speaks highly 

 of the original quality of the race. 



In the fight the Norse must no doubt have been superior 

 to the Eskimos, but the descendants of the people who 

 sailed "westward on the sea" in small open boats and set- 

 tled on the inclement shores of Greenland, defying nature 

 through centuries, often at war with one another, did not 

 succumb in struggle with men alone. Against constantly 

 more severe physical conditions, against cold and a slow 

 periodical starvation and in greater and greater isolation the 

 northem race could not at last defend itself. Influences of 

 nature which slowly and insidiously through the short life- 

 time of several generations undermined the vitality of the 

 race itself could in the long run only be conquered by help 

 from the main country and by an inflow of fresh blood to 

 give vitality to the enfeebled race. . . . This did not hap- 

 pen. ... Its doom was sealed by the ice of Greenland. 

 (Hansen 1924:520-521) 



The basis of this conclusion may be due to the investiga- 

 tor's poor knowledge of what is normally seen of so-called 

 pathological changes in skeletal studies. If Hansen was right 

 in his interpretation based on less severe degenerative traits 

 such as osteoarthritis, the whole human race should have 

 become extinct thousands or maybe millions of years ago. 

 Almost all adult skeletons show evidence of osteoarthritic 

 changes. 



When most paleopathologists first started the study of hu- 

 man skeletons, they probably remember how often they be- 

 came excited by bones with pathological changes, which 

 later turned out to be quite common and almost within the 

 frame of normality. It is probably evident to all that the study 

 of paleopathology demands both long experience and an ex- 

 tremely wide knowledge of the nonpathological variations. 

 Most colleagues of anthropology are specially trained in this 

 field and are familiar with the literature available. If we want 

 to exclude mistaken conclusions such as those Han.sen drew, 

 it is necessary to develop a strong and wide collaboration 

 between the anthropologists who have long experience in 

 skeletal studies and the specialists of the different medical 

 topics. 



It must be admitted that most anthropologists working in 

 the field of paleopathology arc clearly somewhat restricted 

 in their studies because of their relatively small experience in 

 modem anatomy and pathology. A collaboration with experts 

 in some medical fields is therefore highly recommended. It 

 is, however, not always a pathologist who is needed. Some- 

 times a specialist in orthopedic surgery, a clinical radiologist, 

 or a dentist may be the best person to involve in the different 

 cases. 



