148 • Juan R. Munizaga 



Disc hernia? An oval defect 10 mm wide and 5 mm deep 

 was found in the lower face of the 1 1 th dorsal vertebra body 

 and which communicated with the vertebral canal. A similar 

 but smaller injury was found in the upper face of the 12th 

 dorsal vertebra body. No reactive bone formation is ob- 

 served. 



Paraplegia. A symmetrical alteration in the shape of 

 femoral diaphysis was present in a male adult in the form of a 

 slight decrease of its diameter and several symmetrical de- 

 pressions of oval shape and longitudinal direction. It might 

 correspond to a bone involution produced by a paralysis of 

 the vastus medialis muscle, since in this individual the defect 

 occurred between the 11th and 12th dorsal vertebrae de- 

 scribed above and, owing to its opening to the spinal canal, it 

 might have involved the lumbar plexus, whose upper fibers 

 innervate that muscle. 



Alterations of the lumbar column. A case of incomplete 

 sacralization of the fifth lumbar vertebra and one of trans- 

 verse apophysis separated from the third? lumbar were 

 found. This diagnosis is based on the presence of slight joint 

 facets. Both trauma and hereditary defect are diagnostic pos- 

 sibilities (Stewart 1969:448). 



Periostitis. Signs such as longitudinal striations were ob- 

 served in long bones and, in some cases, deposits of thin 

 bone sheets on the outer table. 



Generalized infection. This was found in a female adult 

 whose lower limb bones appear thickened with an irregular 

 surface. 



Cholesteatoma. A globular widening of the auditory canal 

 with a thinning of the tympanic plate (Stewart 1979:268). 



GROUP III 



Pathologic signs of this group are shown in Table 2. 

 Injuries 



GROUP I 



The bone reactive patterns we have described are well known 

 and their relationship to the environment we have described 

 are apparent. When interpreting their elements, confusion 

 may arise concerning the boundaries existing between the 

 normal, plastic response and the pathological response. 



GROUP II 



Injuries described for this group may be analyzed under three 

 .separate headings according to their most general causes. 



GROWTH ALTERATIONS. Evidence arising from Harris' lines 

 and hypoplastic lines in the enamel of this population is 



rather contradictory and, based on such evidence, it would be 

 impossible to provide a clear diagnosis of poor health condi- 

 tions during childhood. 



ACCIDENTS. The presence of traumatic accidents caused by 

 aggression are minimal in this population, since the only 

 available trace of intentional blows appears in an individual 

 whose origin must be sought in inland populations where the 

 signs of violence appearing in the skulls range between 4 and 

 18% (Munizaga 1974:38). The remaining injuries falling un- 

 der this heading seem to correspond to accidents during work 

 activities. Thus, the rib fractures, disc herniation and associ- 

 ated paraplegia, and even the lumbar column malformations 

 we have described may have these causes, as well as infec- 

 tions whose origin seems to be located in the legs. The latter 

 can be understood if we remember that the highest risk was 

 run by individuals of this group while sailing in rafts made of 

 inflated hides, their legs being the most exposed parts of their 

 bodies. An author who observed these rafts in 1780 tells us 

 that "sometimes it happens that dolphins, sharks or other 

 large fish puncture them and fishermen are left in a dangerous 

 situation" (Bittmann et al. 1980:70). 



ENVIRONMENTAL ACTION. We would have to analyze chol- 

 esteatoma under a separate heading. Stewart (1979:268), 

 who is perhaps the only one who has recorded it, describes a 

 pattern of differential distribution for Eskimos and Aleuts on 

 the one hand, among which he has recognized 15 cases, and 

 the more southern natives on the other hand, where he only 

 mentions one case coming from Peru. Based on the medical 

 evidence available for diseases of the ear in the present popu- 

 lations of Alaska, he poses the possibility that this pathologic 

 condition might correspond to a cholesteatoma and that it 

 may be related to the cold weather of the Arctic region. 



The finding of a case in tropical latitudes is, therefore, 

 hard to explain. Nevertheless, we have found two other cases 

 showing this pathological condition in pre-Columbian indi- 

 viduals of coastal populations in the vicinity of the one we 

 have described (Pisagua and Cobija). Then, considering the 

 number of cases examined for this area, their frequency in 

 Alaska and the arid coast of Chile is likely to be similar. In 

 addition, if we remember that the fishermen we have de- 

 scribed dive in the waters of the Humboldt current with its 

 characteristic low temperatures, the causal agent may also be 

 the same. 



GROUP III 



I am not certain about the causes of the injurious effects we 

 have described in this group, but various hypotheses may be 

 posed about their origin. I think that they may be explained 

 by three patterns of bone reaction. 



Zagreb Paleopathology Symp. 1988 



