242 • Robert D. Jurmain 



Table 1. Number of intact 

 long bones by side 



Clavicle Left 143 

 Right 148 



Radius 



Ulna 



Femur 



Tibia 



Fibula 



Grand Total: 



2047 



Figure 1. Intact human burial at Aia-329. 



ease, especially in the hands and feet. And, as the hands and 

 feet show the highest incidence of DJD, it can be reasoned 

 that many of these degenerative changes result from recur- 

 rent trauma. However, since precise differential diagnosis of 

 remodeled lesions of hand and foot bones is not feasible, this 

 study will focus upon those unambiguous changes found in 

 long bones. 



For all the long bones (including the clavicle, humerus, 

 radius, ulna, femur, tibia, and fibula) a total of 36 fractures 

 are seen in 2047 intact long bones (Table I ), yielding a com- 

 bined frequency of 1.8%. By far the most frequently frac- 

 tured elements are in the forearm with 13 fractures of radii 

 and l5of ulnae. Indeed, many of these fractures are probably 

 "parry" fractures and a predilection for left side involvement 

 is manifested (62% of radial and 60% of ulnar fractures are of 

 the left side). Further, five of these fractures did not fully 

 unite. Although they are seen clinically with some frequency, 

 ununited fractures are not that commonly ob.served in archeo- 

 logical materials. Stewart ( 1974) reports less than 10 cases 

 from a total sample of several thousand individuals. From the 

 large Libben collection ( > 1 300 individuals) only one further 

 case of nonunion has been observed. 



Thus, five additional involved elements in a single popula- 

 tion of 440 individuals deserves our consideration. The first 

 case, a male 30-35 years old, has ununited fractures of both 

 left forearm bones — although at different locations. The ulna 

 is fractured in the distal shaft, with the marrow cavity sealed, 

 but the most distal piece is missing. Comparison with the 

 right ulna indicates the injury occurred approximately 50 mm 

 above the distal end. The left radius is fractured farther up, 

 123 mm above the distal end, and is also ununited. Again, the 

 marrow cavity is completely sealed and a large reactive area 

 is seen where fibrous union' would have occurred. The prox- 

 imal piece, unfortunately is missing. Interestingly, in Stew- 

 art's review, only one other case of such double nonunion is 

 mentioned. 



1. Some authors (e.g., Ortner and Putschar 1981) prefer the term 

 "pseudarthrosis" for cases of nonunion where no new joint space is 

 fomicd. However, other researchers (Steinbock. pcrs. comm.) be- 

 lieve "fibrous union" is a more accurate term; here, the latter termi- 

 nology will be used. 



Zagreb Paleopalholog\ S\mp. 198S 



