250 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [bull. 118 



healing must, of course, have resulted in a great shortening of the leg 

 (pi. 140, o). 



An example of Paget's disease of the bone was found in a skull 

 fragment from Site No. 20. The fragment showed clearly the mas- 

 sive thickening and great density which is characteristic of that dis- 

 ease (pi. 140, ~b). 



Frequent examples of hypertrophic arthritis were found in the 

 miscellaneous vertebrae from Site No. 20. It will be recalled that in 

 the burials in this site the bones were not in anatomical order but 

 had been thrown promiscuously into a pit in great confusion so that 

 individual skeletons were not determinable. Many of the vertebrae 

 were fused and many showed extensive lipping on the cephalic and 

 caudal anterior edges and heavy deposits on the anterior surfaces. 



Other pathological conditions encountered are those which have 

 been commonly reported from many prehistoric sites and do not 

 warrant special mention. Various types of osteomyelitis and periosti- 

 tis are frequently noted and are interesting only in that they indicate 

 that pre-Columbian man was subject to many of the same diseases 

 found in civilized man today, and it may be assumed that these osteo- 

 logical conditions were due to the same causes — trauma, pyrogenic 

 infection, tuberculosis, and perhaps even syphilis. 



Asymmetry is common, but so far as we can discover has no patho- 

 logical cause, even though the deformity is often so great that it must 

 have given the individual a most peculiar appearance. Such an exam- 

 ple is shown in the norma verticalis of the skull from Burial No. 5 of 

 Site No. 19 (pi. 146, a). 



Dental Pathology 



The results of the study of the dental pathology of the Norris Basin 

 material agree entirely with the results of similar studies which have 

 been made on other groups of aborigines in the Mississippi Valley. 



The teeth are, in general, in bad condition, worse than those of the 

 average civilized man of today. In spite of the common notion to 

 the contrary, it is evident that these primitive people had as many 

 and as varied troubles with their teeth as do the civilized races. 

 Pathological conditions in the teeth are extremely common and repre- 

 sent most of the diseases and malformations found in modern man. 



By far the most noticeable condition is the great abrasion shown 

 in practically all of the teeth of adults. By the time the individual 

 had reached middle life the teeth had become so worn that the cusps 

 had often entirely disappeared and the enamel lost from the whole 

 surface. 



Irregular occlusion is very common. The usual type seems to be a 

 projection of the lower mandible so that the inner surface of the lower 

 and the outer surface of the incisors are much worn. 



