Abstract
Paleopathology contributes to the knowledge of health and disease in past populations. In the case of tuberculosis, paleopathological research contributes to a better understanding of the antiquity and spread of the disease around the globe, as well as in Portugal. These aspects are the objectives of this work. Genomic research on the Koch bacillus indicates a co-evolution with African Homo sapiens. However, macroscopic, microscopic, imaging and biomolecular analyzes of human skeletal remains suggest that tuberculosis (TB) began to affect humans during the Neolithic period. For several decades the paleopathological diagnosis of tuberculosis was essentially based on the identification of Pott’s disease. More recently, the study of identified skeletal collections has revealed a statistically significant association between both new bone formation on the visceral surface of the ribs and hypertrophic osteoarthropathy and cause of death by pulmonary tuberculosis. Therefore, these skeletal signs have been used to assist in the differential diagnosis of pulmonary TB. Portugal, as in many other countries, notably European countries, was greatly affected by tuberculosis. However, the paleopathological record in the national territory can be considered quite scarce. Amongst the 8000 individuals studied from archaeological excavations, only 81 have bone changes compatible with the disease. Continued research on human and animal osteological remains will certainly bring new developments concerning the antiquity, evolution and spread of tuberculosis across populations and continents.
Highlights
IntroductionPaleopathology is the study (logos) of ancient (paleo) suffering or disease (páthos)
Paleopathology is the study of ancient suffering or disease
Its first documented use was in 1892 by the physician and ornithologist Robert Wilson Shufeldt (1850–1934) who proposed this term, that “[...] described all diseased or pathological conditions found fossilized in the remains of extinct or fossil animals” (1893: 679). It is considered as a subdiscipline of Biological Anthropology (Jurmain et al, 2017) and focuses on the study of the history of diseases following the biocultural approach, i.e. biological data are interpreted within appropriate cultural contexts which include relevant details of the historical development, local geography, and material Short history of tuberculosis culture of the people whose remains are under examination (Roberts and Man-In humans, TB may be a chronic or chester, 1995; Suby, 2015; Grauer, 2018). acute infection of bone and/or soft tis
Summary
Paleopathology is the study (logos) of ancient (paleo) suffering or disease (páthos). Its first documented use was in 1892 by the physician and ornithologist Robert Wilson Shufeldt (1850–1934) who proposed this term, that “[...] described all diseased or pathological conditions found fossilized in the remains of extinct or fossil animals” (1893: 679). During the 19th century, TB and about TB through time It is “scrofula” survived as an adjective, e.g., accepted that the disease may attack any “scrofulous tumours”, but after Koch dis- part of the human body and the infeccovered the M. tuberculosis bacillus in tion is mainly caused by M. tuberculosis, 1882 the word ceased to be used in cur- M. africanum and M. canetti, but at least rent medical contexts and was relegated seven other species, that are part of the to medical history (French, 1993)
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