Abstract
The term avian osteopetrosis is used to describe alterations to the skeletal elements of several species of domestic bird, most typically the chicken, Gallus gallus domesticus (L. 1758). Such lesions are routinely identified in animal bones from archaeological sites due to their distinctive appearance, which is characterised by proliferative diaphyseal thickening. These lesions are relatively uncomplicated for specialists to differentially diagnose and are caused by a range of avian leucosis viruses in a series of subgroups. Only some avian leucosis viruses cause the development of such characteristic lesions in osteological tissue. Viraemia is necessary for the formation of skeletal pathology, and avian osteopetrosis lesions affect skeletal elements at different rates. Lesion expression differs by the age and sex of the infected individual, and environmental conditions have an impact on the prevalence of avian leucosis viruses in poultry flocks. These factors have implications for the ways in which diagnosed instances of avian osteopetrosis in archaeological assemblages are interpreted. By integrating veterinary research with archaeological evidence for the presence of avian leucosis viruses across Western Europe, this paper discusses the nature of these pathogens, outlines criteria for differential diagnosis, and offers a fresh perspective on the human‐aided movement of animal disease in the past through investigation of the incidence and geographic distribution of avian osteopetrosis lesions from the first century BC to the post‐medieval period. © 2017 The Authors International Journal of Osteoarchaeology Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
Highlights
Viral diseases of domestic animals impacted past human communities in often severe ways
Without advanced genetic investigations and the application of direct dating methods to archaeological lesions, it is not yet possible to reconstruct the precise spatial and temporal origins of avian leucosis viruses (ALVs) and avian osteopetrosis, as avian bone can be quite mobile with respect to archaeological stratigraphy (Lebrasseur et al, In press)
This paper has considered the nature of ALVs, the bony lesions arising from infection, provisional differential diagnosis of lesions, and the role of human involvement, especially transportation of pathogens and application of husbandry methods, in the occurrence of avian osteopetrosis
Summary
Viral diseases of domestic animals impacted past human communities in often severe ways. One possible instance of archaeological avian osteopetrosis has been recorded in a cranium from Mogador, Morocco (Becker et al, 2013: 68) This element is one of the last to show skeletal lesions, and if this individual was suffering from ALV infection, they would have survived for approximately six months based on the rate of progression documented by Holmes (1961: 368). Archaeological avian osteopetrosis lesions are not evenly distributed across the skeleton, and the most frequently affected element is the tibiotarsus, followed by the humerus In addition to their high survivability, comparatively large size and the ease with which they can be identified, both of these elements are amongst the first to show skeletal lesions resulting from infection by ALVs (Holmes, 1961: 370). These elements are large and survive both taphonomic and excavation processes reasonably well (Ericson, 1987); they are often less complicated to identify to taxon than axial elements, phalanges, and ribs
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