Bioarchaeology International

Exploring the Evolution of Trypanosoma cruzi and the Emergence of Chagas Disease in the Context of Environmental Change

Aida R. Barbera — 2024-07-15

The Stockholm Paradigm is an evolutionary synthesis that explains the emergence of novel pathogens in the context of environmental disturbances. Considering the urgent climate change situation, anticipation stands as key to prevent and mitigate the effects that climate change can have in the emergence of pathogens. However, the success of preventive measures is hindered by a limited knowledge of the interplaying dynamics between biology, environment, and culture leading to emerging infectious diseases. For many decades, bioarcheologists have been gathering data on past human–environment interactions, therefore contributing to the conversation. Archaeoparasitology, at the intersection between pathology, bioarchaeology, and biology, is uniquely placed to enquire about the circumstances that favored the emergence of novel pathogens in the past. We illustrate this task by reviewing the existing knowledge on the evolution of Trypanosoma cruzi and emergence of Chagas disease. When the scholarship on Chagas is completed with the lessons learned from the Stockholm Paradigm, this provides a long-term perspective on environmental change and human relations leading to the emergence of an infectious disease.

Documenting the Presence of Chagas Disease in Prehistoric North America

Karl J. Reinhard — 2024-07-17

The DAMA protocol (Document, Assess, Monitor, Act) is the applied aspect of the Stockholm Paradigm. Evidence from archaeology and history of medicine has a demonstrated value in documenting infection risk for specific study areas. Bioarchaeological remains and historical documents show vivid examples of pathology related to the Chagas disease life cycle. The science of archaeology defines the lifestyles that created risk of triatomine kissing bug infestations and trypanosome protozoa infections. Paleogenetics, in the form of molecular analyses of Trypanosoma cruzi, elucidate the temporal origins of genetic variants and adaptation to human environments. We illustrate how these fields reveal the risk of Chagas disease for the deserts of North America. Paleogenetics define the very ancient spread of T. cruzi in North America that put Paleoamericans at infection risk. Mummy studies and detailed examination of landscape archaeology detail an Archaic lifestyle that put humans at risk. Medical entomological investigations of archaeological parks, with descriptions of observed pathology, fill in the picture of prehistoric agricultural town association with the Chagas disease life cycle. The approach is detailed in this article.

El aspecto aplicado del Paradigma de Estocolmo es el protocolo DAMA (Documentar, Analizar, Monitorear, Actuar). La información obtenida a través de la arqueología y la historia de la medicina es de un valor incalculable a la hora de documentar el riesgo de infección en áreas de estudio. Tanto la bioarqueología como los documentos históricos evidencian casos de patologías relacionadas con la enfermedad del Chagas en el pasado. La información obtenida por la arqueología, por su lado, nos muestra qué condiciones socia les y culturales crearon casos específicos de riesgo de infestación de un insecto triatoma conocido como “vinchuca” y transmisor del parásito responsable del Chagas. Por su lado, los análisis paleogenéticos del Trypanosoma cruzi nos ayudan a entender los orígenes de la evolución de las diferentes formas infecciosas del parásito y su adaptación en entornos humanos. En el siguiente artículo demostramos como estas informaciones aclaran el riesgo de infección para Chagas en los desiertos de Norte América. Así pues, los estudios en paleogenética junto con la arqueoparasitológía de momias definen los más antiguos orígenes del T. cruzi en Norte América. Los estudios del paisaje nos ayudan a detallar los comportamientos sociales y culturales que puso en riesgo de infección a las sociedades arcaicas. Investigaciones en entomología médica, con sus correspondientes patologías, en el personal trabajador en sitios y centros de interpretación arqueológicos nos muestra como en el pasado estos yacimientos pudieron estar asociados a la enfermedad del Chagas.

Desert Dust and City Smoke

Anna Davies-Barrett — 2023-05-17

This study investigates the impact of urbanization and aridification on prevalence rates of lower respiratory tract disease in archaeological populations from the Middle Nile Valley. Evidence for pulmonary/pleural inflammation, in the form of inflammatory periosteal reaction (IPR) on the visceral surfaces of the ribs, was recorded in humanskeletal remains (452 adult/adolescent individuals, 17+ years) recovered from 12 Middle Nile Valley sites, dating from the Kerma to Medieval periods (c. 2500 B.C.–1500 A.D.). Results reveal that the urban Middle Nile Valley group presented a significantly higher prevalence rate of IPR than the rural group. Increased population density, household crowding and social mixing, poorer sanitation, and greater air, food, and water pollution may have all contributed to a high prevalence of lower respiratory tract inflammation in urban groups. To further investigate the impact of aridification and the desert environment on respiratory health, all available data from other published prevalence studies of rib IPR in adults from around the world were also collated and grouped according to Köppen climate classification. A significant difference was observed between populations from arid/semi-arid environments and populations from temperate environments. While a number of confounding factors may be involved, this result could be indicative of the impact of arid environments on respiratory health (now becoming apparent in modern clinical research). Further bioarchaeological studies of populations from different climatic and environmental conditions would be timely, considering the current concerns with climate change, including aridification and its global impact on not just respiratory health but a wide range of conditions.

تبحث هذه الدراسة في تأثير اتساع الرقعة الحضرية والجفاف على معدلات انتشار أمراض الجهاز التنفسي السفلي في التجمعات الأثرية
في وادي النيل الأوسط. تم تسجيل أدلة على وجود إلتهاب رئوي /جنبي ، في شكل تفاعل سمحاقي إلتهابي (IPR) على الأسطح الحشوية
للأضلاع ، في بقايا هياكل عظمية بشرية ) 452 فردًا بالغًا / مراهقاً ، 17 عامًا فما فوق( تم استردادها من 12 موقعًا في وادي النيل الأوسط ،
يعود تاريخها من كرمة إلى العصور الوسطى )حوالي 2500 قبل الميلاد– 1500 ميلادي(. كشفت النتائج أن مجموعة وادي النيل الأوسط
الحضرية أظهرت معدل انتشار أعلى بكثير للإلتهاب السمحاقي من المجموعة الريفية. قد تكون زيادة الكثافة السكانية ، والاكتظاظ
المنزلي والاختلاط الاجتماعي ،بالإضافة إلى الصرف الصحي السيء، وزيادة تلوث الهواء والغذاء والماء قد ساهمت جميعها في الإنتشار

العالي لإلتهاب الجهاز التنفسي السفلي في المجموعات الحضرية. لمزيد من التحقيق في تأثير الجفاف والبيئة الصحراوية على صحة
الجهاز التنفسي ، تم أيضًا تجميع جميع البيانات المتاحة من كل الدراسات الأخرى المنشورة عن انتشار الإلتهاب السمحاقي عند البالغين
من جميع أنحاء العالم وتجميعها وفقًا لتصنيف كوبن للمناخ. لوحظ فرق كبير بين السكان من البيئات القاحلة / شبه القاحلة والسكان من
البيئات المعتدلة. في حين أنه قد يكون هناك عدد من العوامل المؤثرة ، يمكن أن تكون هذه النتيجة مؤشرا على تأثير البيئات القاحلة على
صحة الجهاز التنفسي )أصبح ذلك الآن واضحا في البحوث السريرية الحديثة(. مزيد من الدراسات البيولوجية الأثرية للسكان من ظروف
مناخية وبيئية مختلفة سوف تكون في وقتها، مع الأخذ في الاعتبار المخاوف الحالية بشأن تغير المناخ ، بما في ذلك الجفاف وتأثيره
العالمي ، الذي لا يتناول فقط صحة الجهاز التنفسي ، بل يشتمل على مجموعة متعددة من الظروف.و

Resilience and Climate Instability at the Beginning of the Middle Horizon (550–800 A.D.)

Maricarmen Vega — 2024-03-05

This article presents a study of the relationship between violence and climate stress in the Lima culture, a pre-Hispanic society of the Peruvian central coast, which developed approximately between 200 and 800 A.D. Different investigations have shown that around 550–750 A.D., the Peruvian coast experienced strong El Niño events that created environmental and social stress scenarios for coastal pre-Hispanic societies. Our data show that although evidence supports the presence of at least one powerful El Niño event on the central coast around 600 A.D., this episode of climatic stress related to extensive flood deposits seems to have not had a direct effect on the levels of interpersonal and intergroup violence recorded at Lima culture sites during this period. The prevalence of cranial trauma seems to have decreased during this time compared with the previous phase (from 50% to 25% in males and from 40% to 15.7% in females). The pattern and lethality of the lesions suggest that they were primarily produced in nonlethal face-to-face encounters, although some individuals could have also been victims of raiding. However, even though interpersonal/intergroup violence did not rise during this period of climatic stress, more complicated and ritualized manifestations of violence arose instead. Further comparisons of these findings with other Andean regions showed that coastal pre-Hispanic societies reacted in different ways to these challenging climate events. Through cooperation and an effective social, political, and economic reorganization, the Limas coped with a challenging period.

Este artículo presenta un estudio sobre la relación entre violencia y estrés climático en la cultura Lima, una sociedad prehispánica de la costa central del Perú, la cual se desarrolló aproximadamente entre 200-800 AD. Diversas investigaciones han mostrado que alrededor de 550-750 AD la costa peruana experimentó fuertes eventos de El Niño que causaron escenarios de estrés social y ambiental para las sociedades prehispánicas costeras. Nuestros datos muestran que, aunque la evidencia apoya la presencia de al menos un evento de El Niño muy severo alrededor de 600 AD, este episodio relacionado con extensos depósitos aluviales no tuvo un efecto directo en los niveles de violencia interpersonal registrados en sitios de la cultura Lima durante este periodo. La prevalencia de trauma craneal parece haber decrecido durante este tiempo en comparación con periodos previos (de 50% a 25% en individuos masculinos y de 40% a 15.7% en femeninos). El patrón de letalidad de las lesiones sugiere que estas fueron producidas principalmente en encuentros no letales cara a cara, aunque algunos individuos pudieron ser víctimas de incursiones. Sin embargo, aun cuando la violencia interpersonal no aumentó durante este periodo de estrés climático, sí aumentaron las manifestaciones más ritualizadas y complejas de violencia. Comparaciones adicionales de estos hallazgos con otras regiones andinas muestra que las sociedades costeras prehispánicas reaccionaron de diferentes formas a estos desafiantes eventos climáticos. Aparentemente, los lima pudieron superar este difícil periodo por medio de la cooperación y una efectiva reorganización social, política y económica.

Physical Impairment or Disability?

Meghan D. Langlois — 2024-07-23

Disability is part of the human experience, yet until recently, the lived experiences of individuals affected by physical impairment have been overlooked in bioarchaeological studies. Disability is a social construct; how we define disability is culturally specific, which makes identifying disability in archaeological contexts difficult. However, by defining disability as the inability to function within expected lifeways, it is possible to examine the effects of physical impairment on lived experiences and explore the construction of disability in historic contexts. Using a biocultural lens and robust cultural contextualization, this study examines the ability to function of three middle- to upper-class adult females from Grote Kerk, Alkmaar, the Netherlands (A.D. 1716–1830), with diagnoses of permanent, bilateral developmental dysplasia of the hip (DDH). DDH results from an abnormality in the hip joint’s size, shape, or orientation and, when untreated, leads to loss of normal joint function and deteriorating quality of life. While DDH probably resulted in limited mobility and pain for all three individuals analyzed in the present study, there is little evidence to support disablement in the form of social restrictions. The findings add to the ongoing discussion of historic disability by examining the intersection of socioeconomic status, sex, and physical impairment in a post-medieval Dutch population and add data that can be used in estimating historic prevalence rates of DDH, which are variable across modern populations.

Forgotten Children

Megan Southorn — 2024-11-26

Fetal and infant skeletal remains in anatomical collections remain an underutilized yet important source of information on the interactions of gender, class, and religion during pregnancy and infant loss. The W. D. Trotter Anatomy Museum at the University of Otago in New Zealand, founded in the nineteenth century, houses more than 2,000 models and anatomical “specimens,” with many of the skeletal remains lacking provenience information. This research aimed to both provide an inventory of the fetal and infant skeletal remains and identify through archival analysis the social context of those whose remains were obtained by the museum. An osteological analysis was carried out to assess the minimum number of individuals (MNI), estimate age-at-death, and provide evidence
for pathology and dissection. The results are interpreted in the context of the archival accession data and historical information at the time to provide the social context in which these people lived and therefore information that may be related to their deaths and acquisition of their bodies by the university. Most of the infants within the collection died around the time of full-term
birth, and some individuals have evidence for developmental pathology, birth trauma, and/or postmortem dissection. The historical context and legislation around body donation suggests structural inequality played a role in the acquisition of these infants’ remains from mothers (primarily poor and/or unmarried women) and that these remains went through a process of commodification and objectification and were retained as developmental teaching “specimens” and examples of pathology.