Caroline Polet

Palatine sutures as age indicator: a controlled study in the elderly.

Abstract:  Vault sutures have proven their low reliability for estimating age at death in individual forensic science cases. We broke down the palatine sutures of 134 skulls (with known sex and age at time of death) into 15 subparts and 5 stages of fusion to obtain a mean coefficient of obliteration (Cp) which was then linked to five age classes. We completed this study with multiple regression equations of total palatine suture scores. We compared our results with those obtained using the Mann method on the one hand and classically segmented and scored ectocranial suture age determination methods on the other. Palatine sutures generally do not estimate age at death any better than cranial vault sutures. Despite the partly subjective aspect of suture study, palatine suture observation contributes additional information to age‐range estimation, especially in old and very old subjects where other methods lose their effectiveness.

A Healed Wound Caused by a Flint Arrowhead in a Neolithic Human Innominate from the Trou Rosette (Furfooz, Belgium)

A new case is described here of a wound caused by a flint arrowhead in the neolithic period. The specimen comes from a collective burial excavated last century in the cave Trou Rosette (Belgium). It consists of a fragment of left adult ilium. The fragment of arrowhead is located in a rounded cavity which is open in the medial surface of the bone. The CT scan and the artefact study allow us to reconstruct the scenario of the accident. The arrow pierced the musculus gluteus of the individual prior fixing in the iliac blade. The arrow tip broke at the moment of impact; its tang broke either at the moment of impact or during attempts to extract the arrow.

A secondary mandibular condylar articulation and collateral effects on a Late Neolithic mandible from Bois Madame rockshelter in Arbre, Belgium

A Neolithic Belgian mandible from Bois Madame rockshelter in Arbre presents an asymmetrical morphology resulting from a secondary, or false, articulation of the right mandibular condyle. The pathological articulation produced enlarged masseter, medial pterygoid and mylohyoid musculature on the right side as well as a flattening of the right incisal alveolus curvature. The secondary condylar articulation did not lead to pronounced asymmetry of attrition on the antimeres of the dental arcade. This is the most complete mandible from this Late Neolithic collective burial dating to the beginning of the Bronze Age circa 4000 years BP. It is possible that a fall or blow to the mental symphysis during early adolescence could have resulted in the partial intrusion of the mandibular condyle into the articulation disc of the temporomandibular joint capsule. When the affected condyle healed, a secondary, but serviceable articulation developed, producing unique stresses on the involved muscular tissue and ultimately resulted in an asymmetry of mandibular form.

An interdisciplinary study around the reliquary of the late cardinal Jacques de Vitry

The reliquary of Jacques de Vitry, a prominent clergyman and theologian in the early 13th century, has experienced several transfers over the last centuries, which seriously question the attribution of the remains to the late Cardinal. Uncertainty about the year of his birth poses an additional question regarding his age at death in 1240. The reliquary, located in the Saint Marie d’Oigines church, Belgium, was reopened in 2015 for an interdisciplinary study around his relics as well as the Treasure of Oignies, a remarkable cultural heritage notably built from Jacques de Vitry’s donation. Anthropological, isotopic and genetic analyses were performed independently on the remains found in the reliquary. Results of the analyses provided evidence that the likelihood that these remains are those of Jacques de Vitry is very high: the remains belong to the same human male individual and the historical tradition about his age is confirmed. In addition, a separate relic (left tibia) was analysed and found to match with the remains of the reliquary (right tibia). The unique Jacques de Vitry’s mitre, made of parchment, was sampled non-destructively and the extracted parchment collagen was analysed by a proteomic method in order to determine the animal species. The results showed that, surprisingly, not all parts of the mitre were made from the same species. All together, these findings are expected to fertilize knowledge carried by historical tradition around the relics of Jacques de Vitry and his related cultural heritage.

Normal growth, altered growth? Study of the relationship between harris lines and bone form within a post‐medieval plague cemetery (Dendermonde, Belgium, 16th Century)

Harris lines (HLs) are defined as transverse, mineralized lines associated with temporary growth arrest. In paleopathology, HLs are used to reconstruct health status of past populations. However, their etiology is still obscure. The aim of this article is to test the reliability of HLs as an arrested growth marker by investigating their incidence on human metrical parameters.