Hanna Mańkowska-Pliszka

Dental caries and chemical analyses in reconstruction of diet, health and hygienic behaviour in the Middle Euphrates valley (Syria)

OBJECTIVES The aim of this study was to use two methods, biological and chemical, to examine changes in diet and health in individuals from the Middle Euphrates valley (Syria). We determined the frequency distribution of dental caries. Chemical analyses were concerned with the presence of elements such as strontium, barium, calcium and stable carbon isotopes ((13)C/(14)C). We chose three consecutive periods: Late Roman (2nd-4th century AD), Islamic (600-1200 AD) and Modern Islamic (1850-1950 AD). MATERIALS AND METHODS We analysed the dental remains of 145 individuals, with a total of 2530 teeth. We used visual research (magnifying glass/sharp dental probe) and radiography. The frequencies of caries were calculated on the basis of the proportional correction factor of Erdal and Duyar. We chose 39 permanent second molars for chemical analyses. RESULTS The frequency of carious lesions was similar in all three periods (6-8%). In the Modern Islamic and Islamic periods, occlusal surfaces were infected with caries most often, while the cemento-enamel junction (CEJ) and approximal surfaces were affected to a lesser degree. However, in the Late Roman period, the CEJ and approximal surfaces showed caries most frequently, in contrast to occlusal surfaces, which seldom showed signs of caries. Chemical analyses showed lower Sr/Ca ratios and Observed Ratio index values for the Modern Islamic and higher values for the Islamic and Late Roman periods. Mean stable isotope (δ(13)C) analyses demonstrated that the Modern Islamic period was strongly divergent from the other periods. DISCUSSION These data suggest a similar socio-economic status during the Late Roman and Islamic periods. The diet of the population living in the Late Roman and Islamic periods contained a larger number of products containing strontium than calcium. In the modern population these proportions have been reversed.

Congenital syphilis in the skeleton of a child from Poland (Radom, 18th-19th century AD)

Abstract An incomplete skeleton of a 3-year-old child with suspected congenital syphilis was found in the Radom area of Poland. Squama frontalis and zygomatic bones are characterized by significant bone loss. Radiographic pictures show a geographic destructive lesion of a serpiginous shape surrounded by a zone of reactive osteosclerosis in the squama frontalis. The radiographic findings included a slight widening and contour irregularities of the distal humeral metaphyses. The appearance of teeth did not suggest Hutchinson teeth, but the examination of the permanent molars showed signs of mulberry molars. Two teeth were tested for the presence of mercury. Chemical analysis did not indicate mercury accumulation (enamel: 0.07 μg/g, dentine: 0.14 μg/g, bone: 0.11 μg/g). Mercury values obtained for the examined samples were similar to those that are typical of healthy teeth in today’s individuals.

Searching for signals of recent natural selection in genes of the innate immune response - ancient DNA study

The last decade has seen sharp progress in the field of human evolutionary genetics and a great amount of genetic evidence of natural selection has been provided so far. Since host-pathogen co-evolution is difficult to trace due to the polygenic nature of human susceptibility to microbial diseases, of particular interest is any signal of natural selection in response to the strong selective pressure exerted by pathogens. Analysis of ancient DNA allows for the direct insight into changes of a gene pool content over time and enables monitoring allele frequency fluctuations. Among pathogenic agents, mycobacteria are proved to have remained in an intimate, long-lasting relation with humans, reflected by the current high level of host resistance. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the prevalence of several polymorphisms within innate immune response genes related to susceptibility to mycobacterial diseases (in SLC11A1, MBL2, TLR2, P2RX7, IL10, TNFA) in time series data from North and East Poland (1st-18th century AD, n = 207). The comparison of allele frequencies over time revealed a predominant role of genetic drift in shaping past gene pool of small, probably isolated groups, which was explained by the high level of population differentiation and limited gene flow. However, the trajectory of frequency fluctuations of two SNPs suggested the possibility of their non-neutral evolution and the results of applied forward simulations further strengthened the hypothesis of natural selection acting on those loci. However, we observed an unusual excess of homozygosity in the profile of several SNPs, which pinpoints to the necessity of further research on temporally and spatially diverse samples to support our inference on non-stochastic evolution, ideally employing pathway-based approaches. Nevertheless, our study confirms that time series data could help to decipher very recent human adaptation to life-threatening pathogens and assisting demographic events.

Study of skin of an Egyptian mummy using a scanning electron microscope

Abstract The first study of modified human remains using an electron microscope was carried out at the end of the 1950 and in 1979 the first result of the study involving a scanning electron microscope (SEM) was published for the first time. The study was mainly focused on the structure of tissues and cells. With the help of this technique cell and tissue elements, viruses and bacterial endospores as well as the structure of epithelium and the collagen contents of dermis were identified and described. In the above-mentioned case the object of the study using a SEM was a free part of the right hand (forearm with the dorsal and palmar parts of hand) of unknown origin, with signs of mummification revealed during microscopic analysis. Our study was aimed at finding the answer to the question if the mummification of the studied limb was natural or intentional, and if the study using a SEM could link the anonymous remains with ancient Egypt.

Anaemia (thalassaemia) in the Middle Euphrates Valley of Syria in the second–fourth centuries AD?

Abstract The migration of individuals and populations was a powerful factor in the spread of diseases among early human societies. Analysis of human remains from Tell Masaikh in the Middle Euphrates Valley provides a striking example in what is probably the earliest case of hereditary anaemia. Skeletal changes were consistent with thalassaemia, an uncommon disease in the steppe areas of Syria. Genetic analyses of the remains confirmed the pathological assessment and also suggested that the individual was of Asian descent, from the Indian Peninsula. Such an ancestry could then explain this unusual occurrence of thalassaemia.

Multiple anomalies in the atlanto-occipital joint (articulation atlanto-occipitalis)

Abstract Contemporary populations exhibit numerous skeletal anatomical variations and the atlanto-occipital joint (articulation atlanto-occipitalis) is often the location of such variations. A female skeleton dated at 4000 BC and excavated at Meroe in the Sudan provides an example of numerous variations in the basilar skull and cervical vertebrae. These variations consist of the presence of a bilateral atlanto-occipital joint with a third trochanter, a unilateral arcuate atlas foramen and huge axial nutrient foramina.