Ksenija Djukic

Bone microarchitecture at muscle attachment sites: The relationship between macroscopic scores of entheses and their cortical and trabecular microstructural design

The studies of entheses in bioarchaeology attempted to reconstruct the habitual physical activities of past populations. However, the studies of microarchitecture of the underlying bone are still lacking despite well-known potential of bone internal microarchitecture to reflect mechanical loading. It is unknown whether different morphological expressions of entheseal changes (ECs) correlate with the microstructural characteristics of the underlining bone. This study analyzed bone microstructural characteristics at the entheses. Our focus was on examining the possible successive nature of the three-stage scale of entheseal macroscopic changes by comparing EC scores with the microarchitectural features at the attachment sites. The study was based on the hypothesis that mechanical loading influences the microarchitecture of the bone at the attachment site. The bone samples were taken from 24 adult male skeletons from medieval cemeteries in Serbia, with different macroscopic expression score of EC. We evaluated the macroscopic and microscopic appearance of four entheses of the lower limbs (origin of the soleus muscle and the insertions of the adductor magnus, gluteus maximus, and iliopsoas muscles). The specimens were scanned using microcomputed tomography (Scanco µCT 40). Our data showed a lack of consistent correlation between stages of the macroscopic scoring systems with microarchitecture at the entheses, only cortical thickness was significantly different between EC stages. Analyzing relationship between trabecular and cortical bone microstructure we found correlations between cortical and trabecular variables only in Stage C. Results of our study suggest that macroscopic EC might not represent distinct successive phases in bone adaptation to mechanical loading.

Representing children in excavated cemeteries: the intrinsic preservation factors

Children are often under-represented in excavated populations due to the poor survival of their bones. Using a group of medieval burials from Serbia, our researchers examine the differential survival of children and of different parts of the body within the same terrain, and rightly urge us to take these factors into consideration before attempting demographic, ritual or social interpretations.

Adolescent health in medieval Serbia: signs of infectious diseases and risk of trauma.

Although pattern of health in adults has been frequently assessed in past human populations, health status of adolescents as a distinct life stage has usually been overlooked. Inconsistency in number and meaning of recognised age categories in anthropological literature, as well as chronological age ranges used to define them, further complicate the interpretation of adolescent health. In this study, we analysed signs of pathological conditions on skeletal remains of 81 adolescents from a medieval site of Stara Torina (northern Serbia). Diagnostic palaeopathological procedures comprised gross examination, digital radiography, and histological analysis. Skeletal signs of anaemia such as cribra orbitalia and other porotic phenomena as well as signs of non-specific bone infection were observed frequently, while evidence of bone trauma was recorded in a very low percentage of individuals. In addition, we recorded two conditions relatively rarely observed in palaeopathological contexts: a case of skull and vertebral asymmetry indicative of congenital muscular torticollis, and a case of a fibrous cortical defect on distal femur. Comparison with available information from other medieval adolescent samples from Serbia demonstrated that while mortality was relatively constant throughout the sample, Stara Torina showed a much higher occurrence of bone disease. Characteristics of observed skeletal conditions, supported by available historical reports, suggest that the health of medieval adolescents in the examined population was most significantly affected by infectious processes.

THE INCREASED FEMORAL NECK ANTEVERSION IN MEDIEVAL CEMETERY OF PECENJEVCE: AETIOLOGY AND DIFFERENTIAL DIAGNOSIS IN ARCHAEOLOGICAL CONTEXT

The femoral neck anteversion (FNA) is defined as the angle between the longitudinal axis of the neck of a femur and the axis passing horizontally through femoral condyles. However, there is no data regarding this feature in archaeological populations. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate FNA in a medieval skeletal population from Serbia. According to the results the analysed angle ranged from 11 to 24 degrees in adults, apart from only one individual with significantly increased femoral neck anteversion of nearly 60 degrees. The discussion of the present paper is focused on the differential diagnosis of this condition and its aetiology, especially outlining diagnostic limitations when dealing with dry bones. Finally, the most probable aetiology of increased FNA in our case is the asymmetric form of cerebral palsy. Overall, the traces of various orthopaedic and neuromuscular disorders in past human populations could be revealed by systematic recording of the femoral neck anteversion during anthropological analyses.

The case of the pregnant woman from the medieval site of “Preko Slatine” in Omoljica

The paper presents the case of the pregnant woman discovered at the medieval necropolis of “Preko Slatine” in Omoljica, a village near Pan~evo. The necropolis is dated to the period of the 12th–13th century AD. It deals with a woman aged 25–30 (probably around 28 years old) in the advanced stages of pregnancy, discovered in grave No. 13. This paper presents the possible conditions that led to the death of this woman, but also the problems faced by anthropologists when they attempt to resolve individual cases like this. In paleodemographic research, the mortality rate of pregnant woman is an important element of a population’s progress. Pregnant woman mortality is considered an adequate criterion for the social and sanitation conditions of a community and a sensitive indicator of health care and, sometimes, the skill level possessed by midwives or doctors.