Ruggero D'Anastasio

Possible brucellosis in an early hominin skeleton from sterkfontein, South Africa.

We report on the paleopathological analysis of the partial skeleton of the late Pliocene hominin species Australopithecus africanus Stw 431 from Sterkfontein, South Africa. A previous study noted the presence of lesions on vertebral bodies diagnosed as spondylosis deformans due to trauma. Instead, we suggest that these lesions are pathological changes due to the initial phases of an infectious disease, brucellosis. The macroscopic, microscopic and radiological appearance of the lytic lesions of the lumbar vertebrae is consistent with brucellosis. The hypothesis of brucellosis (most often associated with the consumption of animal proteins) in a 2.4 to 2.8 million year old hominid has a host of important implications for human evolution. The consumption of meat has been regarded an important factor in supporting, directing or altering human evolution. Perhaps the earliest (up to 2.5 million years ago) paleontological evidence for meat eating consists of cut marks on animal remains and stone tools that could have made these marks. Now with the hypothesis of brucellosis in A. africanus, we may have evidence of occasional meat eating directly linked to a fossil hominin.

Odontometric sex discrimination in the herculaneum sample (79 AD, Naples, Italy), with application to juveniles

Sex determination of subadult skeletal remains with satisfactory accuracy represents one of the most important limitations of archaeological research and forensic practice. Teeth are one of the most durable physical elements of an individual that remain after death, and constitute a potential source of information about the biological sex of that individual. This study was based on the skeletal remains of 117 individuals from the ancient city of Herculaneum (Naples, Italy), victims of the eruption of the nearby volcano Vesuvius on 24/25 August, 79 AD. It has been possible to develop discriminant function formulae based on dental dimensions of adult individuals whose sex had previously been determined based on descriptive osteologic criteria. These formulae were subsequently applied to the permanent dentitions of immature individuals of the same population in order to estimate their sex. The results show that the canine is the tooth with the greatest sex dimorphism in adults, providing percentages of correct assignment of sex between 76.5% and 100% depending on the dimension used. Of the 30 subadult individuals in the target sample, estimation of sex was possible for 22 individuals. Sex assignments matched those determined from descriptive characteristics of the ilia and mandible in 73.33% of the cases. The results provide some optimism that this method may be applicable to juvenile archaeological samples.

The Heart of Santa Rosa

Santa Rosa is a well preserved mummy dating back to the 13th century AD. It is conserved in the monastery of the same name, Santa Rosa, located in Viterbo, near Rome. In 1995, the Section of Anthropology of the State University “G d’Annunzio” of Chieti was entrusted with the preservation of the mummifi ed body. Scientifi c examination provided an opportunity to obtain anthropological and pathological data with modern techniques. Examination has confi rmed that Santa Rosa was a gracile girl, who died at the age of 18–19 years. Investigations showed total agenesis of the sternum–a variant of Cantrell’s syndrome. We examined the heart of Santa Rosa, which was removed from her chest in 1921. The heart of Santa Rosa is a mummifi ed specimen of small dimensions lacking the great arteries and systemic and pulmonary veins (fi gure A). External and internal inspections with a lens and stereomicroscope, and radiography were done (fi gure B). Although the posterior walls of the atria had already been removed, the appendages suggest situs solitus of the atria, and the morphology of the ventricles indicate atrioventricular concordance with d-loop of the ventricles. The apex of the heart is bifi d due to a diverticulum of the left ventricle. The low intensity radiograph shows a right deviation of the ventricular septum and the presence of a mass, probably a thrombus, between the apex of the left ventricle and the entry of the diverticulum. Ventricular diverticulum is one of the most common heart defects described in patients with Cantrell’s syndrome and is frequently associated with development of thrombus and subsequent embolisation. One theory is that Santa Rosa died of tuberculosis. However, biomolecular and paleopathological analyses of the mummy showed no evidence that an infectious chronic disease occurred in vitam. The present data suggest that a cardiac embolism could have been the cause of her death.

Roman conquest, lifespan, and diseases in ancient Italy

characterised by low infant mortality (from 7 to 12%) and a very low frequency of infectious diseases. After the Roman conquest, the populations had a shorter lifespan, with a life expectancy at birth of about 27 years; in particular, infant mortality was greatly increased, reaching 25% in the population of Sulmona (about 4–2 centuries BC). Furthermore, inflammatory diseases became more common, and the nature of traumatic diseases changed: in Sulmona’s necropolis, we found two cases of stress fractures of the clavicle; these fractures are rare and are linked to the habit of carrying heavy objects on the shoulder. Also, arthrosis increased in frequency, indicating increased exposure of the conquered populations to debilitating activities suggestive of slavery. As the Roman empire spread from Italy across Europe, so did these adverse health effects. *Luigi Capasso, Ruggero D’Anastasio, Lia Pierfelice, Antonietta Di Fabrizio, Pier Enrico Gallenga

Congenital anatomical variant of the clavicle

The aim of this study is to present a rare abnormality of the clavicle (Code: SGS01) that was discovered in an ossuary in the Church of San Gaetano (Sulmona, central Italy; XVII–XIX centuries CE). In the middle third, the clavicle had three areas with losses of substance in the form of oval‐shaped foramina with maximum diameters of 1–2 cm that were located in the anterior and superior surfaces of the diaphysis. The margins of these foramina were well defined and rounded, and the surfaces of the canal walls were smooth. Additionally, there were no zones of bony activity or reactive changes around the foramina. This new congenital anomaly of the clavicle and blood vessels is consistent with a variant that might have originated during fetal growth in which the subclavian vein or artery remained included during the process of ossification of the clavicle. Anat Rec, 300:1401–1408, 2017.

No proof that Santa Rosa heart thrombus was antemortem – Authors' reply

In their Clinical Picture (June 19, p 2168), Ruggero D’Anastasio and colleagues present a case of a variant of Cantrell’s syndrome from a female medieval mummifi ed body. They propose as a cause of the death the development of a thrombus in the left ventricle diverticulum, detected as an intracardiac radiographic opacity. However, how can D’Anastasio and colleagues discern the diff erence between the presented fatal heart embolism and a post mortem intracavity thrombus? Such cadaveric formations, currently found during modern autopsies, can also be diagnosed on natural mummifi ed bodies (which is the case with Santa Rosa). Maybe a complementary histological examination could help distinguish these two types of thrombus? Fresh postmortem clots present as dark red, soft, and jelly-like formations with a shiny, glistening surface; such blood sedi mentation after death also produces “chicken-fat” plasma clots separated from dark redcell clots. For forensic and palaeopathological investi gations on mum mifi ed bodies, external and internal inspections with a lens and stereo microscope remain insuffi cient for such a diagnosis: histology is always necessary.