Osteoarchaeological evidence for leprosy from western Central Asia

Bibliographic Data

ID8317755
AuthorsBlau (0000-0001-6499-7741, Flinders University, corresponding author), Soren Blau, Vadim N Yagodin (Flinders University), Vadim Yagodin
Year2005
Volume126
Issue2
Pages150-158
Publication date2005-02-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueAmerican Journal of Physical Anthropology (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0002-9483 • E-ISSN: 1096-8644
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1002/ajpa.20121
PMID15386285
OpenAlexW1964690785
LanguageEN
Citations received13
References cited27

Published reports of palaeopathological analyses of skeletal collections from Central Asia are, to date, scarce. During the macroscopic examination of skeletal remains dating to the early first millennium AD from the Ustyurt Plateau, Uzbekistan, diagnostic features suggestive of leprosy were found on one individual from Devkesken 6. This adult female exhibited rhinomaxillary changes indicative of leprosy: resorption of the anterior nasal spine, rounding and widening of the nasal aperture, erosion of the alveolar margin, loss of a maxillary incisor, and inflammatory changes in the hard palate. While it is unclear whether the bones of the hands and the feet from this individual were absent as a result of collection strategy or poor preservation, lesions affecting the tibia and fibula were recorded, and the ways in which they may be related to a diagnosis of leprosy are discussed. This is the first skeletal evidence of leprosy from Central Asia and raises questions not only about the spread of the disease in the past, but also about the living conditions of what traditionally were thought of as nomadic peoples. Am J Phys Anthropol 126:150–158, 2005. © 2004 Wiley‐Liss, Inc

Amputation · Central asia · Disarticulation · Geography · Leprosy · Maxillary central incisor · Paleopathology · Pathology · Tibia · Anatomy · Dentistry · Forensic Anthropology and Bioarchaeology Studies · Leprosy Research and Treatment · Medicine · Paleopathology and ancient diseases · Surgery