Brief Communication

A likely case of scurvy in a rural Early Classic Maya burial from Actun Uayazba Kab, B elize

Datos Bibliográficos

ID8314741
AutoresG D Wrobel (0000-0002-1821-3202, Michigan State University, autor de correspondencia), Gabriel Wrobel (Department of Anthropology Michigan State University MI)
Año2014
Volumen155
Número3
Páginas476-481
Fecha de publicación2014-11-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaAmerican Journal of Physical Anthropology (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0002-9483 • E-ISSN: 1096-8644
EditorialWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1002/ajpa.22592
PMID25105478
OpenAlexW1511642493
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas7
Referencias citadas31

A Maya burial of a late adolescent (Burial 98‐3) found in the rockshelter entrance of Actun Uayazba Kab (AUK), Belize, displays a combination of lesions that is consistent with scurvy. Signs include large, active lesions on the posterior surfaces of maxilla; relatively mild porotic hyperostosis along the midline of the skull on the parietals and occipital; cribra orbitalia; potential pinprick lesions on the greater wings of sphenoid and temporal; reactive lesions on the palate, temporal lines of frontal and parietals, and external and internal surfaces of zygomatics; small lesions on the popliteal surfaces of both femora; and periodontal disease. Identification of scurvy at AUK potentially informs the analysis of other primary burials and scattered bone found there and at other nearby sites, which often reveal evidence of nonspecific lesions that are usually attributed to anemia and infection, but that are also consistent with scurvy. The social and ecological context of this Protoclassic (0–AD 300) individual, who lived in a rural agricultural community with no evidence of complex social hierarchy, contrasts with typical discussions of disease among the Maya, which tend to focus on the degrading effects of overcrowding and resource deficiencies. While scurvy has been largely overlooked in the Maya area, this study supports earlier arguments for its presence that were based largely on clinical and ethnographic analogies and suggests the need to incorporate scurvy into broader synergistic models of ancient health. Am J Phys Anthropol 155:476–481, 2014. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc

Archaeology · Ascorbic acid · Biology · Context (archaeology) · Geography · Maya · Paleopathology · Scurvy · Skull · Anatomy · Forensic Anthropology and Bioarchaeology Studies · Medicine · Osteomyelitis and Bone Disorders Research · Paleopathology and ancient diseases