Osteological investigations on infant skeletons of the Middle Ages from Anatolia

Causes and frequency of diseases during childhood in populations of the Middle Ages were studied. The infant skeletons of ten populations from Central Europe and Anatolia were examined by macroscopical, radiological, endoscopical, histological, and scanning-electron microscopical techniques. Because only little is known about Anatolian populations, more attention was paid to the Byzantine populations. The infant skeletons are very well preserved. Therefore, the morbidity and the mortality could be studied in detail. The following disorders were diagnosed: anemia, C-avitaminosis, D-avitaminosis, osteomyelitis, meningitis-meningoencephalitis, otitis media and mastoiditis, perisinusitis, inflammation of the cavum nasi, inflammation of the paranasal sinuses, stomatitis, periodontal diseases, caries, pleuritis, trauma, and malformations. The frequency of diseases and the mortality depended on the type and the intensity of particular external life conditions. These may have been quite different in several social groups of the same population. In summary, these studies provide new information on the etiology and the epidemiology of diseases during childhood in the Middle Ages.

Etiology · Mastoiditis · Meningitis · Middle ear · Otitis · Paleopathology · Pathology · Population · Scurvy · Epidemiology · Forensic Anthropology and Bioarchaeology Studies · Internal Medicine · Medicine · Surgery · Pediatrics

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  Open Access•Michael Schultz, U Timme et al.•International Journal of…•2007

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