Appendicular degenerative joint disease among hunter-gatherers from the southern point of La Plata basin

Abstract

Degenerative joint disease (DJD) is one of the commonest bone pathologies in past and present societies. It is characterized by fragmentation of the synovial joint cartilage, whose etiology is related to individuals intrinsic and extrinsic factors. The objective of this work is to explore DJD prevalence in the appendicular skeleton of late Holocene hunter-gathers from the southern point of La Plata Basin (Argentina). In addition, this work evaluates the relationship between DJD and the age and sex of the individuals, their midshaft robusticity indices, body size, archaeological sites and units. To this end, the presence of marginal and surface osteophytes, porosity and/or eburnation were registered on 921 articular surfaces. The results show that DJD has a prevalence of 11.29% in the total sample, and it manifests mainly among individuals females above 35 years of age, in small body sizes and in long bones with high midshaft robusticity indices. These results suggest that age, hormones, genetics and mechanical factors might have influenced the presence of DJD.