Pathological alterations and traumas in the human skeletal remains from Mladeč

Abstract

There are numerous descriptions of pathological features of Paleolithic (Straus and Cave, 1957; Dastugue, 1962; Trinkaus and Zimmerman, 1982; Walker et al., 1982; Trinkaus, 1985; Tappen, 1985; Crubézy and Trinkaus, 1992; Rothschild et al., 1995; Antón, 1997; Tillier et al., 2001; Lebel et al., 2001; DeGusta, 2002; Zollikofer et al. 2002; Bräuer et al., 2003), in particular Middle and Late Upper Paleolithic associated finds presented so far (Dastugue, 1967; Thillaud, 1981.1982; Bukhman, 1984; Klima, 1987; 1991; Frayer et al., 1988; Jelinek, 1992; Formicola, 1995; Oliva, M., 2000; Formicola et al., 2001). Some of the alterations noted are mentioned and discussed within monographic presentations of site complexes and include a wide spectrum of dental pathologies, ante mortem traumatic lesions and other pathologies, which shed light on the degree of physiological stress to which Pleistocene hunter-gatherer populations were exposed (e.g., Svoboda, 1997; Tillier, 1999; Roebroeks et al., 2000; Zilhao and Trinkaus, 2002; Alexeeva and Bader, 2000; Trinkaus and Svoboda, 2006). Several recorded anomalies enable us to reconstruct working activities and to get an idea of the social system and care of severely incapacitated individuals within these early societies (e.g., traumatic injuries or congenital diseases, Formicola et al., 2001; Formicola and Buzhilova, 2004). Interestingly, the most extensive human fossil assemblage from the early Upper Paleolithic of central Europe represented at Mladeč, including cranial, mandibular, dental and postcranial remains has never been systematically investigated in this respect. Other than the limited paleopathology remarks by Szombathy (1925), Jelinek (1969), Frayer et al. (this volume) and Trinkaus et al. (this volume) little has been documented in this sample. Here we present results of the first systematic screening by using non-invasive methods. To avoid destruction of the original material we rely primarily upon macroscopic analysis (cf. Aufderheide and Rodriguez-Martin, 1998; Ortner, 2003; Steinbock, 1976). Our survey of paleopathology in the Mladeč skeletal remains is listed in numeric order of the bone specimens. © 2006 Springer-Verlag/Wien. All rights are reserved.