Large fontanelles in an early 20th century rural population from South Africa

Abstract

Unusually large fontanelles were found in four skeletons of children from a cemetery in the North West Province of South Africa. These remains date from the last decade of the 19th and first half of the 20th century. Three small infants (two of about nine months, and one of about six months) and one child (of about three years) were affected. In the case of the three-year-old child pathologic changes were evident on the rest of the skeleton, which probably resulted in the delayed closure. The cause of the unusually large fontanelles in the other three individuals is less clear. Some possibilities are discussed, but it seems as though general hardship and malnutrition, congenital syphilis or other infectious diseases like rubella syndrome may be involved. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.