engleski

Skeletal evidence for neoplasms in Croatian archaeological series

The recent establishing of a Skeletal Collection at the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts allows important insights into the biology and health of archaeological populations that inhabited Croatia from approximately 5 300 BC to the 19th century AD. In this communication we report on the frequency and types of neoplasms recorded in Croatian archaeological series. The Skeletal Collection currently contains the remains of 3160 individuals. Careful analysis including gross morphology analysis, X rays, and CAT scans revealed four cases: two fibrous cortical defects, one osteochondroma, and one osteoma. Both fibrous cortical defects were located in the metaphysis of the distal femur one in a 13 to 16 years old subadult from the 4th century A.D. Mursa necropolis, the other in a 3 to 4 years old subadult from the 11th - 13th century A.D. cemetery in Šćitarjevo near Zagreb. The osteochondroma was recorded in a 40 to 45 years old male recovered from the 11th century A.D. cemetery in Lobor. The tumor was located on the anterior side of the neck of the right femur and measured 160 mm in circumference. A large osteoma was noted on the left parietal of a 50 - 60 years old male from the 3rd - 4th century B.C. site on the island Vis. The tumor measured 24 mm in diameter. All three conditions were benign with little potential for malignant transformation. The low frequency of neoplasms in the Croatian skeletal collection is characteristic for archaeological material. There are several reasons for this. Diagnosis of tumors in archaeological series is complicated by postmortem destruction of bone and the limited ability of bone to respond to pathological changes that results in gross morphological similarity between different types of pathologies. Two other reasons reflect fundamental differences between modern medical experience and conditions associated with archaeological populations. Environmental factors play a significant role in both the type and prevalence of tumors. While environmental carcinogens undoubtedly have a long history, there is no doubt that the number and concentration of these agents has dramatically increased in recent history. The other reason addresses the timing of the onset of the disease. Primary benign and malign tumors of bone usually occur in young individuals. These tumors are, however, infrequent today and based on the worldwide paucity of diagnosed cases in ancient skeletons, appear to have been similarly uncommon in antiquity. Metastatic tumors to bone are much more common but are associated with older age. Individuals fro archaeological sites had considerably shorter average life spans than modern man. The mean age at death for the Croatian skeletal collection is 35.6 years. These data show that individuals living in antiquity usually died of other causes before secondary tumors could become a serious factor in morbidity and mortality.

archaeology; neoplasms; skeletal series; Croatia

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