0000000000164554
AUTHOR
Elīna Pētersone-gordina
Palaeopathological Evidence of Infectious Disease in a Skeletal Population from Late Medieval Riga, Latvia (15Th-17Th Centuries AD)
Abstract The aim of this study was to evaluate the presence of infectious disease in the Dome Church (Riga Cathedral) Cemetery population, dating from the late medieval period (15th-17th centuries AD). A total of 274 individuals were macroscopically observed for evidence of infectious disease, and seven individuals with lesions possibly associated with a bacterial infection affecting the skeleton were selected for further analysis. Pathological changes on the outer table of the skull and in the long bones of legs characteristic of venereal syphilis were observed in four female and one male individual. Likewise, changes possibly related to late congenital syphilis were observed in a 14-15-ye…
Nutrition-related health problems in a wealthy 17-18th century German community in Jelgava, Latvia.
The aim of this research is to assess the presence of stress in a high status German population from Jelgava, Latvia. The skeletal material used in this study came from a recently excavated church cemetery, with most of the burials dating to the 17-18th centuries. In total, 108 individuals (80 adults and 28 non-adults) were analysed for evidence of scurvy, rickets/osteomalacia and anaemia. The presence of scurvy and healed rickets/osteomalacia could not be confirmed in any adult individual. Among non-adults, a possible diagnosis of scurvy was considered in six individuals, and active rickets was suggested in two others. Cribra orbitalia in adult and non-adult individuals also argued for the…
A 5,000-year-old hunter-gatherer already plagued by Yersinia pestis.
Summary A 5,000-year-old Yersinia pestis genome (RV 2039) is reconstructed from a hunter-fisher-gatherer (5300–5050 cal BP) buried at Riņņukalns, Latvia. RV 2039 is the first in a series of ancient strains that evolved shortly after the split of Y. pestis from its antecessor Y. pseudotuberculosis ∼7,000 years ago. The genomic and phylogenetic characteristics of RV 2039 are consistent with the hypothesis that this very early Y. pestis form was most likely less transmissible and maybe even less virulent than later strains. Our data do not support the scenario of a prehistoric pneumonic plague pandemic, as suggested previously for the Neolithic decline. The geographical and temporal distributi…
Dental disease in a 17th–18th century German community in Jelgava, Latvia
Aims: To determine the frequency and distribution of dental caries, periapical lesions, the periodontal disease, ante-mortem tooth loss and enamel hypoplasia in a high status, urban post-medieval population from the Duchy of Courland and Semigallia, and to compare these rates with those obtained from contemporary populations from urban and rural Latvian cemeteries. Materials: The sample analysed consisted of the dental remains of 108 individuals (39 male, 42 female and 27 non-adults) excavated from the Jelgava Holy Trinity Church cemetery in Latvia. A total of 1,233 teeth and 1,853 alveoli were examined. Results: The frequency of the observed conditions in this population was overall high b…