26 March 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

Interesting Social Dimensions of Rare Diseases Seen in the Bronze Age

When it comes to Rare Diseases, what almost all of us think of is that this disease has affected very few people. Probably, this disease is one of the diseases that affects 1 to 5 people in 10,000. Rare diseases are nowadays a special field in medical-pharmaceutical research and treatment.

Is it possible to diagnose these rare diseases as ancient rare diseases only from human skeletons?

Working as a physical anthropologist at the Kiel University Clinical Molecular Biology Institute, Dr. Katharina Fuchs explored this question.

Using the medical history of male individuals from the North Caucasus Bronze Age (approximately 2200 to 1650 BC), she came to the conclusion that the standards of rare diseases used today cannot simply be transferred to the past. A recent study published in the International Journal of Paleopathology shows that not only the diagnosis of rare diseases but also the calculation of incidence and prevalence (i.e. incidence) are challenging for researchers. The level of personal barriers and social integration and support is also difficult to rebuild.

There are many conclusions that anthropologist K. Fuchs can draw from the skeleton of a Caucasian man she studied in her research: From his youth, he suffered from rare hip disease, Legg-Calvé-Perthes disease, and he had a limp gait due to that inward twisted leg. In addition, as an adult, he suffered severe skull and thigh fractures. In addition, the signs of wear on his teeth indicate that he was using them as tools during the working processes, as was customary. Also, from the objects with which he was buried, it can be concluded that he did not occupy a particularly high social position.

Excavated grave of male skeleton found in the foothills of the North Caucasus.
Excavated grave of male skeleton found in the foothills of the North Caucasus. Photo: B. Atabiev, Institut für die Archäologie des Kaukasus, Naltschik

“Taken together, the results show that this man was important to society. The fractures he suffered required a high level of care. He probably survived his injuries because his fellow human beings cared for him. This gives us an idea of ​​how the people in the North Caucasus were treated 4,000 years ago and how they treated someone who was physically limited for most of their life. ”Fuchs explains. Such considerations go beyond the topic of ancient rare diseases but illustrate the social dimension of their research.

Right and left femoral bones of a male individual from the North Caucasus.
Right and left femoral bones of a male individual from the North Caucasus. Bones exhibit the pathological changes studied in the study. Photo: Katharina Fuchs, Institut für Klinische Molekularbiologie

Another result of the research is that the “rare” criteria related to ancient rare diseases cannot be defined by strict thresholds. The fact that a disease is rare today does not necessarily mean that it was rare in the past. Depending on the cause of the disease, the cause, occurrence, disappearance and most interestingly, the transition from a rare disease to a common disease is all affected by social and human ecological dynamics. This is a discovery of modern medicine, which identifies lifestyle and external influences as important components.

Therefore, research on rare diseases in the past is also related to our understanding of current diseases. One of the co-authors of the study, Dr. Julia Gresky from the German Archaeological Institute, stresses: “Since its foundation in 2019, the research of the “Ancient Rare Diseases’ workgroup also has the task to reach people who are affected today. We hope to contribute to public awareness by pointing out that humankind has always been confronted with rare diseases—but also that being affected does not have to mean social isolation.”

Kiel Üniversitesi

Related Articles

Collectors In The Prehistoric World Recycled Old Stone Tools To Preserve The Memory Of Their Ancestors

16 March 2022

16 March 2022

A first-of-its-kind study at Tel Aviv University asks what drove prehistoric humans to collect and recycle flint tools that had...

A 5,000-year-old large house has been discovered in China’s Yangshao Village

7 December 2022

7 December 2022

Henan Provincial Institute of Cultural Heritage and Archaeology archaeologists have excavated the ruins of house foundations dating back more than...

The “food” thousands of years ago may be the ancestor of a Turkish dessert

25 July 2021

25 July 2021

The rock paintings and kitchen materials found in the cave, which were discovered by a shepherd and emerged as a...

14,000 years old vessels made by Hunter-gatherers in Japan

1 May 2022

1 May 2022

The Late Pleistocene inhabitants of Tanegashima Island were making pottery about 14,000 years ago. In the Jomon period, people obtained...

Salt May Have Been Used as Money in Exchanges

24 March 2021

24 March 2021

Salt has always been a precious metal. Salt was needed in many areas, from the preservation of food to the...

Human Relief Found at Million Stone Excavation Site in İstanbul

18 July 2021

18 July 2021

The Milion Stone (also known as the Million Stone) from the Eastern Roman period is one of important the historical...

Statue heads of “Aphrodite” and “Dionysus” were found in Aizanoi Ancient City in Turkey’s

30 October 2021

30 October 2021

The statue heads of Aphrodite, the goddess of love and beauty, and Dionysus, the god of wine, were unearthed in...

8 ostrich eggs over 4,000 years old discovered near excavated firepit in Negev desert

13 January 2023

13 January 2023

Eight ostrich eggs dating between 4,000 and 7,500 years ago have been found during excavations next to a fire pit...

Unique Rock Tomb Discovered in Southeastern Türkiye’s Şanlıurfa

3 March 2025

3 March 2025

Hasan Şıldak, the governor of the city of Şanlıurfa in south-eastern Türkiye, announced on his social media account that a...

1,500-year-old mosaic found near the Caliph’s palace at Khirbat al-Minya on the Sea of Galilee

30 September 2022

30 September 2022

Archaeologists from Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz uncovered an ancient mosaic that once lay in the shadow of a caliph palace...

A Medieval Necropolis Discovered During Excavations at the site of the Future Bus Station in Sozopol, Bulgaria

4 April 2024

4 April 2024

A medieval necropolis was discovered during excavations at the construction site of a bus station in the old seaside town...

A first-of-its-kind Ayyanar stone idol found in Vellore, India

25 June 2022

25 June 2022

An Ayyanar stone idol, the first of its kind in Vellore, was discovered at Thandalai Krishnapuram (TK Puram) in Tamil...

Carvings at Göbeklitepe could be World’s Oldest Calendar

6 August 2024

6 August 2024

Experts suggest that markings on a stone pillar at the 12,000-year-old Göbeklitepe archaeological site in Türkiye probably represent the oldest...

Well-preserved Ming Dynasty tomb unearthed in China’s Shanxi Province

17 March 2024

17 March 2024

Archaeologists from the Shanxi Institute of Cultural Relics and Archeology have unearthed a well-preserved tomb from the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644)...

3,000-Year-Old Huge Settlement Discovered in Northern France

24 March 2025

24 March 2025

Archaeologists have unearthed a remarkable settlement in the Hauts-de-France region, dating back to the Late Bronze Age and early Iron...