26 September 2023 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

Banner
Related Post

Paleontologists Unearth Dozens of Giant Dinosaur Eggs in Fossilized Nest in Spain

15 November 2021

15 November 2021

Spain was the scene of a new paleontological discovery. Paleontologists extracted 30 Titanosaurus dinosaur eggs from a two-ton rock in...

The Error That Caused II.Ramses to Lose the Battle of Kadesh

5 February 2021

5 February 2021

The Battle of Kadesh between the Hittites and Egyptians in Anatolia, the two superpowers of the Bronze Age period, has...

2000-year-old Ancient Greek ‘graduate school yearbook’ carved in stone found

5 June 2022

5 June 2022

Historians have discovered that an ancient Greek inscription on a marble slab in the collection of the National Museums of...

Ming-era two shipwrecks found in South China Sea

23 May 2023

23 May 2023

In the South China Sea, two ancient shipwrecks that date back to the middle of the Ming Dynasty (1368–1644) were...

A new study reveals more than one person was buried in a tomb where the famous Nestor’s Cup was found

6 October 2021

6 October 2021

The Tomb of Nestor’s Cup, a burial that contained one of the oldest known Greek inscriptions, was more crowded than...

A Thousand-Year-Old Iron Age-old grave in Finland Is Ascribed to a Prominent Non-Binary Person

10 August 2021

10 August 2021

Archaeologists found a weapon grave in Finland’s Suontaka Vesitorninmäki in 1968. The remains discovered in the burial have been at...

Saudi shipwreck excavation reveals hundreds of 18th-century artifacts on sunken ship in the north Red Sea

25 February 2022

25 February 2022

Divers from Saudi Arabia’s Heritage Authority have discovered a shipwreck in the Red Sea from the 18th century filled with...

An inscription with the name of the ancient city was found at the excavation site in Gordion, the capital of the Phrygians

8 August 2022

8 August 2022

An inscription bearing the name of the ancient city was found at the excavation site in Gordion, the capital of...

Egypt discovers five 4,000-year-old ancient tombs in Saqqara necropolis

19 March 2022

19 March 2022

The Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities announced recently the discovery of five 4,000-year-old ancient tombs in the Saqqara archaeological...

Remains of a Roman stylobate found in Montenegro

19 July 2023

19 July 2023

In ancient Rhizon (Risan) in Montenegro, remains of a Roman stylobate (a shared base for multiple columns) were uncovered. In...

The world’s northernmost Palaeolithic settlement has been discovered on Kotelny Island in the Arctic

20 August 2021

20 August 2021

During the Paleolithic period, hominins lived in tiny groups and subsisted by collecting plants, fishing, and killing or scavenging wild...

New Dead Sea Scrolls in The Horror Cave

16 March 2021

16 March 2021

On Tuesday, Israeli archaeologists revealed dozens of recently discovered fragments of Bible text, the Dead Sea Scrolls, which were based...

Ice Age Cave Entrance that Nobody has Entered for 16,000 Years found in Germany

4 August 2023

4 August 2023

Researchers report they have discovered the official entrance to an Ice Age cave near Engen, Germany, that nobody has entered...

Turkish researchers to work in Mount Ağrı believed to host Noah’s Ark remains

15 December 2022

15 December 2022

A team from Istanbul Technical University (İTÜ) and Ağrı İbrahim Çeçen University (AİÇÜ) has started in the area where the...

Climate Change Negatively Impacts 45 000-year-old Cave Paintings in Indonesia

13 May 2021

13 May 2021

Cave paintings from 20,000 to 50,000 years ago in Indonesia are in danger of extinction due to climate change. Indonesia...

Comments
Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *