Harris lines have been recognised as an indicator of the stress since the thirties of the last century, when the work of dr. H. A. Harris was published. Despite seventy years of interest, the aetiology of this marker remains unclear. The lines are generally interpreted as being the consequence of a temporary interruption or arrest of bone growth during ontogenesis. Various factors as a trauma, malnutrition and protein deficiency can be the cause of HL's development [e.g. 1]. Clinical studies, have not confirmed these connections unequivocally [e.g. 2, 3]. The lines form in the region of the metaphyses, where the bones grow. Their position vis-a-vis the bone enables to deduce, more or less, the time of their formation [e.g. 4, 5, 6]. The aim of our research was to study the Harris line's formarion in the non-adult population of the Great-Moravian settlement agglomeration at Mikulcice-Valy. We focused only on the non-adult population because it is impossible to rule out the possibility of re-modelling (obliteration) of these lines in adults [e.g. 7]. We recorded the incidence of these markers using X-rays of the long bones of the upper (Hu) and lower (Fe, Ti) extremities. We evaluated a total of 132 individuals. In the first phase, we calculated the intra-observer and inter-observer errors [e.g. 8]. After determining the incidence of these markers on individual bones, we observed the difference in the incidence of markers among individual bones, as well as differences in the distribution of lines in the proximal and distal parts of the bone under study. We also studied the intensity of line formation, which, together with the density of the lines themselves, could indicate the degree of intensity and duration of the stress [e.g. 9]. Finally, we evaluated, the period in the child's life when bone growth was most frequently disrupted [e.g. 6].
Localized hypoplasia of the primary canine (LHPC) occurs in prehistoric and contemporary populations with prevalence varying from 0 to 89%. One of the highest prevalences ever reported is Upper Paleolithic infants from Europe where 70% are affected. In that LHPC is found in relatively high proportions of contemporary children with reported or suspected malnutrition, it is important to investigate the etiology of LHPC. Previous research indicates that LHPC occurs in two steps: craniofacial osteopenia results in temporary fenestration of the cortical bone overlying the primary canine crypt; secondly, minor physical trauma to the perioral region impacts on the unprotected forming tooth crown resulting in a small pit visible on the labial surface of the erupted tooth. Investigation of the prenatal diet of mothers whose children are shown later to have LHPC found mothers are significantly low in vitamin A. Hitherto an animal model for this problem has been lacking. Recently Newell and Skinner have recognized that LHPC occurs very commonly in orangutans. Recent study of infant jaws from Pongo pygmaeus (n=75) and Pan paniscus (n=39) shows all stages of fenestration and healing of the labial bone of the primary canine crypt. 85% of orangutan and 62% of bonobos show LHPC. Current research is directed at bioavailability of vitamin A to ape infants. LHPC is a marker of malnutrition; a common factor that could link orangutan and Upper Paleolithic mothers is low dietary fat intake. A minimal level of dietary fat is required for gut absorption of both vitamin A and carotenoids.
The samples from the proximal femora were taken from 12 cementeries from the Roman period. The skeletons date from the 1st-4th centuries A.D. Trace element analysis was used in order to reconstruct the basic diet. The sites that best corresponded to the model of Old Germanic diet described by ancient authors "meat, milk and cheese" were found in the Pruszcz Gdanski East Pomerania region close to the Baltic sea as well as in region Halle (Niemberg) and not far from Donau (Sládkovicovo). This diet is characterized by a large amount of protein and consequently of zinc. In the original Old Germanic region in a time period of more than 1000 years (from 400 B.C. to 700 A.D.) there is the same type of trace elements sources for bones and also the same type of the diet. This possibly distinguishes Germanic soldiers (aboriginal) from others groups in Roman legionary camps. It seems that the Donau River is very important for predicting the type of diet in the Roman period. North of the river animal component prevails south of the river vegetal component prevails. The rich agricultural land along the Donau River and in the Pannonian plains affects social arrangement as well as the structure of bones in Germans and Sarmats in the 2nd-4th centuries. Lead became a civilization element. It appeared in the diet of the Greek and Romans. Contamination varied with different social classes. We have found higher lead concentration in the femurs of the Germans than in those of the Sarmatians. The highest concentration we found was in Pannonian towns (Gorsium, Sopianae) and legionary camps (Straubing, Gerulata). In reference to age, the maxima of the highest lead concentrations in Gerulata II are between 11 and 13 years of age and between 40 and 50 years.
The ultimate goal of paleoanthropological studies is to develop the most accurate and exhaustive portraits possible of our extinct human relatives, and of the history by which we became what we are. This endeavor includes, in the first place, the essential processes of establishing the basic parameters of hominid diversity, and of elucidating the potential evolutionary relationships among the components of that diversity. But our efforts clearly need to go farther than this; for the overall picture of human evolution is quite evidently incomplete without consideration of early hominid lifeways, and of how now-vanished hominid species interacted with their environments. Among the most important interactions of this kind is, unquestionably, feeding behavior and the expression of such behaviors in diet. For, at least short of breathing, feeding is the most fundamental of all the subsistence activities in which a terrestrial species can engage. And we will never be able to claim to understand the lifeways of ancient hominids without at least some insight into how they sustained themselves. Self-evident as these remarks might be, however, they should not be taken to imply that--especially among eurytopes such as hominids--diet can, or should ever be regarded as, monolithic, or as an intrinsic property of any species. Nor do they mean that we can ever look upon hominid populations as "adapted" to particular food resources. Indeed, primates in general are remarkably varied in the diets that may be chosen by different populations of the same species, both seasonally and geographically [see, for example, the review of dietary variation among Malagasy strepsirhines in Tattersall, 1982]. Rather, amongst most if not all-living primates that have been studied, it appears--not surprisingly--that the factor, which most importantly controls immediate dietary intake, is the spectrum of potential food resources available within the local environment. Not to put too fine a point on it, most primates are opportunists.
There are a number of Upper Palaeolithic sites of Gravettian people in the southern Moravia. These people had eaten animals and their bones were used for creating artefacts. Their food was based on several species that lived in the vicinity of their settlement unit. The sites Dolní Vĕstonice II (Under Western Slope--UWS), IIa and III and Pavlov (1952, 1953, 1957 and 1958) have been studied to obtain a picture of the menu of Gravettian people in this region. Hunted animals fall into two groups, the first one includes those species hunted consistently and the second group those hunted occasionally. The following animals rank among the first group: mammoth, reindeer, horse, wolf, hare and fox. The second group includes bear, lion, wolverine, wildcat, lynx, deer, woolly rhinoceros and birds. The carnivores were hunted for their hides, fur and bones. The long bones of hunted animals were crushed for marrow. The proximal parts of bones were used for creating tools since distal parts of bones have been found predominantly. Teams of several hunters hunted herd animals. The rest of the species was hunted accidentally, some of them probably by hunting nets.
Food habits in a family are the results of many factors, e.g. the local traditions, availability of food, economic, social and cultural situation, and many others depending on the particular environment. Key role in this respect in the family have women, especially mothers. The transmission of the experiences on the choice and preparation of daily meals, their characteristic, frequency of their intake is also a result of previous generation of mothers, i.e. grandmothers. However, this situation has started to vary during more recent period of time according to the global changes in lifestyle. This resulted especially from the economic development and changing social situation. The analysis of this situation, when the role of mother and family declines, in the transmission of food choice and habits will be presented.
For our research, one thousand forty-four samples were taken from the femurs of 522 skeletons from 25 sites in Europe from the Neolithic Age (4000-5000 B.C), from La Téne Period, the Roman Era (500 B.C-400 A.D.), the Middle Ages and from contemporary cadavers. We found the following distribution of elements in the longitudional axis of long bones (the femurs and the tibias). The elements Zn, Fe, Ni, Cr, Pb, Mn, Co and Sn cumulated in the epiphysis. On the other hand, we found that Ca, Sr, Na and K prevailed in the central part of the diaphysis. In the central parts of the cross-section the highest concentration of the metal element Pb was in the external layer from the historical femurs. It was the same with cadavers of the recent population. A specific shift from Neolithic farming to agricultural intensification in the Roman Era was also apparent in the skeletons. Special sources of the above mentioned elements were found both in Celtic and Germanic tribes. Meat is the main source of zinc. Zinc is also important for the growth of the skeleton. When we investigated the development of the human skeleton during the last 5000 years we found the highest concetrations of Zn in communities with a good supply of animal food, whereas the lowest concentrations were paralleled with well-developed agriculturists. We assume the Neolithic gracilization, which is in the background for the increase of agricultural populations, is directly linked with the concentration of Zn and other elements essential for growth (Cu, Fe and others). The individuals most vulnerable to zinc deficiency include infants, adolescents during rapid growth phases and women during pregnancy and lactation. Trace elements in the bones of the La Téne period designate two areas of Celtic diet patterns--a "French one" (Roulier, Mont Trote and Acy Romance) and a "Czech one" (Karlov, Radovesice and Jenisův Ujezd). At Czech sites levels of zinc increased westward towards the Germanic region. Over the Germanic territory in the region of the Saala River there are similar supply trace element sources for bones of the Germanic tribes for a period of more than 1000 years. The dietary customs and environment that formed this development were preserved from 400 B.C. to the period of the Merovingians. A specific ratio of Zn and Sr can be found not only in men, but also in woman and children. At the beginning of our era lead emerged as a civilization element. This element influenced the diet until the 20th century. Since the beginning of the 20th century it occurs much less in the population. On the contrary, we have found significant presence of tin in human bones. Cadavers of the modem population indicate a high content of tin, considerably higher than those in the populations from the beginning of our era (as much as 40 microg.g(-1) bone).
The finds of remains of useful plants in archaeological objects were drawing attention already in the last century. However, it was not until after the World War II, in relation with renovation of historical cores of the towns, when a separate branch of the botany--archaeobotany constituted. In the Czech Republic it was E. Opravil who was the first to become engaged in a systematic archaeobotanical research at the beginning of the 60's. All the vegetal remains--fruits and seeds on the first place as well as pollen grains from prehistoric times to the post-medieval period, are the subjects of archaeobotany. The medieval waste pits are the richest sources of the vegetal remains. They contain a lot of diasporas of cultural as well as wild plants. The remains of useful plants are an authentic document of the vegetal component of diet. Even though some vegetal species, such as for example garlic, onion or stalk-plants, about whose cultivation we are informed from literature, occur only seldom, there appeared also the species not mentioned in literature. All the basic cereals have been known in our country already since the early Middle Ages. Wheat (Triticum aestivum) and rye (Secale cereale), as well as millet (Panicum miliaceum) that, along with buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum), were replaced by potatoes in the modern times were the most important. Also leguminous plants were of great importance in the diet even though their charred seeds seldom preserved. Remains of oil plants such as hemp (Cannabis sativa), flax (Linum usitatissimum) and poppy (Papaver somniferum) preserved well. It was successfully proved that cucumber (Cucumis sativus), among other numerous kinds of vegetables, was introduced by the Slavs already in the 8th century in Moravia and in the 9th century in Bohemia. The assortment of fruit was rich--especially the assortment of cultivated fruit. Among the imported kinds of fruit the first place occupied figs (Ficus carica), from the numerous finds it can be said that they formed a common part of the diet. Among imported fruit and spices from the peak period of the Middle Ages we succeeded in finding a date-tree (Phoenix dactylifera), nutmeg tree (Myristica fragrans) and, by means of pollen analysis, maybe a clove tree (Eugenia caryophyllata).
Cribra orbitalia is mostly diagnosed as being of nutritional origin, especially iron deficiency anaemia, and as the effect of infectious diseases and parasitic infestations. That lesion of the orbital roof is the good indicator of the biological state of the prehistoric populations. The frequency of occurrence of the cribra orbitalia was examined in the early medieval (12th-14th century) human population from Ostrów Lednicki (an island on the Lednica Lake--Wielkopolska Province, Poland). The intensity of the cribra orbitalia was estimated on the basis of Hengen's scale, and author's scale (3 degrees of intensity). 494 adult skulls, 259 females (52.4%), 234 males (47.4%) and one indeterminate individual (0.2%) were analysed. Cribra orbitalia were present in 149 (30.2%) individuals of this population. Frequency of occurrence of this lesion was higher in females (17.4%) than in males (12.8%), and its distribution in different age categories was: adultus 15.8% (78 individuals), maturus 12.6% (62 individuals), senilis 1.8% (9 individuals). Cribra orbitalia were more frequent in the left orbit. Occurrence and intensity of this pathology of the orbital roof was compared with the various osteometric features: measurements of the skull, calculated body height and massivity of the postcranial skeleton. There was lack of the correlation among those features and cribra orbitalia. Results of this study were compared with other medieval skeletal series from Poland.
The study was based on clinical, densitometric and biochemical evaluations and on a life-style questionnaire, applied in a cohort of 41 individuals. The mean age of the young women was 24.2 (18-36) years. The main point was to compare subgroups with (CS) an without (NCS) corticosteroid treatment (19 and 22 patients, respectively). There was no significant difference in age, weight and duration of JCA. Of the densitometric examinations, spine DXA (DPX-L LUNAR apparatus) yielded values significantly lower in CS than in NCS individuals (p = 0.05). Much more apparent was the difference in stiffness measurements in the calcanei performed by Achilles-LUNAR ultrasound instrument, again with lower values in CS women (p = 0.001) (Fig. 1, 2, 3). No significant differences were found between the two subgroups as regards blood levels of bone alkaline phosphatase, osteocalcin and tartrate-resistant acidic phosphatase, and urine hydroxyproline output. Menarche occurred at a mean age of 14.37 years in the CS subgroup (p = 0.01, against healthy population) and of 13.32 years in the NCS subgroup (not significant). The prevalence of fractures was enconsiderable in both subgroups. These findings are to be understood from the viewpoint of combined influences of both disease activity and corticotherapy in the CS patients with JCA.
OBJECTIVE:To measure the levels of two adhesion molecules (AM), soluble intercellular adhesion molecule 1 (sICAM-1) and soluble E-selectin (sE-selectin), in serum and synovial fluid (SF) of patients with juvenile chronic arthritis (JCA).METHODS:Both soluble AM levels were tested, in serum and synovial fluid (SF) samples, with an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) method.RESULTS:Serum levels of sICAM-1 and sE-selectin in JCA patients were not significantly different from those of a control group. Synovial fluid levels of sICAM-1, but not of sE-selectin, assayed significantly higher (p < 0.05) in JCA patients than in controls. Moreover SF levels of both molecules correlated negatively with disease duration, being higher in the earliest phases. No significant correlations were found between JCA sICAM-1 and sE-selectin levels and leukocyte count or ESR.CONCLUSIONS:These observations may signify a more important role of ICAM-1 than E-selectin in the migration of inflammatory cells into JCA SF. The negative correlation of both AMSF levels in JCA patients with disease duration could reflect a higher expression of ICAM-1 and E-selectin during the earliest phases of the disease.
About 12-16 p.c. of the patients with JCA had a reduced saliva production. These were older than twelve years or belonged to the systemic form of JCA. The reduced saliva production is clinically not discernible. Enteral deviation or disturbances are observed with rheumatic arthritis. Various examinators have found a Sicca syndrome at about 6-12 p.c. of patients suffering from rheumatic arthritis (1, 2, 3). The mostly retrospective examinations do not allow a direct comparison. Up to now the Sicca syndrome has rarely been observed with the Juvenile Chronic Arthritis. This investigation is to present the quantitative production of saliva of JCA patients.
