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Parasites, Porotic Hyperostosis, and the Implications of Changing Perspectives

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Thomas D. Holland  and
Michael J. O'Brien
Thomas D. Holland
Affiliation:
U.S. Army Central Identification Laboratory, Hawaii, Hickam Air Force Base, HI 96853–5530
Michael J. O'Brien
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211
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Abstract

Cribra orbitalia and porotic hyperostosis traditionally have been viewed (at least by archaeologists) as indicators of chronic iron deficiency anemia resulting from a dependency upon maize. Recent interpretations, however, have sought to explain these conditions as an evolutionary, adaptive response to intestinal parasites rather than as a consequence of poor nutrition. Thus diet is eliminated as a contributing factor. This model, however, adopts too simplistic a view of evolution. Furthermore, it concomitantly severs the well-documented link that exists between cranial lesions and cereal-based subsistence. A more realistic approach would be to incorporate both diet and pathogens (bacterial as well as parasitic) into a symbiotic model that acknowledges the important role of parasites in the etiology of cribra orbitalia and porotic hyperostosis, while maintaining the diagnostic value of these conditions as hallmarks of early agriculture.

Cribra orbitalia y porotic hyperostosis se han visto tradicionalmente (por lo menos por arqueólogos) como indicadores de anemia por deficiencia de hierro a consecuencia de una dependencia de maize. Interpretaciones recientes, sin embargo, han intentado explicar estas condiciones como una reacción evolutiva y adaptiva a parásitos intestinales en vez de una consecuencia de pobre nutrición. Entonces, la dieta es eliminada como un elemento contributivo. El problema es que este modelo adopta una perspectiva demasiada sencilla de evolución. Además, el modelo rompe el esclabón bien documentado que existe entre lesiones craneales y una subsistencia basada en cereales. Una aproximación más realística sería incorporar dieta y patógenos (los bacterianos tanto como los parasíticos) a un modelo simbiótico que reconozca el papel importante de parásitos en la etiologia de cribra orbitalia y porotic hyperostosis mientras mantenga el valor diagnostico de estas condiciones como señales de la agricultura antigua.

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Articles
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American Antiquity , Volume 62 , Issue 2 , April 1997 , pp. 183 - 193
Copyright
Copyright © The Society for American Archaeology 1997

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