American Journal of Roentgenology, Vol 163, 241-247, Copyright © 1994 by American Roentgen Ray Society
Edward B. D. Neuhauser Lecture. Paleoradiology of the prehistoric Australian aborigines
ME Kricun
Department of Radiology, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia 19104.
Prehistoric populations suffered the rigors of everyday survival as
hunter-gatherers, and some of the individuals had osseous manifestations as
a result both of these stresses and of aging. Paleomedical scientists
usually seek out osseous abnormalities found in skeletal remains, thus
stressing the morbidity of a population [4]. In so doing, they portray
those populations as less healthy than their own. This may not necessarily
be the case. Specimens without signs of injury should be considered as
evidence of the population's vitality; bones with evidence of injury that
has healed during life should be considered as evidence of debility; and
bones with evidence of conditions that are occupational in origin should be
considered as evidence of social, economic, and ecological environmental
conditions [4]. This is more useful than singling out specimens with
abnormalities as signs of the population's morbidity [4]. This is confirmed
by the majority of bones appearing osteologically healthy, except for the
characteristic findings of biomechanical wear and tear arising from
acquiring food and from combat (osteoarthritis, fractures). Although a
number of children may have been infected by the treponematoses, which were
manifested by cutaneous lesions, only a small percentage of children
actually experienced osseous infection. Also, bone metastases were
extremely rare.
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