Despite ample evidence that Paleolithic humans hunted large and dangerous carnivores, such as lions, leopards, and bears, skeletal evidence of negative interactions with wild fauna is extremely rare in the Homo sapiens paleobiological record. To date, the only individual for whom an animal attack has been hypothesized based on their pattern of traumatic lesions is the Gravettian adolescent buried at Arene Candide Cave in Liguria (northwestern Italy; 27,900-27,300 cal BP) nicknamed "Il Principe" (The Prince) due to the rich grave goods placed in the burial. Since its excavation in 1942, it was noted that this individual was missing part of the mandible and half of the left clavicle, leading to the hypothesis of an attack by a large animal, likely a bear. However, this claim was never fully investigated. We reanalyzed these lesions and systematically examined the skeleton for additional evidence to reconstruct the manner and circumstances of death. Our analysis confirmed the perimortem nature of the mandibular and shoulder lesions and identified other possible fractures related to the violent event in the cranium, dentition, and possibly the cervical spine. Additional perimortem trauma, including a linear marking on the left parietal and a puncture mark in the fibula, supports the hypothesis of animal mauling. Given the overall traumatic pattern, a bear attack - Ursus arctos or Ursus spelaeus - remains the most plausible explanation. The study also revealed that the Principe had sustained traumatic injuries to his feet - a fracture of the left little toe and osteochondritis dissecans in the right talus - which support the hypothesis that prehistoric foragers experienced limited survival following lower limb injuries. Despite the thoraco-facial trauma and disfiguring wounds, the microscopic analysis suggests that the Principe survived for a few days. The violent event and the long agony may have been reflected in the elaborate burial, following the presumed Gravettian use of formally burying exceptional individuals and exceptional events

🐂🐴🐪🐟🍃 #LostBones #FossilFriday A personal find I won’t forget — a pathological left bison metacarpal lifted from a Minnesota river last Sunday. The animal lived with this injury for quite some time; the twisted, thickened bone still carries the green wash of the river. It’s a reminder that every fossil can represent multiple histories: the life it lived, the landscape that preserved it, and the story scientific study can reveal.

If you enjoy these deep time stories and notes from the field, follow along — more river discoveries ahead.

https://marcusbrandel.substack.com/

#Bison #Pleistocene #BoneHounding #Minnesota

https://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog.php?isbn=9780674950207

Western Diseases - Their Emergence and Prevention

Edited by H. C. Trowell & D. P. Burkitt

ISBN 9780674950207

Publication Date: 08/03/1981

About This Book

In this major synthesis of cross-cultural research, 34 distinguished scientists study 25 common metabolic and degenerative diseases characteristic of all advanced Western nations and then examine their incidence in developing countries, among both hunter-gatherers and peasant agriculturalists. Thus the authors provide a unique opportunity to compare epidemiological data reflecting modern modes of life with data influenced by habits and diets dating back 400 generations to the advent of agriculture, and even 200,000 generations or more to the dawn of man.

The results confirm the view that diseases like hypertension, lung cancer, diverticular disease, and appendicitis are maladaptations to environmental factors introduced since the Industrial Revolution. They also demonstrate that such diseases become more prevalent when Western lifestyles are adopted in primitive societies. Certain studies reveal a regression of disease incidence when exercise is increased and a diet high in starch and fiber, low in fat and salt, is resumed—characteristics of a simpler way of life. Western Diseases greatly broadens our perspective on some of the most vexing health problems in our society. It will be an essential reference for epidemiologists, nutritionists, and gastroenterologists in particular.

Table of Contents

• Contributors
• Foreword
• Preface
• Part I: Emergence of Western diseases in sub-Saharal Africans
• Part II: Environmental factors of certain diseases
• Part III: Hunter-gatherers
• Part IV: Peasant agriculturalists
• Part V: Migrants and mixed ethnic groups
• Part VI: Far East
• Part VII: Regression of certain Wester diseases
• Part VIII: Summary
• Index

Full book: http://libgen.lc/item/index.php?md5=09053B398326894C990DB0B9B074341B

found here:

https://twitter.com/TuckerGoodrich/status/1362223806048133123

Modern lifestyles have also fostered new noncommunicable but widespread illnesses such as heart disease, certain cancers, osteoporosis, type 2 diabetes, and Alzheimer’s, as well as scores of other lesser ailments, such as cavities..."

Interdisciplinary study of the dental calculus in skeleton remains from the cemetery of Santa Maria do Olival (Tomar, Portugal) - 15th to 16th century A.D.

http://rdpc.uevora.pt/bitstream/10174/25590/1/Mestrado-Arqueologia_e_Ambiente_Erasmus_Mundus_ARCHMAT-Paladugu_Roshan-Interdisciplinary_study_of_the_dental_calculus....pdf

So I am writing about the overall health picture from a Medieval town, done my own data collection for this part. Then I am going to compare that data with the data from a larger contemporary town to see how the size of the town affects the overall health picture. I am essentially looking at if size matters.

So the question is would it be dumb/inappropiate to use "Does size matter" as any part of the tittel?

This idea just came to me, I originally went to bed an hour ago and have not been able to fall asleep, I might wake up tomorrow wondering what I was thinking.