ABSTRACT

Pathological conditions in skeletal remains, such as cribra orbitalia and porotic hyperostosis, can be caused by etiologically different forms of anemia: hereditary hemolytic anemias, iron deficiency anemias, megaloblastic anemias, etc. Though not always simple to apply, differential diagnosis of cases of anemia found in the archaeological record is essential to correlate the pathology with the wider environmental and socio-cultural context.

Anthropological analysis of the skeletal sample from the archaeological site of Vetricella showed a very high prevalence of cribra orbitalia and porotic hyperostosis. The differential diagnosis between acquired and congenital anemia is essential in the study of this condition, especially considering the presence of Plasmodium falciparum in this area and its role in the possible subsequent spread of the thalassaemia gene, which was widespread until a few decades ago.

Carbon and nitrogen stable isotope analysis was carried out on a large subset of the skeletal sample, including both anemic and non-anemic individuals, to investigate the nutritional patterns of the Vetricella population in order to verify whether the widespread traces of anemia might be of dietary origin.

Isotope results allowed for the exclusion of the hypothesis of nutritional-deficiency anemia and supported the hypothesis of congenital anemia.

摘要

骨骼残留物的病理状况，例如网状眼眶和多孔性骨质增生，可能是由病因学上不同形式的贫血引起的：遗传性溶血性贫血，铁缺乏性贫血，巨幼细胞性贫血等。在考古记录中发现的发现对于将病理学与更广泛的环境和社会文化背景相关联至关重要。

对Vetricella考古遗址的骨骼样本进行的人类学分析表明，克里布轨道病和多孔性骨质增生症的患病率非常高。先天性贫血与先天性贫血之间的鉴别诊断对于研究这种情况至关重要，尤其是考虑到恶性疟原虫在该地区的存在及其在地中海贫血基因可能的后续传播中的作用，这种情况一直持续到几十年前。

对包括贫血和非贫血个体在内的大部分骨骼样本进行了碳和氮稳定同位素分析，以研究Vetricella种群的营养模式，以验证贫血的广泛痕迹是否可能是饮食性的起源。

同位素结果排除了营养缺乏性贫血的假设，并支持了先天性贫血的假设。