Matskási István (szerk.): A Magyar Természettudományi Múzeum évkönyve 88. (Budapest 1996)

Ubelaker, D. H. ; Pap, I.: Health profiles of a Bronze Age population from northeastern Hungary

Observations on pathological or stress conditions were limited to those that have proven useful in elucidating those conditions in other populations. Dental traits, both permanent and deciduous, include enamel defects, dental caries, and alveolar abscesses. Other conditions include cribra orbitale, porotic hyperostosis, vertebral osteophytosis, trauma, abnormal periosteal bone apposition, and midshaft circumference of the tibia and femur. Intact long bones were measured for stature calculation. Enamel defects were classified as (1) linear horizontal grooves, (2) linear vertical grooves, (3) linear horizontal pits, (4) nonlinear arrays of pits, (5) single pits, (6) discrete boundary hypocalcification and (7) diffuse boundary hypocalcification. The colours of hypocalcifications were classified as (1) yellow, (2) cream/white, (3) orange or (4) brown. Defects were recorded only if they could clearly be distinguished from normal developmental variation and postmortem changes. Dental carious lesions were classified as (1) occlusal, (2) interproximal surface, (3) smooth surface, (4) cervical caries, (5) root caries, (6) large caries, and (7) non-carious pulp exposure. Dental caries were recorded when they were at least one mm in diameter and presented clear evidence of disease and tissue collapse. Abscesses were classified by their location in either the buccal or lingual bone surface. In all cases, abscesses were noted in association with existing teeth or with those obviously missing postmortem. Observations on the presence or absence of abscess were not recorded in association with teeth missing antemortem when the alveolus was extensively resorbed. Both cribra orbitale and porotic hyperostosis were characterized by side as fine porosity, extensive porosity, and/or bone deposits. These conditions were recorded as being present only when the porosity and/or bone deposits clearly could be distingished from normal variation and postmortem defects. Vertebral osteophytosis was scored as the maximum expression within each vertebral group (cervical, thoracic, lumbar). Centrum margins were classified as rounded, sharpened, slight extensions (osteophytes), or extreme extensions. Trauma and infections were described individually by expression and by bone location. As with other pathological conditions, infection was recorded as present only when the lesions clearly could be distinguished from normal skeletal variation and postmortem change. Evidence of infection usually took the form of fine periosteal bone deposited upon the normal cortical bone surface. The extent of remodeling of these deposits provides information about the relative timing of the deposits prior to death. Sex and age at death were estimated using standard non-invasive techniques (UBELAKER 1989). Whenever possible, sex was estimated from pelvis morphology, especially the form of the pubis. In the absence or poor preservation of the pelvic bones, sex was estimated from general bone size. Whenever possible, age at death of juvenile individuals was estimated from the extent of dental formation. Other criteria employed include dental eruption, and bone size. Adult age at death was estimated from the morphology of the pubic symphysis when that bone was available. Other criteria employed included the extent of epiphyseal union, dental attrition, dental loss, morphology of the auricular area of the ilium, vertebral osteophytosis, and other general age indicators of the skeleton.