Understanding the Origin of Superficial Bone Changes in Qafzeh 9 Skull (Middle Paleolithic, Southwestern Asia): Contribution of Three-Dimensional Imaging.

Objectives: Deciphering the origins of bone alterations is crucial in paleoanthropology for understanding biological variation and distinguishing between taphonomy, normal anatomy, growth-related changes, and pathological conditions.

Materials And Methods: Qafzeh 9, an early anatomically modern human from Lower Galilee, exhibits three alterations on its frontal bone: a circular lacuna, two parallel grooves, and a flattening near the superior temporal line. Micro-CT images and 3D reconstructions complement macroscopic observations to determine the etiologies of these features.

Upper Paleolithic tuberculosis: A probable case illustrated by paleoimaging methods (Azilian site of Les Iboussières, France).

The aim of this paper is to present the results of μCT-scan and 3D imaging analyses of two skeletal lesions observed on human remains of one of the last European hunter-gatherers from the late Paleolithic (Azilian period): a sacroiliac osteoarthritis and a femoral lesion suggestive of a soft tissue abscess imprint. These two skeletal elements (fused left sacrum and coxal bone, and right femur) displayed osteometric criteria indicating that they belonged to the same individual. These two associated lesions are consistent with a low-grade osteoarticular infection, and suggest a diagnosis of pelvic tuberculosis with a cold abscess of the thigh.

Re-examination of the Subalyuk Neanderthal remains uncovers signs of probable TB infection (Subalyuk Cave, Hungary).

In 1932, skeletal remains of two Neanderthal individuals, a young adult female and a 3-4-year-old child, were discovered in Subalyuk Cave in Northern Hungary [1,2]. Results of the anthropological examination were published some years after this important discovery. Methodological progress encouraged re-examination of the material during the last few years.

Oldest evidence of tuberculosis in the Mediterranean islands: From the mainland to Cyprus.

Recent studies combining macroscopical observations and microCT analysis strongly suggested the diagnosis of tuberculosis for a child from the site of Khirokitia (Cyprus, 7th - early 6th millennium cal. BC), whose age at death is between 5 and 7 years. Many single primary burials were discovered at the site where the dead (MNI = 243) are buried in the same way, whatever their age.

First direct dating of the Late Neanderthal remains from Subalyuk Cave in Northern Hungary.

The Subalyuk hominin remains were uncovered in 1932 in a cave of the same name in the Bükk Mountains, near the village of Cserépfalu in Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén County, Northern Hungary. The remains represent two individuals, an adult and a young child who have been described in a few publications since their discovery, providing substantial anthropological data and general assessments of their Neanderthal affiliation. They were associated with Late Mousterian industry.

A 36,200-year-old carving from Grotte des Gorges, Amange, Jura, France.

The earliest European carvings, made of mammoth ivory, depict animals, humans, and anthropomorphs. They are found at Early Aurignacian sites of the Swabian Jura in Germany. Despite the wide geographical spread of the Aurignacian across Europe, these carvings have no contemporaneous counterparts.

On the Quina side: A Neanderthal bone industry at Chez-Pinaud site, France.

Did Neanderthal produce a bone industry? The recent discovery of a large bone tool assemblage at the Neanderthal site of Chagyrskaya (Altai, Siberia, Russia) and the increasing discoveries of isolated finds of bone tools in various Mousterian sites across Eurasia stimulate the debate. Assuming that the isolate finds may be the tip of the iceberg and that the Siberian occurrence did not result from a local adaptation of easternmost Neanderthals, we looked for evidence of a similar industry in the Western side of their spread area. We assessed the bone tool potential of the Quina bone-bed level currently under excavation at chez Pinaud site (Jonzac, Charente-Maritime, France) and found as many bone tools as flint ones: not only the well-known retouchers but also beveled tools, retouched artifacts and a smooth-ended rib.

Inner ear modifications in Dar-es-Soltane II H5 (Morocco): A case of labyrinthitis ossificans.

Objective: This paper presents the inner ear modifications in Dar-es-Soltane II H5, an Aterian fossil possibly dated to 100 ka.

Material: The remains consist of a large portion of the cranium including the face, the left frontal and temporal bones, part of the left parietal bone and greater wing of the sphenoid.

Methods: The bony labyrinth anatomy was investigated on existing micro-CT data acquired by the MPI-EVA.

Disability in a medieval village community: A unique case of facial dysmorphism.

Objective: To identify the pathology causing the severe facial dysmorphia of a medieval individual from the site of Rigny (Indre-et-Loire, France) and to evaluate its functional repercussions on the subject's hearing and social life.

Materials: An individual from Rigny for the osteological study, 69 individuals from the region for the Ct-Scan study and 48 individuals from the site for the isotopic analysis.

Methods: Macroscopic analysis was performed using standard osteological methods.

3D reappraisal of trepanations at St. Cosme priory between the 12th and the 15th centuries, France.

Objective: This study aims to place trepanation in a medieval therapeutic context by addressing its medical use in neurological disorders and by testing the existence of particular dietary care for the sick.

Materials: Six cases of trepanation found at the St. Cosme priory (La Riche, France) dated from the 12th-15th centuries.

Are the identified collections of immature skeletons dating from the Industrial Revolution good references for paleoauxological studies? Cases studies from England & France.

Objective: Skeletal collections of immature individuals identified by age and sex serve as reference material for studying development in past populations. Several of these collections were established during the Industrial Revolution (IR), a period known for its difficult living conditions in industrial cities. We question if these collections represent useful comparisons from which to explore the natural history of human growth.

Was the rise of TB contemporaneous with the industrial revolution? Epidemiological evolution of TB in France (17th-20th centuries) inferred from osteoarchaeological and historical archives.

Objective: The development of tuberculosis is classically associated with the rise of the Industrial Revolution. Our objective is to test this epidemiological hypothesis for populations in France between the 18th and 20th centuries using osteoarchaeological and historical sources.

Materials: Osteoarchaeological sources include two skeletal collections from plague epidemics in Provence (1590 and 1722) representing a total of 349 individuals and medical archives dating 1750-1930 from Paris, Lyon, Marseille, Montpellier.

Can the palaeoepidemiology of rickets during the industrialisation period in France be studied through bioarchaeological grey literature and French medico-historical literature of the 18th-early 20th centuries? Preliminary examination of a complex topic.

Objective: This study explores whether data relating to rickets from the French medico-historical literature (FMHL) and bioarchaeological grey literature are useful in evaluating its epidemiology during the industrialisation of France. Unlike other European countries such as England, industrialisation in France was a slow and continuous process with two phases: the first in 1830-1870 and the second in 1870-1914.

Materials And Methods: A bibliographical analysis of 2800 FMHL sources from the 18th to the early 20th centuries and 50 archaeological excavation reports from the last 21 years was undertaken.

Structural effects of variation in the human clavicle.

Objectives: Purported evolutionary shifts in shoulder structure have been linked to changes in hominin behavior and adaptation. Researchers use clavicle morphology to infer these shifts. However, there is a lack of empirical data underlying such predictive relationships.

Trabecular bone microarchitecture analysis, a way for an early detection of genetic dwarfism? Case study of a dwarf mother's offspring.

A 66 year-old woman with a disproportionate dwarfism and who bore seven children was discovered at the Middenbeemster archaeological site (The Netherlands). Three are perinates and show no macroscopic or radiological evidence for a FGFR3 mutation causing hypo-or achondroplasia. This mutation induces dysfunction of the growth cartilage, leading to abnormalities in the development of trabecular bone.

Neonatal postcrania from Mezmaiskaya, Russia, and Le Moustier, France, and the development of Neandertal body form.

Neandertal and modern human adults differ in skeletal features of the cranium and postcranium, and it is clear that many of the cranial differences-although not all of them-are already present at the time of birth. We know less, however, about the developmental origins of the postcranial differences. Here, we address this deficiency with morphometric analyses of the postcrania of the two most complete Neandertal neonates-Mezmaiskaya 1 (from Russia) and Le Moustier 2 (from France)-and a recent human sample.

Human tuberculosis predates domestication in ancient Syria.

The question of pre-neolithic tuberculosis is still open in paleopathological perspective. One of the major interests is to explore what type of infection could have existed around the early stage of animal domestication. Paleopathological lesions evoking skeletal TB were observed on five human skeletons coming from two PPNB sites in Syria, which belongs to the geographical cradle of agriculture.

Three-dimensional imaging of past skeletal TB: From lesion to process.

3D imaging has become an essential tool in the field of biological anthropology, notably for human evolution purposes. High resolution virtual 3D reconstructions of original specimens contribute to their preservation and broaden the ability for research, teaching and exchanges. Paleopathology can get substantial benefit from these methods, among others for reconstructing infectious pathological processes on ancient bones.

Langerhans cell histiocytosis or tuberculosis on a medieval child (Oppidum de la Granède, Millau, France - 10th-11th centuries AD).

In 2008, a skeleton of a 1 - 2.5-year-old child radiocarbon dated from the 10th - 11th century AD was discovered on the oppidum of La Granède (Millau, France). It presents multiple cranial osteolytic lesions having punched-out or geographical map-like aspects associated with sequestrum and costal osteitis.

Homo erectus at Trinil on Java used shells for tool production and engraving.

The manufacture of geometric engravings is generally interpreted as indicative of modern cognition and behaviour. Key questions in the debate on the origin of such behaviour are whether this innovation is restricted to Homo sapiens, and whether it has a uniquely African origin. Here we report on a fossil freshwater shell assemblage from the Hauptknochenschicht ('main bone layer') of Trinil (Java, Indonesia), the type locality of Homo erectus discovered by Eugène Dubois in 1891 (refs 2 and 3).

Anthropological facial approximation in three dimensions (AFA3D): computer-assisted estimation of the facial morphology using geometric morphometrics.

This study presents Anthropological Facial Approximation in Three Dimensions (AFA3D), a new computerized method for estimating face shape based on computed tomography (CT) scans of 500 French individuals. Facial soft tissue depths are estimated based on age, sex, corpulence, and craniometrics, and projected using reference planes to obtain the global facial appearance. Position and shape of the eyes, nose, mouth, and ears are inferred from cranial landmarks through geometric morphometrics.

Earliest cranio-encephalic trauma from the Levantine Middle Palaeolithic: 3D reappraisal of the Qafzeh 11 skull, consequences of pediatric brain damage on individual life condition and social care.

The Qafzeh site (Lower Galilee, Israel) has yielded the largest Levantine hominin collection from Middle Palaeolithic layers which were dated to circa 90-100 kyrs BP or to marine isotope stage 5b-c. Within the hominin sample, Qafzeh 11, circa 12-13 yrs old at death, presents a skull lesion previously attributed to a healed trauma. Three dimensional imaging methods allowed us to better explore this lesion which appeared as being a frontal bone depressed fracture, associated with brain damage.

Fibrous dysplasia of the temporal bone: A case from the Glen Williams Ossuary, Ontario, Canada.

This case is an example of fibrous dysplasia (FD) of bone in an adult male cranium. The Glen Williams Ossuary is a commingled sample composed of a minimum of 309 individuals from southern Ontario, Canada, dating to the 14th century, A.D.