Aortic paleopathology: osteological evidence of an aortic aneurysm in historic human remains from Lithuania (1718 centuries AD).

This report investigates a probable aortic aneurysm in a skeleton from Kedainiai, Lithuania, assessing cardiovascular signs within a sample of 22 adults. Notably, sternal bone changes indicative of chronic aneurysmal pressure were observed. The remains, identified as those of a middle-aged adult male (ca.

Mummies tell stories: CT investigation of eight members of the Kėdainiai elite (Grand Duchy of Lithuania, 17th-18th centuries AD).

The objective of this study is to evaluate the mummified remains of eight high-ranking people buried in two crypts of the Evangelical Reformed Church at Kėdainiai, Lithuania. The evaluation criteria include biological or cultural indicators, the assessment of pathological conditions and their possible etiology, and the preservation status of these remains. The eight individuals were recovered during a project aimed at exploring the tombs of potential members of the Radziwiłł family, a powerful dynasty of the former Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland (1569-1795).

Palaeogenomics of Upper Palaeolithic to Neolithic European hunter-gatherers.

Modern humans have populated Europe for more than 45,000 years. Our knowledge of the genetic relatedness and structure of ancient hunter-gatherers is however limited, owing to the scarceness and poor molecular preservation of human remains from that period. Here we analyse 356 ancient hunter-gatherer genomes, including new genomic data for 116 individuals from 14 countries in western and central Eurasia, spanning between 35,000 and 5,000 years ago.

On some paleopathological examples of amputation and the implications for healthcare in 13th-17th century Lithuania.

Objective: To explore care that was likely provided to an adult male amputee from medieval Lithuania, positioning analysis within what is known of contemporary amputation practices.

Materials: Three sets of skeletal remains with evidence for amputation, dating to between the 13th-17th centuries AD and recovered during different archaeological excavations in Vilnius, Lithuania.

Methods: Macroscopic inspection of lesions, with additional X-ray analysis of the main subject.

A possible case of paralysis in early modern Vilnius and the implications for social care.

Objective: To present a case of possible paralysis from early modern Vilnius and to discuss the potential level of care that was provided in the society of that time.

Materials: A partially disturbed skeleton of a young female from a 16th-17th century Orthodox Christian cemetery.

Methods: Macroscopic, osteometric and X-ray examinations coupled with a literature review aimed at providing a differential diagnosis.

Diet patterns in medieval to early modern (14-early 20 c.) coastal communities in Lithuania.

Coastal residents are quite often expected to consume a significant amount of aquatic resources, though historical evidence often reveals a rather complex diet. To better understand the actual consumption and the distribution of various foods, stable isotope (δC and δN) analyses were employed to skeletal remains from three coastal communities, Palanga, Kretinga and Smeltė, ranging in date from the medieval period to the early modern ages (14-early 20 c.) near the Curonian Lagoon and the Baltic Sea in Lithuania.

A treponemal genome from an historic plague victim supports a recent emergence of yaws and its presence in 15 century Europe.

Developments in techniques for identification of pathogen DNA in archaeological samples can expand our resolution of disease detection. Our application of a non-targeted molecular screening tool for the parallel detection of pathogens in historical plague victims from post-medieval Lithuania revealed the presence of more than one active disease in one individual. In addition to Yersinia pestis, we detected and genomically characterized a septic infection of Treponema pallidum pertenue, a subtype of the treponemal disease family recognised as the cause of the tropical disease yaws.

A rare case of child abuse from early modern Lithuania.

The aim of this article was to describe the outcome of a probable case of physical abuse in the remains of a child dating from the 16-18 centuries CE. The skeleton of a subadult was recovered during archaeological excavations carried out in the village of Užubaliai, located in Alytus in southern Lithuania, and subsequently curated in the Faculty of Medicine at Vilnius University. The bones of this child were observed macroscopically and then submitted for radiological investigation.

Four cases of beheading from 14-17 century Lithuania.

Skeletal evidence of beheading in early modern Lithuania has been scarce, despite historical documentation indicating it as a popular practice. This study presents the first bioarchaeological cases of decapitation in early modern Lithuania, with four adult male individuals from the 14-17 centuries A.D.

Paleoimaging of a modern mummy from Lithuania (circa 19th-20th century).

An anthropogenic human mummy curated in the Museum of the History of Medicine, Vilnius University, was recently examined by means of computed tomography. Although the mummy lacked data regarding its specific context and historical information on its identity and chronology, the investigation focused on the embalming method adopted to preserve it. Some pathological alterations were also recorded.

Taphonomic considerations of a whipworm infection in a mummy from the Dominican Church of the Holy Spirit, Vilnius, Lithuania.

In the present study, the abdominal contents of 10 mummies from beneath the Dominican Church of the Holy Spirit in Vilnius, Lithuania, were examined for the presence of helminth parasites using standard archaeoparasitological techniques. Of the mummies examined, only one individual presented with evidence of parasitism. This individual was infected with both Trichuris trichiura and Ascaris lumbricoides (5,222 parasite eggs/gram).