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).

Stable population structure in Europe since the Iron Age, despite high mobility.

Ancient DNA research in the past decade has revealed that European population structure changed dramatically in the prehistoric period (14,000-3000 years before present, YBP), reflecting the widespread introduction of Neolithic farmer and Bronze Age Steppe ancestries. However, little is known about how population structure changed from the historical period onward (3000 YBP - present). To address this, we collected whole genomes from 204 individuals from Europe and the Mediterranean, many of which are the first historical period genomes from their region (e.

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.

Computer-aided craniofacial superimposition validation study: the identification of the leaders and participants of the Polish-Lithuanian January Uprising (1863-1864).

In 2017, a series of human remains corresponding to the executed leaders of the "January Uprising" of 1863-1864 were uncovered at the Upper Castle of Vilnius (Lithuania). During the archeological excavations, 14 inhumation pits with the human remains of 21 individuals were found at the site. The subsequent identification process was carried out, including the analysis and cross-comparison of post-mortem data obtained in situ and in the lab with ante-mortem data obtained from historical archives.

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.

An integrative skeletal and paleogenomic analysis of stature variation suggests relatively reduced health for early European farmers.

Human culture, biology, and health were shaped dramatically by the onset of agriculture ∼12,000 y B.P. This shift is hypothesized to have resulted in increased individual fitness and population growth as evidenced by archaeological and population genomic data alongside a decline in physiological health as inferred from skeletal remains.

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.

Insights into biogenic and diagenetic lead exposure in experimentally altered modern and archaeological bone: Synchrotron radiation X-ray fluorescence imaging.

Bones represent a valuable biological archive of environmental lead (Pb) exposure for modern and archaeological populations. Synchrotron radiation X-ray fluorescence imaging (SR-XFI) generates maps of Pb in bone on a microstructural scale, potentially providing insights into an individual's history of Pb exposure and, in the context of archaeological bone, the biogenic or diagenetic nature of its uptake. The aims of this study were to (1) examine biogenic spatial patterns for Pb from bone samples of modern cadavers compared with patterns observed archaeologically, and (2) test the hypothesis that there are spatial differences in the distribution of Pb for diagenetic and biogenic modes of uptake in bone.

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.

An integrative approach to studying plasticity in growth disruption and outcomes: A bioarchaeological case study of Napoleonic soldiers.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate how much variation in adult stature and body mass can be explained by growth disruption among soldiers who served in Napoleon's Grand Army during the Russian Campaign of 1812.

Methods: Linear enamel hypoplasia (LEH) were recorded as representations of early life growth disruption, while the impact on future growth was assessed using maximum femur length (n = 73) as a proxy for stature and maximum femoral head diameter (n = 25) as a proxy for body mass. LEH frequency, severity, age at first formation, and age at last formation served as explanatory variables in a multiple regression analysis to test the effect of these variables on maximum femur length and maximum femoral head diameter.

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.

Stable carbon and nitrogen isotope inter- and intra-individual dietary reconstruction from the late 14th to early 18th century site of Alytus, Lithuania.

Objectives: The Baltic region, particularly Lithuania, was a politically vibrant area of Eastern Europe during the medieval and early modern period. To better understand the diet of Lithuanians during the late 14th to early 18th century, we examine stable carbon and nitrogen isotope ratios from bone and dentin samples from the site of Alytus. We investigate possible dietary differences based on sex, age, and religious practice, as well as dietary changes throughout an individual's lifetime, within the broader European milieu.

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.

Author Correction: The genetic prehistory of the Baltic Sea region.

The original version of this Article omitted references to previous work, which are detailed in the associated Author Correction. These omissions have been corrected in both the PDF and HTML versions of the Article.

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.

Eastern Baltic region vs. Western Europe: modelling age related changes in the pubic symphysis and the auricular surface.

Objectives. The present study addresses the following two main questions: a) Is the pattern of skeletal ageing observed in well-known western European reference collections applicable to modern eastern Baltic populations, or are population-specific standards needed? b) What are the consequences for estimating the age-at-death distribution in the target population when differences in the estimates from reference data are not taken into account? Materials and methods. The dataset consists of a modern Lithuanian osteological reference collection, which is the only collection of this type in the eastern Baltic countries (n = 381); and two major western European reference collections, Coimbra (n = 264) and Spitalfields (n = 239).

The genetic prehistory of the Baltic Sea region.

While the series of events that shaped the transition between foraging societies and food producers are well described for Central and Southern Europe, genetic evidence from Northern Europe surrounding the Baltic Sea is still sparse. Here, we report genome-wide DNA data from 38 ancient North Europeans ranging from ~9500 to 2200 years before present. Our analysis provides genetic evidence that hunter-gatherers settled Scandinavia via two routes.

The Stone Age Plague and Its Persistence in Eurasia.

Yersinia pestis, the etiologic agent of plague, is a bacterium associated with wild rodents and their fleas. Historically it was responsible for three pandemics: the Plague of Justinian in the 6 century AD, which persisted until the 8 century [1]; the renowned Black Death of the 14 century [2, 3], with recurrent outbreaks until the 18 century [4]; and the most recent 19 century pandemic, in which Y. pestis spread worldwide [5] and became endemic in several regions [6].

Checklist and Scoring System for the Assessment of Soft Tissue Preservation in CT Examinations of Human Mummies: Application to the Tyrolean Iceman.

 Soft tissues make a skeleton into a mummy and they allow for a diagnosis beyond osteology. Following the approach of structured reporting in clinical radiology, a recently developed checklist was used to evaluate the soft tissue preservation status of the Tyrolean Iceman using computed tomography (CT). The purpose of this study was to apply the "Checklist and Scoring System for the Assessment of Soft Tissue Preservation in CT Examinations of Human Mummies" to the Tyrolean Iceman, and to compare the Iceman's soft tissue preservation score to the scores calculated for other mummies.

Reconstructing diet in Napoleon's Grand Army using stable carbon and nitrogen isotope analysis.

Objectives: Historical evidence has provided information regarding disease and mortality in Napoleon Bonaparte's Grand Army, but dietary information beyond individual soldier accounts remains scarce. The purpose of this research is to reconstruct the diets of Napoleon's multiethnic army who were associated with the Russian Campaign of 1812.

Materials And Methods: We conducted stable carbon and nitrogen isotope ratio analysis on femoral bone collagen of 78 individuals recovered from a salvage excavation at the mass gravesite of Šiaurės miestelis in Vilnius, Lithuania.

17 Century Variola Virus Reveals the Recent History of Smallpox.

Smallpox holds a unique position in the history of medicine. It was the first disease for which a vaccine was developed and remains the only human disease eradicated by vaccination. Although there have been claims of smallpox in Egypt, India, and China dating back millennia [1-4], the timescale of emergence of the causative agent, variola virus (VARV), and how it evolved in the context of increasingly widespread immunization, have proven controversial [4-9].