The Early Mediaeval manorial estate of Gars/Thunau, Lower Austria: An enclave of endemic tuberculosis?

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. Radiocarbon dating revealed a chronological age of 39,732-39,076 cal. BP for the adult female and 36,117-35,387 cal. BP for the child [3]. Morphological paleopathological studies of these Neanderthal remains uncovered distinct evidence of skeletal infections. Alterations of the adult individual's sacrum suggest probable early-stage sacroiliitis, while several vertebral bodies indicate superficial osseous remodelling of infectious origin. Traces of pathological lesions were observed on the endocranial surface of the child's skull, reflecting a reaction of meningeal tissues, a consequence of a probable TB-related meningeal infectious process. Results of recent paleomicrobiological examinations - lipid biomarker and aDNA studies - support the morphological diagnosis of probable TB infections [4].

The Evolution of Diagnostic Techniques in the Paleopathology of Tuberculosis: A Scoping Review

Tuberculosis (TB) is an ancient chronic infectious disease that remains a global health concern. In human remains, the most common and characteristic clinical signs are the skeletal modifications involving the spine, such as in Pott's disease. Diagnosing TB in ancient human remains is challenging. Therefore, in this systematic review, the authors investigated the studies assessing molecular diagnosis of Pott's disease in ancient human remains with the intention to survey the literature, map the evidence, and identify gaps and future perspectives on TB in paleopathology. Our systematic review offers a full contextualization of the history of Pott's disease in ancient times. Our search strategy was performed between August 2022 and March 2023. The authors initially identified 340 records, and 74 studies were finally included and assessed for qualitative analysis. Due to non-specific clinical signs associated with TB, how best to diagnose tuberculosis in human remains still represents a central point. Nevertheless, ancient DNA (aDNA) analysis, lipid biomarkers, and spoligotyping might be extremely useful tools in the study of TB in human remains. Moreover, we propose the extraction and study of immune response genes involved in innate and adaptive immunity versus Mycobacterium spp. as an innovative and vastly overlooked approach in TB paleopathology. Complementary methodologies should be integrated to provide the best approach to the study of TB in human remains.

Morphological integration in the hominid midfoot

The calculation of morphological integration across living apes and humans may provide important insights into the potential influence of integration on evolutionary trajectories in the hominid lineage. Here, we quantify magnitudes of morphological integration among and within elements of the midfoot in great apes and humans to examine the link between locomotor differences and trait covariance. We test the hypothesis that the medial elements of the great ape foot are less morphologically integrated with one another compared to humans based on their abducted halluces, and aim to determine how adaptations for midfoot mobility/stiffness and locomotor specialization influence magnitudes of morphological integration. The study sample is composed of all cuneiforms, the navicular, the cuboid, and metatarsals 1-5 of Homo sapiens (n = 80), Pan troglodytes (n = 63), Gorilla gorilla (n = 39), and Pongo sp. (n = 41). Morphological integration was quantified using the integration coefficient of variation of interlandmark distances organized into sets of a priori-defined modules. Magnitudes of integration across these modules were then compared against sets of random traits from the whole midfoot. Results show that all nonhuman apes have less integrated medial elements, whereas humans have highly integrated medial elements, suggesting a link between hallucal abduction and reduced levels of morphological integration. However, we find considerable variation in magnitudes of morphological integration across metatarsals 2-5, the intermediate and lateral cuneiform, the cuboid, and navicular, emphasizing the influence of functional and nonfunctional factors in magnitudes of integration. Lastly, we find that humans and orangutans show the lowest overall magnitudes of integration in the midfoot, which may be related to their highly specialized functions, and suggest a link between strong diversifying selection and reduced magnitudes of morphological integration.

Microarchitecture of historic bone samples with tuberculosis

Tuberculosis is among the leading causes of death from infectious diseases and affects many organ systems, including the skeleton. Skeletal tuberculosis is an extrapulmonary stage of tuberculosis, which occurs after the early and post-primary pulmonary stages of the disease. The aim of our study was to assess the microarchitecture of historic dry bone samples of subjects who have died of tuberculosis documented by post-mortem examinations. These preparations date to the pre-antibiotic era, and were provided by the Pathological-Anatomical Collection in the “Fools Tower” of the Natural History Museum Vienna (PASiN-NHM).

We investigated macerated samples of 20 vertebral bodies, 19 femoral heads, and 20 tibiae of a total of 59 individuals diagnosed with tuberculosis from the nineteenth and early twentieth century. 10 femora and 10 tibiae from body donors that did not exhibit signs of infection and 10 (unaffected) vertebrae kept at the PASiN-NHM were studied as controls. The affected regions of the bone samples (and the corresponding regions of the control bones) were analyzed by microcomputed tomography using a Viscom X 8060 II system. Obtained images were analyzed semi-quantitatively. In samples with tuberculosis, independent of the investigated skeletal region, trabecular defects and decreased trabecular thickness were observed. Cortical porosity was seen in affected vertebrae and tibia; in tuberculous tibiae (but not in the femora) cortical thickness was decreased. In half of the individuals, cortical sclerosis was present; signs of ankylosis were observed mainly at the femoral heads affected with tuberculosis. We conclude that a combination of several alterations at the trabecular compartment could be suggestive of the presence of tuberculosis in historic skeletal remains.