Hyperostosis frontalis interna in ancient populations from the Carpathian Basin - A possible relationship between lifestyle and risk of development

Tamás Szeniczey; Antónia Marcsik; Zsófia Ács; Tímea Balassa; Zsolt Bernert; Katalin Bakó; Tamás Czuppon; Anna Endrődi; Sándor Évinger; Zoltán Farkas; Lucia Hlavenková; Krisztina Hoppál; Csaba Kálmán Kiss; Krisztián Kiss; Kinga Kocsis; Loránd Olivér Kovács; Péter F Kovács; Kitti Köhler; László Költő; Ivett Kővári; Orsolya László; Gabriella Lovász; Júlia Lovranits; József Lukács; Zsófia Masek; Mónika Merczi; Erika Molnár; Csilla Emese Németh; János Gábor Ódor; László Paja; Ildikó Pap; Róbert Patay; István Rácz; Zsófia Rácz; Ágnes Ritoók; Gergely Szenthe; Gábor Szilas; Béla Miklós Szőke; Zoltán Tóth; Tivadar Vida; Katalin Wolff; Michael Finnegan; Tamás Hajdu

doi:10.1016/j.ijpp.2018.10.003

Hyperostosis frontalis interna in ancient populations from the Carpathian Basin - A possible relationship between lifestyle and risk of development

Int J Paleopathol. 2019 Mar:24:108-118. doi: 10.1016/j.ijpp.2018.10.003. Epub 2018 Oct 17.

Authors

Tamás Szeniczey¹, Antónia Marcsik², Zsófia Ács³, Tímea Balassa⁴, Zsolt Bernert⁵, Katalin Bakó⁶, Tamás Czuppon⁷, Anna Endrődi⁸, Sándor Évinger⁵, Zoltán Farkas⁹, Lucia Hlavenková¹⁰, Krisztina Hoppál¹¹, Csaba Kálmán Kiss¹², Krisztián Kiss¹³, Kinga Kocsis¹⁴, Loránd Olivér Kovács³, Péter F Kovács¹⁵, Kitti Köhler¹⁶, László Költő¹⁷, Ivett Kővári¹⁸, Orsolya László¹⁹, Gabriella Lovász²⁰, Júlia Lovranits², József Lukács⁶, Zsófia Masek¹⁶, Mónika Merczi²¹, Erika Molnár², Csilla Emese Németh²², János Gábor Ódor²³, László Paja², Ildikó Pap⁵, Róbert Patay²⁴, István Rácz²⁵, Zsófia Rácz²⁶, Ágnes Ritoók²⁷, Gergely Szenthe²⁷, Gábor Szilas⁸, Béla Miklós Szőke¹⁶, Zoltán Tóth²⁸, Tivadar Vida²⁶, Katalin Wolff²⁶, Michael Finnegan²⁹, Tamás Hajdu³⁰

Affiliations

¹ Department of Biological Anthropology, Institute of Biology, Faculty of Science, Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, H-1117, Hungary. Electronic address: szeniczeyt@caesar.elte.hu.
² Department of Biological Anthropology, University of Szeged, Szeged, H-6720, Hungary.
³ Department of Archaeological Excavations and Artefact Processing, Hungarian National Museum, Budapest, H-1088, Hungary.
⁴ BioMedical Centrum Ltd., Pomáz, H-2013, Hungary.
⁵ Department of Anthropology, Hungarian Natural History Museum, Budapest, H-1083, Hungary.
⁶ Budavári Ingatlanfejlesztő és Üzemeltető Nonprofit Ltd., Budapest, H-1013, Hungary.
⁷ Hansági Museum, Mosonmagyaróvár, H-9200, Hungary.
⁸ Department of Prehistoric and Migration Period, Budapest History Museum, Aquincum Museum and Archaeological Park, H-1014, H-1031, Budapest, Hungary.
⁹ Salisbury Ltd., Budapest, H-1016, Hungary.
¹⁰ Institute for History of Medicine and Foreign Languages, Charles University, Prague, 121 08, Czech Republic.
¹¹ Silk Road Research Group, Hungarian Academy of Sciences-Eötvös Loránd University-Szeged University, Budapest, Hungary.
¹² Heritage Consulting Ltd., Békéscsaba, H-5600, Hungary.
¹³ Department of Biological Anthropology, Institute of Biology, Faculty of Science, Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, H-1117, Hungary.
¹⁴ Roska Tamás Doctoral School of Sciences and Technology, Faculty of Information Technology and Bionics, Pázmány Péter Catholic University, Budapest, H-1083, Hungary; Neuronal Network and Behavior Research Group, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience and Psychology, Research Center for Natural Sciences, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Budapest, H-1117, Hungary.
¹⁵ Damjanich János Museum, Szolnok, H-5000, Hungary.
¹⁶ Institute of Archaeology, Research Centre for the Humanities, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Budapest, H-1097, Hungary.
¹⁷ Rippl-Rónai Museum, Kaposvár, H-7400, Hungary.
¹⁸ International Committee of the Red Cross, Geneva, 1202, Switzerland.
¹⁹ Archaeological Heritage Directorate, Hungarian National Museum, Budapest, H-1113, Hungary.
²⁰ Municipal Museum of Subotica, Subotica, 24000, Serbia.
²¹ Balassa Bálint Museum, Esztergom, H-2500, Hungary.
²² Department of Medical Chemistry, Molecular Biology and Pathobiochemistry, Semmelweis University, Budapest, H-1094, Hungary.
²³ Wosinsky Mór County Museum, Szekszárd, H-7100, Hungary.
²⁴ Ferenczy Museum Center, Szentendre, H-2000, Hungary.
²⁵ Department of Biological Anthropology, Institute of Biology, Faculty of Science, Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, H-1117, Hungary; Department of Archaeometry and Archaeological Methodology, Institute of Archaeological Sciences, Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, H-1088, Hungary.
²⁶ Department of Early Medieval and Historical Archaeology, Institute of Archaeological Sciences, Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, H-1088, Hungary.
²⁷ Department of Archaeology, Hungarian National Museum, Budapest, H-1088, Hungary.
²⁸ Dobó István Castle Museum, Eger, H-3300, Hungary.
²⁹ Department of Sociology, Anthropology and Social Work, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS, 66506, USA.
³⁰ Department of Biological Anthropology, Institute of Biology, Faculty of Science, Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, H-1117, Hungary. Electronic address: hajdut@caesar.elte.hu.

PMID: 30342349
DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpp.2018.10.003

Abstract

Objective: The prevalence of hyperostosis frontalis interna (HFI) was examined in different periods of the Carpathian Basin from 4900 BCE to 17th century AD. The study seeks to evaluate temporal changes in HFI and the possible impact of lifestyle on it.

Materials: The studied material consisted of 4668 crania from Hungary and Serbia.

Methods: The crania were analyzed employing macroscopic and endoscopic examination.

Results: In historic periods, sex and age played a pivotal role in HFI development. Among predominantly pastoralist populations of the 5th-8th and 10th centuries, prevalence of HFI was considerably higher than in the medieval populations of the 9th-17th centuries.

Conclusions: In addition to age and sex, other factors could be implicated in HFI development. The physiological effects of the pastoralist lifestyle and diet on insulin regulation could explain the increased risk of developing HFI in the 5th-8th and 10th-century populations.

Significance: The study provides the first comprehensive dataset of HFI from different archaeological periods from the Carpathian Basin. It has implications for lifestyle and risk of HFI development in past populations.

Limitations: The archaeological periods are not equally represented.

Suggestions for further research: In order to better understand the etiology of HFI, lifestyle factors can be used to elucidate the risk of developing HFI in ancient populations.

Keywords: Hyperostosis frontalis interna; Lifestyle; Paleopathology.

Publication types

Historical Article
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Archaeology / history
Archaeology / methods
Fossils / history
Frontal Bone / pathology*
History, 16th Century
History, 17th Century
Humans
Hungary
Hyperostosis Frontalis Interna / history*
Life Style*
Paleopathology / methods
Prevalence
Risk
Serbia