The frequency and macromorphological classification of abnormal blood vessel impressions and periosteal appositions of the dura mater in an early modern osteological collection from Poland

Abstract

Objective: The macromorphological characteristics and frequency of endocranial abnormal blood vessel impressions (ABVI) and periosteal appositions of dura mater (PADM), and their association with sex, age-at-death and scurvy-like lesions were studied. The possible etiologies of these lesions were discussed.

Materials: A total of 144 adult skulls excavated from an early modern (16th-19th c. CE) cemetery at the Czysty Square in Wrocław (Poland) were examined, most of which were intact.

Methods: The endocranial surface was inspected with an endoscope for the presence, location, and severity of ABVI and PADM. Frequencies of ABVI and PADM were grouped by sex and age-at-death.

Results: A little more than a half (53.5 %) of the examined skulls were affected by ABVI and/or PADM. PADM were more frequent in females. However, both alteration types occurred with similar frequencies across all age-at-death categories.

Conclusions: The high frequency of ABVI and PADM suggests that meningeal infections and/or hemorrhage among inhabitants of early modern Wrocław, especially in females, were common.

Significance: The paper emphasizes the need for using an endoscope in standard anthropological analysis of intact skulls, as it allows for a nondestructive inspection of the endocranial surface.

Limitations: The endoscope did not allow for an accurate examination of the middle cranial fossa.

Suggestions for further research: Comparative studies with other historical populations are necessary to better understand the possible etiologies of macromorphological and demographic characteristics of ABVI and PADM.

Keywords: Endocranial lesions; Endoscopy; Infectious diseases; Nondestructive techniques; Nutritional deficiency.