Teresa Fernandes

(For images please send message) In this work we will study a possible case of Hypertrophic Pulmonary Osteoarthropathy and its differential diagnosis in a 73 years old Portuguese male died at 1970 at Évora (Portugal). Although he died at the local hospital the cause of death is unknown. The skeleton belongs to identified skeletal collection from Évora, come from a city cemetery (Cemitério dos Remédios) and has as catalogue number CEIE 109. This syndrome is a circulatory disturbance disease which is associated to tumors in particular with the lung cancer; however it can exist in cases of neoplasias of pancreas, stomach and nasopharynx. In this case there are no macroscopic evidences of neoplastic conditions but it doesn’t mean it wasn’t present in the organs. Bibliography generally point to a challeging differential diagnosis of Hypertrophic Pulmonary Osteoarthropathy in archeological human remains. These bony alterations are more severe at the left tibia and fibula but lesions are a...

This study presents for the first time the diet of a Late Antiquity population in southern Portugal (Civitas of Pax Julia), from the Roman villa of Monte da Cegonha (predominantly 7th century CE). Stable isotope analysis (δ 13 C, δ 15 N, δ 18 O, 87 Sr/ 86 Sr) of human and faunal bone collagen and apatite was conducted in order to understand the influence of Roman subsistence strategies on the way of life of rural inhabitants of the area of Pax Julia and to explore their diet (types of ingested plants, amount of animal resources, terrestrial versus marine resources). X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Fourier transform infra-red spectroscopy (FTIR) analyses were used to determine the degree of bone diagenesis and assess the reliability of the bone stable isotopic composition for palaeodietary re- construction. Anthropological analysis revealed a cariogenic diet, rich in starchy food and carbohydrates, in at least in two individuals based on the frequency of dental caries. Collagen and apatite carbon isotopic analysis sug- gested that C 3 plants were the basis of the population's diet, complemented with some terrestrial meat and its by- products as reflected by the observed bone collagen nitrogen isotopic composition. Moreover, whilst the fairly low apatite-collagen spacing recorded in some skeletons (at around 4‰) may have been due to freshwater or- ganisms intake, the relatively low nitrogen values observed indicate that this consumption did not occur very often, unless in the form of fresh fish of low trophic level or fish sauces. There were no significant differences in isotopic values depending on gender or burial type. Strontium and oxygen isotopic composition of bone apatite revealed a sedentary community, with the exception of a male individual who probably did not spend his childhood in Monte da Cegonha.

The oldest dwarfism case known is from the Mid Upper Paleolithic, but is most studied in Ancient Egypt. In this skeleton the estimated age at death was of late adolescence by the teeth methodology and of 6 years maximum by the metrical analysis of diaphysis. This individual also showed periostitis in the lower limbs, destruction of vertebral bodies and thickness of the ribs visceral surface. The analysis (macroscopic, radiological and CT-scan) of the lesions will lead us to the differential diagnosis.

Generally, in funerary contexts, the body deposition in the grave follows specific canons of every religion/chronology/social group, etc. Still, sometimes appear atypical funerary practices comparing with the applied to the majority of the population/group they belong.Involvement in archeological diggings, usually done on the south region of Portugal, allowed collecting several cases which presents differentiated funerary practices.In this work are presented several cases which were seen, separately or together, unusual funerary positions, presence of associated unexpected gifts or other atypical ritual parameters. The data from funerary anthropology were crossed with the biological profile of each individual, in order to search for eventual sexual group, age and/or population affinities relations as well as with types of pathologies.

(For images please send message) In this work we will study a possible case of Hypertrophic Pulmonary Osteoarthropathy and its differential diagnosis in a 73 years old Portuguese male died at 1970 at Évora (Portugal). Although he died at the local hospital the cause of death is unknown. The skeleton belongs to identified skeletal collection from Évora, come from a city cemetery (Cemitério dos Remédios) and has as catalogue number CEIE 109. This syndrome is a circulatory disturbance disease which is associated to tumors in particular with the lung cancer; however it can exist in cases of neoplasias of pancreas, stomach and nasopharynx. In this case there are no macroscopic evidences of neoplastic conditions but it doesn’t mean it wasn’t present in the organs. Bibliography generally point to a challeging differential diagnosis of Hypertrophic Pulmonary Osteoarthropathy in archeological human remains. These bony alterations are more severe at the left tibia and fibula but lesions are a...

Durante o processo de escavação do esqueleto SMOL_4.151 na necrópole cristã medieval/moderna de Santa Maria do Olival (Tomar – Portugal) constatou-se que o crânio não se encontrava em posição anatómica relativamente às restantes peças ósseas. O corpo havia sido deposto em decúbito dorsal, com flexão dos braços, extensão das pernas e orientado de Oeste (crânio) para Este (pés) de acordo com os cânones cristãos. Contudo o esqueleto facial estava voltado para Oeste, com a porção basilar do occipital apoiada sobre a mandíbula. A conservação da conexão das vértebras cervicais e a posição destas relativamente à mandíbula, bem como a ausência de evidências de factores bióticos tafonómicos ou de intrusões de origem antrópica recente que pudessem explicar a posição não anatómica do crânio, aponta para uma acção intencional que deverá ter ocorrido numa fase posterior à decomposição do cadáver. Este esqueleto, de um indivíduo adulto maduro do sexo masculino, apresenta lesões traumáticas no crâ...

Maduromycosis, commonly called Madura foot, is an infectious pathology caused by fungi or bacteria, and it is native of the tropical, subtropical and equatorial areas. This paper presents a well preserved male skeleton, between 23 and 57 years old from a medieval necropolis (13th–15th centuries) in Estremoz,
Portugal.The left foot of this individual showed marked alterations on the morphology of the calcaneus and cuboid that are ankylosed, which led to arthrosis of the calcaneous and talus. The five metatarsals have bone destruction and irregular subperiosteal new bone formation with multiple lytic foci and progressive osteoporosis with very little reactive bone formation. After a careful differential diagnosis, taking into
consideration various pathological conditions,it was concluded that this is a possible case of maduromycosis. This study suggests that in the past this pathology could have been present in Europe, particularly in the Mediterranean region, and especially when the climatic conditions were conducive. This could be one of the first cases of maduromycosis infection published in an archaeological context.

Each society has cultural rules to deal with the death of its members, including the burial practices. This study aims to present and interpret the mortuary context associated with the human remains recovered at the so-called Jail Cleaning Yard of the Inquisition Court of Évora (1536-1821). Approximately 12% of the yard was excavated, an area of 20.75m2, which consisted of layers of sediment containing domestic waste. The sample under analysis consists of 12 adult individuals in articulation (3 male, 9 female) and a minimum of 16 individuals identified from a commingled context.  Funerary structures were absent and no grave goods were found. Moreover, the orientation and position of the body and limbs are variable. The archaeological and anthropological contexts, including the Inquisition individual historical records consulted, are consistent with individuals not reconciled with the Catholic faith. The manuscripts from the Inquisition allowed the identification of 87 prisoners who died during the period in which the dump had been in use (somewhere between 1568 and 1634), and attested that 11 (12.6%) of them were confirmed discarded in the dump, likely because they were charged of ‘Judaism, heresy and/or apostasy’. More than a penalty to the body, this was a punishment to the soul of the deceased. The specific context of this place, as well as all anthropological, archaeological and historical information helped to characterize these individuals as unburied dead, once a proper funeral had been denied to them.

ABSTRACT. The Legg-Calvé-Perthes’ disease (LCPD) is an idiopathic avascular necrosis of the femoral head, related with a disruption of the blood supply, probably initiated with a trauma. It passes through four stages: the onset of avascular necrosis; subchondral fracture; revascularization and regeneration; and healing. This condition usually appears between 5 and 9 years old and boys are more affected than girls. Besides most cases have been sporadic, some factors, as genetic predisposition and environmental influences have been implicated in the etiology of LCPD. In this study we report a possible case of LCPD in a medieval/modern male adult from an excavation in Tomar, Portugal. In this individual not only we observed the usually features found in LCPD, like the femoral head in a form of mushroom and a slight disto-mesial rotation of the tibia, but also osteoarthritis in the calcaneus and astralagus, probably related to the changes in the femur. We also observed the presence of new bone in the last four thoracic vertebrae, at the right side it looks like melted candle wax down the front of the T9, T10 and T11 and in the T12 it was observed a total filling of the disc space with new bone. It was also noted high levels of changes in the enthesis and bone forming in some bones. This person shows an apparently tendency to ossify soft tissues and would have a very limited movement being heavily dependent on others.

This study reports a young child skeleton, exhumed from the medieval/modern necropolis of Santa Maria do Olival, Tomar (Portugal).  This skeleton shows unusual market of blood vessel  impressions on the  endocranium, porosity and widespread new bone formation. The intracranial marks are compatible with cases of meningitis. Changes in the meninges can occur due to various factors. Although it’s very challenging to determine the etiology of meningitis, when we analyzed the skeleton, we were able to exclude some diseases such as syphilis, scurvy and rickets. Leaving the most probable explanations as bacterial and viral infections.

O esqueleto SMOL-362, diagnosticado como um indivíduo adulto maduro do sexo masculino, foi exumado da necrópole medieval/moderna de Santa Maria dos Olivais, Tomar. Este indivíduo apresenta diversas lesões no esqueleto pós-craniano incluindo lesões traumáticas, infeciosas e degenerativas articulares e não articulares. Estas lesões indicam que o indivíduo em estudo teria  uma  atividade física muito intensa e que sobreviveu a várias lesões traumáticas.

O indivíduo em estudo (SMOL-388) provem da necrópole medieval/moderna de Santa Maria do Olival (Tomar) e foi diagnosticado como sendo um adulto do sexo masculino. As lesões neste indivíduo encontram-se na coluna vertebral, que apresenta fusão intra-articular das apófises articulares vertebrais e fusão costo-vertebral. Observa-se também calcificação e ossificação nos locais tendinosos das vértebras e erosão na articulação sacro-ilíaca. A extensão da anquilose vertebral terá conduzido a uma movimentação reduzida.

The Kingdom of Portugal was established with the help of military-monastic orders, which provided important defence against Muslim armies during the 12th–13th century Christian conquest. While historical sources document the main events of this period, this research seeks to elucidate individual lifestyles and movement, aspects typically absent from written records. A multi-isotopic approach was used on skeletal material from eight Christian and two Muslim burials from Évora, Portugal (11th–13th centuries). Anthropological and archae- ological evidence suggests the Christian adults belonged to the Évora Militia, which we seek to confirm through the reconstructed diet and mobility of these individuals. Stable carbon, nitrogen and sulphur isotopes were measured in bone collagen, and radiogenic strontium, carbonate stable oxygen and apatite stable carbon iso- topes were measured in tooth enamel. Results of the stable oxygen and radiogenic strontium isotopes indicated diverse origins of the Christian population, while at least one individual was local. The Muslim adult was local, as anticipated. The δ13Cen (enamel) values provide evidence of childhood consumption of different cereals (C3 and C4), possibly linked to social status. The δ13Ccol (bone collagen) human values indicated mostly C3 diets with varying inputs of C4, while δ15N reflected high protein intake overall. The mean diet-consumer spacing of this population was compared to other isotopic studies from Medieval Iberia and other European monastic/convent populations. A visible trend emerged in populations that likely followed religious fasting rules, including the Évora Christians. The results of this study indicate that the Order of Évora was composed of members from diverse geographic and possibly social origins, an aspect previously unclear in written sources.

O projeto FCT TRANSCULTURAL (IF/ 01661/2015 e POCI-01-0145-FEDER-031599), onde este trabalho se insere, desenvolve uma abordagem transdisciplinar para compreensão da organização sócio-económica das populações muçulmanas e cristãs em Portugal Medieval (sécs. XII-XIV), mediante a investigação dos seus hábitos funerários, dieta e mobilidade. Como tal, contribui também para o conhecimento da transição e das relações entre muçulmanos e cristãos no final do Garb Al-Andalus. Os hábitos alimentares e os padrões de mobilidade são arquivados no esqueleto durante o decurso da vida dos indivíduos, através da ingestão de componentes dietéticas, cuja composição química específica depende da natureza e do local de ingestão. A dieta e a mobilidade são investigadas principalmente através de três sistemas isotópicos, carbono, azoto e enxofre, e fornecem informações sobre o tipo de planta ingerida (δ13C), o nível trófico do consumidor (δ15N), e se as proteínas ingeridas provêm de ambiente marinho (δ15N, δ34S) ou dulcícola (δ34S). O presente trabalho centra-se nas urbes medievais de Loulé e Cacela-a-Velha e, mais especificamente, nas necrópoles da Quinta da Boavista (Loulé) e do Poço Antigo (Cacela-a-Velha). A primeira tem utilização almóada, entre os séculos XII e XIII, e a segunda tem utilização cristã, entre os séculos XIII e XIV.

Talipes  equinovarus  é  uma  deformidade  genética/congénita,  rara  na paleopatologia  Portuguesa,  cuja  etiologia  multifactorial  é  mal  conhecida.  A necrópole de onde provém o caso em estudo localiza-se em Estremoz, Portugal,
e  terá  sido  utilizada  do  século  XIII  ao  século  XVIII.  Foram  recuperados  66 indivíduos,  dos  quais  60  adultos  (19  femininos,  39  masculinos).  Este  estudo  visa apresentar as alterações patológicas nos ossos do pé direito num adulto (RMPE-75), com 40 a 50 anos de idade à morte, ao qual se atribuiu o sexo masculino. O navicular, o cubóide, o cuneiforme lateral e o intermédio apresentam alterações nas facetas anteriores, modificando a articulação com os metatársicos. Porém, os locais  mais  afetados  são  as  extremidades  distais  dos  metatársicos,  que  se encontram  aduzidas,  alterando  a  posição  das  facetas  articulares,  que apresentam  artrose  mais  severa  do  que  no  pé  esquerdo.  Observou-se
osteocondrite dissecante na superfície articular proximal do segundo metatársico e na superfície articular posterior do calcâneo. Sendo a osteocondrite dissecante causada pela interrupção no fornecimento sanguíneo ao tecido ósseo é possível que as deformações nos ossos do pé a tenham potenciado.