Congenital syphilis in the archaeological record: Diagnostic insensitivity of osseous lesions

Congenital syphilis in the archaeological record: Diagnostic insensitivity of osseous lesions

Rothschild B M; Rothschild C

International Journal of Osteoarchaeology

1997

1997-01

The paucity of convincing evidence for congenital bone lesions of syphilis in the archaeological record led to study of the human remains from the Buffalo site in West Virginia, dated at 550-650 years BP. The diagnosis of syphilis (venereal) in adults was based on previously validated population criteria for the recognition of syphilis and its distinction from among the other treponemal diseases. Among the 151 juveniles (23.3 per cent of the total series), only one had macroscopic evidence of periosteal disease. The low frequency of recognizable osseous stigmata characteristic of congenital syphilis, combined with the conspicuous absence of pathognomonic dental lesions, make such periosteal lesions insufficiently sensitive criteria for the identification of syphilis in the archaeological record.

Anthropology; Archaeology; congenital; disease; skeletal manifestations; syphilis; treponemal disease; yaws

Journal Article

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