The skeleton infected with scurvy disease
Posted on 01/24/2016 5:31:52 PM PST by SunkenCiv
A child skeleton dating to 3,800-3,600 BC discovered in Nag Al-Qarmila, in Aswan, may be the oldest discovered case of scurvy in the world.
Within the framework of the Aswan Kom Ombo Archaeological Project (AKAP), which is focused on pre-dynastic sites in the area of Nag Al-Qarmila in Aswan, a new and important discovery has been made.
The AKAP Italian-Egyptian mission led by Maria Carmela Gatto from Yale University and Antonio Curci from Bologna University stumbled upon what is believed to be the oldest case of scurvy (vitamin C deficiency) in the world, dated to the era 3,800-3,600 BC.
Minister of Antiquities Mamdouh Eldamaty announced today that scientific examination of a recently discovered skeleton of a one-year-old child reveals a change in the shape of the bones, which in turn indicates that the child was suffering scurvy.
Mindy Pitre, a physical anthropologist from University of Alberta, said that the main reason for disease is not yet revealed, but that unhealthy food and cultural behaviour could lead to scurvy.
Studies are to continue on the child skeleton.
Since 2005, AKAP has investigated a number of selected areas in the region between Aswan and Kom Ombo. Many rock art sites within the concession area are under threat due to the impact of modern human activities.
Three-dimensional techonologies, such as digital surveying and photogrammetry, were used for the ï¬rst time in the Egyptian Nile Valley in order to document rock art and its environmental setting in a detailed manner. The aim is to improve data recording and analysis while saving resources and reducing ï¬eldwork time.
(Excerpt) Read more at english.ahram.org.eg ...
The skeleton infected with scurvy disease
The sites endangered by human activity. Would that be the nearby Aswan hydroelectric dam? IIRC the nearby statues of the pharoah at Abu Simbel had to be moved to higher ground to accomodate the dam.
CC
One does not get “infected” with scurvy. It is caused by a lack of Vitamin C in the diet. Humans were transitioning from a hunter/gatherer diet to a grain diet, and thus setting themselves up for various deficiencies—Vitamin A, Vitamin C, potassium, etc.
Drink your pine needle tea at 1 tablespoon of finely chopped fresh greens per cup. Steep covered and allow to cool to a comfortable temperature.
Arbor vitae (Thuja) is an attractive landscaping plant which has proven medicinal qualities.
This wiki article has nice pictures, and includes a warning about excessive use and toxicity. It mentions Indian use of the inner bark, which sounds a lot like the source of pycnogenol (commonly said to come from the French maritime pine). In case you are not aware, pycnogenol is an excellent supplement for healing. I cured a frozen shoulder from 3 years of strongly restricted range of motion in one month of daily use. Also great for my allergies.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thuja_occidentalis
Here is a rather technical report indicating that more of the active ingredients come out in alcohol and that it works for influenza A and common colds. Since both studies reported better results with earlier use, having it as a daily tea or cocktail during cold and flu season appears to have merit.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1062158/
Seems to me that deficiency diseases would be fairly common way back in the day.
Diets were so restricted to local availability that no matter how much built up tribal/clan/family wisdom there was in what foods or supplements counted which ailment. If it aint there in getting range, it might as well not have existed for that group of folks.
Lack of Vitamin D is why people turned White.
Huh.
And here I thought it was from ancient ancestors centuries long practice of bathing in lye so’s they could blend in with the snow (ice age generally means snowy, you know) to make it easier to sneak up on reindeer while hunting same.
That fist sentence is kinda gumped. I don’t mean the ancient ones would bath in lye for centuries at a time, I mean a short bleaching bath prior to the hunt, done over and over for centuries.
"The consensus among scientists has always been that lower levels of vitamin D at higher latitudes — where the sun is less intense — caused the lightening effect when modern humans, who began darker-skinned, first migrated north. "
"Vitamin D plays an important role in bone growth and the body's natural protection against certain diseases, and the inability to absorb enough in areas of less-powerful sunlight would have decreased life expectancies in our African ancestors. The further north they trekked, the more vitamin D they needed and the lighter they got over the generations, due to natural selection. "
Probably varied with the climate.
So...
What yer sayin’ is that Climate Change invented scurvy for to punish evil humans for being mean to Mama Gaea?
It was invented to punish the sailors in that Cheech and Chong routine.
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