Skeleton Shatters Long-Held Theory

Reuters ^

[thesharkboy]

LONDON (Reuters) - British scientists have found the remains of a man who died of tuberculosis more than 2,200 years ago, shattering theories the deadly disease was brought to England by the conquering armies of ancient Rome.

The Iron Age skeleton was found in a pit in the tiny village of Tarrant Hinton in southwest England.

His damaged spine led scientists to suspect he was a tuberculosis victim and DNA tests confirmed it.

Carbon dating shows he lived between 400 and 230 BC, long before Julius Caesar launched Rome's first tentative invasion of Britain in 55 BC.

"It's tremendously important," said Simon Mays, a human skeletal biologist working for English Heritage.

"It tells us that TB wasn't brought here by the Romans," he told Reuters. "Presumably it was imported via trading contacts with the continent during the prehistoric period."

'TB man' was found during an excavation more than 20 years ago and has lived quietly in a museum in the sleepy village of Wimborne, near his burial site, ever since.

[thesharkboy]

'TB man' was found during an excavation more than 20 years ago and has lived quietly in a museum in the sleepy village of Wimborne, near his burial site, ever since.

I thought he was dead. BTW, how would you like to be known throughout history as "TB Man"?

[VadeRetro]

I thought he was dead.

He faked his death and is now a groundskeeper for Elvis.

[VadeRetro]

Ancient TB ping!

[AppyPappy]

I bet he is still listed as active on the Palm Beach voter rolls.

[linear]

Dang. Guess I lost that bet. Stupid Romans... Ok, who wants to take influenza in the Iberian Peninsula plus five points?

[KarlInOhio]

TB man

Sounds like a villain from the X-Files.

[Billthedrill]

BTW, how would you like to be known throughout history as "TB Man"?

It could be worse. Think "Monica Lewinsky."

[Gritty]

'TB man' was found during an excavation more than 20 years ago and has lived quietly in a museum

..."lived quietly"!!??

I thought this guy was dead!

[blam]

"BTW, how would you like to be known throughout history as "TB Man"?"

This guy does not mind

Cheddar Man

[xp38]

He is just pining for the fjords :)

[Cicero]

Oxford University scientists announced Friday that Adrian Targett, 42, a history teacher in the town of Cheddar in southwest England, shares a common ancestor with Cheddar Man.

This gives new meaning to the "Old Boy Network."

[PatrickHenry]

I didn't know TB was blamed on the Romans. "ED" yes, TB, news to me.

[Macklew]

"I thought he was dead. BTW, how would you like to be known throughout history as "TB Man"?"

I thought old Shakespeare stareted it all: "TB or not TB, that is the question."

[Xenon481]

His damaged spine led scientists to suspect he was a tuberculosis victim and DNA tests confirmed it.

How can DNA tests confirm that somebody died from TB???

[gcruse]

Isn't the point that he HAD TB?

[Xenon481]

Isn't the point that he HAD TB?

But how can DNA tests confirm that somebody even HAD TB?

TB is not a genetic disorder as far as I have heard.

[mewzilla]

Seems to me I recall reading that certain forms/stages of TB can leaving scarring on the skeleton.

[Xenon481]

Seems to me I recall reading that certain forms/stages of TB can leaving scarring on the skeleton.

Right, I've heard of that, but they state that they used DNA testing to confirm that he had TB.

But, I've never heard of TB modifying human DNA strands in such a way as to be identifiable through DNA testing.

[Wonder Warthog]

"But, I've never heard of TB modifying human DNA strands in such a way as to be identifiable through DNA testing."

It doesn't. What they probably detected was the DNA residue of the TB bacterium itself in the tissues.

[SunkenCiv]

This topic was posted 12/11/2002, thanks thesharkboy.