Research Training Program

Smithsonian Institution
National Museum of Natural History

PROJECT SUMMARY
1997

Jessica Cafarella
Duke University
Durham, North Carolina
Donald J. Ortner, Ph.D.
Supervising Scientist
Department of Anthropology
"Of all the valuable gems, and meteorites, and mummies that I have seen this summer, the most amazing thing that I have witnessed here at the Smithsonian is the intense passion which exists for science."

Scurvy in Archeological Human Remains from the American Southwest

ABSTRACT
Scurvy is a metabolic disease which results from a deficiency of vitamin C. One of the functions of vitamin C is in the synthesis of connective tissues, especially collagen and the cement which holds blood vessels together. Particularly with children, a lack of vitamin C in the diet leads to weakened blood vessels and increased risk for hemorrhage. Scurvy manifests itself in archaeological human remains as porous bone in specific areas of the skeleton. In the past, researchers have looked at the end of long bones and skull vault for this condition. While such areas do demonstrate porosity from scurvy, pathological conditions such as anemia and infection stimulate the same pathology. Recently, new regions of the skeleton have been identified in which porosity results from scurvy alone. The greater wing of the spheroid on the skull and the scapula are the only places in the body where the vascular supply runs between the bone and the muscles. Porosity may result in these areas because of the unique anatomical construction, which creates stress on the blood vessels by mechanical abrasion between the bone and muscle. These blood vessels, which are weakened due to lack of vitamin C in the diet, tend to then set off an inflammatory response that includes increased vascularity and chronic bleeding. It is the holes of these blood vessels that cause porosity. This project involved a survey of the collections of archaeological human remains from the American Southwest, specifically pre-adult specimens, looking for evidence of scurvy in the greater wing of the spheroid and scapula, as well as in the orbits of the eye and posterior maxillae. Seven probable and twenty-seven possible cases of scurvy were discovered, out of the hundred thirty-eight considered. Such research findings help to understand the severity of nutritional stress on these populations.

This research was supported by a grant from the National Science Foundation, Research Experience for Undergraduates Program (Award: DBI-9531331).

Letter of Gratitude