Bioarchaeological Assemblages at Çatalhöyük: A Relational Examination of Porotic Hyperostosis and Cribra Orbitalia Etiologies and Transmissions

Summary

Porotic hyperostosis, manifested as pittings on the outer table of the cranial vault, and cribra orbitalia, the analogous porosities that form on orbital roofs, are two commonly observed pathologies used extensively by bioarchaeologists to understand past health and nutritional conditions. Yet the etiologies of porotic hyperostosis and cribra orbitalia are largely varied and not well understood, with proposed explanations ranging from diet and nutrition to chronic and infectious diseases.

This paper exists to: 1) create a novel theoretical framework to holistically examine porotic hyperostosis and cribra orbitalia etiologies and 2) apply the theoretical model to bioarchaeological data gathered from Çatalhöyük, Turkey in order to arrive at an extended evolutionary understanding of disease transmission. I draw upon relational theories to reconsider etiologies not as distinct prongs, but as an integrated assemblage of the body, pathology, and environment. Furthermore, I show how a fuller incorporation of social and cultural behaviors into the porotic hyperostosis and cribra orbitalia etiological models helps explain the static rates of the lesions over time, despite increasing population growth. I conclude by articulating the need for archaeologists to incorporate the wide range of factors influencing inheritance so that more comprehensive models for disease ecology can be constructed.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 82nd Annual Meeting, Vancouver, BC (2017)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 14938