PATHOLOGICAL FINDINGS IN THE SPINES OF A PREHISTORIC POPULATION THAT DWELLED AT THE ALLUVIAL BANKS OF THE PARANÁ RIVER, ARGENTINA.

Abstract

This report describes the frequencies of vertebral pathologies in a skeletal sample dated 1,700 years BP with the radiocarbon technique. Skeletons were exhumated in site of funerary activity at the north of the Santa Fe province, Argentina. The presence of arthrosic lesions (osteophytes), imprinters of Schmorl nodules on the articular surface and compression fractures were investigated in a sample of 217 vertebral bodies, pertaining to 11 adults (7 men and 4 women). Osteophytes: thirty six per cent (61/169) of the vertebrae from both sexes exhibited osteophytes. These were more frequent within the female group (25/51) than in the male one. In both sexes, these lesions were more frequent in the thoracic than in the cervical or lumbar segments. Imprints of Schmorl nodules: one third of the bone pieces (36/117) presented this lesion. No significant association with sex was observed. Vertebral fractures: five vertebral collapses were found in the male group (between T1 and L5) and one (cervical) in the female group. The high frequency of healthy vertebrae, small osteophytes and the reduced number of compression fractures suggest that these subjects did not critically load their vertebral columns. Coastal dwellers based their survival on hunting, fishing and collecting activities. These would not have demanded great physical efforts. The absence of differences associated with the sex in the incidences of Schmorl nodules, vertebral fractures and the distribution of arthrosic lesions along spinal segments suggest that both sexes attended daily chores of similar intensity