Escolar Documentos
Profissional Documentos
Cultura Documentos
ABSTRACT
Major manifestations of vertebral degenerative joint disease were observed on a Pre-Columbian
Muisca series from the Soacha Cemetery (11th to 13th
centuries) Colombia, South America. In total, 1,646 vertebrae of 83 individuals were examined. Osteophytes, vertebral body joint surface contour change (lipping), and vertebral body pitting were evaluated for each vertebral body.
For apophyseal joints, joint surface contour change, pitting, and eburnation were recorded. Two methods of frequency calculation and ve for vertebral degenerative disease diagnosis were applied and compared, allowing discussion of methodological considerations. Our study
showed that 83% of individuals and 32% of vertebrae were
C 2008
V
WILEY-LISS, INC.
MATERIALS
Muisca culture
The Muiscas was a large Chibcha-speaking agricultural society that developed in the plateau of Cundinamarca and Boyaca, on the Eastern Range in present-day
central Colombia (South America) (see Fig. 1), chronologically dated between 700 and 1600 AD (Langebaek,
1995; Rodrguez, 1999). Specialists from various disciplines have discussed the Muisca cultures origin, as well
as its social and political systems (Enciso and Therrien,
2000).
At the time of the Spanish Conquest, the Muiscas
were living as confederations of chiefdoms, a period of
expansion and unication characterized by intensive
military activity, which may have led to a state level political structure (Broadbent, 1964; Tovar, 1980; Lange-
417
The series
The study sample is from the Muisca cemetery of Soacha-Portalegre, excavated in 1987 by archaeologists of
the Instituto Colombiano de Antropologa. Recovered in
the middle of the urban settlement, the cemeterys population and physical extent are undocumented (Botiva,
1989; Boada, 2000). Apparently, the entire present-day
village was a large Muisca cemetery inhabited between
the 11th and 13th centuries (Reichel-Dolmatoff, 1943,
n.d.; Rodrguez, 1994, 1999). According to the literature
two uncalibrated 14C dates are available: 1035 6 115 AD
for tomb 45; and 1230 6 110 AD for tomb 35 (Boada,
2000; Etxeberria et al., 1997). Traces of four bohos
(constructions mainly made of wood) were found during
excavation, as were fragments of ceramic, stone and
metal objects, sea shells, animal remains as well as 133
American Journal of Physical Anthropology
LVEDA ET AL.
C. ROJAS-SEPU
418
Female
Male
Indeterminate
Total
Young
(1530)
Middle age
(3045)
Old
(451)
Adult
Total
12
13
1
26
18
13
0
31
15
8
0
23
1
0
2
3
46
34
3
83
METHODS
Data collection
We inspected each vertebra of every skeleton included
in our study. An individual recording system was
employed following the recommendations of Campo Martin (1997, 2003) and Buikstra and Ubelaker (1994). Data
recorded for each individual include age, sex, preservation state and vertebral manifestations of DJD. Sex
determination and age estimation were made by conventional anthropological methods (Brothwell, 1965; Iscan
et al., 1984, 1985; Suchey and Brooks, 1988).
A complete evaluation of vertebral preservation was
done. For the vertebral body, four codes were employed:
Complete, when more than the 75% of the body was
present; Incomplete, when its presence was between 25
and 75%; Very incomplete, when less than 25% was
found; and, Absent when it was not assessable. For the
right and left vertebral arches, the presence of the superior and inferior apophyseal joints was recorded using
the same codes.
All morphological changes were macroscopically
observed and recorded by the same researcher to avoid
interobserver error. Some vertebral columns were evaluated several times over a period of time to verify the diagnosis and the reliability of the recorded information.
Concerning terminological usage, degenerative conditions of the spine are frequently named spinal DJD.
However, it should be noted that the joints of the spine
have fundamental anatomic differences and they do not
deteriorate identically (Resnick, 2002).These differences
have led some authors to distinguish changes in the verAmerican Journal of Physical Anthropology
tebral bodies known as Intervertebral Disc Degeneration or Degenerative Disc Degeneration, from those
observed in the synovial joints named Apophyseal Joint
Osteoarthritis (Resnick, 2002). Accordingly, we observed
and separately recorded manifestations for these two
localizations, the vertebral body and the apophyseal
joints.
For the vertebral body we recorded osteophytes, joint
surface contour change (lipping), and pitting. For
the apophyseal joints, joint surface contour change
(lipping), pitting, and eburnation were recorded.
Osteophytes are also referred to as marginal proliferation; they are new bone growths which arise around the
joint margins (Nathan, 1962; Rogers et al., 1987; Rogers
and Waldron, 1995). Joint surface contour change has
also been referred to as remodeling of joint contours or
facet remodeling; it may produce attening and/or
enlargement of joint surfaces, being a proliferative reaction (Rogers et al., 1987). Facet remodeling, especially of
apophyseal joints, is an important response to applied
pressure, thus being a very good indicator of repeated
activity-induced stress in humans (Sofaer, 2000). Osteophytes (OP) were distinguished from joint surface contour change in the vertebral bodies. While OP refers to
localized growths commonly known as parrots beak,
joint surface contour change was recorded as a ringshaped manifestation around body margins. Pitting or
microporosity has been dened as the discontinuity of
the subchondral bone which manifests as a pitted and
disorganized lesion (Rothschild, 1997). Ortner (2003)
describes erosion as a subchondral surface breakdown,
where the underlying trabeculae of the bone may be
exposed.1 Eburnation, described as an ivory like aspect, is a severe subchondral bone reaction; it is the
shiny or polished area found on an articular surface,
the product of bony joint surfaces rubbing after losing all
the cartilage between them. Eburnation is considered
pathognomonic of the disease (Rogers et al., 1987; Bridges,
1992; Rogers and Waldron, 1995) or a marker of its severity (Rothschild, 1997; Ortner, 2003); in any case, it is
a clear manifestation of DJD.
A stage or score was assigned to each bone change on
a scale from 0 to 3: the Code 0 for absent; 1 for barely
visible; 2 for moderate; and 3 for severe. An illustration
of the scoring system is shown in Figures 2 and 3. For
more severe manifestations Code 4 may be assigned. The
stage method seems to be subjective, but it has been
extensively used in the literature (Nathan, 1962; Chapman, 1972; Clark and Delmond, 1979; Bridges, 1989;
Jurmain, 1990; Lovell, 1994; Kahl and Ostendorf, 2000;
Sofaer, 2000; Weber, 2003). A code for damaged elements
was also assigned unobservable.
For vertebral bodies, superior and inferior surfaces
were observed and manifestations recorded separately.
Vertebral ankylosis produced in disorders other than
DJD (such as DISH, ankylosing spondylitis, congenital
fusion) was excluded. Special attention was paid to differentiate the lesions according to their main cause
(Rogers et al., 1987). For C1, the facet joint for the C2
odontoid process was evaluated for joint surface contour
change and pitting but not for osteophytes (because we
dened joint surface contour change as a ring-shaped
manifestation while osteophytes as a localized one).
Even if superior, inferior, right and left apophyseal joints
1
Ortner does not mention the word pitting, but these descriptions are similar to that recorded in our study.
Frequency calculations
The state of bone preservation may result in variation
in disease prevalence. For this reason, calculation of frequencies and prevalences were made taking into account
only the observable aspects (Waldron, 1994). As dened
419
Fig. 4. Pitting (A), joint surface contour change (B), and osteophytes (C) in the vertebral bodies of the Soacha Muisca series by
vertebrae. [Color gure can be viewed in the online issue, which is available at www.interscience.wiley.com.]
420
LVEDA ET AL.
C. ROJAS-SEPU
conditions, and the denominator is the total number
of vertebrae found for the corresponding region or
for the vertebral column in the considered age and
sex category (Hukuda et al., 2000).
RESULTS
Preservation
Each vertebra is present over 50% of the time. The
most frequently found vertebra was T2 (76/83), while
T12 was the least often recorded vertebra (51/83). Good
preservation state of the vertebrae made almost always
possible the identication and location of each one of
them. C5 is the qualitatively best preserved vertebra
(64/83 coded as complete), while T6 was the least commonly coded as complete (31/83). From C1 to T7 and for
the whole lumbar region, the presence of the elements is
up to 60%. In the cervical region, the presence of complete vertebrae was recorded over 50% of the time, in
the other regions, complete vertebrae were recorded
around 40% of the time.
The cervical region is the best represented with 488
vertebrae present (83.99%, assuming seven cervical vertebrae by individual). The rst sacral vertebra is present
in 69 vertebral columns (83.13%, assuming one sacral
vertebra by individual). The lumbar region is represented by 322 vertebrae (77.59%, assuming ve lumbar
vertebrae by individual), and the thoracic region is represented by 768 vertebrae (77.11%, assuming twelve thoracic vertebrae by individual). A total of 1,646 vertebrae
were observed and coded. The preservation in different
sex and age categories is similar. In each vertebral
region, at least 73% of vertebrae with at least 1/4 of the
body were observed.
Apophyseal joints were well preserved too, varying
from 60 to 82% for the different regions. The superior
apophyseal joints are better represented than the inferior ones, but these differences are statistically signicant only for the thoracic region. Differences of preservation between right and left side are not signicant.
421
TABLE 2. Observed manifestations in the anatomical regions of the vertebral column in the whole sample and by sex categories
Females (all ages)
FI
n/N
Cervical
Osteophytes
12/43
B. change
22/42
Body pitting
26/44
Ap. Change
21/42
Ap. pitting
33/41
Eburnation
12/43
Thoracic
Osteophytes
16/36
B. change
12/35
Body pitting
8/44
Ap. Change
17/42
Ap. pitting
31/43
Eburnation
7/43
Lumbar
Osteophytes
24/38
B. change
24/41
Body pitting
22/43
Ap. change
22/41
Ap. pitting
30/41
Eburnation
7/43
Whole vertebral column
Osteophytes
28/46
B. change
30/46
Body pitting
31/46
Ap. Change
35/46
Ap. pitting
43/46
Eburnation
22/46
FV
FI
Whole series
FV
FI
FV
n/N
n/N
n/N
n/N
n/N
27.9
52.4
59.1
50.0
80.5
27.9
27/234
61/230
67/268
50/248
86/255
28/250
11.5
26.5
25.0
20.2
33.7
11.2
8/31
14/32
14/32
11/32
23/32
8/32
25.8
43.8
43.8
34.4
71.9
25.0
11/176
32/178
49/199
27/183
63/187
17/185
6.3
18.0
24.6
14.8
33.7
9.2
22/77
37/77
48/79
32/77
57/76
20/78
28.6
48.1
60.8
41.6
75.0
25.6
41/430
94/427
120/487
77/448
150/459
45/451
9.5
22.0
24.6
17.2
32.7
10.0
44.4
34.3
18.2
40.5
72.1
16.3
38/205
27/303
28/422
37/346
88/356
9/344
18.5
8.9
6.6
10.7
24.7
2.6
10/27
6/27
3/30
10/31
26/31
7/31
37.0
22.2
10.0
32.3
83.9
22.6
28/221
18/221
5/287
27/236
78/237
19/232
12.7
8.1
1.7
11.4
32.9
8.2
26/66
19/65
11/77
28/76
59/77
14/77
39.4
29.2
14.3
36.8
76.6
18.2
67/544
49/537
33/735
68/609
175/620
28/601
12.3
9.1
4.5
11.2
28.2
4.7
63.2
58.5
51.2
53.7
73.2
16.3
43/171
75/171
47/217
58/174
71/172
26/165
25.1
43.9
21.7
33.3
41.3
15.8
10/31
14/32
11/32
11/29
19/31
3/27
32.3
43.8
34.4
37.9
61.3
11.1
22/128
34/127
18/149
31/121
41/125
5/115
17.2
26.8
12.1
25.6
32.8
4.3
29/71
39/75
33/76
34/71
50/73
19/70
40.8
52.0
43.4
47.9
68.5
27.1
65/306
112/304
65/371
91/300
114/302
32/285
21.2
36.8
17.5
30.3
37.7
11.2
60.9
65.2
67.4
76.1
93.5
47.8
136/710
163/704
142/907
145/768
245/783
63/759
19.2
23.2
15.7
18.9
31.3
8.3
17/34
21/34
24/34
17/33
30/33
12/33
50.0
61.8
70.6
51.5
90.9
36.4
61/525
84/523
72/635
85/540
182/549
41/532
11.6
16.1
11.3
15.7
33.2
7.7
47/83
52/83
57/83
55/83
76/83
36/83
56.6
62.7
68.7
66.3
91.6
43.4
173/1280
255/1268
218/1593
236/1357
439/1381
105/1337
13.5
20.1
13.7
17.4
31.8
7.9
FV
v2
v2
0.626
2.574
0.668
0.429
0.109
0.414
19.822
0.017
21.124
0.000
0.895
0.000
15.966
8.780
43.915
0.000
0.003
0.000
76.377
55.416
243.1
0.000
0.000
0.000
made by FI (68.7%); nevertheless, no signicant differences were found when compared with the other manifestations (see Table 3). Concerning the results obtained by
the FV for the bodies of the whole vertebral column,
joint surface contour change is the most often recorded
(20.1%). Differences between manifestations in the
bodies are not signicant for osteophytes and body pitting (Table 3). Joint surface contour change is also the
manifestation most frequently recorded as Stage 3 on
vertebral bodies compared with the other studied manifestations, as shown in Figure 4.
For the cervical region, pitting is the most frequently
found manifestation with 60.8% of individuals affected
and 24.6% of the vertebrae (Table 2). Figure 4 shows
that pitting is classied very frequently as Stage 3 in
the cervical region. In the thoracic region osteophytes
0.004
0.000
0.106
8.340
35.854
2.620
0.000
0.000
0.000
83.709
70.753
34.910
0.000
0.004
0.000
47.482
8.221
21.580
0.142
0.474
0.700
2.156
0.513
0.149
Signicant values are in bold.
51.165
8.557
13.214
0.000
0.151
0.589
17.830
2.065
0.291
0.000
0.000
0.001
0.000
0.003
0.000
0.002
4.057
1.030
0.193
13.531
5.157
1.836
1.247
1.691
0.599
0.779
0.043
0.550
0.815
0.262
0.439
0.378
0.836
0.175
0.023
0.671
0.310
4.424
0.035
0.044
0.830
0.046
0.001
10.326
0.000
0.591
0.940
0.000
0.288
0.006
22.700
0.000
0.000
0.000
72.352
90.810
108.8
0.000
0.000
0.000
67.651
97.144
44.915
0.000
0.002
0.016
12.785
9.388
5.825
11.894
96.341
38.736
24.747
36.217
4.109
0.170
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.043
0.001
0.000
0.000
0.623
0.600
0.067
0.241
0.275
3.367
0.001
0.000
0.001
11.958
14.108
12.063
0.001
0.000
0.041
10.605
20.256
4.159
0.333
0.751
0.760
0.939
0.101
0.093
0.030
7.440
15.847
2.464
0.237
4.667
Vertebral body
Frequency by individuals
Osteophytes
1.867
Cont. change
5.228
Body pitting
35.813
Frequency by vertebrae
Osteophytes
1.884
Cont. change
31.279
Body pitting
108.6
Apophyseal joints
Frequency by individuals
Ap. change
0.357
Ap. pitting
0.055
Eburnation
1.259
Frequency by vertebrae
Ap. change
12.252
Ap. pitting
17.246
Eburnation
11.288
0.172
0.022
0.000
0.116
0.626
0.031
P
v2
P
v2
v2
Thor-lumb
Cerv-thor
0.863
0.006
0.000
Midd age-old
v2
P
Young-old
v2
P
Cerv-lumb
Young-midd
v2
P
Sex differ.
Male-female
v2
P
TABLE 4. Chi-square (v2) and P-values for manifestations in the vertebral regions, by age and sex
0.967
LVEDA ET AL.
C. ROJAS-SEPU
422
Apophyseal joints. Differences in manifestation frequencies among the superior right, superior left, inferior
right, and inferior left apophyseal joints are not signicant (Table 6). Accordingly, we pooled the results.
Frequencies of manifestations studied in the apophyseal joints are presented in Tables 2 and 5. In Table 2,
for the whole series, pitting is the most frequent manifestation on apophyseal joints (91.6% of the individuals
and 31.8% of the vertebrae), followed by joint surface
contour change (66.3% of the individuals and 17.4% of
the vertebrae), and nally by eburnation (43.4% of the
individuals and 7.9% of the vertebrae). The differences
between manifestations are signicant (see Table 3).
Table 2 and Fig. 5 show that the same pattern is repeated
in the three vertebral regions. Joint surface contour
change is more frequent and more often classied as
Stage 3 in the lumbar region (47.9% of the individuals
and 30.3% of the vertebrae) and, second, in cervical vertebrae (41.6% of the individuals and 17.2% of vertebrae).
Between regions, differences in the presence of the mani-
423
Middle (3045)
FV
n/N
Cervical
Osteophytes
2/24
B. change
3/23
Body pitting
9/24
Ap. change
2/23
Ap. pitting
11/21
Eburnation
1/23
Thoracic
Osteophytes
1/20
B. Change
0/19
Body pitting
2/23
Ap. change
4/23
Ap. Pitting
15/23
Eburnation
4/23
Lumbar
Osteophytes
3/21
B. change
5/22
Body pitting
1/22
Ap. Change
6/21
Ap. Pitting
10/22
Eburnation
2/19
Whole vertebral column
Osteophytes
6/25
B. change
6/25
Body pitting
11/25
Ap. change
8/25
Ap. pitting
20/25
Eburnation
6/25
FI
Old (451)
FV
FI
FV
n/N
n/N
n/N
n/N
n/N
8.3
13.0
37.5
8.7
52.4
4.3
2/132
7/130
11/152
2/138
33/142
1/139
1.5
5.4
7.2
1.4
23.2
0.7
6/29
18/30
19/31
15/30
24/31
11/31
20.7
60.0
61.3
50.0
77.4
35.5
13/163
51/163
50/182
30/166
52/170
22/169
8.0
31.3
27.5
18.1
30.6
13.0
11/20
14/20
17/20
14/20
19/20
7/20
55.0
70.0
85.0
70.0
95.0
35.0
20/111
32/111
54/129
44/125
61/127
20/124
18.0
28.8
41.9
35.2
48.0
16.1
5.0
0.0
8.7
17.4
65.2
17.4
2/176
0/176
2/228
7/204
43/210
6/205
1.1
0.0
0.9
3.4
20.5
2.9
12/24
8/25
3/30
14/29
24/30
6/30
50.0
32.0
10.0
48.3
80.0
20.0
33/179
22/172
5/276
31/225
56/225
12/221
18.4
12.8
1.8
13.8
24.9
5.4
13/18
10/17
6/20
8/20
17/20
4/20
72.2
58.8
30.0
40.0
85.0
20.0
31/157
23/157
26/191
24/141
65/145
10/138
19.7
14.6
13.6
17.0
44.8
7.2
14.3
22.7
4.5
28.6
45.5
10.5
3/101
8/101
1/117
14/98
6/103
3/95
3.0
7.9
0.9
14.3
5.8
3.2
16/27
19/28
18/30
15/27
21/28
7/28
59.3
67.9
60.0
55.6
75.0
25.0
42/117
58/117
33/145
42/110
42/110
13/99
35.9
49.6
22.8
38.2
38.2
13.1
10/20
14/21
14/21
12/20
18/20
9/20
50.0
66.7
66.7
60.0
90.0
45.0
20/75
43/73
31/97
33/80
48/77
15/79
26.7
58.9
32.0
41.3
62.3
19.0
24.0
24.0
44.0
32.0
80.0
24.0
7/409
15/407
14/497
23/440
98/455
10/439
1.7
3.7
2.8
5.2
21.5
2.3
21/31
26/31
22/31
25/31
30/31
16/31
67.7
83.9
71.0
80.6
96.8
51.6
88/459
131/452
88/603
103/501
150/506
47/489
19.2
29.0
14.6
20.6
29.6
9.6
17/23
18/23
21/23
18/23
22/23
12/23
73.9
78.3
91.3
78.3
95.7
52.2
71/343
98/341
111/417
101/346
174/349
45/341
20.7
28.7
26.6
29.2
49.9
13.2
SL-IL
SL-IR
SR-IL
SR-IR
IL-IR
v2
v2
v2
v2
v2
0.741
0.600
0.439
0.041
0.839
1.257
0.262
0.281
0.596
0.311
0.577
0.667
0.055
0.815
0.062
0.803
0.401
0.527
0.028
0.866
0.212
0.645
0.873
0.907
0.885
0.427
0.040
1.042
0.514
0.841
0.307
0.056
0.497
1.792
0.813
0.481
0.181
0.249
0.008
1.354
0.618
0.930
0.245
0.007
0.353
2.197
0.935
0.553
0.138
0.167
0.242
0.097
0.683
0.623
0.756
LVEDA ET AL.
C. ROJAS-SEPU
424
Fig. 5. Pitting (A), joint surface contour change (B), and eburnation (C) in the apophyseal joints of the vertebral columns of the
Soacha Muisca series by vertebrae. [Color gure can be viewed in the online issue, which is available at www.interscience.wiley.com.]
TABLE 7. Diagnosed vertebral degenerative disease in the anatomical regions of the vertebral column
in the whole sample and by sex categories
Females (all ages)
FI
n/N
Cervical
M. One
40/44
Two together
27/44
Two separat
29/44
Eburnation
12/44
Pitting exc
30/44
Thoracic
M. One
38/45
Two together
16/45
Two separat
23/45
Eburnation
7/45
Pitting exc
27/45
Lumbar
M. One
36/43
Two together
26/43
Two separat
29/43
Eburnation
7/43
Pitting exc
30/43
Whole vertebral column
M. One
46/46
Two together
33/46
Two separat
39/46
Eburnation
22/46
Pitting exc
41/46
FV
FI
Whole series
FV
FI
FV
n/N
n/N
n/N
n/N
n/N
90.9
61.4
65.9
27.3
68.2
165/270
75/270
61.1
27.8
52.8
22.1
8.5
31.2
88.6
54.4
59.5
25.3
63.3
56.8
24.8
17/199
62/199
70/79
43/79
47/79
20/79
50/79
277/488
121/488
10.4
39.3
87.5
43.8
50.0
25.0
56.3
105/199
44/199
28/270
106/270
28/32
14/32
16/32
8/32
18/32
45/488
172/488
9.2
35.2
84.4
35.6
51.1
15.6
60.0
158/438
38/438
36.1
8.7
40.4
13.2
6.3
24.5
83.5
39.2
57.0
17.7
62.0
38.3
10.7
19/302
74/302
66/79
31/79
45/79
14/79
49/79
294/767
82/767
2.1
19.6
83.9
41.9
64.5
22.6
64.5
122/302
40/302
9/438
86/438
26/31
13/31
20/31
7/31
20/31
28/767
183/767
3.7
23.9
83.7
60.5
67.4
16.3
69.8
136/222
73/222
61.3
32.9
52.8
23.0
3.1
41.0
81.8
55.8
61.0
24.7
64.9
57.3
28.6
5/161
66/161
63/77
43/77
47/77
19/77
50/77
224/391
112/391
11.7
51.4
81.3
50.0
53.1
9.4
59.4
85/161
37/161
26/222
114/222
26/32
16/32
17/32
3/32
19/32
32/391
183/391
8.2
46.8
99.9
71.7
84.8
47.8
89.1
459/930
186/930
49.4
20.0
47.1
18.3
6.2
30.5
96.4
69.9
79.5
10.8
83.1
48.3
19.1
41/662
202/662
80/83
58/83
66/83
9/83
69/83
795/1646
315/1646
6.8
32.9
94.1
67.6
73.5
35.3
76.5
312/662
121/662
63/930
306/930
32/34
23/34
25/34
12/34
26/34
69/1646
524/1646
5.1
31.8
Age comparisons: As described for the bodies, the differences in the FI of the three studied manifestations in
the apophyseal joints are very clear between the young
group and the other two (middle-age and old), but not
between these last two (Tables 4 and 5). Observation of
FV suggests that manifestation frequencies increase from
the youngest to the oldest (see Table 5). Differences
American Journal of Physical Anthropology
between frequencies of the manifestations in the apophyseal joints between age groups are signicant (see Table 4).
Diagnostic methods
Table 7 summarizes the frequencies of vertebral degenerative disease diagnosed by our ve methods in the
425
TABLE 8. Chi-square (v ) and P-values for diagnostic methods in the whole vertebral column
Differences between methods (whole vertebral column)
FI
Diagnostic methods
One-two together
One-two separated
One-eburnation
One-pitting excluded
Two together-two separated
Two together-eburnation
Two together-pitting excluded
Two separated-eburnation
Two separated-pitting excluded
Eburnation-pitting excluded
FV
v2
20.793
11.142
122.1
7.930
2.040
60.088
4.055
79.023
0.357
87.063
0.000
0.001
0.000
0.005
0.153
0.000
0.044
0.000
0.550
0.000
v2
313.2
0.000
677.8
218.6
0.000
0.000
131.7
69.870
0.000
0.000
335.8
0.000
whole vertebral column, the differences between youngest and middle-aged individuals are signicant (Table 9),
with the middle-aged individuals more frequently diagnosed as positive. Table 9 shows that the differences
between middle-age and 451 groups are not statistically
signicant for FI or FV. This table also suggests that,
between the youngest (1530 years) and oldest (451)
cohorts, the differences are signicant with both methods (FI and FV), and are obviously higher for the oldest
group. If FI is calculated, differences among the three
vertebral regions for each age category are not signicant. Taking into account the FV, the differences are
more obvious.
Comparison of females and males by age groups shows
that proportions of vertebral degenerative conditions
diagnosed by all the methods in the whole vertebral column are very similar. Some signicant differences
appear when calculations are made by FV, but none in
the case of FI. Proportions in youngest groups by At
least One and Two together methods demonstrate
absolute differences (young males are more frequently
affected). Comparisons between older male and female
groups (451 years) showed important differences in FV
diagnosed by Pitting excluded method.
DISCUSSION
To approach the pattern of vertebral degenerative disease of the Soacha Muisca series, we applied two methods of proportion calculation and ve methods of diagnosis. Results demonstrate the important variations in
prevalence depending on methods used for paleoepidemiological reconstruction. Considering the high variability of methods applied in data processing in this eld and
the lack of consensus in data treatment between authors
comparisons are extremely difcult. Thus, it seems relevant to analyze the different methods in order to choose
the most appropriate one.
Frequency calculation
These results clearly show that the method of frequency calculation signicantly inuences paleoepidemiological results. Frequencies by number of individuals
were higher in this series than frequencies calculated by
number of vertebrae. Nevertheless, this would not be
observed if the preservation state (or number of vertebrae present by individual vertebral column) strongly
differs among individuals of a sample. Patterns of the
American Journal of Physical Anthropology
LVEDA ET AL.
C. ROJAS-SEPU
0.083
0.001
3.007
10.252
33.686
186.27
0.000
0.000
19.888
131.46
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.000
37.681
16.956
203.29
124.85
0.000
0.000
89.176
62.726
0.000
0.000
0.854
0.409
0.967
0.409
0.034
0.683
0.002
0.683
0.004
0.012
0.035
0.080
8.349
6.299
4.446
3.071
0.003
0.001
0.028
0.007
8.932
12.029
4.859
7.202
Young-old
v2
P
Young-middle
v2
P
0.644
0.313
0.214
1.016
0.589
0.136
0.292
2.221
10.834
12.043
0.000
0.000
0.001
0.001
0.381
0.391
0.767
0.737
0.000
0.000
37.649
59.855
0.025
1.651
0.000
0.000
0.875
0.199
0.693
0.214
0.262
0.129
0.156
1.547
1.256
2.302
0.776
0.038
0.605
0.288
0.706
0.081
4.311
0.268
1.130
0.142
0.232
0.859
0.844
0.926
0.831
1.430
0.032
0.039
0.009
0.046
0.358
0.056
0.747
0.245
0.869
Frequency by individuals
One
0.845
Two together
3.660
Two separated
0.104
Eburnation
1.349
Pitting excl.
0.027
Frequency by vertebrae
One
40.857
Two together
43.756
Two separated
Eburnation
16.894
Pitting excl.
182.07
v2
P
v2
Method
v2
Cerv-lumb
Thor-lumb
Male-female
v2
P
Sex differences
Diagnostic methods
Cerv-thor
TABLE 9. Chi-square (v2) and P-values for diagnostic methods in the vertebral regions, by age and sex
Midd age-old
v2
P
426
The present article focused on the diagnosis of vertebral degenerative conditions. At the beginning of this
study, we hypothesized that a single manifestation is
enough to make a positive diagnosis in an individual.
The criteria of the At least One in our series, produced
percentages close to 100% of the population affected,
even in the youngest age categories. Although some
examples of vertebral degenerative conditions among the
very young have been reported (Stirland and Waldron,
1997), high frequencies such as those obtained in the
Soacha Muisca series with At least One (88% of individuals and 25% of vertebrae) could be rejected. Additionally, results obtained by this method do not allow
comparison because it generalizes the disease to each anatomical region and subpopulation group.
Restricting the criteria led us to explore another diagnostic method. The method Two together ensured a
correct diagnosis because eburnation is considered pathognomonic of the disease or a marker of its severity
(Rothschild, 1997; Ortner, 2003). However this method
requires the association of at least two of the other manifestations and this may underestimate DJD in poorly
preserved skeletal series. Additionally, osteophytes and
joint surface contour change have also been considered
as pathognomonic of DJD (Nathan, 1962; White and
Folkens, 2000; Ortner, 2003). Counting them only when
they are associated with other manifestations can also
lead to prevalence underestimation.
The method Two separated is a variation of the
method called Two together, discussed above. The
method Two separated provides the possibility of having the manifestations in two different vertebrae. This
avoids some underestimation; nevertheless, here also, we
can argue against the method due to the fact that osteophytes and joint surface contour change have been considered as pathognomonic (Nathan, 1962; White and
Folkens, 2000; Ortner, 2003).
Concerning the Only Eburnation method, it would
not be desirable to reduce the diagnosis to its presence
only, ignoring the other typical and accepted manifesta-
427
Middle (3045)
FV
FI
Old (451)
FV
FI
FV
n/N
n/N
n/N
n/N
n/N
72.0
16.0
24.0
4.0
44.0
46/159
5/159
28.9
3.1
63.7
28.0
6.0
42.3
99.9
85.0
85.0
35.0
85.0
80.0
46.2
11/182
77/182
20/20
17/20
17/20
7/20
17/20
104/130
60/130
0.6
8.2
93.5
61.3
67.7
19.4
93.5
116/182
51/182
1/159
13/159
29/31
19/31
21/31
6/31
29/31
20/130
74/130
15.4
56.9
72.0
20.0
32.0
16.0
36.0
57/253
10/253
22.5
4.0
38.3
11.4
4.1
27.6
95.0
50.0
75.0
20.0
80.0
57.7
18.0
12/290
80/290
19/20
10/20
15/20
4/20
16/20
112/194
35/194
2.4
6.3
87.1
45.2
64.5
19.4
71.0
111/290
33/290
6/253
16/253
27/31
14/31
20/31
6/31
22/31
10/194
64/194
5.2
33.0
56.5
30.4
30.4
8.7
39.1
33/127
14/127
26.0
11.0
65.6
33.1
8.4
56.5
99.9
71.4
81.0
42.9
85.7
86.1
44.6
13/154
87/154
21/21
15/21
17/21
9/21
18/21
87/101
45/101
2.4
18.1
93.3
66.7
73.3
23.3
73.3
101/154
51/154
3/127
23/127
28/30
20/30
22/30
7/30
22/30
15/101
70/101
14.9
69.3
88.5
42.3
53.8
23.1
65.4
136/539
29/539
25.2
5.4
52.4
21.6
7.5
39.0
99.9
82.6
87.0
52.2
87.0
71.3
32.9
47/626
244/626
23/23
19/23
20/23
12/23
20/23
303/425
140/425
1.9
9.6
99.9
80.6
93.5
51.6
93.5
328/626
135/626
10/539
52/539
31/31
25/31
29/31
16/31
29/31
45/425
208/425
10.6
48.9
428
LVEDA ET AL.
C. ROJAS-SEPU
contour change between males and females in the lumbar area, with females being more strongly affected. The
high cervical involvement of apophyseal facets in males
seen by Bridges (1992) seems to be true in our series.
Following Bridges (1992), the lower extent of sexual
dimorphism in some prehistoric groups suggest a similarity in sex roles or in some cases more strenuous
duties for females.
Differences between populations have supported the
relationship of DJD and physical activity in many publications. Accepting the hypothesis of a positive relationship between DJD and physical activity (Chapman,
1972; Clark and Delmond, 1979; Goranov et al., 1983;
Jurmain, 1990; Bridges, 1991, 1992; Lovell, 1994; Stirland and Waldron, 1997; Kahl and Ostendorf, 2000;
Sofaer, 2000), results presented here suggest that the
individuals recovered from the Soacha Muisca cemetery
were exposed to a high level of physical activity. This
should accelerate the aging process, with an early onset
and no sex differences in terms of quantity of degenerative lesions.
CONCLUSION
It has been shown that calculation of manifestations
and disease frequencies should be done by applying the
two methods, FI and FV. From the ve diagnostic methods considered, the most suitable seems to be the method
called Pitting excluded. This method takes into account
the manifestations related to vertebral degenerative conditions (body and apophyseal joint surface contour
change, osteophytes and eburnation), excluding the isolated body and apophyseal pitting as diagnostic criteria.
Pitting excluded reduces underestimation because it
does not require association between manifestations, and
it also avoids overestimation by ignoring the isolated pitting as a diagnostic criterion (pitting observed as a general manifestation).
Our article also underscores the lack of discussion concerning prevalence calculation in paleopathological literature. Explicit explanation of calculation and diagnostic
methods can allow relevant interpopulational comparisons. In spite of these difculties, it is possible to place
vertebral degenerative disease in the Soacha Muisca series within the frequencies and patterns of variability
from the published literature. This variability supports
the hypothesis of a relationship between DJD and physical activity. Furthermore, our results suggest that the
Soacha Muisca population does not completely follow the
classical pattern of agricultural populations (higher percentages of disease than hunter-gatherers and gender
differences; Bridges, 1992). Individuals recovered from
the Soacha Muisca cemetery were exposed to a high
level of work which accelerated the aging process of the
spine with a very early onset and without discrimination
by sex.
Our results t very well with ethnohistorical data
from the region. Although for the chroniclers of the
Spanish conquest the justication of conquest and Christianization led them to write mostly negative comments
about indigenous work habits (Rodrguez, 1999; Enciso
and Therrien, 2000), some selected information does
come out that the Muiscas undertook heavy labor. There
are references to heavy load-bearing, especially related
to the salt trade. This product was packed in loaves of
24 kg which were carried by Muiscas on the back for distances longer than 50 km through very difcult terrain
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The rst author is indebted to Dr. Jose Vicente Rodrguez for help, encouragement and supervision of the initial part of this research. We thank to the ICANH (Instituto Colombiano de Antropologa e Historia) for access to
the series. We are grateful with Dr. Elie Sanchez for statistical advice. Many thanks are also due to our three
anonymous reviewers and Dr. Clark Larsen who contributed to greatly improve this article. We are indebted to
Mr. Timothy Sexton who kindly made a grammatical revision of our manuscript.
LITERATURE CITED
Berato J, Dutour O, Williams J, Zakarian H, Acquaviva P. 1990.
Epidemiology of rheumatic diseases in an ancient population.
Study of the Necropole du Haut-Empire de Saint-Lambert
(Frejus, Var). Rev Rhum Mal Osteoartic 57:397400.
Boada AM. 2000. Variabilidad mortuoria y Organizacion social
prehispanica en el sur de la Sabana de Bogota. In: Enciso B,
Therrien M, editors. Sociedades Complejas en la Sabana de
Bogota Siglos VIII al XVI DC. Bogota: Instituto Colombiano
de Antropologa e Historia. p 2158.
Botiva A. 1988. Perdida y rescate del patrimonio arqueologico
nacional. Revista Estud Antropologa 5:336.
Botiva A. 1989. La altiplanicie Cundiboyacense. Colombia prehispanica regiones arqueologicas. Bogota: Instituto Colombiano de Antropologa. p 77115.
Bourke JB. 1967. A review of the paleopathology of the arthritic
disease. In: Brothwell D, Sandison AT, editors. Diseases in antiquity. Springeld, Il: Charles C Thomas. p 352370.
Bridges P. 1989. Spondylolysis and its relationship to degenerative joint disease in the prehistoric southeastern United
States. Am J Phys Anthropol 79:321329.
Bridges P. 1991. Degenerative joint disease in hunter-gatherers
and agriculturalists from the southeastern United States. Am
J Phys Anthropol 85:379391.
Bridges P. 1992. Prehistoric arthritis in the Americas. Annu
Rev Anthropol 21:6791.
Broadbent S. 1964. Los Chibchas. Organizacion sociopoltica.
Bogota: Facultad de Sociologa. Universidad Nacional de
Colombia.
Brothwell D. 1965. Digging up bones. The excavation, treatment
and the study of human skeletal remains. London: Oxford
University Press.
Buikstra J, Ubelaker D. 1994. Standars for data collection from
human skeletal remains. Arkansas Archaeological Survey
Research Series No. 44. Arkansas: Arkansas Archaeological
Survey. 206 p.
Campo M. 1997. Cuaderno de recogida de datos (CRD) de la columna vertebral: una nueva propuesta. In: Macas M, Picazo
J, editors. Ayuntamiento de San Fernando y U. de Cadiz.
p 231248.
Campo M. 2003. Paleopatologa de la columna vertebral. In: Llorens I, Malgosa A, editors. Paleopatologa La enfermedad no
escrita. Barcelona: Masson. p 163193.
Clark G, Delmond J. 1979. Vertebral osteophytosis in Dickson
Mound populations: a biomechanical interpretation. Henry
Ford Hosp Med J 27:5458.
Cohen M. 1984. Introduction. In: Cohen M, Armelagos G, editors. Paleopathology at the origins of agriculture. Orlando:
Academic Press.
429
430
LVEDA ET AL.
C. ROJAS-SEPU