A carbon and nitrogen isotopic investigation of a case of probable infantile scurvy (6th- 4th centuries BC, Slovenia)

Rebecca Nicholls; Jo  Buckberry; Julia Beaumont; Matija Črešnar; Philip Mason; Ian Armit; Hannah Koon

doi:10.1016/j.jasrep.2020.102206

A carbon and nitrogen isotopic investigation of a case of probable infantile scurvy (6th- 4th centuries BC, Slovenia)

Rebecca Nicholls, Jo Buckberry, Julia Beaumont, Matija Črešnar, Philip Mason, Ian Armit, Hannah Koon

Archaeology

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

This paper presents a case study of a young infant, from a larger isotopic and osteological investigation of Bronze/Iron Age (14th-4th century BCE) skeletal assemblages from Croatia and Slovenia. The osteological analysis of this infant identified pathological lesions including abnormal porosity and new bone formation consistent with malnutrition and phases of recovery. The distribution and appearance of these pathological lesions (i.e. diffuse micro-porosities and plaques of subperiosteal new bone formation on the skull and long bones) led to the conclusion that this infant probably suffered from scurvy (vitamin C deficiency). The diet and nitrogen balance of this individual were investigated by incremental dentine sampling and stable carbon and nitrogen isotope analysis. This sampling method provided a high resolution record of dietary and metabolic changes from pre-birth to around the time of death. The resulting isotope data exhibited unusually high δ13C values for this region and time period (between −11.3‰ and −12.6‰), while δ15N values were observed to be c. 3‰ above that of rib collagen sampled from contemporary adults recovered from the same site. The isotope profiles generated from the incremental dentine analysis show that δ13C and especially δ15N continue to increase until death. The evidence from the skeletal remains and high resolution isotopic data support the hypothesis that this infant suffered from severe malnutrition and an increasingly negative nitrogen balance. The paper discusses some scenarios which could have resulted in these unusual isotope ratios, whilst considering the diagnosis of possible metabolic disease. The paper also addresses the need for context when interpreting isotopic results. The isotope data should not be viewed in isolation, but rather as part of a multidisciplinary approach, considering the multiple causes of isotopic variability.

Original language	English
Article number	102206
Number of pages	11
Journal	Journal of Archaeological Science Reports
Volume	30
Early online date	3 Feb 2020
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jasrep.2020.102206
Publication status	Published - 1 Apr 2020

Bibliographical note

Access to Document

10.1016/j.jasrep.2020.102206

Revised manuscript Jan 2020
© 2020 Elsevier Ltd. This is an author-produced version of the published paper. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher’s self-archiving policy.
Accepted author manuscript, 5.42 MBLicence: CC BY-NC-ND

Cite this

@article{4900213c79a344b6856092dc26cfe329,

title = "A carbon and nitrogen isotopic investigation of a case of probable infantile scurvy (6th- 4th centuries BC, Slovenia)",

abstract = "This paper presents a case study of a young infant, from a larger isotopic and osteological investigation of Bronze/Iron Age (14th-4th century BCE) skeletal assemblages from Croatia and Slovenia. The osteological analysis of this infant identified pathological lesions including abnormal porosity and new bone formation consistent with malnutrition and phases of recovery. The distribution and appearance of these pathological lesions (i.e. diffuse micro-porosities and plaques of subperiosteal new bone formation on the skull and long bones) led to the conclusion that this infant probably suffered from scurvy (vitamin C deficiency). The diet and nitrogen balance of this individual were investigated by incremental dentine sampling and stable carbon and nitrogen isotope analysis. This sampling method provided a high resolution record of dietary and metabolic changes from pre-birth to around the time of death. The resulting isotope data exhibited unusually high δ13C values for this region and time period (between −11.3‰ and −12.6‰), while δ15N values were observed to be c. 3‰ above that of rib collagen sampled from contemporary adults recovered from the same site. The isotope profiles generated from the incremental dentine analysis show that δ13C and especially δ15N continue to increase until death. The evidence from the skeletal remains and high resolution isotopic data support the hypothesis that this infant suffered from severe malnutrition and an increasingly negative nitrogen balance. The paper discusses some scenarios which could have resulted in these unusual isotope ratios, whilst considering the diagnosis of possible metabolic disease. The paper also addresses the need for context when interpreting isotopic results. The isotope data should not be viewed in isolation, but rather as part of a multidisciplinary approach, considering the multiple causes of isotopic variability.",

author = "Rebecca Nicholls and Jo Buckberry and Julia Beaumont and Matija {\v C}re{\v s}nar and Philip Mason and Ian Armit and Hannah Koon",

note = "{\textcopyright} 2020 Elsevier Ltd. This is an author-produced version of the published paper. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher{\textquoteright}s self-archiving policy. ",

year = "2020",

month = apr,

day = "1",

doi = "10.1016/j.jasrep.2020.102206",

language = "English",

volume = "30",

journal = "Journal of Archaeological Science Reports",

issn = "2352-409X",

publisher = "Elsevier",

}

TY - JOUR

T1 - A carbon and nitrogen isotopic investigation of a case of probable infantile scurvy (6th- 4th centuries BC, Slovenia)

AU - Nicholls, Rebecca

AU - Buckberry, Jo

AU - Beaumont, Julia

AU - Črešnar, Matija

AU - Mason, Philip

AU - Armit, Ian

AU - Koon, Hannah

PY - 2020/4/1

Y1 - 2020/4/1

N2 - This paper presents a case study of a young infant, from a larger isotopic and osteological investigation of Bronze/Iron Age (14th-4th century BCE) skeletal assemblages from Croatia and Slovenia. The osteological analysis of this infant identified pathological lesions including abnormal porosity and new bone formation consistent with malnutrition and phases of recovery. The distribution and appearance of these pathological lesions (i.e. diffuse micro-porosities and plaques of subperiosteal new bone formation on the skull and long bones) led to the conclusion that this infant probably suffered from scurvy (vitamin C deficiency). The diet and nitrogen balance of this individual were investigated by incremental dentine sampling and stable carbon and nitrogen isotope analysis. This sampling method provided a high resolution record of dietary and metabolic changes from pre-birth to around the time of death. The resulting isotope data exhibited unusually high δ13C values for this region and time period (between −11.3‰ and −12.6‰), while δ15N values were observed to be c. 3‰ above that of rib collagen sampled from contemporary adults recovered from the same site. The isotope profiles generated from the incremental dentine analysis show that δ13C and especially δ15N continue to increase until death. The evidence from the skeletal remains and high resolution isotopic data support the hypothesis that this infant suffered from severe malnutrition and an increasingly negative nitrogen balance. The paper discusses some scenarios which could have resulted in these unusual isotope ratios, whilst considering the diagnosis of possible metabolic disease. The paper also addresses the need for context when interpreting isotopic results. The isotope data should not be viewed in isolation, but rather as part of a multidisciplinary approach, considering the multiple causes of isotopic variability.

AB - This paper presents a case study of a young infant, from a larger isotopic and osteological investigation of Bronze/Iron Age (14th-4th century BCE) skeletal assemblages from Croatia and Slovenia. The osteological analysis of this infant identified pathological lesions including abnormal porosity and new bone formation consistent with malnutrition and phases of recovery. The distribution and appearance of these pathological lesions (i.e. diffuse micro-porosities and plaques of subperiosteal new bone formation on the skull and long bones) led to the conclusion that this infant probably suffered from scurvy (vitamin C deficiency). The diet and nitrogen balance of this individual were investigated by incremental dentine sampling and stable carbon and nitrogen isotope analysis. This sampling method provided a high resolution record of dietary and metabolic changes from pre-birth to around the time of death. The resulting isotope data exhibited unusually high δ13C values for this region and time period (between −11.3‰ and −12.6‰), while δ15N values were observed to be c. 3‰ above that of rib collagen sampled from contemporary adults recovered from the same site. The isotope profiles generated from the incremental dentine analysis show that δ13C and especially δ15N continue to increase until death. The evidence from the skeletal remains and high resolution isotopic data support the hypothesis that this infant suffered from severe malnutrition and an increasingly negative nitrogen balance. The paper discusses some scenarios which could have resulted in these unusual isotope ratios, whilst considering the diagnosis of possible metabolic disease. The paper also addresses the need for context when interpreting isotopic results. The isotope data should not be viewed in isolation, but rather as part of a multidisciplinary approach, considering the multiple causes of isotopic variability.

U2 - 10.1016/j.jasrep.2020.102206

DO - 10.1016/j.jasrep.2020.102206

M3 - Article

SN - 2352-409X

VL - 30

JO - Journal of Archaeological Science Reports

JF - Journal of Archaeological Science Reports

M1 - 102206

ER -