Abstract

ZUNIGA THAYER, Rodrigo; SUBY, Jorge; FLENSBORG, Gustavo  and  LUNA, Leandro. Osteochondritis dissecans. First results for Holocene hunter-gatherer human remains from southern Patagonia. Rev. Mus. Antropol. [online]. 2018, vol.11, n.1, pp.107-120. ISSN 1852-060X.

Abstract Osteochondritis dissecans (OCD) is a pathology that affects the articular cartilage and the subchondral bone in the articular epiphyses of humans and other mammals. Although its etiology is multifactorial, its presence has been frequently attributed to repetitive microtrauma because of physical activity on the affected joints. This paper is a first step in the study of this pathology in human remains from Patagonia Austral, as it has not been systematically studied. The objective is to analyze the variability of the OCD in a sample of 26 hunter-gatherer adult individuals that lived in this region during the Middle-Late Holocene (ca. 5200-70 years BP) and its possible relationship with age, sex, diet, chronology and region of origin. The association between its expression and the patterns of physical activity developed in accordance with the economic practices, is discussed. The overall prevalence observed in this sample (42,3%), higher than that reported for current populations, suggests that physical activity would have played an important role in the development of OCD in at least part of the affected individuals.

Keywords : joint pathologies; paleopathology; physical activity; hunter-gatherers; Patagonia.

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