Zigolo infestante

Immagini di dettaglio del Cyperus rotundus, o Dente di cavallo, o Zigolo infestante.

Una concrezione calcarea dentale, in un corpo inumato nel Sudan Centrale, del 7.000 a.C.. 
Una pianta erbacea delle zone umide, oggi considerata infestante.
Un'Equipe internazionale di ricercatori.

Grazie a loro, sappiamo che anche prima di iniziare a produrre il proprio cibo, l'uomo conosceva già bene le varie proprietà delle piante.
Lo zigolo infestante (oggi solo un'erbaccia acquatica del gruppo Cyperus, tra cui il più famoso è il Papiro) contiene carboidrati, possiede proprietà aromatiche e medicinali, contiene fibre che potevano essere usate per costruire oggetti...
questo è - appunto - il motivo per il quale si formò una concrezione dentaria su quell'individuo risalente al periodo  Neolitico. I microcomponenti hanno permesso di 
 ricostruire una dieta differente da quella prevalentemente carnivora ed iperproteica prima ipotizzata per le popoazioni pre-agricoltura...
La capacità della pianta di inibire i batteri (Streptococcus Mutans) responsabili della carie dentaria rendono conto delle splendide dentature osservate nei reperti.
La zona del Sudan in cui si è avuto il rinvenimento è di estremo interesse: in una zona piuttosto ristretta essa contiene ben 5 sepolcreti di epoche differenti, dal Mesolitico, al Neolitico, al Meroitico. Non a caso gli Egizi furono eredi di molte delle conoscenze maturate in questa sede. Da questa pianta trassero medicine e profumi.

Tooth plaque 

provides unique insights 

into our prehistoric ancestors' diet 


An international team of researchers has found new evidence that our prehistoric ancestors had a detailed understanding of plants long before the development of agriculture.

 Researchers studied the dental calculus of skeletons, such as this one  of a young man, found at a prehistoric gravesite in central Sudan  
[Credit: Donatella Usai/Centro Studi Sudanesi and Sub-Sahariani (CSSeS)

 By extracting chemical compounds and microfossils from dental calculus (calcified dental plaque) from ancient teeth, the researchers were able to provide an entirely new perspective on our ancestors' diets. 

Their research suggests that purple nut sedge (Cyperus rotundus) -- today regarded as a nuisance weed -- formed an important part of the prehistoric diet. Crucially, the research, published in PLOS ONE and led by the Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona and the University of York, suggests that prehistoric people living in Central Sudan may have understood both the nutritional and medicinal qualities of this and other plants. The research was carried out at Al Khiday, a pre-historic site on the White Nile in Central Sudan. 
It demonstrates that for at least 7,000 years, beginning before the development of agriculture and continuing after agricultural plants were also available the people of Al Khiday ate the plant purple nut sedge. 
The plant is a good source of carbohydrates and has many useful medicinal and aromatic qualities. Lead author Karen Hardy, a Catalan Institute for Research and Advanced Studies (ICREA) Research Professor at the Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona (UAB) and an Honorary Research Associate at the University of York, said: "Purple nut sedge is today considered to be a scourge in tropical and sub-tropical regions and has been called the world's most expensive weed due to the difficulties and high costs of eradication from agricultural areas. By extracting material from samples of ancient dental calculus we have found that rather than being a nuisance in the past, its value as a food, and possibly its abundant medicinal qualities were known. More recently, it was also used by the ancient Egyptians as perfume and as medicine. 

The hardened dental calculus on prehistoric teeth suggests that people  ate purple nutsedge, a weedy plant rich in carbohydrates 

[Credit: Buckley S, et al. PLoS ONE]

 "We also discovered that these people ate several other plants and we found traces of smoke, evidence for cooking, and for chewing plant fibres to prepare raw materials. These small biographical details add to the growing evidence that prehistoric people had a detailed understanding of plants long before the development of agriculture." 

Al Khiday is a complex of five archaeological sites which lie 25 km south of Omdurman; one of the sites is predominantly a burial ground of pre-Mesolithic, Neolithic and Later Meroitic age. 
As a multi-period cemetery, it gave the researchers a useful long-term perspective on the material recovered. 
The researchers found ingestion of the purple nut sedge in both pre-agricultural and agricultural periods. 
They suggest that the plant's ability to inhibit Streptococcus mutans, a bacterium which contributes to tooth decay, may have contributed to the unexpectedly low level of cavities found in the agricultural population. 
Dr Stephen Buckley, a Research Fellow at the University of York's BioArCh research facility, conducted the chemical analyses. He said: "The evidence for purple nut sedge was very clear in samples from all the time periods we looked at. This plant was evidently important to the people of Al Khiday, even after agricultural plants had been introduced." 

One of the prone extended burials at the Al Khiday prehistoric site 

 [Credit: Donatella Usai/Centro Studi Sudanesi and Sub-Sahariani (CSSeS)] 

Dr Donatella Usai, from the Instituto Italiano per l'Africa e l'Oriente in Rome led the excavation and Dr Tina Jakob from Durham University's Department of Archaeology, performed the analysis of the human remains at Al Khiday. Anita Radini, an Archaeobotanist at the University of Leicester Archaeological Service (ULAS) and a PhD candidate at BioArCh, University of York, contributed to the analysis of microfossils found in the dental calculus samples. Dr Usai said: "Al Khiday is a unique site in the Nile valley, where a large population lived for many thousands of years. This study demonstrates that they made good use of the locally available wild plant as food, as raw materials, and possibly even as medicine."

Dr Hardy added: "The development of studies on chemical compounds and microfossils extracted from dental calculus will help to counterbalance the dominant focus on meat and protein that has been a feature of pre-agricultural dietary interpretation, up until now. The new access to plants ingested, which is provided by dental calculus analysis, will increase, if not revolutionise, the perception of ecological knowledge and use of plants among earlier prehistoric and pre-agrarian populations." 


Source: University of York 

[July 16, 2014]

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Lei ha avuto l'Arteriosclerosi, 3.000 anni fa.

L'archeologia, aiutata dalla paleopatologia con tecniche di medicina legale, è riuscita a diagnosticare la presenza di arteriosclerosi in un gruppo di scheletri risalenti a 3.000 anni fa, in Sudan (lo stesso gruppo nel quale era stata trovata la presenza di un tumore metastatico). 
Si è visto - quindi - che non sono soltanto moderni fattori (come il fumo) a causare la malattia arteriosclerotica, che a sua volta conduce ad ictus e ad infarto.
I soggetti avevano una disastrosa situazione dentaria e non erano molto in là con gli anni.
La diagnosi è stata fatta proprio grazie al ritrovamento - e all'identificazione - delle placchette arteriosclerotiche calcificate.  


Arterial disease found in 3,000 year old skeletons 

 The first-ever skeletons with atherosclerosis, or clogged up arteries, have been found by archaeologists, according to new research. 

Three male and two female 3,000-year-old skeletons show evidence of  clogged arteries [Credit: Durham University] 

After announcing the discovery of the oldest complete skeleton with metastatic cancer last month, the researchers from Durham University are now reporting five skeletons in the same group which show signs that may be related to a thickening of the arteries’ walls, known as atherosclerosis, a major risk factor for strokes and heart attacks. 

The study is published in the International Journal of Palaeopathology, and forms part of a British Museum archaeological project. 
Atherosclerosis and other cardiovascular diseases are the world’s leading causes of death today but they are almost unknown in past human populations. 
Up until now, atherosclerosis has only been reported in mummies. 
The cause of atherosclerosis in the skeletons is not known. Aside from an unhealthy diet and smoking, the atherosclerosis can be caused by dental disease, infections or genetic factors. 
The bioarchaeologists from Durham University say the discovery will help to shed new light on the factors leading to atherosclerosis and the evolution of the disease.

The findings show that the condition is not only a product of modern living conditions but that factors leading to this chronic disease have plagued mankind for a very long time. 
The skeletons are of three females and two males who were all between 35 and 50 years old when they died. 
They were found in underground chamber tombs at the archaeological site of Amara West in northern Sudan, situated on the Nile, 750km north of the country’s modern capital Khartoum. 
The site is excavated by a team from the British Museum with the work in the cemeteries led by Durham University PhD student Michaela Binder. 
In advanced atherosclerosis, the arteries become clogged up by substances called plaques, which in turn calcify leading to small, bone-like structures.

These structures were found together with the skeletons which were examined using scanning electron microscopy and X-ray to analyse their origin. Lead author, Michaela Binder, a PhD student and bioarchaeologist in the Department of Archaeology at Durham University said: “Very little is known about atherosclerosis in past human populations because it is very difficult to find evidence in skeletal human remains. “Calcified arterial plaques in these 3,000-year-old skeletons show that atherosclerosis is not only a problem of modern lifestyle but may also be related to inflammation, genetic background and ageing in general. 
“Insights gained from archaeological remains like these can really help us to understand the evolution and history of modern diseases.” 
The excavated skeletons, now part of the British Museum collection, were from different graves and date between 1300 and 800BC. 
Graves goods associated with the individuals suggest they come from all parts of society including individuals of high and low social status. 
Two of the men with evidence of atherosclerosis are from the same tomb as the man suffering from metastatic cancer, as reported in PLOS ONE last month. 
There is currently no concrete evidence of any family ties between the individuals. 

All skeletons with calcifications showed signs of severe dental disease as well as chronic respiratory diseases which are linked to vascular disease today. 
Genetic factors may also have played a part in predisposing this group of people to arterial disease. 
Co-author, Professor Charlotte Roberts, a world-leading palaeopathologist at Durham University, said: “This find at Amara West is very rare and emphasises the special nature of this cemetery for preservation of evidence for disease. 
Along with the man with cancer, already reported, this contributes to knowledge about the history of cancer and heart disease, and shows how long these diseases have been plaguing the world’s population for a long time.” 
The research was funded by the Leverhulme Trust and the Institute of Bioarcheaology Amara West Field School, with the permission of the National Corporation of Antiquities and Museums in Sudan. 
The study is part of a research project led by the British Museum which has been investigating the experience of the people who lived there and who were buried within the ancient town. 


Source: Durnham University [April 07, 2014]

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Un Tumore Antico

In Sudan, studiosi della Durham University hanno 

rinvenuto uno scheletro di giovane adulto che risale al 1200

aC, (quindi é del periodo della "guerra di Troia" e dei

presunti "Popoli del Mare") con evidenti tracce di un

carcinoma metastatico diffuso alle ossa. Ciò vale a dire che,

alla sua morte, aveva un tumore originato in un organo

molle ignoto, che si era diffuso estesamente ad altre aree del

suo corpo e che probabilmente ne ha determinato in qualche

modo la morte. I tumori sono poco e male rappresentati nei

reperti archeologici mondiali: fino a pochi anni fa - anzi - si

pensava che i tumori esistessero solamente in epoca

moderna. Questa è la prova più convincente che invece i

tumori esistevano anche in età antica, nella valle del Nilo.

(Precedentemente, erano state portate solamente un'altra

prova di tumore metastatico più antico del 1.000 a.C. ed

altri due tentativi erano stati fatti). Tra le possibili cause

sono ipotizzabili: fattori genetici, fattori ambientali (fumo

dagli incendi boschivi), oppure anche la schistosomiasi 

(bilarziosi), una parassitosi tropicale che spesso determina 

l'insorgenza del cancro vescicale e mammario (anche 

nell'uomo), e di cui si sa che fosse presente nella zona 

(Egitto e Nubia) già dal 1500 a.C.

Per essere più precisi, si è risaliti alla data dagli oggetti

(un'immagine in faience e ceramica) rinvenuti nella tomba e

nel sarcofago: la XX Dinastia (1187-1064 aC), un periodo in

cui l'Egitto regnava sulla Nubia, sosteneva i suoi eterni 

conflitti con i  Libu, mentre Faraoni come Ramses III si 

facevano seppellire nella Valle dei Re.



3,200-year-old skeleton found with cancer 



Archaeologists have found the oldest complete example in the world of a human with metastatic cancer in a 3,000 year-old skeleton. The findings are reported in the academic journal PLOS ONE. 

The skeleton of an adult male excavated from Amara West, the skeleton shows signs of metastatic carcinoma 

[Credit: © Trustees of the British Museum] 

The skeleton of the young adult male was found by a Durham University PhD student in a tomb in modern Sudan in 2013 and dates back to 1200BC. 
Analysis has revealed evidence of metastatic carcinoma, cancer which has spread to other parts of the body from where it started, from a malignant soft-tissue tumour spread across large areas of the body, making it the oldest convincing complete example of metastatic cancer in the archaeological record. 
The researchers from Durham University and the British Museum say the discovery will help to explore underlying causes of cancer in ancient populations and provide insights into the evolution of cancer in the past. 
Ancient DNA analysis of skeletons and mummies with evidence of cancer can be used to detect mutations in specific genes that are known to be associated with particular types of cancer. 
Even though cancer is one of the world’s leading causes of death today, it remains almost absent from the archaeological record compared to other pathological conditions, giving rise to the conclusion that the disease is mainly a product of modern living and increased longevity. 
These findings suggest that cancer is not only a modern disease but was already present in the Nile Valley in ancient times. 
Lead author, Michaela Binder, a PhD student in the Department of Archaeology at Durham University, excavated and examined the skeleton. She said: “Very little is known about the antiquity, epidemiology and evolution of cancer in past human populations apart from some textual references and a small number of skeletons with signs of cancer. 

Michaela Binder from Durham University working on the skeleton

 [Credit: Durham University] 

“Insights gained from archaeological human remains like these can really help us to understand the evolution and history of modern diseases. “Our analysis showed that the shape of the small lesions on the bones can only have been caused by a soft tissue cancer even though the exact origin is impossible to determine through the bones alone.” The skeleton is of an adult male estimated to be between 25-35 years old when he died and was found at the archaeological site of Amara West in northern Sudan, situated on the Nile, 750km downstream of the country’s modern capital Khartoum. It was buried extended on his back, within a badly deteriorated painted wooden coffin, and provided with a glazed faience amulet as a grave good. 
Previously, there has only been one convincing, and two tentative, examples of metastatic cancer predating the 1st millennium BC reported in human remains. 
However, because the remains derived from early 20th century excavations, only the skulls were retained, thus making a full re-analysis of each skeleton, to generate differential (possible) diagnoses, impossible. 
Co-author, Dr Neal Spencer from the Department of Ancient Egypt and Sudan at the British Museum, said: “From footprints left on wet mud floors, to the healed fractures of many ancient inhabitants, Amara West offers a unique insight into what it was like to live there – and die – in Egyptian-ruled Upper Nubia 3200 years ago.” 
The skeleton was examined by experts at Durham University and the British Museum using radiography and a scanning electron microscope (SEM) which resulted in clear imaging of the lesions on the bones. It showed cancer metastases on the collar bones, shoulder blades, upper arms, vertebrae, ribs, pelvis and thigh bones. 

Lytic lesion in the spinous process of the 5th thoracic vertebra

 [Credit: Durham University]

 The cause of the cancer can only be speculative but the researchers say it could be as a result of environmental carcinogens such as smoke from wood fires, through genetic factors, or from infectious diseases such as schistosomiasis which is caused by parasites. 
They say that an underlying schistosomiasis infection seems a plausible explanation for the cancer in this individual as the disease had plagued inhabitants of Egypt and Nubia since at least 1500BC, and is now recognised as a cause of bladder cancer and breast cancer in men. Michaela Binder added: “Through taking an evolutionary approach to cancer, information from ancient human remains may prove a vital element in finding ways to address one of the world’s major health problems.” 
The tomb, where the skeleton was found, appears to have been used for high-status individuals from the town, but not the ruling elite, based on the tomb architecture and aspects of funerary ritual.
The tomb’s architecture is evidence of a hybrid culture blending Pharaonic elements (burial goods, painted coffins) with Nubian culture (a low mound to mark the tomb). The well preserved pottery recovered from the tomb provides a date within the 20th Dynasty (1187-1064BC), a period when Egypt ruled Upper Nubia, endured conflicts with Libya and while pharaohs such as Ramses III were being buried in the Valley of the Kings. The research was funded by the Leverhulme Trust and the Institute of Bioarchaeology Amara West Field School, with the permission of the National Corporation of Antiquities and Museums in Sudan. Source: Durham University [March 17, 2014]

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